The UK finally shutdown. In the US we hear the line ' He doesn't not agree '. In France we're to be limited to talking Sophie for a walk once a day, alone and within a kilometre of the front gate.
A milestone. This morning an old ( literally as well as figuratively ) friend in Berlin succumbed to the virus. He'd recently had a major heart operation in the Charite Hospital so was vulnerable. A man of great intelligence and gentle kindness. Born in Hamburg in 1940 to a German mother and a half Jewish father. Despite being half Jewish the Nazis were quite happy to have his father fight and fall on the Russian front. He told me how his first memory after the Hamburg bombings of 1943 was collecting shrapnel fragments in the streets and swapping them with his school mates. On our last meeting in Berlin we went to see the Madonna of Stalingrad in the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche. Jens rose from humble beginnings to become the chef de cabinet of the German Chancellor. One of those bright stars who brought more to life than he took from it and who will be missed. He liked wine, could charm the ladies and lived life to the full. As they say in France ' Rest in peace and rise in glory '.
Sophie gets an extra long walk. Nothing like a stroll with a dog to make you enjoy the sun on your cheek and the wind in your hair. For her a world of reassuring routine, ear scrunches, badger poo and C-A-T-S to be chased.
Wine is delivered. Angus enters it into the cellar book. A package of Fair Trade chocolate bars from producers who pay the local farmers a decent price for their cocoa beans is also delivered. We shall see what they're like. This is something the French are very keen on. A factory is being built in one of the neighbouring market towns to start producing the stuff.
Tired dogs : https://www.france24.com/en/20200319-walking-the-dog-a-get-out-of-jail-card-in-lockdown-spain?
Interesting article of the day : https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/23/us-medical-supplies-coronavirus-appeal-aid/
16 comments:
I am sorry you have lost a friend to the virus. I am afraid this is likely to be the next chapter for all of us. In Japan, they seem finally ready to give up the pretense we will hold the Olympics this summer, and the governor of Tokyo has mentioned the possibility of a lockdown if the numbers keep going up. Japan is a funny place - people are, I believe, quite worried, but everyone is still riding the crowded trains every day and there are huge crowds out viewing the cherry blossoms. I expect they'll keep doing it until someone orders them to stop. I am absent from my office today because they insist on going forward with a 200-person meeting this evening, and I am not enough of a samurai for that.
Why would anyone think a 200 person gathering is a good idea ? Two weeks ago life here was pretty much normal. Now the old routines have gone. In a quiet village it's just that much quieter. In the towns it's a revolution in eating and dining and socialising habits. This can go one for 2 weeks, maybe through Easter but how folks respond then is the next chapter in this story. The virus will soon go but the political aftermath is going to be huge. Inequality always shrinks after a pandemic.
Here in the UK, Bertie (a dog who refuses to do a poo unless he is al least 100m from the front door) and I are wondering how to interpret the new rule about only leaving the house once a day for exercise. A small problem compared to those many will have. I too am very sad to learn about your friend in Berlin, and thank you for your moving tribute. Also, thank you for the link, it raised a smile here, human ingenuity knows no bounds.
And I hope the chocolate tastes and good as the intentions behind those who make it.
Cheers, Gail.
PS A warning - isolated at home with just Bertie for company, there's a danger my comments on this blog will become ever longer and more frequent!
What a nice tribute to your friend Angus, and sad that the virus has taken him.
NZ enters into lockdown Wednesday at 11.59pm. It is the only way to get people to heed the warnings. It is a tsunami of sickness that will swamp what medical facilitates we have available and scares us that work in the hospital.
We are surprised that Japan appears slow to instate measures that might protect their population further. On March 13 they had 21 cases, and by the 23rd they have 1,000. I hope that it does not progress further for them.
Hari OM
I add my condolences for the loss of your friend; at the very least we shall all know somebody, even if it is by secondory connection such as this, who is affected.
When I saw the news that police will likely have powers to stop and fine if they deem you to be out and about 'illegaly', I had images of me seeing blue lights behind me on the M8 when I travel back East tomorrow! I have to take up the cares of my father for even longer this time, as my sister who co-cares is an NHS employee (speech therapy, but that's not stopped them seconding the department for triage duties). We have to accept the possibility that she ought not to be coming into home for quite a few weeks now.
Angus, were you aware of the John Hopkins Uni "Event 201 Scenario" exercise, which took place last October? Talk about prophetic. That coupled with the WHO report of Dec 2017 regarding effects of seasonal respiratory diseases, in which they make clear pointers to governments for the need to be better prepared regarding the likelihood of a pandemic in the near future... Notably absent from the work group of JHU was anyone from the UK. What is clear is no government actually paid any attention to the concerns that arose from that exercie and the need to act quickly. I suspect ol' BoJo has seen the horse's tail and is trying to bolt the door.
Oh dear. Like Gail, I feel you may have more to deal with in your comments than usual!!! Be safe. Be well. Behave. YAM xx
Angus, I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing an old friend is so difficult for many reasons. My sister has been diagnosed with Covid-19, but it seems to be a mild case despite her age. We are thanking the stars for that. Blessings to you and the Font!
Angus, I add my condolences to you and the family of your friend. I also lost a longtime friend yesterday, to other causes, so I am also feeling the loss of a person I admired and whose quick wit and creativity I will miss.
No lockdown for Virginia, yet. But county schools have been closed for the rest of the year. The uncertainty of it all is very close to home and starting to feel very daunting.
I, too, add my condolences for the loss of your dear friend. Sadly I wonder how many times we'll all be saying those words over the next few months?
Inca wants Sophie to know how envious she is, that she can still have such a long walk - even if it is only once a day. Of course our garden has C-A-T-S to chase, but it's not quite the same when they are your friends (yes, honestly!) and just jump up onto the wall and playfully bat their paws at you.
I had to smile at the link about the dog walking in Madrid! Here locally, as I've already said, we are only supposed to go 50 metres. This I suspect is just a local rule, to keep the natives housebound! Yesterday we took rubbish to the bin, and walked on, enjoying the rare sunshine and warmth. Today it's raining, so we'll forego the walks - we're such fair-weather creatures!
Keep smiling!
Our original restrictions were for two weeks, but less than a week later they added a further two weeks, with a warning that this could go on for some considerable time.
Oh, we forgot to ask how Cherry is!
So very sorry for the loss of your friend. We too have lost 2 friends recently. One, diagnosed with the virus last Monday and passed away on Friday. The other, who's funeral was yesterday we couldn't attend for obvious reasons. His family spilt between the UK and Holland. Most of us attending via webcam. It was intensely sad to see a largely empty chapel for a much loved intelligent, immensely funny and warm gent, being piped in for a final farewell. A wee dram or two was raised here yesterday evening and we'll plant a special rose for him at his house in France, where we've enjoyed many a party, when we are able to return x
I am very sorry for the loss of your friend. He sounds like he was a wonderful human being.
I was at the hospital yesterday to donate plasma. The parking lots only half full--all non-emergency activity has been canceled. Tents occupying the ER parking, so if you show up with a broken leg, good luck getting from the car to the door. The blood bank was the busiest I've ever seen. If you don't know what to do and can't afford to donate money because of suddenly not having work, donating blood is an option for those in good health. The need is desperate.
Inequality shrinks? It would seem to be the opposite--the people with no safety net are the mostly likely to have also lost jobs, whereas some high-paid jobs, like finance, can easily be done remotely.
What happens if there's a natural disaster--flooding, say, or an earthquake--on top of pandemic?
So sorry to hear about your friend - a lovely eulogy. And thank you yet again for the humour.
So sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. May he rise in glory, indeed!
A life well lived - it's something to celebrate. I'm sorry he's gone.
Over here in the US, we're stunned to discover the elderly are completely expendable and our deaths will be acceptable losses.
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