One of the most notable things about the current crisis is how easy it has become to use words such as crisis, pandemic, unprecedented… And another is how easy it is to speak of thousands of deaths as if each one of those statistics didn’t refer to a unique and cherished individual.
For me, another of the most notable aspects of the last few months is how much contact I’ve had with people all through this “social distancing” time.
Continue reading “far and near”
During this coronavirus lockdown, times and dates have become less important than they sometimes are for many of us.
For those who have been furloughed, normal office hours are irrelevant, while for those who are working from home, even early morning meetings seem to start later – the breakfast meetings I attend are at 9 instead of 7am – and since there’s no commuting time, there’s no need to set an alarm clock.
Continue reading “frustrated plans”
I don’t think that I’d really realised how Anglo-centric the UK news is until the recent lockdown. All the reports about recommendation, rules and regulations that I’ve seen are based on the law in England. But I have family in Wales and the rules there are rather different. For example, while here in England the once-a-day limit for exercise outside your home is merely a recommendation, in Wales it has actually been the law for some weeks.
Or has it? I’ve read the guidance on leaving home to exercise published by the Welsh government and although Regulation 8 section 2b says one of the reasonable excuses to leave home is “to take exercise, no more than once a day”, the guidance immediately continues “(or more frequently if this is needed because of a particular health condition or disability)”.
So you must only go out once a day, unless you need to go out more than once a day.
Continue reading “being reasonable”
I’ve been trying to get out for a walk most days recently, despite the lockdown and I’ve made sure to take a camera with me, or at least have my phone to hand. With fewer people around, I am thoroughly enjoying the quieter atmosphere as it gives me more space for thoughts.
So, having posted some bits and bobs of early poetry drafts recently, I think it’s time to go back to the sort of photography and musings that is the other mainstay of this blog. There wasn’t any particular plan or theme here when I started, but having juggled the sequence of pictures, I think I’ve found a bit of a narrative thread.
Continue reading “wandering and pondering”
Whether you think of it as a habit or a hobby, queuing is often seen as quintessentially British. And now, with social distancing a must, long lines of people waiting patiently have become a common sight outside the few essential shops that are still open.
Not only are such shops limiting the number of customers allowed in at one time, they’re also insisting customers shop singly. Which means that partners and housemates hang around the shop entrance alongside security guards, supermarket bouncers and trolley fetchers in disorderly groups that contrast greatly with the orderly, wide-gapped queues.
Continue reading “spaced out”
don't confuse the narrator 