Wednesday 23 September:

Last night, just six months after first introducing ‘lockdown’ guidelines, Mr Johnson made another of his television appearances to confirm that new Covid-19 measures were being introduced (in England) as a result of the recent rapid growth in the number of cases. These restrictions included: limiting the size of indoor social gatherings to six; people should work from home if they can; bars, restaurants and pubs closing by 10pm; renewed ban on indoor team sports; and stricter rules on the wearing of face masks. The need for fresh action to contain the virus was underlined by official figures showing the daily number of new coronavirus cases across the UK had shot up to 4,926. This was the highest daily figure since May.
First Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had introduced more onerous measures – indoor visits between households having now been banned.
Interesting to hear reaction of a leading scientist, Prof John Edmunds (head of the faculty of epidemiology and population health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine): “Overall, I don’t think the measures have gone anywhere near far enough. In fact, I don’t even think the measures in Scotland have gone far enough”.
Edmunds said he feared that, for the second time, the government would end up clamping down too late. He explained: “I suspect we will see very stringent measures coming in place throughout the UK at some point, but it will be too late again. We will have let the epidemic double and double and double again until we do take those measures. And then we’ll have the worst of both worlds, because then to slow the epidemic and bring it back down again, all the way down to somewhere close to where it is now or where it was in the summer will mean putting the brakes on the epidemic for a very long time, very hard - which is what we had to do in March because we didn’t react quick enough in March, and so I think that we haven’t learned from our mistake back then and we’re unfortunately about to repeat it”.
 
I went to Bloke’s Prayer at the Society Café this morning and, due to rain, we ended up sitting inside. I have to say, I felt somewhat uncomfortable – everyone sat suitably social-distanced but I sensed that ‘some of us’ were more ’sensitive’ than others in this respect. I registered my unease and, very generously, they’ve agreed that we’ll have zoom ‘meetings’ for the foreseeable future – unless the weather forecast is wonderfully positive (in which case we’ll arrange to meet outside).
I’ve also decided that I’m similarly uneasy about the prospect of being one of the church ‘welcomers’ for a service at Saint Stephen’s on 11 October… AND, in fact, also about attending ‘live’ services full stop. As a result, I’ve emailed Maria, Lee et al and explained my unease and have withdrawn from the rota.
Image: Land adjacent the marina now virtually cleared for redevelopment? 

Monday 21 September:

Somewhat ridiculously, since Moira and I went into lockdown on 18 March, I’ve been keeping track of the daily coronavirus deaths. It obviously makes pretty depressing reading, but it’s also a reminder that at the start of April there were several days when the daily death toll exceeded 900. By the beginning of August, thankfully, these numbers had reduced hugely – often just to single figures. But, over the past few weeks, the number of daily coronavirus cases started to rise rapidly… and so, inevitably, have the number of deaths.
Depressingly, fears of a second-wave, as we approach the winter months, has been exacerbated by shortcomings in the government’s testing system.
Clearly, for the government (whose focus, perhaps, seems to have been more on protecting the economy than people?), with the prospect of a potential second-wave comes the increasing possibility of a national ‘lockdown’.
I think Moira and I dealt with the first lockdown well (and we’re clearly aware that, for us, compared with so many others, things have been relatively straightforward), but all the speculation about a possible second-wave or a series of ‘local lockdowns’ has made me focus on coming up with strategies for dealing with any winter lockdown.
I started making a random list (which was quite an amusing process!) and here are some of items I scribbled down:
CONCERNS:
a) Won’t be able to meet outside for picnics etc; need to come up with alternatives.
b) Health (being able to get out for walks etc).
c) Money for Ruth+co?
d) Organise stuff/visits/trips before lockdown?
ROUTINES:
a) Daily walks (individual and shared).
b) Plugging in daily routines.
c) Regular ‘contacts’ (zoom if necessary) with family.
d) Moira treats? (gin?).
e) Thinking up NEW routines.
PROJECTS:
a) Christmas cake or pudding?
b) Window poster (keep smiling etc).
c) Christmas ‘card’/letter.
d) Christmas presents (relevant for lockdown?).
e) Drawing projects (‘virtual’?).
f) Meals for R+S+I+R?
g) Another Blurb lockdown book?
h) Window Wanderland?
i) Books to read?
j) Books on particular artists or art styles?
k) 2020 Year Review.
l) Photography project?
ACTIONS:
a) Organise haircut.
b) Buy lots of candles.
c) New white shirt?
d) Sufficient TV/boxsets/Netflix?
BUT will I be organised and actually get things 'prepared'?

Monday 24 August

staying alert? staying confused? being responsible?
(note: I had originally intended this as a blogpost on my ‘public blog’ but, on reflection, have decided not to do so – I’m aware it’s a sensitive subject for many and I don’t want to upset people… even though I feel quite passionately about it! So, instead, I’m posting it here as one of my ‘lockdown reflections’):
Yesterday, I posed the following question:
Asking for friends (serious question)…
‘Shielding’ restrictions were relaxed by the government from 1 August which meant that ‘extremely vulnerable’ grandparents could at least see their loved ones again after being apart since mid-March. Our friends understand that the current measures now allow two households - of any size - to meet indoors on the condition they continue to observe social distancing, now reduced to one metre where necessary. Grandparents (not just the ‘extremely vulnerable’) who don't live in the same household as their children cannot, therefore, hug their grandchildren yet, as they must maintain social distancing rules. Simply put, if they don’t live in the same household they still cannot hug or touch their relatives while maintaining social distancing.
Could someone please clarify what the current ‘guidelines’ are please… because our friends just keep seeing pictures of family gatherings where no social distancing apparently applies? Very many thanks.
You’ll hardly be surprised to learn that the ‘friends’ in question were Moira and me!
I had a good number of very useful and helpful replies – from people who pointed out specific government advice; from people who were confused; and from people who were following their own common sense or who were adopting what they felt were responsible precautions.
In our particular situation, the government guidelines can be very briefly summarised as follows (yes, I know they go on for several pages!)(and they also apply to people younger than 70 and people who aren’t shielding!):

• We should only have close contact with people outside our household if we are in a support bubble with them.

• We should only meet people we do not live with in THREE types of groups:

a) We can continue to meet in any outdoor space in a group of up to 6 people from different households
b) Single adult households (ie. adults who live alone or with dependent children only) can continue to form an exclusive ‘support bubble’ with one other household
c) We can also meet in a group of two households, in any location (public or private, indoors or outdoors). This does not need to be the same household each time.

• Because we don’t live in a ‘single adult household’, we can’t form a ‘support bubble’ with any of our grandchildren’s households. We can’t hug them… or hug our own ‘children’ (our grandchildren are all old enough to understand the ‘rules’, but I absolutely acknowledge the difficulties for the under-5s!).

We need to maintain social distancing from people outside our household (ie. everyone else!).
At times, the government clearly hasn’t helped itself. There have been times when ministers have contradicted each other in their own interpretations of policy. As one of my friends observed: “Let’s all be honest, any sense of doctrinal adherence to rules as described on gov.uk is advisory at best since Cummings-gate. It shouldn’t be, but it is”.
I have a sense that some people feel that the ‘worst is over’; that we’re beginning to ‘come out on the other side’ (daily death rates have consistently been reducing over recent weeks, afterall); and that we can start relaxing the rules a little (on the other hand, the number of reported cases has escalated since the start of August). Certainly, from images I’ve seen on television, in newspapers and on social media, it appears that some people believe this to be true. There’s a sense of “we’re responsible people, we won’t take any real chances… but we do want our old lives back now”. The trouble is (but, hey, what do I know?!) that bending the rules is the start of a slippery slope… and, as we all know by now, the virus doesn’t play by ‘normal’ rules, so being ‘careful’ or ‘responsible’ isn’t really enough. It’s not like making a personal decision to say smoke 40 cigarettes a day and ‘blow the consequences’… because in such a case only you (and perhaps your family due to ‘secondhand smoke’).
The whole matter makes me both frustrated and angry (seeing other people ignoring social-distancing and hugging their families makes me feel hugely jealous… and annoyed!)… but I do appreciate that it’s a sensitive issue for many people/families. Our lovely friend Mags messaged me saying that she felt that everyone had to make up their own minds… and, yes, I understand that point of view, but that fundamentally misses the point in my view.
With schools about to return, it’s even more important that we all follow the guidelines. We all fear a second wave or a series of local ‘spikes’ and so, again, it’s vital in my view that we don’t ‘take chances’ or become blasé when it comes to taking or ignoring precautions.
And, of course, if things DO get bad this winter, there’ll be a massive ‘blame game’ – with old fogies like me blaming all those young people gathering in pubs or on Bournemouth beach; people who’ve been healthy throughout lockdown so “it couldn’t possibly be us who’re responsible”; and all those young people maintaining the virus doesn’t really affect them and it’s all down to everyone else etc etc etc.
Of course, if you HAVE been turning a blind to certain guidelines, then I suspect you’ll say it’s too late to adjust your ways… and the only thing that will make you change your mind is for there to be a second wave or a local ‘spike’… which, of course, is what we’re trying to avoid and why EVERYONE should be obeying the ‘rules’ in the first place.
Yes, we’ve all had to make sacrifices and, yes, not being able to hug your grandchildren… or your children… or your friends (for very nearly six months now, in our case) has been bloomin’ difficult. But PLEASE keep going; please keep to the guidelines; please don’t try to justify why YOU should be an exception to the rules, if that’s not really the case. We’re all in this together and if you start making up your own rules, then maybe I’ll do the same… and that might encourage a few others to break the rules too… and then where will we be?
Right, I’ll shut up now. Sorry.
Image: staying alert (yeh, right!)…

Sunday 5 July:

Emerging from Lockdown?

It’s the day after pubs, hairdressers, cafés, restaurants, hotels, cinemas and such like were allowed to re-open. Other ‘rules’ have also been relaxed, including:

·         People can meet in groups of up to two households in any location - public or private, indoors or outdoors (as long as social distancing is observed with others not in one’s household)(‘support bubbles’ count as one household).

·         When outside, people can continue to meet in groups of up to six people from different households, following social distancing guidelines.

·         People can stay overnight away from their home with their own household or support bubble, or with members of one other household.

·         It will be against the law to gather in groups larger than 30 people, except for a limited set of circumstances to be set out in law.

Some other important restrictions do, however, still remain in place. For example, people should NOT:

·         Gather indoors in groups of more than two households (this includes when dining out or going to the pub).

·         Gather outdoors in a group of more than six people from different households (gatherings larger than 6 should only take place if everyone is from just two households).

·         Interact socially with anyone outside the group people are attending a place with, even if you see other people you know (eg. in a restaurant).

·         Hold or attend celebrations (such as parties) where it is difficult to maintain social distancing.

·         Stay overnight away from your home with members of more than one other household.

·         Gatherings of more than 30 people will be prohibited, apart from some limited circumstances to be set out in law.

Understandably, people are keen to return back to ‘normal’ life. Some families are able to ‘get together’, thanks to the reduced restrictions; some groups are able to socialise more freely (much to the obvious relief of ‘young people’ in particular). The majority of the population are continuing to take a cautious approach to returning to ‘normality’ and many are indicating that they won’t be rushing back to frequenting pubs, restaurants, cinemas or taking public transport any time soon.

The underlying fear, of course, is that people become blase, fail to take the necessary precautions and a ‘second wave’ of the virus to return… and seeing photographs of crowds of drinkers in London’s Soho last night only underlines such fears.  

Of course, it’s lovely to see or hear about families and friends re-connecting again and for people to able to travel more widely… but it’s also highlighted things that Moira and I are currently UNABLE to do. We’ve been self-isolating for nearly 16 weeks – avoiding shops, public transport and other people(!), but (for our physical and mental health) we’ve been endeavouring to get out and walk every day; we’re also not allowed to form a ‘support bubble’ with other family members. I’ve been classified as a ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ person and, as such, my ‘shielding’ obligations (and therefore Moira’s too) remain in place until the next stage of the government’s restrictions comes into play on 1 August. So, in theory, from that date we’ll be able to go to work (except that we’re both retired); go outside to buy food and to exercise (we’ll continue to take daily exercise but we’ve resolved to avoid to go shopping); and, if we do go out, we’ll need to follow strict social distancing (which would have done anyway).

For the foreseeable future at least, we’re unlikely visit restaurants, pubs, cinemas, theatres or cafés.

So, in reality, nothing will change for us.

Having said that, we’re incredibly fortunate to live where we do in Bristol (a 10 minute walk to the harbourside and a 30 minute walk to Ashton Court/Leigh Woods) but we’ve also had to accept that, having no car and relying on public transport (which we’re likely to avoid for the remainder of this year), we are very much restricted in our movements. Even though we are car club members (which we use only say 3-4 times a year), we feel somewhat loathe to use this facility (ie. sharing a vehicle used by others/needing to fill up with petrol at service stations etc) at least for the being. In the course of the next few weeks, our views might change, of course, and it’s just possible that, perhaps within the next two months(?), we’ll end up taking an occasional car club trip (to local destinations such as the grounds of a local National Trust property or for a walk on Berrow beach?).

So, while the rest of the world gets back to ‘normal’, Moira and I will be ‘hanging back’ (we’ll almost certainly continue to take the cautious approach).

Of course, the wonders of modern technology have been hugely important during ‘lockdown’… one wonders how on earth we’d have all coped without it. But, clearly, the thing that we’ve both missing most is the simple pleasure of hugging our lovely family! When we’ll be able to meet up normally with family and friends is anyone’s guess at this stage (and I suspect that, like with all the other measures, Moira and I will be among the ‘extremely vulnerable’ group that are required to delay such celebrations… which will, of course, be doubly hard.

Image: London drinkers in Soho last night… what social distancing?

Saturday 30 May:

From this weekend, the government has changed the ‘lockdown’ rules. Some schools will re-open on Monday; up to six people can meet up in parks/gardens etc (provided they maintain 2m social distancing); you can drive to other destinations (provided you can get home the same day) if you’re taking exercise (although use of public transport is to be avoided unless ‘essential’); non-essential shops will be re-opening from 15 June (although cafés, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers will remain closed).

The government has relaxed these rules despite the fact that some of its own scientific advisors have been warning about the risks of easing the rules too soon.

But, for the ‘vulnerable’ over-70s (like us), nothing changes… the old rules still apply.

Actually, Moira and I both feel that, even if restrictions are soon lifted for oldies such as us, it’s likely to be several months (perhaps, even well into next year?) before WE will be prepared to ease some of these conditions - for example, we certainly don’t envisage using public transport for the foreseeable future.

So, while the rest of the world slowly returns to some form of ‘old reality’, many of our own self-isolation restrictions will remain in place. In some ways this feels incredibly unfair – we have made particular social/environmental choices over recent years (eg. we have no car; we rely on public transport – buses and trains – to visit places outside Bristol), so there’s a sense that we're being punished for being conscientious citizens! Of course, it’s not quite like that… but while our family and friends jump in their cars and drive to the nearest beauty spots and beaches, we can’t do that. Yes, we’re members of a car club – but, given our ‘vulnerable’ status(!), should we risk using its cars in the present circumstances? The company says it’s trying to ensure that cars get regular, thorough cleaning - but there’s only so much they can do. For us, continued use of the car club, certainly in the short term, cannot be without its risks (and what about having to fill up with petrol?)… and so we’re unlikely to take chances.

Inevitably, there will be some, like me(!), who fear that many people will now stop taking notice of any government advice (don't get me started about Mr Cummings!). There's already a sense that many of the restrictions are being largely ignored by large numbers of the public (particularly 16-30 year-olds... and especially males it seems). 

Easing restrictions too soon and risking a second wave of infections would have devastating consequences. 

Random image: there are definitely far more planes in the sky this week!

Tuesday 5 May:

I’ve also actually ‘tried’ to write some prose (definitely not poetry!) - vaguely related to the current crisis, but I just don’t have the skills. It’s frustrating because ‘writing things down’ seems to be a very good part of the ‘healing process’. I came up with this in response to an email from Emily Gould (it was ‘bashed out’ quickly, so probably makes no sense!):

It all seemed to happen so quickly.

Suddenly, a pandemic engulfed us…

We hadn't been here before, so we were all at sea.
We were asked to ‘stay at home’ and change to a new way of living.
It was tough, but that's life... and sometimes death.
Some of us oldies even began to wonder...

Had we already hugged our loved ones for the very last time?  

Such sobering thoughts shake us to our souls.

Scary unknowns, stark possibilities... life's uncertainties.
And yes, we made lists of things we would do if we came through it.

We would hug all our families and friends.

We would meet up in cafés and bars, go to cinemas and galleries.

We would jump on to buses and trains.

We would walk along beaches.

We would arrange to have picnics and sketch out of doors.

We would huddle in queues.

We would never forget the simple pleasures of life.

When this is all over…

And yes, through it all, huge positives did emerge.

We learnt to live more simply.

We were humbled by the kindness shown by people.

We didn’t drive cars; there was no daily rush; the planet began to breathe again.

We could see clearly in more ways than one.

We rediscovered things that we thought we’d forgotten.

We learnt new things about each other.

We talked to loved ones ‘almost’ face-to-face and kept in touch.

We learnt how important friendships were.

And yes, we also learnt some huge lessons…

We must stop greed and profit taking over again.

We must limit the power of corporations.

We must have politicians who want to work for us, not themselves.

We must work towards having a more balanced media.

We must value the workers and reward them accordingly.

We must look after our beautiful world.

We must treat all people with kindness.

When this is all over…

Tuesday 28 April:

It’s been quite a long time since I added to this ‘reflection’ blog…

During the course of our self-isolation (and also perhaps as a result of receiving three identical letters from the NHS telling me that I’m “at risk of severe illness” and “stay at home at all times and avoid face-to-face contact for up to 12 weeks), I’ve developed a routine of ‘dawn walking’. Not every day, but perhaps three or four times a week. The only downside is that Moira ‘doesn’t do dawn’(!) and so these early morning walks just involve me (Moira and I go for walks at other times of the day – but I’m somewhat hesitant because it involves ‘confronting’ so many more people). Strangely, today was the first wet dawn I can recall in the six weeks since we’ve been self-isolating (we’ve been incredibly blessed with beautiful clear skies and sunshine).

But I ventured out anyway…

Actually, I love walking in the rain – provided that a) I’m suitably dressed and b) I haven’t got a meeting (or whatever) to go to. Today, I undertook one of my regular circuits (via Vauxhall Bridge/harbourside/Gaol Ferry Steps) and really enjoyed the experience… being able to walk in the middle of the road (literally!) to and from the harbourside; listening to the rainfall on the hood of my waterproof; the utter silence (apart from the occasional car driving down Coronation Road); being aware of my thoughts and ‘taking in’ things that I sometimes fail to notice; and being aware that there was ‘just me’ around - actually, in the course of my 50 minute amble, I came across just two joggers, a cyclist and a dog-walker (whose ‘companion’ looked far from impressed by the experience!).

Then back home for breakfast and coffee!     

Photo: Gaol Ferry Bridge at sunrise (from last week, not today!).

PS: Having been struggling somewhat with my spiritual life and when it comes to praying, I’m thinking about the possibility of using the wonderful Iona pilgrimage guide (“Around A Thin Place” by Jane Bentley/Neil Paynter) as a basis for some of my dawn walks – I’ve used the guide on a number of previous occasions, substituting Bristol locations for various Iona ‘reflection places’… I have a feeling that the quiet isolation might be a useful key. But I might be wrong!