When did I last hug someone? When did I last shake hands with someone? When did I last even bump into someone accidentally?
When did I last go to a pub with friends? Or out for a meal?
When did I last have someone round for a coffee? Or meet someone for a coffee?
When did I last go to the cinema? No! I know this one – it was to see the Downton Abbey movie, which was a bit disappointing. The time before that was Bohemian Rhapsody, which was phenomenal.
When did I last have my hair cut? Actually, I know the answer to that too – it was 12th March. Nearly 3 months ago.
When did I last wander around the shops? To be fair, I rarely wandered around the shops. But it was nice to know that the shops were there to be wandered around.
When did I last have a day out? When did I last pop in to ‘my’ National Trust property?
My life has shrunk right down – it’s now just the house, Aldi, the petrol station and work. And I only go to the petrol station once a month, because all I’m doing is driving to work (four miles each way) and Aldi (less than half a mile).
But things are starting to change.
The roads are getting busier. I did my first kitchen design yesterday. My lodger is back to work ‘at work’ now, after weeks and weeks of working from home.
Is it too soon? Should we be getting back to normal quite yet? Will there be another peak?
Or are we over-reacting – after all, we’ve always had infectious diseases to contend with. Why are we making such a song and dance about this one? People didn’t stay 2 metres apart and wear PPE in the days when TB, polio, mumps, measles, German measles, cholera or typhoid were around. They just shrugged their shoulders and accepted that they might get ill and that if they got ill they might die. And then they got on with their life.
People are deciding for themselves that there are some things – Black Lives in particular – that are more important than social distancing.
This life-in-limbo that we’ve been living can’t go on forever – but should it go on for just a little longer? Yes, I think it should – but my thoughts on the matter count for diddly squat. I’ll be staying away from people for a while longer (or as far away as it’s possible while working in retail…) and I won’t be rushing to the ‘non-essential’ shops as soon as they open. I’ll let the crowds die down a little.
The trouble is, after a while, ‘non-essential’ becomes essential – the first place I’ll be heading once I do feel safe to do it will be the M&S knicker department…
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