At 8pm last night, Her Majesty The Queen addressed the UK and Commonwealth on coronavirus. This is only the fourth special address in her 70 year reign. It was a good speech. In it, she reflected on the challenge that the virus is bringing to all of us. She thanked those working on the NHS ‘frontline’, carers, and all of those involved in delivering essential services. She also acknowledged those of us staying at home to protect the vulnerable. This is very much a global common endeavour. ‘We will succeed…we will meet again.’
OK, so watching it again today, I did get a little tear in my eye. And yes, I still have mixed feelings about the monarchy.
Soon after the Queen’s address was the news that Boris Johnson, the UK’s Prime Minister, was admitted to hospital for tests. He tested positive for the coronavirus about 10 days ago and still has persistent symptoms of the virus.
A strange evening. Just before bed, I looked out the window. I saw stars. I pulled the window down to get a better view. The sky was clear in a way I’ve never seen it while living in London. It made me smile.
And today? I’ve managed to get some work done. I’m getting used to the silence.
I went out for essential shopping. I saw it as a real success. I have eggs! The only things on my list that they were out of stock on were sea salt, and lime juice – essential but not really, I certainly wouldn’t go into another shop just to find them. Next time. I’ve limited how often I do essential shopping to twice a week. I get a bit twitchy at the thought of going and buying groceries. Long gone are the days of popping into a shop simply to buy a bread roll for lunch.
Walking up my high street, an ambulance pulled in. It was obviously out on a call. I saw one of the crew get out. He was wearing a surgical mask, gloves, and a flimsy white plastic apron. I already know there’s a real lack of PPE for critical workers. I’ve seen it on the news. I’ve seen it on TV. It had a very different feel seeing this in person. And it made me angry. It made me angry that this man, who I don’t know, is out there, without access to appropriate PPE, putting himself, potentially his family, and others at risk. I get twitchy enough walking into a supermarket. I can’t imagine what it’s like for him and other people working out there. It gives me chills just thinking about it.
I came home, had some lunch, and then headed to Dulwich Park for some speedy walking as my dodgy knee doesn’t like me running. The park was a lot quieter than yesterday. Lots of dogs happily bounding about the place. Lots of small kids on bikes, many still learning how to ride in a straight line.
And in the news? Looks like the PM will be spending a second night in hospital. On the good news front, England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, is back! And in the news that is enough to give nightmares, rates of domestic violence are dramatically increasing around the world.
As expected, numbers are increasing. Deaths in the UK now total 5, 373. The days ahead will be grim. While there’s been a reduction in deaths over the last couple of days, there’s a lot that’s not yet recorded. And the grim news, 17,911 people have been admitted to hospital for coronavirus. We don’t know how long this will last. We don’t know how long lockdown will be for.
Trying to settle on a mood these days is tricky. Random moments of joys – finding eggs to buy, seeing stars. Random moments of – this is all complete shit. Things will be like this for some time.
So that’s it for Day 14. Stay safe, stay will, and stay home!