Feest Isolation Days – 3 August
The lion roared! He sounded as though he was on the street just outside the garden gate. Thankfully he wasn’t. He was in his cage at the zoo. We live very close to Bristol Zoo, and for the first time in years we heard him. What made him roar now after all these years? Was he trying to tell us something? And if so what? That he too is bored? That he is fed up pacing about a cage that is far far too small for his bulk and his wit? The lion’s sound makes me stop in my tracks and wonder.
This morning the gibbons were at it, we hear them more often and they sound playful and full of energy. The lion did not sound either energetic or playful. We were sitting in the garden when we heard him, celebrating having had a glorious summer day and seeing our dear friends for dinner. Then the winds blew and the rain came and we took our glasses and headed inside. The weather turned like the lion in his cage and in we trot. Mizzy rain chased us inside. We had our second dinner party inside the house during covid. When it came time for our friends to leave we threw caution to the wind and hugged. These guys are friends we normally have dinner with several times a month if we or they are in town. Hugs are part of normal. They and we are careful and doing all the right things. We wear masks, socially distance when we go out, don’t go to anywhere that large numbers gather, don’t go to cafes or restaurants. We are not quite normal but we are slightly unlocked and our cage door is not shut. We are not prowling around our home unable to leave anymore. Stuff you virus fears! We left you behind as we begin to carefully go out into the world. There must be a balance to this though.
The scenes at the country’s beaches this weekend were once more a scary sight. Police were turning people away and yet the thousands who found a place to park stayed. Meantime, the virus is beginning to creep up. Slowly, not as rapidly as it did in March, but nevertheless numbers are rising. This process of unlocking has to be slowed. Boris Johnson told us at the start of the weekend that we needed to pump the brakes. He blew it awhile back though. Apparently, according to a recent survey, numbers of people social distancing has fallen dramatically. Especially amongst the young. The Dominic Cummings effect together with the fed up doing all the social distancing and mask wearing effect means many have stopped bothering. Bothering? The easing of social distancing and the reopening of society means the numbers are climbing. We really do need to be careful! Some people either have given up or are just not taking any notice.
At the local market this weekend, I went to the plant stall to buy a few replacement plants and some lush looking plums. When I got my credit card out, the non mask wearing stall holder said, “cash only”. I was annoyed. “I haven’t had any cash for months” I replied. “There’s a cash machine just over there at Tesco.” As I was wearing a mask he probably couldn’t see the full force of my annoyance. “I don’t think that’s wise.” I left the plants and the plums. I was stood about ten feet away from this chap, and had no intention of picking up the plants he had placed in two plastic bags as though nothing was changed, everything was normal.
Getting away on an airplane however has finally become something we can do! Insurance provision is being supplied by one of our favourite airlines. New Zealanders look out, we might get there! Emirates is providing travel insurance to customers. The airline will pay medical treatment, hotel quarantine and funeral costs for passengers who catch covid-19 while travelling. Oh. Maybe not. Funeral costs paid? Hmmm. Maybe we will stay in our lovely home and garden for awhile longer.
The lion sleeps tonight. But the silent virus does not.
With love,
Kathy x