I had a nightmare last night. I won’t go into details because people will start doing deep analyses of my psyche, but I can reveal that it left me with a strong sense of injustice. (It had nothing to do with James Corden, though). I don’t often have bad dreams and it is a long time since I have had an anxiety dream like this one.

I have been very fortunate in not having experienced any serious mental illness in my life. I did develop post-natal depression, and I reacted with stress when I found myself in a job I hated, so I have an inkling about how it must feel. However I have observed people I am close to with more severe bouts, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

But we cannot deny that many of us have heightened levels of fear and anxiety during lockdown, and we all need to monitor our own mental health and that of the people we live with. We need to develop coping strategies, to deal with the dark moments.

A recent analysis of diaries being kept by people in lockdown showed that a third felt they were not coping well. It seems older people, who may actually be more vulnerable, are cushioned financially and emotionally to a certain extent, whereas half of all the younger people reported a rise in anxiety and fear.

This photo has nothing whatever to do with this post. Anyone know what it is?

I left the house yesterday for the first time in nearly six weeks because my husband had to attend a hospital appointment.

It was a whole new world out there. Far less traffic than usual, although the speed cops were in evidence to deter those who were tempted to use the clear roads as race tracks. A new shop had popped up in the parade just 5 minutes walk from my home – how could I have not known that?

When we arrived at the hospital I was not allowed to go inside, so I stayed in the car and passed the time playing games on my phone. Parking charges have been suspended.

I felt very safe in my car, just as I do at home, but I realised that my whole attitude to the world outside my home had changed. I was quite fearful about getting out of the car and saw everything and everyone as potentially dangerous. This will be difficult to shake off once we do emerge from isolation.

I get stupidly excited these days about getting food deliveries. I suppose that is because placing each order has been a bit of a challenge.

When we first went into self-isolation I managed to book a supermarket delivery before everyone was in lockdown. But when I tried to place the next order the first available slot was three weeks away, so we managed with what was in the freezer and store cupboard plus top ups of essentials via our lovely neighbours. I haven’t been successful in getting a slot since.

Whilst waiting for the big delivery I looked around for alternative sources and realised that food wholesalers, who had lost their normal customer base, were now delivering to homes. The one I chose had, I later discovered, been featured on a BBC news item, so was overwhelmed by the demand initially and my order arrived three days late (although they did throw in three packs of mozzarella by way of apology). But since then they have ironed out the problems and they now deliver on the day promised.

The wholesaler normally sells to cafes and delis, so has an interesting range of products. Their fruit and veg box is excellent value and I am now ordering that every week or so, along with milk and eggs. Cheese comes in 2Kg blocks, including Wigmore which is a favourite of ours, but I did find some 1Kg packs of basic sliced Cheddar which I was able to divide into smaller packs and freeze. (Yes, you can freeze hard cheeses and mozzarella – just don’t try it with Brie).

Pop-up Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, York 2018

Some people believe that Shakespeare wrote King Lear in lockdown. It appears that wasn’t quite true, since the play was already in production when the Globe was temporarily closed because of plague in 1606. It is more likely that it was influenced by his experiences under an earlier lockdown in 1603.

Bubonic plague was endemic throughout his life, and the Privy Council tried to minimise its impact with actions that sound familiar to us today. The scale was horrendous – London, with a population of only 200,000 lost over 20,000 people to an outbreak of plague in 1592-1593, and a further 30,000 in 1603. And it was not just in London. At different times Shakespeare lost his only son Hamnet as well as three sisters and a brother to the plague in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The rule was that if deaths from the plague exceeded 30 per week in London then all theatres and public venues were to be closed. Red crosses were painted on houses in quarantine.

Closures occurred in 1582, 1593, 1603 and 1606. During the 1593 outbreak Shakespeare wrote his two long narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

Shakespeare was living essentially a single life in London, only visiting his family in Stratford occasionally. So when the theatres were closed he could probably get on with his writing without too many distractions.