“It started innocuously enough on March 13th, just a tickly cough. My partner and toddler had one already, one of those ones from the nursery we had convinced ourselves. By the weekend, we were self-isolated as per instructions from the Chief Medical Officer and NHS advice: this was, then, only for the infected person, and for seven days, and other household members could carry about their business. By March 16th instructions had changed: now it was for 14 days, for the entire household. In the outside world, beyond the confines of our walls, the pandemic was progressing at a truly alarming rate globally and in the UK. Everyday life, as we know now, was grinding to a halt as lockdown approached.”