Tuesday, May 26, 2020

An important task.


We're still in this strange half in , half out stage of lockdown. The schools, which were supposed to re-open, remain closed. The local teachers unhappy with the arrangements for spacing. Sometimes a school bus arrives at the war memorial, waits three minutes, then it leaves the village empty. Presumably the driver has returned to work even though he has no passengers. The two tikes celebrate their extended freedom by  zooming around the countryside on their two-stroke bikes. Yesterday, two friends joined them. Nothing like the rasp of four two-stroke engines to tell you summer's here.

If we're going shopping we tend to be up and out early in the belief that we can be in and out of the store before anyone else shows up - or certainly before they get crowded. Some folks wear masks, others seem to view them as an impertinence. We'd be much happier if mask wearing was mandatory as the epidemiological studies seem to agree that wearing them cuts down transmission rates by 75%. I'd say that only half of the folk you see are still wearing masks. At this rate we'll be down to a quarter by next week.  What all this hints at is a decline in infection rates through the summer and then a return when the heat dies away and we enter into the autumn cold and flu season. Loic came to drive the garden tractor again today. The matrons warning about getting a very bad cold seems to have registered . He stood a good ten feet away and shouted at me.


Today we walk to the neighbouring village. Sophie leads the way. From time to time she stops and turns to look at me. I'd like to think she does this for reassurance. More probably it's her ever so slightly irritated way of saying ' Do keep up !'.


Men in dark suits are on the phone from Singapore. We discuss the new vaccine arms race between China and the US, the peculiar case of Dominic Cummings ( Angus falls in the camp of believing his behaviour to be corrosive ) and the outlook for the Greek tourism industry ( not good and accounting for 80% of the economy on some Aegean islands ).

While I talk Sophie takes herself off into the garden. If find her on the grooming table by the swimming pool. Why she clambers onto the table to sleep is a mystery. Her brother and her PON predecessors all did this. Maybe they enjoy the flow of air on their undercarriages. She opens an eye, briefly, to look at me and then carries on with the important task of dozing.



11 comments:

Lisa in France said...

It's really too bad that the utility of masks was misunderstood in the early stages of the pandemic and the chance was lost to promote them effectively. Some of the Memorial Day weekend photos from the US are really scary. We are out from under the state of emergency in Tokyo as of last evening, but I have no doubt that masks are with us for the long term. Japan has done very little right apart from wearing masks and not shaking hands, but it seems to have been enough to save us from the worst. I love the shot of Sophie on the table. I can imagine that the combination of the warm wood and the cool air could be irresistable.

Angus said...

Warm wood and cool air might be the secret to the PONs enthusiasm for table sleeping. I'd always though mask wearing was an affectation but having seen the studies coming out from Hopkins and Washington we really missed a trick by not mandating their use . Doubly so in old folks homes. This ( reliable ) twitter insight reinforces the growing view that it got to us sooner than folks originally believed - https://twitter.com/trvrb/status/1265063940205117440

suej said...

I so agree about the masks. There was a brief moment when it reached about 80% but again here the numbers wearing them seem to be dropping. My favourite time for shopping is the depth of lunchtime. Yesterday I had whole aisles to myself. We're loving our early morning walks. This time of year is very special. (Know what you mean about the bikes!)

Poppy Q said...

We have had 4 days no new cases in NZ and there are no cases in our region. so not many people wearing masks here. I went to the supermarket at lunchtime, and no one was in a mask, so we think people feel much safer now. Our schools have reopened and we can go to the hairdressers and shops almost as normal. Bars reopened last weekend, but with social distancing.

It is horrible to watch the news and see what is happening in Brazil, and the how a whole load of Americans have seem to have lost their minds and are ignoring all advice given to them.

We used to have a big wooden table in the backyard and Miss Pops loved lying on it too. I think a wood table is a magnet for all cats and dogs.

Julie

WFT Nobby said...

It makes sense that in a warm climate a built in air cooling system would be appreciated by a PON at rest. But I wonder if height isn't also a factor. Both my terriers have seemed to seek out good look out points as places to relax. Hamish often used to sleep in an apparently precarious position on the back of the sofa. It would be interesting to see if Sophie were equally keen on a snooze on a table without slats.
As for Dominic Cummings.... Perhaps his biggest crime was his role in the Brexit referendum. Then there's his apparently belief that the Civil Service should be populated by "weirdos and misfits" rather than responsible people with a track record of effective administration. That's not looking so clever now, is it?
Cheers! Gail.
PS Does anyone else out there believe that the economic chaos caused by the pandemic will provide useful cover for those who insisted the UK would benefit from leaving the EU?

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Regarding the current state of politicians in the UK (or anywhere at the moment) I could rant at length. I shall 'haud ma wheesht'...

Dogs climbing from the ground are seeking dominance - even if that is only in their own mind. Even our beloved pets will take any chance to be 'leader of the pack' if they can get away with it. Most don't, but it was fun having a go! YAM xx

Coppa's girl said...

I was out early to the supermarket this morning, and noticed that there were less people wearing masks and gloves, than ten days ago, when I last shopped. The supermarket no longer has someone at the door passing out gloves, and telling us to use the hand sanitizer before entering. This must be part of phase 2, though we are still under restrictions until June 7th. Spain does seem to be taking a sensible attitude, and fortunately in our local region of Valencia the numbers have been relatively low. In the local town there have been no deaths from the virus, and just a fairly small number of infections which might, or might not, be virus related.
Surely the table top is not only a cool place to lie, but also a very good spot to keep an eye on any interloper into the garden - especially those darned C-A-T-S!

Coppa's girl said...

Yes Gail, it couldn't have come at a better time, could it!

Tigger's Mum said...

Corrosive. What an excellent description. We read your blog to discover such gems of observational summary; a comment on the effect rather than a judgment of the person or their possible motives. Not divisive, just well described. Y

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Corrosive....the actions of the self-centred. Schools opened on Monday, full time. Two had to be closed the next day to be thoroughly cleaned....cases detected. Rules seem to be a bit more lax at the moment. Was able to pay cash for some things. Perspex shields up everywhere.

Taste of France said...

As the number of cases drops, so too do preventive measures. I was in the hospital yesterday (broke my arm), and was surprised by the lax attitude. Also a surprising absence of hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels. Budget problems?
I finally watched The Big Short, about the financial crisis. Very good. Brad Pitt plays a cynical-to-the-point-of-paranoid ex-trader, and we see him in an airport wearing a mask and another time using hand sanitizer. Precient!