It seems half the world is under some sort of lockdown right now. In the UK we are allowed out for 'essential' trips that can include getting to work, shopping for food and daily exercise. The last one may be under threat from people going overboard with trips out. Just today Scotland's chief medical office resigned when it was revealed she had make a couple of trips to her holiday home. I am still taking the train to work as I cannot do it from home yet. There are just a few of us in my office, so I do not see many.
We are fortunate in having a big garden and so can spend lots of time outside when the weather is good. Many people do not have a garden or even a balcony. Being cooped up is not good.
@theycallmedan kicked off the #WhenCoronaEnds challenge. There are a few things I am really missing.
Meeting up with family
My parents do not live too far from us as so we can see them at least once a month. They are staying in as they are in the most vulnerable age bracket and so are many of their friends. They are getting a bit bored with this. Luckily modern technology means we can do a video chat and we have been doing this most days with my sister's family connecting from Scotland. I expect a lot of families will have some sort of party when they can meet up again.
This is back in the 70s.
I will not post pictures of my own kids to respect their privacy.
Playing music at the pub
For quite a few years now I have been involved in some pub jam sessions where a crowd of us get together to play each other songs and quite often play some together. This has inspired me to play much more and even write a few songs. I know the others are also missing this weekly experience. We have tried to get by with some on-line sessions. It is not viable to actually play together on-line as there is always a slight delay, but we have experimented with doing a virtual 'open mic night'. One was was for people to upload videos and then use a Facebook 'Watch Party' to watch them together whilst posting comments. That works quite well. We also tried live-streaming using Zoom, but audio quality was very variable.
One I did for our virtual open mic.
I have a duo with a clarinettist and we had hoped to get some more gigs this year.
I feel for those who make a living from live performance. Many are streaming stuff, but that may not make them much.
Running with others
I am quite happy running on my own, but it is good to get out with others as it can push you to try harder or you can just chat. I was hoping to get to 50 parkruns this year and explore some other courses, but that is all on hold. I was due to be running a half-marathon next month, but that is off too.
Completing my first half marathon in 2018.
I know a lot of people are really into things like parkrun. Hundreds turn up to some events and the volunteers do an amazing job. Nobody is getting paid for it, but they will turn out in all weathers. I helped out once when it was windy and raining. I can tell you it is not a lot of fun, but the runners really appreciated it.
Life after lockdown
I do wonder what changes we will see when we come out the other side. This is not likely to be until infections have really dropped and they are still on the rise in most places. More people will want to work from home. Many businesses will fail unless they can get government support. No doubt some will profit from control of essential resources, by hoarding or from government handouts. We need to ensure money goes to those who really need it and what is essential may come into question.
In the UK we have the ruling Conservative party saying how valuable our Nations Health Service is after they have been trying to privatise it or just run it down for years. That has left it under-equipped to cope. Withdrawing from the EU is not helping as it reduces our access to shared resources. Actually they should still be available until the end of the year, but they will not want to be seen to depend on them to save face.
Meanwhile in the USA, Brazil and other countries you have leaders who spout pseudo-science or try to deny the scale of the problem. I get that the economy is fragile, but we have to find ways to cope with a slow-down. We know rampant free markets are damaging the planet, so it is an opportunity to find alternatives. These politicians also care a lot about their chances of getting re-elected. Making promises to get people back to churches or work too soon sets false expectations and would cause far more deaths if they happen. Trump is saying they would do well to having only 100,000 deaths, but it could be millions if he had got his way initially. Now he wants all the credit, but none of the responsibility for failures. He continually tries to blame the previous administration, the press or the opposition. What happened to 'the buck stops here'? We need brave politicians, not just those who make the most popular decisions.
My Hive friends mean a lot to me. I have met many of you in person and I wish you all well. I hope we can meet again once this is over in whatever world we have then.
We are in the day 27 of the lockdown and the last time I went out of my home (to send a parce for my work, 2 weeks ago) I felt myself like a survivor in a post apocalyptic movie. It was a bad sensation and I think I'll feel the same when the lockdown will end. I'm pretty sure I'll have to learn again how to live in a "normal" situation ;) Warm hugs, dear Steve!
That's really hard to cope with. I hope things are improving in Italy. Maybe some good will come out of it. People may appreciate their neighbours now. Another thing is that we may have tidier homes :)
I can totally respect and appreciate all of your choices. I think a lot of people share those same sentiments! Very nice post!
I consider myself fortunate to be healthy and relatively free to get out, but I'll be glad when this is over.
Awesome article, really enjoyed it :)
At first glance, i thought your dad was you haha.
Cheers. Of course I miss meetups of our little community too. We'll have to get back together when it's allowed.
Absolutely. I think there was one brewing before Lady Corona showed up.
We (South Africa) are on day 12 of what will be, I am sure, a more than 21 day lock down. We are not permitted to exercise. It's also taken this long - in the village - for folk in the poorer area to take it seriously. In parts of the country it's virtually impossible to practise social distancing. I will be writing about this in an upcoming and follow up post in a series of rants and ramblings about the pandemic.
Be well
That's grim. I hope things improve soon.
It's hard to say when the lock down is going to end - I feel its going to take at least couple of months.
When Corona ends - remain keeping 6 feet away from me. Thank you.
Attitudes to disease may change. Coronavirus is not the only one or there. Just keep washing your hands.
Agreed, it'll be interesting to see how attitudes will change. Just practice good hygiene practices and you should be fine, indeed.
Hopefully there aren't many people on the train now and you can plenty of space to yourself. Take care
Only about 5 or 6 per carriage lately, so we can space out. I'm just wary of anyone who is coughing.
Roll on normality!
Love the '70s photo,
If the Wuhan-disease is a bio-weapon, as many indications show, then there will not be an "after Corona ends" for several years.
However, even if the Wuhan-disease is not a bio-weapon, the world-wide supply chains have all been cut. Things are not going back to normal.
Most businesses are now dead.
The world is not going back to having large, crowded get togethers.
There can be something between normality and apocalypse. It's a shake-up for the world that could still kill millions, but civilisation will survive.
We have things in common. Am hoping to return to my normal life back, socializing and visiting like before this pandemic
I miss running, too! Cooped up at home, I sometimes feel like I am going to fly through the roof because of how restless I become. Hopefully this lockdown will be eased soon.
@tipu curate🤞
Not sure why tipu is not curating -- sorry! @steevc
Don't worry. I can't complain about my rewards.
Holy wowsers! Congratulations! @steevc💰
Tweeted for #posh