The ignorance of the woodpecker
Monday, 16th
March 2020
I cycle to work for the first time ever, because the
car is in the garage and because it’s for a meeting about my phased return to
work. It’s about 13 miles each way and the sun is shining. The part of my route
on the old railway line by the river is peaceful and the views of the South
Downs are lovely; all seems well with the world.
Of course, it’s not. People are still panic buying in
the shops (today, the aisles were bare of bread, meat, soya milk, yoghurt,
soap, cleaning products, rice, pasta, most tinned goods, and nearly all the
frozen food) and already lots of people are changing their behaviour: avoiding
social situations involving large numbers; stopping their attendance at
exercise classes; preventing their children from doing their club sports;
telling their parents they won’t see them until it’s over (Spring 2021,
according to today’s UK news announcement); hoarding food.
At the school where I work (although not since
mid-November), I am welcomed by our school secretary who whips out some hand
sanitiser for me, telling me that it was being put on the counter but someone
stole the last bottle. In my meeting with our headteacher, she tells me that
one of the teachers who has severe asthma is staying off work to protect
himself. A few children are absent with coughs but apart from that, the school
looks and feels the same. Our head still thinks the schools will close before
long which will make my return to work a short one. In the playground, the kids
run and chase and scream and play under blue skies and white clouds, just as
they always have.
It’s noticeable on my ride home that on the main road,
which is normally a very busy link road between Brighton and this part of
Sussex, there are far fewer cars than normal. I know that everyone who is able
to is working from home.
In the afternoon, Boris Johnson tells everyone to
reduce social contact and avoid restaurants, pubs, cinemas, theatres and other
events. Small businesses, such as hairdressers, masseuses, restaurant owners,
and dog groomers, will no doubt be hit hardest, even as stocks on the world’s
markets plummet. Our next-door neighbour has his own building company and tells
me that they will carry on as usual because they’re working on small sites away
from other people. I imagine getting deliveries of supplies might be more of an
issue once this thing hits hard.
Online, I read that sales of guns and ammunition in
America are rocketing so at least one business is doing well out of this.
Seriously, it makes me glad gun ownership is not an issue here or I can imagine
the gunfights in Lidl’s carpark over the last toilet roll or tin of tomato
soup. My sister rightly points out that self-isolation for a family is fine for
those families who enjoy each other’s company but what about domestic
situations that are more toxic or abusive? It might be that late-night
smotherings with a pillow might kill off more than Covid-19.
As I take in the laundry in the garden, late afternoon, I hear a woodpecker making a home. Spring is also coming, even as the shadows lengthen...
Latest data for the
UK (as of 6pm):
Infected: 1,543
Deaths: 53
Celebrity Deaths: None (but Idris Elba has tested positive)
People I know who are
infected: 0
People I know who
have died: 0
Comments
Post a Comment