Lois Gallagher, 40, works as a psychologist. Her husband David Titmas, 39, is a marketing and communications manager and both work in the non-profit sector. They have two daughters, Bethia, 8, and Amala, 12. The family lives in a flat with a small garden in Islington, north of London.

We were in the second nationwide lockdown in London until 2 December. Strict restrictions have been in place again since 19 December and with the new mutation, the situation is extremely tense in the capital. For a fortnight we were able to go to restaurants, the theatre, ice skating and so on, but now everything is closed again and our plans to celebrate the last day of school with a meal in a restaurant and to go to the theatre with the whole family at Christmas have been cancelled. Many people were still trying to leave the city on Saturday evening - those were spooky scenes.

Fortunately, schools have been open again since the beginning of September. My older daughter is in distance learning for the last three days of the quarter and certain classes at my younger daughter's school have also been sent on holiday early due to coronavirus cases in the respective bubbles (in England, so-called fixed support bubbles are formed for people to meet up with if they don't live in a Tier 4 zone, i.e. in complete house arrest). We are currently in a Tier 4 zone and I think the whole of England could soon be in complete lockdown again.

We both work from home most of the time. David works upstairs in our bedroom and I work in the living room. So far, I've usually been to our practice once a week to talk to particularly fragile patients. I work for a non-profit organisation that looks after young adults who are caring for seriously ill family members. It's very difficult for them and they need my support. I cycle to the office to avoid public transport. The rest of the week I look after them from home by phone.

At the weekend, I sometimes meet up with a friend for a walk in the park. The rules about who you can meet where and how change all the time, and currently you're not supposed to see anyone. My husband and I always think carefully about what we are allowed to do and what makes sense so that we can still see our friends, but in a safe environment. So we've sometimes had a glass of wine outside the front door or on a park bench - after all!

Our daughters were both in distance learning from March to June. Amala was able to finish primary school locally in June and prepare for the transition to secondary school. Her teachers went to great lengths and organised a graduation ceremony in the playground with the necessary distance. The parents were connected via screen.

Fortunately, schools remained open during the second lockdown in autumn and, unlike in spring, the playgrounds were not closed either. There are restrictions at school: No singing, no group sports, but I'm glad the children can at least go to school. Bethia also wants to go to the playground every day after school, which is unfortunately very full at the moment. Islington has very little green space compared to other areas in London, so there are a lot of children in the playgrounds. Even when it rains and gets dark early, the children are outside playing and the parents are chatting as best they can. Indoor playdates are prohibited.

Because of the rules, both girls had to celebrate their birthdays alone at home, there were no parties. I turned 40 in October and was allowed to go out to eat in a restaurant with six people. I also went to see an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery on my birthday. Originally I wanted to organise a big party for my milestone birthday, but in the end I was very happy to be able to celebrate at least a little. You learn to appreciate the simple things more again.

I feel very exhausted. The government changes the rules every few weeks and I don't always find it easy to adapt our family life to the detailed rules. I don't feel threatened by Covid myself, but I have friends who are still recovering after being hospitalised due to corona - so it's not to be underestimated. My sister is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and she has to go to every treatment alone because her immune system could be severely jeopardised by visits. I feel very sorry for her.

My daughter is struggling to settle into sixth form. There are so many rules and the situation is tense. There are no extracurricular clubs for sports or music and so it is difficult for her to arrive and make friends. Many students or teachers have been sent into quarantine every week.

The only good thing I can take from the situation is actually the deceleration. I am happy to have less commuting in London and we are enjoying our local neighbourhood more. We've got to know our neighbours better and observed some nice details: How the trees in our street are changing, for example. In our neighbourhood, we went shopping for sick friends or acquaintances in quarantine - it brought us closer together and strengthened our sense of community.

We had actually planned a meal with my brother and his partner for Christmas. I was really looking forward to finally being able to cook for someone again. A neighbour was even kind enough to let us use her flat so that the two of them could sleep there. But now everything is different again with the new lockdown and we're keeping to ourselves. On New Year's Eve, we only wanted to celebrate with the four of us anyway, so it's staying that way. We're planning a Zoom party with our extended family and we all want to dress up à la "Strictly Come Dancing", a well-known TV dance programme.

We have several friends in London who have contracted the virus. One of them was in hospital for several weeks and is still recovering. Fortunately, we have never been in quarantine ourselves.

During the lockdowns, we did some online courses, such as sport with Joe Wicks. My daughters collect all the empty toilet rolls and muesli packets and make waste models out of them. We try to move as much as we can and spend as little time in front of the screen as possible, but we can't do without it completely. I've stopped counting how many cakes we've baked ... I meditate and do yoga every morning, which is extremely good for me.

We are looking forward to the vaccination and are proud of the development team in Oxford. My husband and I both studied in Oxford. One of the vaccines is already being used here; my 90-year-old grandmother and my sister will certainly be vaccinated first. My mother-in-law has lung disease and has been in isolation all year, so hopefully she'll get it soon too.

I sing in a choir and really miss singing, especially concerts. I miss going to the theatre and the big city life in London. I miss my friends and support with the children from our parents.

I really hope that we can go swimming with our children somewhere in Europe in summer 2021, perhaps in the south of France or Italy. Despite Brexit and corona, I would like to travel across the English Channel again.

I firmly hope that we take better care of each other and the environment. For the sake of our children, we need to radically rethink the future!