On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Day 28

Day 28
(Monday, 13th April 2020)

And so to the end of week 4 of our isolation and social distancing. Up to recently this state of affairs has been sort of 'voluntary', leaving it to the good and responsible British public to adopt the spirit of the times and knuckle down, pull their wait and get on with it. However, it seems that the police now have powers in certain circumstances, to impose fines on anyone, who is obviously flouting the instruction if they are not able to demonstrate that their 'outing' is essential. It's a shame that a few people remain so stubborn, ignorant, opinionated, seemingly convinced that they can neither carry nor pass on the Corona virus infection to other people, arrogant enough to believe they are above being confined to their homes, too willing to blame somebody else for the problem or simply too bloody-minded to care about the risk they present to others by not behaving responsibly, perhaps even they have a deeply embedded death wish!

I concede there will also be some, who live in physically confined or very crowded homes that must make life very difficult indeed for them to find their own space and remain behind their own front doors. We all need some space away from the noise and opinions of others.

As for the homes and lives of those in the NHS, working on the front line, daily exposing themselves to infection, it is very evident that they are having to be very courageous indeed. This is not least because of inadequate supplies of PPE. It is gradually becoming apparent that this government were far to slow to respond to the rising threat of the Corona virus, as it spread across the World from China and in preparing for it, including the fact that they failed to be involved in the opportunity for an EU initiative to procure healthcare supplies including PPE. I can only put this down to intrinsic, ingrained, imperious, arrogant Brexit mentality that runs rife through this administration.

I'm sorry, but I only intended that there would be an occasional rant in this blog, but that is yet another in two successive days! It needed to be said nonetheless, because, in days, weeks and maybe years to come, I (hopefully) will still be around to look back on this and reflect on what was happening out there ... and see what lessons may have been learned.

The "Killing Fields" ... the dogs have been at their cuddly toys again!

Meanwhile, back here on the ranch, at home sweet home, life continues in an un-extraordinary way, with our daily activities becoming embedded as routines. Included in which are the demands of two healthy and energetic Labrador-X-Retrievers, who are themselves having to adjust to a routine without long walks ... because we do have a reasonable sized garden and our back lane up to the moors is becoming like a busy city centre High Street AND some people think it's all right to let their dogs off the lead on the roads because there aren't many cars. No, it is NOT all right to do that for several very good reasons. But I'm not going to waste time here giving you those reasons, because people who read this are probably going to be savvy enough to figure it out. Besides, they do have a lot of cuddly toys ... 

I leave you with a quote from John Donne's Meditation XVII: 

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” ~ John Donne (1572-1631) from Meditation XVII and a poem from My Poetry Library

And also today's choice of music from Clemency Burton-Hill's "Year of Wonder", which is "Overture" from Tannhauser by Richard Wagner. In light of fact we are still in the Easter weekend and, in spite of its title, Overture, this is another quite long piece (15 minutes). Although this will not go out until sometime on Tuesday, I give you permission to kick back and enjoy this typically dramatic, but, in parts quite uplifting piece, still full of exceptional Wagnerian drama. It was also, so Clemency tells us, "the perfect introduction to all Knights and nymphs, pilgrims and troubadours, goddesses and sirens that were to come." 


However you may be affected by anything I've written about, do leave me a comment below or, if you prefer not to, talk to a loved one, a friend or someone you trust.