Another day when the village is shrouded in silence.
The whole world wakes up to a new character - the effusive 'My Pillow' guy. Yesterday it was Rodney Howard-Browne. Who will it be tomorrow ?
Sophie is taken on lots of walks. These fall into two categories. Right out of the gate and left out of the gate. The first takes us through the village. The second passes the horses and donkeys.
Angus gives consideration to painting the wall on the terrace. Tomorrow he'll go into the garage to see if we have the right amount of paint needed. This task may slip to Thursday or Friday, or possibly next week. No point in doing everything at once.
In the afternoon helicopters fly slowly up and down the valley. The special operations forces have decided to simulate a surprise attack on the nuclear power station. Presumably our little patch of paradise is the remotest spot they can find. From the top of the ridge the prying eyes of bored villagers look down on abseiling figures shimmying up and down ropes. There is much shouting and , from the sound of gunfire that echoes up the hill, some form of simulated battle. The scene of the battle is next door to the field with the four young cows in it. They seem unperturbed.
The German billionaire and his wife have either retreated back to Switzerland or are maintaining a very low profile. No lights visible in the chateau at night.
The baker has now instituted a one customer at a time policy. A large plexiglass screen has been installed to separate the staff behind the counter from customers. After paying the first customer is allowed to leave and a second customer is allowed to enter. ' A two metre distance must be observed at all times ' says a hand written notice taped to the glass front door. It is at this point that the system collapses. If an 'exiting' old lady recognizes an 'entering' friend in the queue all thought of social distancing is forgotten.
As the sun sets I point out that Sophie casts a remarkably long shadow for such a dainty girl. She seems rather taken with her shadow.
This seems like day 300 of lockdown but is probably closer to being day 15. Pity those quarantined with as house full of toddlers.... or teenagers. We can't agree which would be worse.
Sanity restoring video of the day : https://twitter.com/simonnread/status/1244741173060808705
This chart of public transport use in London is amazing
14 comments:
I've always suspected that Sophie would cast a long shadow! Prime Minister Abe just announced that now is not the time to declare a state of emergency, but he also took time to assure people that even if the government were to call for a lockdown, it won't be anything like France, as the Japanese government does not have the same kind of authority as the French government (at least not since the war(!)). On the other hand, a retired colleague who is sheltering in place in St. Bart's wrote today about having to complete the necessary form to carry his garbage down to the corner and his interactions with the gendarmes, so apparently order is prevailing in the French Caribbean. My firm has finally decided that people can work from home beginning tomorrow, which comes as a great relief to those who have been riding the trains back and forth everyday. Perhaps our number in Tokyo will begin to look like those on your graph.
Ultra-chic St.Barts and they have to fill out the same forms as we do to take out the trash. French culture in a nutshell. Worry here is now turning to the summer harvest. No eastern european or north african workers this year. Good luck trying to get university students to come and work in the fields. The offices of Jones Day, Pilsbury and Cromwell have been shuttered for a couple of weeks. Not sure that lockdown is that easy for lawyers - maybe because clients don't know what to prepare for.
Hari OM
The shadow shot is somehow pertinent, having a sense of the long-drawn-out nature of life at the moment... YAM xx
That was most considerate of your special operations forces to mount an afternoon entertainment for you!
I'm thinking teenagers cooped up would be worse, but perhaps that's because I can remember how awful I was as a teenager, whereas my memories of being a toddler are mostly lost.
Cheers, Gail.
We have so many restrictions in place here, including not being allowed out to exercise. I'm not sure about taking the rubbish (trash) out, but as our communal bins are emptied daily, I'm assuming there isn't a restriction yet. I've been using that as the start for our daily walks around the block, and we've just enjoyed a pleasant 20 minutes in sunshine - something that has been missing over the past couple of weeks.
The worst sort of lockdown hell must be for those families who live in a small apartment, with no balcony, and two or three generations all crammed in together!
As I understand it the problem with public transport in the UK is that those that do take it are crammed into a reduced service. So not only are medical staff at risk at work, but they are at risk on their commute.
We thought dat da My Pillow guy was an April Fools joke (one day early).
Stay well. You live in such a beautiful place. Love to see pics of your hood.
Wags,
Ranger
20 minutes in the sunshine sounds good.
We think it's a flip of the coin. Both can generate chaos and noise to an unparalleled degree. The nature of that chaos does of course differ.
As in life casts a long shadow ?
It will be good to have eyes on Cherry as she recovers instead of work travel worries. How is she doing?
How are you doing? We are fine here in NH, yard cleanup for fresh air and no distancing worry b/c we have some acreage. Stay safe.
Sophie looks happy despite the early wake up calls. How go the twinges, Angus?
We are noticing helos overhead today as well. No word as to why and frankly I am afraid to know!
Toddlers tend to be cuter and therefore put up with.
They closed the boarder between Ottawa and Quebec today, a few essential exceptions. There is no escape for us now!
We are on day 17.
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