LOCKDOWN CASTELLDEFELS - DAY 42 – Sunday, 26th APRIL

As I had to replenish my meds I visited the pharmacy this morning, giving me a representative view of the effects of the loosening of the lockdown in respect of children under 14.

   There were plenty of kids around and with the exception of one child none of them was wearing a mask and neither was the parent.  The kids were on scooters and bikes and in one incidence on a skateboard.  The paseo was fairly full and there were people on the beach.  The fact that this is notable in a seaside town speaks volumes for what we have been going through!

     Perhaps it is naive to suppose otherwise but the kids acted as though there was nothing wrong and that there had been nothing wrong.  If that totally understandable reaction of the kids is transferred to the parents, or even more disturbingly has come from the parents, then the virus results in a fortnight are going to give pause for thought.

     If things go according to the plan outlined by the Spanish government, then next week we may see a further loosening of the restrictions, and adults will be able to exercise outside too.  What exactly that might mean is not clear at the moment – but the idea of being able to go for a bike ride at least would be something to look forward to.

     Whatever happens in the immediate future, I think the idea of breaking down the in-house seclusion will gain an inevitable momentum that will be very difficult to reign in again.

     There are hundreds of people in Spain dying every day from Covid-19, the crisis is nowhere near over, but the mind set is looking towards some sort of conclusion.  And that is dangerous.

Meanwhile in Britain, tomorrow sees the return of the incompetent politician who went out of his way to get infected with Corvid-19 and who ‘leads’ a government that dithered at the start of the crisis ensuring the grotesque figures of infected and dead that we have now.

     One wonders how he will stage his return and then how he will divide his time between trying to explain what has gone on and working towards a no-deal Brexit.  I shudder for the future of my country.

     Talking of shuddering, Cummins the creepy power behind the empty throne is a participating member of what should be a purely scientific advisory committee.  The revelation in The Guardian about his membership over the weekend has sparked a controversy, but given the way that this government reacts to such things, I wonder just how much traction such a revelation will have.

The continuing story of printing out the final draft copy of The Coast of Memory has now reached epic proportions.  The problem is the ink.  God alone knows what sort of depraved electronic jiggery-pokery there is inside a printer that limits the usefulness of the ink in cartridges, but the woeful capacity of the replacements that I have used in the printing is beyond astonishing.  I suspect that there is some artificial limiting device that is able to override the obvious and audible reserves of ink in the cartridge and ensure that it is inoperable.  I refuse to give up, but the last printing was less than satisfactory.

     I might even end up going to a commercial outlet.  Except, of course, all of those are closed at the moment.  Ah, the travails of the would be publisher are never over!

And tomorrow is the next on line Catalan meeting!

LOCKDOWN CASTELLDEFELS - DAY 41 – Saturday, 25th APRIL

It has been a long time since I considered the implications of a word like sarcasm.  It was usually enough to remember the notable exchanges between Whistler and Wilde, especially the exchange of Oscar hearing Whistler say something clever and his then saying, “I wish I had said that!” and Whistler quipping, “You will, Oscar, you will!”  Now that is sarcasm at a high level: clever, witty and true!

     Which brings us to the ignoble piece of narcissistic trash that is the current president of the United States of America.  Even for him he has plumbed a new low in trying to pretend that his “Let them drink Dettol!” was an example of sarcasm, used as a form of ‘sarcasm’ to taunt the members of the press.  I watched that particular piece of the press conference and the idiot said it with what passes for sincerity with such an empathy-lacking sociopath such as himself to a member of his scientific advisory panel.  Trump is a crap actor in the same way as he is crap at all aspects of a life.  For what I saw to be sarcasm, Trump would have to be a sophisticated, articulate, Machiavellian, consummate thespian with high comedic skills.  Trump, that is not!

     I refuse to believe that Trump has any conception of irony or sarcasm, even though his entire existence and his present position exemplify the concepts!

The British total of dead from Covid-19 has now gone over the 20,000 that the scientific advisors said would be a limit that would indicate that we had done well to contain the disease.  So, we have done badly, because not only are we over the total of 20k but also the figures that we have at the present give only an indication of what the true numbers are and will be.

     Yet again the testing put in place by the government has failed as the testing opportunities have crashed for the second day running, one wonders how the government is going to spin that disaster in the sequence of disasters that have marked their management of the crisis.

Tomorrow in Spain is the release of the Plague Kids into society.  No one seems entirely sure of the exact rules for the release of the kids, but it will be interesting to see how the general population interpret them – at least from our limited viewpoint defined by the house!

     I will watch the news with a great deal of interest to see how the rules apply generally.

Today has been one of those days that simply seem to slip by and one wonders what one has done to justify the gift of 24 hours.  To be fair to me, I have (I think) come to a final draft for the chapbook, The Coast of Memory.  Tomorrow a final print out and checking and then, as far as I am concerned, it is done!