Let’s start living life again soon
My euphoria for getting jabbed lasted about 12 hours…right up to the moment the side effects kicked in.
Then – in the midnight hour – I admit my childlike excitement for my ‘I’ve Been Vaccinated’ sticker drained away as I lay in bed, shaking violently and simultaneously suffering from cold shivers and hot sweats.
For the next few hours, I felt the strange sensation of my body vibrating as flu-like symptoms washed over me… remarkably reminiscent of exactly how I felt a year ago when, I’m pretty sure, I caught COVID-19 after going to a jazz concert in London.
By morning, I was drained, my head hurt, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
My wife, positive as ever, kept telling me this was all good: my body was fighting the virus that had been injected into my now, painful, right arm and I was busy developing antibodies! Hurrah!
To be honest, I’m not sure how far science backed up her diagnosis, but, 24 hours later, I was back in the land of the living to reflect on the overwhelming success of the NHS COVID vaccination rollout scheme.
For those who like details, I had my AstraZeneca jab at the Salt Hill NHS hub in Slough and it was super-efficient, fast and friendly.
As for the nasty needle, I hardly felt a scratch thanks to a nice guy called Edward, who said he worked as a dentist the rest of the week. Thank you, Sir.
I am already booked in for my second jab in mid-May… even if it means I get clobbered again by the same ‘unlucky’ onein-10 chance of grotty side effects.
But the big question is: Will the vaccine set us free?
As I write – a week before publication – COVID case numbers are tumbling across the country and here in RBWM-land; hospital admissions are in decline and deaths, thankfully, are also coming down.
We have suffered so much and lost too many, this past year.
We’ve done Lockdowns, We’ve Stayed At Home, We’ve Saved the NHS and watched the economy go down the drain.
So now, after all adults are protected with their second shots of who-reallyknows-what, surely life must get back to normal this summer?
The trouble is, I’m not sure the Government is done with its Project Fear campaign yet. Listen to their scientific experts and it seems they want us to Stay Inside and Wear A Mask Forever until noone dies! It feels they want a massive reset to our way of life.
They are already predicting the next wave, the next peak, the next 30,000 deaths, the return of ‘Flu next Winter’ (quelle surprise!) and, of course, more exotic, mutant, variants over every horizon!
There’s a scene in Men In Black when someone runs in shouting that an intergalactic space cruiser has just appeared above Earth and is threatening to blow up the planet. Everyone panics except the boss, Zed, who calmly states: ‘That always happens, it’s just another normal day’. That’s how I feel now.
Sure, get everyone jabbed and protected, line up a booster in the autumn, make sure we keep washing our hands… but give us back our personal freedom and let’s start living life again soon.
Jazz vocalist Tina May brings her stunning range and repertoire to Norden Farm Centre for the Arts for a livestreamed concert on Friday.
The event celebrates the release of Tina’s new album 52nd Street and Other Tales. She will sing songs from the album, alongside other jazz tales from her jazz heroes and heroines.
The record is produced by Duncan Lamont Jnr and features the music and lyrics of his late father, the acclaimed saxophonist and songwriter Duncan Lamont. Tina’s vocals talents are supported by an outstanding group made up from the UK’s finest musicians.
For this online gig, Tina is joined by Robin Aspland on piano, Andrew Cleyndert on double bass and Winston Clifford on drums.
Tina started exploring and developing her jazz sensibilities at University College, Cardiff. In 1991, she recorded at the famous Abbey Road studios for 33 Jazz Records. It proved the beginning of a long association with Paul at 33.
The musician started winning awards through her singing. In 1993 she was awarded a silver medal by The Worshipful Company of Musicians. This was the first of its kind to a young musician. This also coincided with Tina's first week at Ronnie Scott’s with her own band. In 1998, she was presented with the Vocal Jazz Award at the BT Jazz Awards having topped the Critics’ Choice for several years prior to that.
Tina has appeared in festivals, broadcast with the BBC Big Band and recorded with her group. She toured Australia with her album Fun and also appeared at the award-winning Hong Kong Jazz Club. Back home and in Europe, she has performed at festivals such as Prerov in Czech Republic, Munich and Augsburg.
Join Tina and the band live online to transform your living room into an intimate jazz club, filled with the sound of her incredible voice.