What a lovely day, at last. (Day 9). Yet, I couldn’t really get myself motivated. The usual comedy sketches and videos which I receive via WhatsApp or e-mail, are in fact very clever and amusing. Nevertheless, the news remains correspondingly grim as yet again, a record numbers continue to die of Coronavirus.
I started this blog on Saturday, got distracted, continued on Sunday, got distracted again; third day lucky? Today is 6th April and had Mother still been alive, she would have been receiving her fifth birthday card from The Queen! There’s no signal on my phone right now.
The warmth promised for the weekend did materialise, although I am far from convinced we enjoyed temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, yesterday was particularly pleasant; I got to talk to a couple of neighours on the Lane, albeit keeping at, at least, my prescribed distance. I continue to adjust to self isolation, which, as long as the deliveries continue to work out, I can, at the moment, live with. However, it won’t be long before I will regret not booking a second hair cut while on board ship. I had left it far too late to make an appointment!
According to guidelines, I am allowed to take an hour’s exercise in the vicinity of where I live. (That’s more than enough!) And there seems to be no objection to very occasional shopping. This may be necessary if the phone signal doesn’t materialise.
As a “time-filler” I have re- acquainted myself with YouTube. The videos they offer seem hand picked, more than likely based on data collected from my eBay dealings, and connections with the rail and cruise industries. Fairly recently, I went to see Steeleye Span at the Buxton Opera House and Maddy Prior with the Carnival Band at Doncaster. I can now tune into full live concerts of both, as well as watch vintage train and ship movies. Two days ago, I watched part of a 1964 episode of Coronation Street in which Martha Longhurst dropped dead in the Rovers Return! Even today, it remained a poignant and very well produced episode; I remember watching this at the age of 15, shortly after Mum and Dad conceded to renting a television! That same 15 year old would celebrate his 71st birthday cruising along the Chilean coast, 56 years later! Also in 1964, I saw the Rolling Stones with a young Deirdre (“D-D”) Vesco at the Manchester Odeon. I still have the ticket stub and the programme…a wonderful artefact of social history.
It’s healthy, I think, to hark back to previous times, occasionally, but not get too stuck in nostalgia. Right now, Boris Johnson finds himself in intensive care. While not a fan, I am alarmed; all of a sudden, the man leading the country through an unprecedented crisis, and I think, doing remarkably well, is himself feeling very fearful, ‘though, he would never show it. Apparently, the peak of this dreadful pandemic should be in around 10 days. That may be the case, but I won’t speculate if and when things will be as they were before January 10th, the day I left these shores until just over a week ago.
To all those following my writings efforts, thanks for reading, and to everybody, stay safe and very best wishes, David 01.14hrs 7/4/20.
David's Cruise 