Lockdown feels stupid. You can barely spend any time with friends and they’re not allowed in your house. Next Monday is the 6^th July and I’ll be inviting someone round to play Minecraft with me. I like it because it’s quite creational and I can build things. Sometimes I’m just thinking about what I can build next. In the beginning of lock-down I went to the park and did a bit of biking or we played football as a family, but sometimes, when Iona, my twin sister, doesn’t want someone to have the ball, she just lies on top of it and I have to kick it out from under her!

I really like football and play in the garden. We helped our dad make a patio here and it’s good for playing football because it’s quite flat. I practise skateboarding on it too, up and down, up and down. We helped by flattening the rubble out and spreading it all around so my dad could put slabs on it. It was a long job and I enjoyed helping but sometimes it got a bit boring so me and Iona started doing challenges like “biggest pile smashed down is a winner” and we even made pretend things out of the rubble as a game.

Recently I’ve been able to play a lot with my friends at the park. But football with friends, how do you social distance in that?! I would usually tackle because that’s my style. My dad always says “try to pass and shoot” and we mostly stay apart from each other but not always. One time I scored such a goal, I didn’t even expect it at all and it went right in – and my friend Louis, he swung me round like anything. He just doesn’t understand social distancing. A lot of people run around like lock-down isn’t a thing, like it’s a legend. I think it’s ok though ‘cause it’s near to the end of it. Schoolchildren are going back to school so they’re already learning and mixing.

 I don’t like going to school at home ‘cause I like my proper teacher. Dad pushes us quite hard and mum is just so relaxed. My real teacher has done 2 videos though. Because I’ve finished all my maths sheet she said I’ll get a charter star when we get back to school so I was pleased. I’ve done a bit of skype video with my friends but I kind of don’t like it – seeing your friend but on a screen, like your friend turns out to be a computer.I’m looking forward to going back to school, I’ll be able to see my friends for real, every day.

I quite like going on walks and it’s been good now that I can go with a friend.  Mum loves to walk and I take my bike quite a lot. Iona and I both got new bikes in lockdown. My friend Louis loves the steep hill but I love it more, I like going on really fast stuff; when I’m coming down the hill like that it feels like I’m flying.

One of our gerbils, Brownie, has died in lockdown. We were watching a programme about people escaping from their homes, and then we found her. I felt sad and wondered if she got a gerbil virus. I carried her to the grave and we planted a sunflower over her because gerbils like sunflower seeds and Brownie liked them very much.

By Will, age 7 yrs, July 2020

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