Day Twelve - Horny, Horny, Horny

Aha! That got you, didn't it? You little rascals. Not what you're thinking at all. Such matters are not for a blog such as this one! Not when you're a dear little, old, silver haired pensioner like me. It was the first song on my iPod this morning when I went out for my walk. From 1998, Mousse T. Perhaps you're wondering what I'm doing with such a song. Well, I'll tell you.  Several years ago my friend's daughter got married. We were the wedding planners! My friend was recovering from major abdominal surgery and I had just lost my sixteen year old cat. It was the most perfect healing time for both of us. When we get together we still look back on at that time with more than just affection. It was wonderful. And though I say it myself it was one of the best weddings I've ever been to. It was done on a minimal budget, nothing fancy. After the ceremony we had a picnic in the park, people playing guitars and singing, games for the kids. In the evening we had a huge party at my friend's house.  We made the garden like Fairyland with lights and illuminated trees, jars with tea lights in hanging from the trees. One of my jobs was to produce playlists of suitable music. Music for the ceremony. Music to reminisce to. Music to dance to. That's the playlist I'm listening to when I go on my walks. And if all that sounds like it has bugger all to do with a coronavirus lock down it's about finding the things that make or made you happy. Playing those memory videos in your head to make yourself smile if you're finding this lockdown tough at times.

So Mousse T with Horny this morning, I did not sing along, I didn't think the 'hood would appreciate it at 6:15 a.m. And the next song was Einstein A GoGo and I couldn't remember the words bar the chorus! However when I got to Kim Wilde's Kids in America I was belting that out and it felt good. Because that was another memory. That was a track I used to jog to on the treadmill and out on the street. So I came back from my walk energised and euphoric. And those tracks now will carry additional memories of COVID-19 lock down. As Paul Simon said 'Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you.'

I saw something lovely on my walk this morning. Someone had chalked this at the top of the cliff steps that take you down to the train station. Part of me hopes there's one at the bottom that says 'Stay Home'

Thinking about all that this morning has given me another little 'task' to pursue during these times. I'm going to attempt to play all my CD's. I hope I don't achieve that because if I do it means the lock down will have lasted a very long time. I have a lot of CDs. I'm going to play them in some kind of order. I've started with film and TV soundtracks plus stage and theatre soundtracks. So I'm on A. As I write this I'm currently listening to the Ashes to Ashes soundtrack - the TV series? Remember it? Fire up the Quatro? Memory again! Sometimes though a sad song triggers something that causes me to shed a tear. Music's like that isn't it? I'll bet the current chart songs will trigger memories of this time in our lives when we hear them again in the future.

Another reason I'm filling the house with sound is to combat the silence. It's unnerving me. When I look out of the front window it is reminding me of when it snows. No cars, no people. It feels like I'm the last person left on earth sometimes. Whoa, that's a bit dramatic, isn't it? But do you know what I mean?

My friend who works at the NHS phoned me this morning. I feel desperate for her. She says the only place she feels safe is at home. The situation at work simply doesn't allow for much social distancing or viral avoidance. I'm extremely worried she will contract the illness. She's over 60 and is prone to chest infections. Apparently all the typists have been relocated so that the managers can be in one office. One not so large office. No way can they maintain a 2 metre distance. My friend is a medical secretary so currently she is in an office for two which just about allows for a modicum of social distancing. What I found more disturbing was that the managers are saying one thing but when my friend chatted to one of the ward sisters something different was said in respect of statistics and deaths. Who is telling the truth?  I suppose it raises the question of whether it serves a purpose to tell people the whole truth and nothing but the truth no matter how dark that truth may be. It's a balance, isn't it?  For I can see that creating fear and panic provokes another set of problems. On the other hand we need to know.

I'm still not entirely sure that people are understanding the coronavirus jargon. Isolation,  Distancing and Lockdown. Or maybe they are manipulating it to their own ends. On the whole I think people are behaving better compared to last weekend. But there are still too many people who aren't  taking it seriously enough.