LOCKDOWN BOTTOM

Hurray, super, wonderful, great – tomorrow is D Day!  We’re out of lockdown!

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

With restrictions, of course.  Here in France, we’ve been told – although the finer points can change, as ever – that we can travel up to 100km from our homes, as the crow flies.  Are we meant to check that out on Google maps and if we stray just a few km outside our personal zone, could we be fined?  No, of course not, I’m being silly and sarcastic, I can see the reasons behind this.

Inevitably and to put a huge damper on our hopes, there’s the  prediction/promise of a second wave, maybe more.  So we mustn’t get too excited.  The powers that be want to keep us contained in an effort to halt the spread of CV19 until we’ve all had it, silently or otherwise or they’ve found a vaccine, which could, no should, if it’s to be adequately tested, take years.  Oh, I’d forgotten, we will be allowed unlimited travel within our own department.  Not sure about that one, but then I’m not sure about lots of things these days.

A DAMP SQUIB

Having said that, one thing I am sure of is how disheartened, disincentivised and lethargic I feel.   There no longer seems much point to life.  With Leaf’s dramatic downturn, all I can see is more frustration, distress and exhaustion ahead.  And with everything so up in the air, why make any plans at all?  Now, if anyone tells me to ‘live in the moment’, I’ll scream.  We all need at least one event, visit or outing to look forward to.  Or, for that matter, at least one project to sink our creative teeth into.

As for the predicted second wave, well that puts the kibosh on re-building our lives and re-awakening our enthusiasm.  And for those who’ve lost everything and can hardly even feed their families, the prospects for the future must be utter hell.  How they can expected to pick themselves off, dust themselves off etc, I do not know.  They can’t.  Small businesses will be a thing of the past which is an utter tragedy in all sorts of ways.  And unemployment will plunge untold millions into extreme poverty.  My heart goes out to them.

Why am I letting all this out?  Because I think there must be millions of others who feel exactly as I do but say nothing.  I know, there are those ‘jolly lucky’ folks who are enjoying the lockdown, who have nothing to lose and have no problems with their fellow inmates.  That’s wonderful for them but I’m willing to bet they’re in the minority.  The rest of us are struggling in a myriad of ways, trying to keep our spirits up and getting on with it, which is another matter altogether.

HAD ENOUGH?

So to all of you readers who are feeling really down, you’re not alone.

I haven’t been completely useless, I’ve managed a few jobs here and there with non-help from Leaf and the clearing of the gite ready for our future helper, whenever that might be and whoever they may be, is going well.  So that’s something to work towards.

The sooner there is someone else to help carry the burden, the better.  As I think I mentioned before, Leaf was totally demoralised when his painting exhibition had to be postponed, until God knows when people can go to such events.  For the first month at least, he couldn’t go near the studio, but recently he has and, oh so sadly, he can’t do it any more.  All he can do splodge the paint all over the place, making one helluva mess and ruining the paints in the process.  It’s painful to see and yet I know I have to encourage him.  I long for the day when he abandons it altogether.  It’s heartbreaking that he has passed the phase of producing lovely work.  Luckily he doesn’t seem to realise it, which is one godsend.

THOSE HEYDAYS ARE GONE

As for me,  whenever I can I’ve been furiously surfing the net and browsing the mainstream news as well as articles and videos that are controversial and, in these days of censorship, are taken down as soon as interested parties feel threatened in any way.  Freedom of speech has gone out of the window, it seems.  What’s even worse is that those of us who are actually interested in hearing the counter viewpoint are vilified along with the so-called conspiracy theorists!  We must absolutely not ask questions, we must take everything we’re told on trust.

Aside from the continuing differences of opinion about the origin of the virus, just how virulent it is, whether there’s a sinister agenda behind it etc. practical matters such as ways of coping with its existence still have the medics, scientists and virologists disagreeing with each other.  So what the hell are the rest of us meant to deduce from this?  The experts are permanently foxed; the white coats are scratching their heads over this new strain of coronavirus allied to SARS and MERS etc.  That it’s a nasty strain is evident according to those who have experienced it.  As for those who haven’t survived, a big question mark hangs over all sorts of issues there.  More and more medics on the front line are speaking out and they have a lot to say about what’s going on.  So, putting all this to one side, what is the current opinion on how we can protect ourselves and others from the virus which we might, along with hundreds of other viruses, be carrying with no symptoms?

PERHAPS ALLERGY SUFFERERS LIKE ME SHOULD TRY ONE OF THESE?

Quite simply, the advice continues to be to wear a mask when around others (for their sake and comfort) but take it off and breathe in good air as soon as possible.  It’s no fun when suffering from seasonal allergies, as I do, but we have to grin and bear it.  Those who saw the press conference video with two Californian doctors, would possibly be surprised by what they had to say about masks.   Be that as it may, next week the mayors of each commune will be distributing them to every household.

As for social distancing, this is what most of us responsible people do if we have a cold – ideally we stay at home so as not to spread our germs.   But with CV19 we are told we can be silent carriers therefore, in consideration of others, we accept this one.  Hand washing is something we should do regularly anyway.  As for rubber gloves, I’m undecided about that.

SERIOUSLY ANTI-SOCIAL – EXCEPT IN CHINA OF COURSE (now there’s a thought!)

They may be ‘relaxing’ the isolation but we’ll be restricted and not just vis-a-vis travel zones.  If we wish to visit friends or have them visit us, we would be expected to communicate out of doors unless we wear a mask.  Imagine sitting round the kitchen table, lifting your mask every time you want a sip of coffee!  Out of doors of course, we’ll have to hope that, if unmasked, a brisk wind doesn’t get up and swoosh our spit all over the place.  I presume restaurants and bars won’t be opened again until mask-wearing is no longer considered necessary!  Terrific!

It’s clear we’re facing an uncertain future – an understatement!  One we could never have envisaged and one that could go either way – hitherto unheard-of control in the West – something along the lines of China – or a great new start.  Tragically, we’re told we must expect the former.

DRIP BY TOXIC DRIP

Gradually news of a scenario we must get used to is being drip-fed to us. The below details are no secret to those who have been keeping an eye on the news, mainstream or independent.  We must expect:

• a second wave as mentioned above, possibly in the autumn
• it will be a lot worse
• some (new?) rules of self-isolation to cope with it
• continued disagreement about a treatment
• track-and-trace through our mobile phones is on the cards. For those who haven’t come across this idea, it would be a sort of GPS noting, through an app. where we go and who we interact with.  This would be under the control of ‘special teams’
• a vaccine to combat the virus – and it could take years to be proven safe and effective
• a form of tattoo or injected chip as proof of vaccination
• the non-vaccinated would find their lives severely restricted – jobs/schools/travel/events and so on
• as for the economy, best not to go there except to say it doesn’t take much imagination to work out who would benefit from the above scenario – again no secret, according to Dominic Raab, to name but one.

None of this is being hidden from us.

THE WONDERS OF GAIA

I know which world I want to live in.  A world where every citizen works towards curbing their impact on the ecosystem – by cutting pollution, protecting the animal kingdom and preserving forests and plant-life.

Will we beat the virus?  As it’s mutating, apparently, at a rate of knots, it seems unlikely.  Maybe we’ll just have to live with this life-or-death threat.  Maybe Mother Nature is getting her own back.

All the more reason to start respecting her Bigtime.