WHEN faced with the task of writing this week’s column, I thought long and hard about which subject to tackle.

The truth of the matter is there really is only one thing occupying our minds currently.

That and the factors surrounding it.

It is getting harder to even remember a time before coronavirus, a time when we were free to roam and to hug our family and friends and a time before any of us even knew what furlough meant.

I cannot believe just over month ago we were celebrating my son’s birthday with a big group of his pals playing football together and scoffing pizza with his uncle, cousins and grandparents present and enjoying a happy occasion together.

That feels like a distant dream now as we roll towards the fifth week of lockdown.

I hope you and any other members of your household are still doing OK and keeping well.

We have fallen into a strange new rhythm in our house, with each day feeling extremely long at first, then somehow just whizzing by – time does seem to be flying.

Most mornings we are up and out for some sort of exercise, which I am taking as a massive positive.

While my other half and I do like to do something fitness-based fairly regularly, separately I might add, in case your mind has just dropped into the gutter, never have we forced ourselves on to our bikes or out for a run on a daily basis.

That hour outside now seems so precious and, on the odd days we miss it, we are kicking ourselves by bedtime.

Often now, all three of us exercise together, which was also completely unheard of before the pandemic, so that is kind of lovely too.

Obviously we went outside as a family, but never just to exercise, so go us.

There is a yin to this yang mind you, as we do tend to spend the rest of the day on the scrounge for food, foraging in the cupboards or rummaging in the fridge and I am the worst offender by far.

I have always had a big appetite and was guilty of planning my next meal while eating the one proceeding it anyway, lockdown or no lockdown, but my passion for eating seems to have ramped up to a whole new level in the past four weeks.

It almost feels like the Christmas holidays in a way, as we seem to be justifying our excessive food intake as an acceptable means of getting through the crisis.

There are certainly treats in our house usually only purchased around the festive season, that is for sure.

Crisps and chocolate seem to be our (OK my) biggest weakness right now and I know I am going to have to knock it on the head soon or I will need to be rolled out of my home by the time all this is done and dusted.

I even stooped as low as panic-buying on a well-known chocolatier’s website the other night, the one who makes the gold bunnies at Easter, just in case I could not get any at the supermarket.

There was a minimum spend on the site so I ended up with a substantial order landing on my doorstep a few days later.

I felt a little bit disgusted with myself when I opened it and stared at the beautiful bars and boxes before me.

The smell emanating from the package alone was quite intoxicating.

There was only one thing for it and, before I could change my mind, I shoved half of my order (just half, mind) into a carrier bag and marched it up to the ambulance station on Old Shoreham Road to help the paramedics through their long shifts.

It is not just the easy-to-grab snacks I am filling my face with as I have also rediscovered baking.

Baking is not only quite a relaxing and time consuming activity, perfect for occupying my eight-year-old, but it also comes with the massive bonus of there being cake at the end of it.

Chocolate cake, Victoria sponge, brownies, scones – you name it we have baked it, although with varying success I might add.

The best thing about lockdown baking is you have no one to impress, so if it is a bit ropey, slightly overdone or comes out with a soggy bottom, who cares?

Just get the kettle on, grab a fork (I like my cake with a fork, OK) and dig right in.

At the moment I am managing to keep a bit of a check on the amount of cake I eat in any one day, and it is not yet replacing actual meals, but we could have a few weeks left indoors, so it is only a matter of time.

Today I discovered my husband has hidden a bowl of chocolate truffles he got for Easter on the top shelf of the fridge, covered in foil.

He does not know I know. I will leave that surprise for when he discovers the empty bowl.