Nineteen The Covid Diaries – More of the Same
Every day, reading, writing, a walk, a meal, telly. That’s it, not being able to tell if it’s Sunday or Wednesday, taking things very slowly and looking forward to the small things. Meal times have become an occasion, the very focus of our lives. I have to remember to savour every mouthful, not for the flavour, but for the time taken to chew, to taste, to swallow. I think of prison inmates with little variation to pass the time, how they must recalibrate themselves to a whole new setting, that is governed by meal times, exercise, games room, reading, films and lights out. How to stretch each activity and shorten each minute. On our daily walk we have met a…
Nineteen The Covid Diaries – Street Etiquette
My daily exercise involves a walk with the family for about an hour, maybe 80 minutes. We trundle the streets, taking photographs of Joseph beside road signs. There aren’t that many people out and even less in the locations we end up. The people that we see are wary, a keep a safe distance type of wary. Each time that I pass someone, we both ensure that we hug the furthest edges of our space, without actually crossing the road, and also without seeming that we are doing so. This is because we both assume that the other person is infected, which they might be. However, the fact they they think that I am infected is quite frankly preposterous. I…
Covid Times
I’m doing what we’re all doing, sitting at home whiling away the time. I’ve been a bit creative, not as much as I should, but a bit nonetheless. Nick sent me some lyrics to do with his take on the epidemic. So I wrote a chorus, and chucked it all into a tune. It’s called The Spoils, it’s our first song written in these Covid times and it might be a runner. I’ve sent my ideas back to Nick to see what he thinks. Other than that, we had Let’s Party played on Radio Reverb, and a blogger called Barbara Fava fmx has put Nice Guys into a playlist. She’s got over 21,000 listeners on Instagram, so let’s hope some…
Nineteen The Covid Diaries – Joe Wick
Today I did the 30 minute Joe Wick workout. Yes I know, I succumbed. Well it was either that or running up and down the stairs, which is so uninspiring. Besides I’m starting to feel lardy, sort of inert, the living embodiment of a suet pudding. So I needed to do something and everyone else is doing Joe Wick. Now 30 minutes doesn’t sound too bad, especially as there’s a reasonable break between each routine. First came the warm up , stretching, bending, gently pushing your body to the edges of its flexibility. The problem with this is that firstly I realise just how decrepit and inflexible I’ve become and secondly after the warm up I was already breathing heavily.…
Nineteen The Covid Diaries – Get it Early and Get it Over
So Mr Johnson has Covid 19 as has Matt Hancock and goodness knows who else in parliament. One wonders if his boast of “I’m still shaking hands was a good idea?” It will not be for all those whose hands he shook, especially if they get very ill or die. His attitude seems to be one of get it early and get it over. Fine providing you don’t die, but for many this feels reckless, that inviting the virus is inviting more deaths, both in the short run and the long run. Certainly there will be an early spike, then the benefits of hoped for herd immunity. But testing, social distancing, isolation, these things work, China and South Korea show…
Nineteen the Covid Diaries – Ripples
They lap against the beach, gently whispering, caressing, at first just the one, a blackbird’s call in the mist a beautiful unexpected chorus from somewhere unseen. It was the first call of the day, a wake up siren, it was also the first call for Polly and Carmen, their shift to save as many as possible, from the unseen fingers that probed at the eyes and clawed the lungs of the vulnerable. The gentle lapping was a warm welcome, a sign that they were noticed, first they saw her standing alone at the edge of the road, hands clapping together, eyes bright, cheek muscles flexed, mouth corners raised. A gentle ripple, that welcomed ushered them onward ever so softly. Then…
Nineteen The Covid Diaries – Construction Workers
They seem to be out and about, apparently they are crowded onto tube trains in London, are they essential, shouldn’t they be at home like the rest of us? And if they are out maintain the recommended distance. My uncle says that we should compare the droplets in the air of Covid 19 as more like mist than smoke. Imagine the fine mist from a water sprayer and that it could carry on the breeze. This makes a lot more sense. I queued today at a supermarket and managed to get 9 loo rolls, pertinent because one of the souvenir shops on North Street was profiteering by selling a packs of 9 loo rolls for 7 pounds. Isn’t there something…
Jolly Brewer Gig
We played this back in February, when we were still allowed to do gigs. It was really good, maybe 70 people all having fun. They do a great job of the sound for a pub, and they managed to fit us all neatly into the corner. Not that this stopped me from being out there with the audience. An energetic set left me knackered by the end. Being a pub this was also the first time that I could see the audience, which was really cool. It sort of ups your game and gives you that buzz of seeing that you are being appreciated. Matty was also pleased with our performance and has said that he will have us back…
Nineteen the Covid Diaries – Ten a Time
That’s how many they are letting into M&S and Waitrose. There are queues not vast, maybe 6 or 7 people, mostly keeping a safe distance, chevrons neatly laid out, I expect to see a braking distance message. At Morrison’s there are no queues and the shop had quite a few customers in it. Enough that we felt more uneasy than we should have done. Again most people seemed to be social distancing, but some were oblivious. What is wrong with these people? I could come up with many theories, but it depresses me to consider how selfish people can be. We managed to find potatoes and were out swiftly paying by card. Which brings me to something else, the use…
19 Boris Announces
I watched Johnson’s announcement last night and wasn’t surprised by anything he said, which in itself should be a surprise. Banning us from leaving the house except to get essential supplies, or to exercise once a day. None of this was a shock, maybe because some of our European friends are already in this situation. At least we have their experiences to learn from, in a sense we know what is around the corner, optimistically therefore we can make a better fist of it than they do. The pessimist says, it will still be dreadful, you can’t wage war against an enemy you can’t see. I asked my son Joseph what he thought about the Prime Minister’s announcement. “Annoyed, but…