The official nationwide lockdown started on Saturday, though as I made a quick cat food run to El Corte Inglés that day I feel like my first real day being shuttered in at home was yesterday. And you know, so far so good. I’ve actually got lots to do with finishing up the Decanter article by Wednesday. And I’m used to working from home anyhow, and spending a lot of time at the computer. What I’m not used to is not being able to go outside. Obvs.

It’s actually not that easy. I miss walking. I miss fresh air. Freedom of movement. And along with all that is the fear about how nobody can actually say how long this is going to last. We’ve been told two weeks, but apparently that was just to keep us from panicking. I’ve mostly gone numb in the Worry Dept because there is only so much I can process before I slip into my usual living in denial thang. But today I found myself getting all WHAAAT reading (on Twitter) about people in the UK who are thinking exactly like I was a week ago.

A week ago today l went to a wine tasting event in Sevilla. I was still going to tapas bars. Then midweek l did an overnight trip to Málaga to visit wineries. In retrospect I shouldn’t have done any of those things. So I am here to tell you now, boys and girls, with the wisdom that only hindsight can bring… wherever you happen to be living now DO NOT wait for your gov’t to tell you what to do, self-isolate NOW.

Also, we all have more information than we did a week ago, even though a lot of it is contradictory and confusing. But really, do not worry about losing your job because, guess what, you are going to lose it anyhow unless it is something you can do from home. And as for supporting other local businesses, they are only days away from losing everything, so although well-meaning, you will not be able to save them. Seriously, save yourselves, and by doing so, you may also save the actual lives of many others who have compromised immune systems. This is serious shit. Learn from us.