Day Thirteen - Sundays and Summertimes

I got both sad and annoyed this morning when I saw on social media that people are planning #clapforboris or #booforboris at 8pm this evening. I think clapping for the NHS was an act of unity and appreciation. It was also very moving. Hijacking the gesture for another purpose dilutes the impact. Let's maintain some dignity in this crisis we're facing. Let's not boo anyone. Let's continue to clap for the NHS staff and all the other selfless heroes. 

Rick Astley was first song up this morning. Never Gonna Give You Up. I saw Rick perform two or three years ago at the Radio Two Festival in a Day. He was an entertaining performer but more than that he seemed like a really nice guy. Genuine. And whilst I was walking and thinking about the NHS and social media this song triggered a thought. I know I might rant about some of the vitriol on social media but there are some wonderful people there too who spread positivity. One of those, on Twitter,  is @julesbuddle who is a frontline NHS paramedic. She comes across as a hundred percent thoroughly decent human being who doesn't possess an unpleasant bone in her body. She's selfless and caring. And everything she puts on Twitter you know you can trust. But why should she come into my head rather than anyone else? Because she loves Rick Astley!! How do I know that? For one she tweets about him but also because she was on an edition of the One Show last year talking about her work as a paramedic and he was on the show too so she got to meet him! 

I'm glad I got out early this morning in spite of the clock change and the 'losing' an hour thing. It was chilly but sunny. After all, it's SUMMERTIME! Now it's dulled over with drizzle and wind. I don't enjoy the wind. It unsettles me. Sometimes I worry that it'll cause damage to the house. But that got me thinking about what I would do in the event of such an emergency during this crisis. A leaking pipe. An electrical fault. Even something like my washing machine breaking down. Or my freezer. Are such things regarded as essential? In terms of someone coming out to repair or replace the appliance - or the roof tiles? If my fridge/freezer were to fail my food situation would be dire. Laundry would be a challenge, I've lived without a washing machine when I was young and poor. I remember washing bedding in the bath! But now I'm old and rich, (not really but it seemed to work.....;) ),  I couldn't manage it. Since I'm on this downward spiral what about my hob? My oven? Crikey! I don't own a microwave. I did once but it broke and I never replaced it. Horrible things. But how important are these items when it comes to the preservation of life and slowing down the spread of this virus. 

Looking at the news headlines today it seems that Mr. Johnson is warning of a stricter lockdown. I'm not surprised. After the cavalier attitude of the West Hampstead Farmers Market it demonstrates that not everyone is taking things seriously. There was a response on social media from Hampstead Heath saying that they spoke to farmers to ensure that social distancing measures were in place. AND that the Met police were happy with the queue. Having seen the pictures I can only conclude that the Met don't understand  social distancing either! Help! What hope have we got? 

Let's not get too dark. A lovely thing happened yesterday. The phone rang. I didn't recognise the number. But as it was a local one I took the call hoping that I wasn't the victim of yet another accident or that my broadband provider was going to cut me off in the next twenty four hours. It was an old friend who I haven't heard from in years. We were 'best friends' way back in the eighties. She lived next door. A thing happened, not with me but with her marriage, so she moved away and we lost touch except for cards at Christmas and birthdays. I had suggested on several occasions that it might be good to meet for coffee but she never took me up on it. I gave up in the end. Sometimes you just have to 'get the message' don't you? It was great to talk to her again. We were such good friends. She's given me her mobile number so........ who knows. I've texted her. I'll wait to see if she replies. Without this lockdown she wouldn't have phoned me I'm certain. 


A friend of mine read the Bat and Pangolin story that I wrote and said it put her in mind of the film Contagion which she watched on Netflix at the weekend. Spookily I had just recorded the film which had been aired on ITV2 the evening before. I watched it last night. Gosh! The parallels! Rather too accurate for my liking! I saw too that some of the cast from what was a 2011 film recorded a little video urging us to stay home and wash our hands as if our lives depended on it. They do. It was a touching gesture from those actors. 

If, no, no, WHEN this thing is over we might recalibrate our time scales to:-   life B.C. - Before Coronavirus and life A.D.  - After Disaster