Quarantine Diaries with Jo Mayer

Jo Mayer shares her life under lockdown in the UK. Jo is the Head of Marketing across the Tank Storage Portfolio & shares her top tips whilst in lockdown.

What are your top tips for staying home?

Enjoy the unexpected freedom of having time to be around family. My twin 18 year olds who rarely spoke pre-lockdown as they were too busy with their friends have turned out to be incredibly fun and articulate and enjoyable company! Also, have some kind of routine – even if it’s not the routine I tried in week 2 where every morning I got up, showered, full make up and office dress. That’s not lasted but I am doing yoga each morning and this week have been able to go to the local coffee shop for a takeaway cappuccino!

How are you helping the community?

I haven’t signed up for anything specific but we talk to all our neighbours and are open for dog walking, shopping if needed. We knew a lot of our neighbours before but another positive of lockdown is how we’ve started to get to know a wider circle of people too.

Are you doing any exercise?

My wonderful yoga studio Hot Yoga Peckham went virtual early on so I’ve been trying to do a class at least 5 days a week. I stopped running as I became overwhelmed by the number of joggers who suddenly appeared but have been walking a lot and racked up 13.1 miles a few weeks ago to replace the Hackney Half marathon which I’d signed up to but is now postponed to 2021.

What have you been baking?

I leave all the baking to my daughters but I’ve been cooking a lot and I’m most satisfied when I can concoct something edible out of what’s left in the fridge especially if I can make it taste nice! We’ve just discovered a brilliant fish delivery service who always used to come to our area but we were always at work so missed out – I’ve now got a freezer of monkfish, salmon, smoked haddock and dover sole that I need to do something with!

What are you currently watching?

What are you reading?

I’m a big book lover but found it hard to concentrate on reading at the start of lockdown. This is getting better and also helped as I’m part of a book club. I’ve just finished Meg Worlitzer, The Interestings and am in the middle of  Sapiens which gives you a real perspective on how briefly we’ve been on this earth.

What are you most looking forward to?

I really miss seeing friends and family. Whilst friends are easier as we’ve done lots of socially isolated catch ups it’s harder with family who are spread all over the world. This is where Zoom is coming in to its own! I never thought I’d say it but I also miss the buzz of the office and being able to bounce ideas off each other and just have a laugh!