Wednesday 25 March 2020

Strange dreams

It has all become very surreal eh? I am lucky enough to be able to drive to my rural workshop to finish the last job I do before it all unfolds to some sort of conclusion, and nobody seems to know when that will be.

When I get home I join the long, spaced-out (in more ways than one) queue for the supermarket, which now has a one out, one in policyThat means that - once you are in - it is a positively serene experience compared to the last couple of weeks.

The weather is beautifully sunny here now, so I am working outside with only the sex-obsessed birds for company. The items I am working on are so big and heavy that I am trying to work out lifting systems to prepare them for delivery once they are finished, but this could depend on someone at the other end helping to offload them as we breath and pant all over each other with the effort, so they may have to stay with me until the aforementioned conclusion.

I think in general people are dealing with it very well, but it is scary to hear normally sober, high-ranking doctors admitting that they are terrified. There was a manufacturer of medical personal protection equipment saying today that she - before covid 19 - had offered her products to the managers of the hospital which is now at the epicentre of the British outbreak, only to be told that they were well stocked, so she sold them to Germany and another European country instead. They may have had good stocks, but not for a pandemic.

Oh well, all we can do is enjoy the sunshine, ride it out, be careful and hope for the best. Life has become like a strange dream.

28 comments:

  1. It is like it should be a book I am reading, not real life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There probably have been books written about pandemics.

      Delete
  2. Too true Tom - we just have to try and emulate the birds - enjoy the sunshine and obey the rules and takes what comes. Stay safe and yes thank you I did get your e mail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel sorry for the families living in urban high-rises.

      Delete
  3. 2020 will be a year nobody forgets easily. Some more than others, not least because of the possible baby boom next year - a friend thinks that they will be called "the coronials"!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It’s all very surreal isn’t it ? ..... it’s eerily quiet when out in the garden. I’ve done my back in after standing awkwardly in the greenhouse for too long negotiating thd garden furniture that was over wintered there. .... I now can hardly walk, but it should be better in a few days. At least we are having beautiful weather ! Keep well all of you. XXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bad backs are so debilitating. They make you feel so old, don't they?

      Delete
  5. Keep working...even if just drawing...
    Surreal is the word Pirate used a week ago...like a dream we need to wake from.
    Keep writing..you express what we are feeling much better than many.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I am lucky to be able to work so long as I have it.

      Delete
  6. Glad to hear you are not around people right now. It is surreal - I suppose until it affects you or someone close to you, then it becomes all too real. Last week we had friends who were saying they thought everything was being blown out of proportion! -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too many people thought it was being exaggerated, including some in governments.

      Delete
  7. Bath without all the tourists - strange indeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like I said before, it is like days on end of 1970s Sundays, but the people who are on the streets look at each other warily.

      Delete
  8. Markets here seem to have not implemented such a policy. There are signs at check stands stating that folk need to keep their distance when waiting to pay. Some observe the signs and some don't. It's a bit of tense experience. Not to mention that most shops are perpetually out of loo roll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have stopped using the cheaper supermarkets which don't implement the rules. Luckily, the one that does is a 30 second walk from my home.

      Delete
  9. It feels like being in a weird Steven King novel, doesn't it! Only someone like him could make this up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The strange thing is that my dreams are normal and mundane. It's only when I wake up that it all goes weird.

      Delete
  10. Stay well Tom. We shall find our way out of this twilight zone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My biggest fear is bring it home to H.I., but I am doing everything I can not to.

      Delete
  11. You seem happier and that is all to the good. Keep an eye on Bath for me, my son still lives and works there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that there are other things to think about than what previously made us unhappy. The weather helps too, but it is ironic that we have had months of foul weather and just when it improves we are told to stay in. I am one of the lucky ones with my isolated rural workshop.

      Delete
  12. Keep safe Thomas
    This world is much more an interesting place with you in it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The same applies to everyone I think, and it is times like this when we understand that.

      Delete
  13. Think of all the things we've seen in this life, Tom, and now this. And it's far from the worst the world has seen. I think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, my generation has been very lucky in terms of world wars etc, but other nations not so.

      Delete
  14. I totally agree with your last paragraph, Tom. But outside seems so serene now, if a bit surreal. One positive, I see that carbon dioxide emissions have fallen over the cliff edge at present. I'll bet munchkin Greta Thunberg is pleased!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Munchkin! I wish the present atmosphere of serenity applied to hospitals, but they refer to it as the calm before the storm.

      Delete