Stay strong, we’ll get through this
LISTEN. This is not the end of days. This is not the Black Death. This is notWW2 – and we won that, remember?
What we are facing is a raft of lifestyle changes. They won’t be forever, because the coronavirus has a natural lifespan and this epidemic will subside, as night follows day. So we simply have to re-learn a trick that we British have always been rather good at – adapting to circumstances.
If the blanket restrictions on movement seem extreme, remember the Blackout, in force from 1939-45. Of course an enemy one bomber couldn’t plot a course if just or two houses in a town were showing open, lights. But if everyone left curtains the raiders would strike. It’s the same much as today. If we ALL stay at home as we can, the virus simply can’t transit effectively. an So be of good cheer.We are entering all extraordinary period where we will pull together and, yes, suffer inconvenience, for the greater good. from Paradoxically, keeping our distance together as each other will bring us closer we share our common experience. Good luck, stay well - and have faith: the All Clear WILL sound – eventually!
THERE are things a fella can write that will please the authorities and things that will not. Let me venture into the second category. As a bornagain sceptic I honestly believe that a panicky government, backed by some boffins, is considerable over-stating the lethality of the coronavirus. But why?
Because there is a confusion between the blistering speed of contagion and the so-far percentage of deaths-perinfected victims. Plus the simple fact that we have lived through tamiflu,Asian flu, avian flu, MERS and SARS and each one (we were told) heralded the end of civilisation. They didn’t.Add to that the historical fact that after voting Brexit we were given a minimum of twenty categorical forecasts that our economy would be damaged beyond repair. Not one single one came true. Finally we know that each year normal, seasonal winter flu carries away about 15,000 of the weakest and frailest among us and we accept that – with regret but without national panic.The percentage of the infected is about 1.5 per cent. So far, with normal care and medication, the figure for coronavirus seems to be under two percent – same categories.
So… precautions, yes.The present holocaust, no.
AS THE redoubtable Admiral Morgan-Giles once said “pro bono publico, no blinking panico”. His epithet was somewhat stronger but this is a family newspaper.
Consider this: immediately before the Diamond Princess cruise ship discovered the virus on board, everybody was mixing in close proximity to each other, drinking in the bars, eating in the restaurants and cafeterias, filling up the theatre for lectures and entertainment. Even so,
83% of those involved, despite the age profile, did not get the infection at all and half of those who did showed no symptoms. In
Britain we have 100 plus deaths in a population of 66m yet fight each other in the aisles for loo rolls. How I wish I had shares in Andrex.
The latest measure is to keep everybody over the age of 70, regardless of health and strength, effectively under house arrest. As the Government has merely asked for co-operation instead of bullying like some other countries, I am willing, within reason and proportionality, to comply.
Just think of all the things I can do: those drawers I always meant to turn out, that box in the loft, those odd socks, those dog-eared books, that recipe I have never made. I feel almost excited! ‘WHO is a happy man?’ asked the holy Jewish scribes. They answered: ‘The man who is contented with his portion.’ If we’re not careful our portions can suddenly feel a whole lot smaller.
Drawing a line through all the bright sparkly prospects in our diaries, cancelling birthday parties, weddings and holidays is dismal and the mass axing of sporting fixtures, festivals and the Chelsea Flower Show feels awfully bleak. The trick is not to lament the loss but to cherish the chance to fill the chasm with whatever our riotous imaginations can invent for our own delectation.
We have a licence to be frivolous.We don’t have to wade w throughWar and Peace or listen to mournful Wagner. We can gorge on chick lit, binge listen to Wham! and bake delicate rainbow hued macaroons.We have oodles of time to do the fiddly stuff: decoupage, embroidery, home brewing, pressed flower pictures, clean behind the fridge.
I plan to confine the Other Half to the chaise longue
whip up a make-shift easel and turn him into a still life!We’ve vowed one of us must exit the room at the faintest rumbling of a disagreement. My gift to you is part of a newly penned poem by Capuchin Monk Brother Richard entitled ‘Lockdown’.
They say that inWuhan after so many years of noise You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
Across the empty squares,
Keeping their windows open
So that those who are alone
May hear the sounds of family around them.
IT’S HARD to stay calm I know. I veer from being so stressed I want to throw up to thinking:
“Stuff it – I want to get this virus because at least immune.” then I’d be Of course, I could also be dead which is why both of those responses are stupid. I’m self-employed, as are many millions of others, so yes, that’s what a worry. But worries me more is how this virus is all as people changing us – in some cases for the better but in others for the worse.
So we need to focus on the good stuff. neighbours My fantastic have launched a WhatsApp help scheme for those in our road who can’t get to the shops, walk their dogs, need help to collect prescriptions. Then, this week a lady I was working with managed to get hold of two bottles of hand sanitiser and because gave me one
I’d run out. I felt like I’d been given a gold bar. But the bottom line in all this? We have to do what we’ve been told to do to keep ourselves and the people we love safe. But we also have to remember not everyone has someone.
And for the elderly who live alone this must be THE most terrifying time. I’m lucky – I have family. Many do not and it’s those people who need us now.
So let’s make coronavirus a little less scary for them. We mustn’t let the fear take root in our bodies because it’s every bit as destructive as the virus.
And next time you feel anxious – just think of the fear of our health service workers. While we can hide from this virus, they run straight at it. They’re dealing with their fear by helping others.
So must we. Stay safe ......
NOW LOOK, everyone, calm down. Most of us are not going to get the coronavirus and of those that do, most of us will survive. It’s not surprising that we feel fear when the whole country seems taken over with national hysteria, because we are designed to go into survival mode when facing a crisis. But we are in danger of losing sight of the bigger picture, which is this: this is temporary and will end. And who knows what greatness will come out of it? Shakespeare was in quarantine (from the plague) when he wrote King Lear which, while admittedly a little gloomy, is possibly the greatest play that has ever been written. Isaac Newton was also in quarantine, also from the plague, when he began the work that led to the discovery of the theory of gravity. Who knows what future works of genius artists and scientists are currently labouring on as they self-isolate?
It’s my betting that attendance at church will rise, that we will take our eyes off social media and rediscover neighbourliness and that this is a timely reminder that you cannot predict what the future will hold. Love long and prosper, my friends. This will be over soon.