Thursday 2 April 2020

Compensation culture

So Jenny and I may be in lockdown, and unable to indulge some of our familiar outside pleasures - coffee and pastries at Caffè Nero, a Fiorentina at Pizza Express, a movie at the Queens Film Theatre, or a new art exhibition at the Metropolitan Arts Centre - but we're compensating with a little more of our usual domestic pleasures:
  • A few glasses of New Zealand or Aussie white wine
  • Peppermint Aero, Twix, Lindt truffles
  • A long walk round the huge Stormont estate (walking is allowed)
  • A Scrabble tournament - so far Jenny 4, Nick 4. I scraped ahead in the seventh game with "XI" (fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet), which scores 9
  • Watching DVDs. We've just ordered two more - Notting Hill and Gimme Shelter (the Stones film, not the other one)
  • Watching Location Location Location. I love nosing around other people's homes - and potential homes
  • Reading books voraciously. My current read is The Narrow Land by Christine Dyer Hickey. The one before was Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  • Listening to music. Especially Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Laura Mvula, Annie Lennox, Courtney Barnett
  • Doing sudokus. Jenny can do the really tricky ones that always defeat me
  • Watching the spring growth in the garden. The camellia bush is finally flowering, weeks after everyone else's 
  • Seeing what's new on Facebook. No cute kittens recently
  • The usual free-wheeling political discussions in which we put the world to rights, find an antidote for the coronavirus, instigate world peace, finish off capitalism, and wonder when Labour's going to get its act together
What could be more enjoyable? But it's a slightly guilty enjoyment knowing that out there thousands of people are dying, leaving grief-stricken loved ones, health workers aren't properly protected from the virus (my niece is a nurse in Cambridge), and thousands of people are losing their jobs and facing destitution.

Frightening doesn't begin to describe the desperate situation we're all in.

26 comments:

  1. Those are some good ways to pass the time. I'm doing a lot of walking and sudoku as well. I took out 5 library books the day before they shut down. I'm on book 3, trying to make them last.

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    1. Bijoux: I've got several new books to read, then I shall do some re-reading. Plenty to choose from, we have about a thousand books on our bookshelves!

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  2. And when this is over will people ride up and refuse to allow the systems which produced this chaos to continue?

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    1. Fly: I hope so, but people can be remarkably stuck in their ways. And the Brits are not prone to rioting or general strikes or anything that might seriously threaten the powers that be.

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  3. We have a niece, a new mother, who is a doctor in a low-income area in Minneapolis--scary.

    Jigsaw puzzles are what is saving our sanity right now. And all our online friends, of course.

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    1. Linda: I hope your niece gets through this ordeal safely.

      I was never keen on jigsaws, but my father did a lot of them when he was stuck at home recovering from his stroke.

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  4. Not a great deal seems to have changed at the Zedery. It has, of course, because we don't see anyone and don't go shopping, but those took a small part of our time anyway. I'm having to use some self-discipline to get anything much done at all.

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    1. Z: I'm a physically restless person, so I find it quite easy to move around and get things done. I couldn't be a couch potato if I tried!

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  5. Things in the world right now are so crazy and sad. I truly hope this pandemic is over soon.

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    1. Mary: Me too. It's a totally weird situation. And all those everyday problems that need attention are getting shelved while governments focus 100 per cent on the virus.

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  6. No, it's not good. And our job is to do our best flattening the curve, as leaders who know say.

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    1. Joanne: Or squashing the sombrero, as someone put it. Most people are very carefully distancing, but there are still some idiots holding parties and barbecues.

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  7. Our life hasn't changed that much. We go to the grocery store every four days instead of every other day and will probably start wearing masks since they're thinking of suggesting that. I no longer go to the Y because it's closed and may start taking walks from time to time, but so far don't even feel the need to do that. I exercise at home watching Netflix and Great Course Plus and write my daily blog. Andy still goes up to the land every day, since he doesn't interact with people there. That keeps us plenty busy and happy while we do our part to flatten the curve.

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    1. Jean: Very few people wearing masks here. But everything's eerily quiet as people hunker down in their homes. The two nearby schools closed some time ago.

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  8. My personal life has not changed much except that instead of solving crossword puzzles, I am reading whatsapp messages and responding to them or reading generally. Our community by a majority vote has decided to ban the entry of newspapers into our locality and so, I am forced to give up my daily routine.

    I however see others totally lost unable to find things to do and I get a lot of phone calls from people who do not have any thing else to do and just want to pass time asking about things are with me.

    Yes, frightening but something that will hopefully leave us all with different lifestyles afterwards.

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    1. Ramana: A ban on newspapers? I've never heard of that before. Of course you can get most of the papers online (unless there's a paywall). I'm puzzled as to why people are so lost - Jenny and I have plenty of things to do.

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  9. It sounds like you're doing a very good keeping yourselves occupied, and most importantly, following the social distancing rules. I've definitely been eating more candy and dessert during this. That's great that your camellia bush is blooming. I think those are so pretty. I hope you'll put some pictures of it on your blog.

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    1. Danielle: Jenny and I have always been good at keeping ourselves amused. Re the camellia bush, I have no smartphone and no camera but maybe I can pinch Jenny's....

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  10. That is an excellent list.

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    1. Polly: I'm sure the completion of dolls house number 2 will keep you well occupied for some time to come!

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  11. There's plenty to do indoors - though I'm still putting it all off! I love my couch. And potato.
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: Always plenty of housework to do here but as usual procrastination is rife.

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  12. Yes, I am finding much of it quite pleasant but like you am aware that it's not so for many people.

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    1. Liz: Indeed. The obvious example is women who're trapped at home with a violent husband. Or just a domineering, self-centred husband.

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  13. I learned when quite young how to entertain myself if confined at home without access to othrs, even by phone and long before the internet, to others than my parents who were mostly busy with their own responsibilities. Now, life goes on for me pretty much as it had been in recent years, though less 1:1 live interaction since I live alone. I shop for groceries less frequently but even before the virus I chose to shop only every few weeks anyway. I do patronize select drive-thru restaurants, have more other non-food items shipped in, did take one food item shipped in and am going to try a food pick-up, possibly expanding to occasionally trying grocery pick-ups. Reading, following news developments, especially in L.A. area right now via TV, radio;
    remote contact with family, friends, viewed one older TV series, generally taking care of business around here as plenty to do, especially at my easy-go rate. No time for boredom.

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    1. Joared: Sounds like you've got yourself very well organised. Like you, I had parents who generally left me to my own devices so I soon learnt to amuse myself. Being under lockdown is no great hardship, I just amuse myself in new ways.

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