Coronavirus diary, Saturday 21 March

Life at Sunrise, and probably in all residential homes, seems to be calm and slow moving. All of us are over 80 - the oldest, Celia, is 103 and Ray, on our restaurant table, has just celebrated his 100th birthday. Days pass at a well ordered, leisurely pace. We sit in the 'parlour', deep in our own thoughts. There is little conversation. 

The somnambulant routine is broken three times a day when we plod with our walking aids or sticks to the restaurant. Even here, there is little conversation. But if life is quiet and subdued it is not dull. Sunrise has a daily activities and entertainment programme that encourages us to 'liven up', to enjoy the company rather than live in our own little world. It includes trips in the Sunrise coach, now stopped. 

The floods in Pontypridd, February 2020. Photo: BBC

Unprecedented is the word most used to describe the total upheaval the pandemic has caused here and throughout the world. A few weeks ago, the news was dominated by devastating floods and the sad plight of families whose homes had been devastated, their lives turned upside down. Now every person in the country is suffering. We are all part of a disaster, unforeseeable and unthinkable. 

We old people have lived through difficult and dangerous times with our personal and family problems and the effects of wars and emergencies, but this is the most frightening, unnerving time in our lives. For us in Sunrise, probably our last home, it has become lonelier, with visits from friends and families banned. But we are fortunate, more so than millions of others of our generation are, trapped in their homes, many with no family, uncertain as to whom they can rely on for help even in getting their food. We have our carers who are carrying on, helpful and cheerful, reassuring us and easing our worries. How will we cope over the coming months? We will see. 

Today, despite the government's efforts to slow the extent and the effect of the epidemic and the measures taken, costing countless billions, there are inevitable complaints from those who feel they have been left out. If the plan is to work it is critical the money gets to businesses and the public urgently - in days, not weeks.