I now have some male contacts in my call-circles - overall there are now nearly a hundred of us in the local area with rotating lists of between 15-25 contacts. These seem to be helping most people including those of us making the calls.
A few anecdotal observations follow:

1/

Firstly, #clapforourkeyworkers is hugely important in reminding people that we are one community, not just a few connected clusters within a community. It seems insufficient in terms of gratitude, and many are determined to do more once this is over - let's hope we can.

2/

Secondly, conversational topics can & do vary wildly, from the mundane to the intense, from the cordial to, frankly, risque and beyond. There is almost no party-political element, but there is widespread discontent at government handling of this issue across all demographics.

3/

Thirdly, lockdown. There is no frustration or irritation at the need for lockdown with most people fully expecting:
-Lockdown until summer
-No school until at least September
-Stricter conditions
It is not easy, but it is accepted as a necessity by the vast majority locally.

4/

Fourth - policing. We are seeing an increase in police presence in the village, seemingly dealing with the same clusters of individuals/families repeatedly. On the whole, the police activity is welcomed and the broad consensus is that these individuals are wasting resources.

5/

Finally - the measures we put in place early help to maintain a level of interaction/engagement above expectations, enabling people to talk openly about their fears and not try to 'tough it out' alone.
It also allows for the sharing of ideas and support with homeschooling.

6/

We know that we won't all come through this.
We know that we will have to say some premature goodbyes.
We know that life will assume a new 'normal' stage-by-stage as we strive to overcome this.

What matters is that by staying connected *we* know, because *we* are together.

/End