Dear LPG,

The whole coronavirus situation is quite frightening and I am now hearing the words self-Isolation more often, which I find very worrying.  For those of us who are able, but who live alone, getting out of the house is the most vital aspect of staying grounded, and I have to say that the thought of losing that lifeline, even for a short while, really disturbs me. In spite of that I suppose I am following all the guidelines for keeping safe and if staying at home for a while is the answer for those of us over a certain age then we will have to comply.

I wrote recently with regard to the Coronavirus and DIY recipes for hand sanitizer but there was something else that I thought worth mentioning on the subject.

I was at a computer class last week and at the end of the session one of the instructors suggested that we should put together a WhatsApp ‘self-isolation group.  I suppose that many readers may not know what exactly that means but suffice to say that the words self and group put together in that way was somewhat amusing.    The whole group had to laugh at the contradiction in terms, but once we had got over that I asked what he meant. 

As a result, we have made a group on WhatsApp whereby we can send a message to all the members of the group at once, the idea being that if any of us get into a situation where we can’t get out but could do with some milk, a loaf of bread or even a chat we can leave a message that all the other members of the group will receive.

The class that I was attending was an IT class so we had the advantage of people who know all about such technology and how to set it up but, while we are still able to get out and about it might be a good idea to get someone who can to get you started.  Once you know how it is very easy to use.

Although most of my classmates have friends and family, many of them are not so local and if any member of the group was unable to go out, next door may as well be Australia so it would be good to have a little help close to home; a shopping bag left at the front door and someone to talk to.

I suggest that it would be a good idea for group members to at least swap telephone numbers when they attend their classes and day centres this week.  We need to make sure that we have as many ways to contact as many people as we can just in case we older people do find ourselves under Coronavirus house arrest for our own good. 

GK. Brockley

GK offers a little information about WhatsApp for beginners…

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…and how to set it up if you have a smart phone…

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