Sunday 29 March 2020

Spring in the Time of Self-isolation

 Being of that most romantic age, namely senior, 70+, I am staying at home, literally not venturing out at all.
Before that, I went for two walks per day and limited my shopping to once a week or twice if I ran out of milk/bread (they seem to have very short shelf lives, or is it just me?).
On my walks along by the river I could see that Spring was starting to making itself felt despite all the gloom and doom and the soothsayers and see-it-all-positives.  I took this picture near the quays a couple of days ago.


Spring Flowers



The birds are very busy right now, twittering all over the place. (I was going to say tweeting, but that might give the impression that I think our feathered songsters are adepts on their mobiles). I managed a shot of this blackbird who is a regular in the garden. We get robins, too but they are so quick to take off that I haven't been able to get a good picture - not that this one of the blackbird is going to win me any prizes. I've seen blue tits and I've seen a bullfinch twice. They make me feel good every time I see them hopping about.

Wish I could go walking. Stay safe wherever you are.




Thursday 26 March 2020

Coping with things

Seems like this has been going on now for a hundred years!  I checked in my diary and saw that the last time I was in any kind of gathering was only two weeks ago. Incredible! It's not that I was out partying every night, I live alone so am used to silence. But I didn't realize how much I actually went out until I stopped. I am a member of a few clubs, there's a book club I go to once a month, I meet up with friends to go to the cinema or just for a chat. I'm involved in a community centre. And when the mood takes me, I like to hop on the bus and visit the big city for a walk around the shops. That's all gone for now and I miss the freedom.

Being a "senior", I am washing my hands, keeping my distance, not visiting or receiving visitors, shopping once a week and going for walks every day. I think I would add one more thing to that list, namely, stop reading the rumours on social media. For some people, bless their happy hearts, no news can bad enough so they invent worse scenarios - I sometimes think they should just binge watch catastrophe movies on television.

The weather is sunny here and I have the sea on my doorstep, something you pay a lot of money to experience.
I met a few acquaintances on my walk this morning and we were all so pleased to see each other and exchange experiences, keeping our distance of course.

If we learn one thing from this, it is that we are herd animals. We might all talk on our mobiles and keep in touch using social media but there is nothing like human contact, when all is said and done.
It is a reassuring thought in a world that is getting more and more robot driven.
Stay safe everyone!







Saturday 21 March 2020

Learning new words

We are all learning new words. Social-distancing, for example. Now, I think that will be the word of the year.
Personally, I can't keep up with all the new expressions out there. One of my favourite quotes (don't know who said it) is:  "a smile is the shortest distance between two people." A smile is better than words. If you have ever been in a country where you do not speak the language, you know what I'm talking about. You feel understood without having exchanged a word.
I am doing my bit towards social-distancing. Thank heavens we have social media to keep us in touch with our loved ones. I think I have received more phone calls and WhatsApp messages in the last two weeks than ever before. It is heart-warming to say the least. And it proves that if used positively, Twitter and FaceBook can help isolated people from feeling lonely and depressed.
Take care everyone.