We catch up with some more of our furloughed colleagues to see how they’re keeping busy during these strange times.

JULIA EARLY from Stagecoach
Having worked for the past 32 years, with a five week break when I had my son, it felt very strange to suddenly not be in a routine. Being incredibly fond of a good list I decided to start sorting my house.

I live in a five bedroom Victorian house, which is the family home, with my mother on the ground floor, me on the first floor and my son in the open loft. I decorated my front room, cleared the back garden and created an allotment and then decorated the downstairs WC.

Not content with organising my own life I started on my sister and successfully cleared her garden and loft. As furlough extended I started new projects and will now start on my son’s room which is a huge loft conversion.

I have also been baking a lot but have taken up yoga with Anika (to keep the weight down) and we meet up at least once a week in the back garden with friends and family.

I miss my friends from work though and using my brain as it’s all been very physical. Oh yes I have nearly completed The Avengers full set too. Hope everyone is well and I look forward to returning to some semblance of normality soon.

AMELIA SCHILLER from The Strand office
I was extremely lucky to escape London just before lockdown was implemented all those months (years) ago, for the simple fact that, had I stayed, my sister (whom I live with) and I may have come to blows. I have instead spent my furlough rusticating with my parents in an isolated Wiltshire village.

With two lively pups and one gracefully ageing Jack Russell, we may be isolated, but it’s certainly not been quiet. Come rain or shine, our twice daily long walks have added a definitive structure to my days and it has been lovely to see my two terrier terrors grow up firsthand. I’ve definitely met some neighbours I’ve never seen before even though we’ve lived here for over 15 years!

Despite the slow internet in the sticks, I have completed a few free business courses online and am looking into some commercial/ entertainment law modules. I have also been following a consistent daily workout schedule, which has done wonders for my mental health – God bless Chloe Ting. Besides this, the time has given me the chance to help plan my sister’s wedding next year to her First Dates tweed wearing fiancé (they met on the Channel 4 show!) – any suggestions for any good London Hen Dos would be gratefully received.

Like many others, furlough has also forced me to think of myself apart from my work. So often as professionals, general conversation and small talk especially, is driven with updates on our working lives. It has been refreshing to touch on and explore other subjects with family, friends and colleagues – one of the small positives that I can take away from this experience.

The best part by far of my furlough experience though, sadly, has been buying a Vax carpet cleaner. If that doesn’t tell you that I need to get out more, I don’t know what will!