OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

Our local police station is back at work and the latest crime statistics for our area came through for May. One burglary and one robbery in our street alone (it’s not a long street). The list is long, and scary. Crime-wise, lockdown is truly over.

Deep sigh. We soldier on.

Home office.

The day began with reading and computer work in bed. The Cats, of course, right in the middle of the action. No one offered to make me coffee. But I have been thinking about moving the coffee machine to the bedroom, especially in winter, when getting out of the bed is becoming more difficult as the days go by. And by tomorrow, a storm is supposed to reach us. I might light a fire…

Big day today. On the way to town, I had to park next to the road to take a phone call; the view was spectacular, as always. Ah, Cape Town! I went to pick up some books and my book vouchers (including a gift from my love, who knows that “when I have a little money, I buy books; when there is some left, I buy food”) from Clarke’s and the Book Lounge. First time in a bookshop since around mid-March. I was very impressed with the health safety precautions in both shops, and felt physically as safe as one possibly can nowadays. But emotionally, I was overcome by a sense of nostalgia that I haven’t experienced anywhere else during lockdown.

I decided to use my book vouchers for Christmas when, hopefully, the market picks up again and bookshops don’t have to fight as hard for survival, and I paid for my books today. Every little bit helps. Salieri approved of my choices. She thinks that it is very good for me to read feminist texts; it makes her life as the matriarch of our household easier.

Apart from the book excursion and a Skype call with Mom and Krystian over lunch, the day was devoted to work. At the end of the afternoon, I phoned a friend; I had missed her voice and laughter.

Dinner was from the Alma Café. There is a lemon meringue pie in my house again, one-third of it already missing… And I can’t blame that on The Cats.

Today’s drawing was inspired by a roughly 700-year-old flying cat, posted on Twitter by the medieval monster hunter – well, in this case, the medieval flying cat hunter – Damien Kempf, whose latest book continues to delight my family and their friends in Austria. The second edition of Medieval Monster Hunter is being prepared for publication, so grab a copy while you can.

My flying creature is, naturally, a flying rat. This was long before SpaceX, when we could only explore the universe by imagination…

Tonight, I am going to bed with Ms Rebecca Solnit. I know I will be in the best of intellectual hands.

Good night.

Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Stay at home.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD