Today
is the Day of the Catalan Examination!
After
some laconically frenetic revising last night, I felt that I was reasonably
confident about being able to flannel my way through yet another
examination. My piece of (memorized)
writing (suitable for all examinable occasions) was almost in my personal brain
RAM; my knowledge of accents was insecurely in place; my ability to translate
was its usual rocky self – in other words, I was prepared!
I
eschewed my customary early morning swim in favour of some desultory looking
over my notes (and completing the Guardian quick crossword, because, yes) and
resentfully and fearfully girding my cycling loins (almost literally, the cross
bar on my bike is set intimidatingly high) and setting forth to be examined.
And the school was closed because of
Corvid-19. Irony, which is ever my
companion in arms, strikes again! To be
fair, I am not sure whether I am relieved or annoyed. Admittedly, I did not want to take the exam
because of the almost inevitable ignominy that awaited me on the handing back
of the papers; yet, on the other hand the exam is merely delayed and, frankly,
I do not see myself getting stuck-in to more revision just because one of The
Horsemen has gifted me a little more time.
My indolence in such things extends to encompass any temporal largesse!
The Generalitat (the government of
Catalonia) had issued statements to the effect that schools would be closed,
but when I phoned my particular institution yesterday I was told that they
simply didn’t really know. Yes, they
would be shut from Monday of next week, but tomorrow, who could say? Well, say they didn’t, and it was left to me
and my trusty cycle to make a fruitless journey through strangely unpopulated
streets to my deserted place of education.
The silence was even more pronounced because the infants and junior
school that adjoins our establishment was also closed – and believe you me,
that place is never, ever silent. Not
even close to it, whatever time of the day you pass by!
My arrival there reminded me of the time I
emerged from Westminster tube and instantly felt that something was wrong, but
couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was.
Then it struck me: I was looking at the Houses of Parliament in
silence. No traffic, no sound. A moment later a policeman approached me and
suggested that I return whence I came, immediately, down the steps and
away. There had been a bomb scare and
the environs of parliament had been cleared.
It remains in my memory as a deeply unsettling memory, as does the
memory of scuttling away down the steps and getting on the next tube out and
away!
This time there was sound and there were
people, just fewer than usual. As a Brit
you sometimes get suckered by the fact that many shops open at 10.00 am and not
at the more usual earlier hours of the UK.
As my class starts at 9.00 am ordinarily closed shops can look more
sinister than they actually are. And
did!
But, the important point is that my
linguistic reputation gets to survive for a little longer, though I am aware
that reality will catch up with me eventually!
The
house next door continues to be the source of sound with roller blinds being
installed and the threat of building blocks in the front garden waiting as a
concrete reminder (see what I did there!) of sonic tension to come. They have been working on the house since
before Christmas and there is no end in sight!
Talking
of ‘ends in sight’, I don’t know if it is tempting fate to say it, but some of
the containment measures taken by governments appear to be working. The outbreak in China might be in the process
of being contained; Korea has had a drop in cases, it might be working! Britain has been criticized as doing too
little too late, but with Conservatives (especially the current toxic breed)
presently in power, what can you expect?
There has been, we have been told, no case
of Covid-19 in Castelldefels, and the precautions that are currently being
taken will limit our exposure. It is a
pity that the leader of the free world and the leader of the UK are both
characters without integrity and scruple, but we have to work with what we
have. One can help thinking that the
chant “LBJ! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today!” that haunted (rightly) the
warmongering president will resurface after this crisis develops and people
start looking for people to blame. In a
way Trump has forestalled this process in his shocking (for reasonable people)
address to the American people when he referred to a ‘foreign virus’ and
started blaming the EU, while at the same time lauding his own financial
‘policy’. He truly is repulsive!
In the tranquillity of my own living room,
with the sun shining through the windows and the comfortingly domestic sound of
the washing machine from the kitchen, it is easy to think the coronavirus
crisis (should those words have capital letters?) as far away as the other
plagues, rather than something on our doorsteps waiting for entry. The measures being taken are unprecedented in
my experience, and they give a weighty pause for thought. Though, having said that, I cannot say that
the crisis has changed the way I live yet: the cancelled lessons are the first
‘real’ effect. The Liceu has a new
production of Lohengrin, and with the
new restrictions on large gatherings they had said that the first few
performances would be cancelled, however the performance I am scheduled to
attend is at the end of March, just after the ban comes to an end. I thought that my luck was in, but an
announcement yesterday informed us that all performances had been
cancelled. Museums, art galleries,
theatres and sporting events have been cancelled, or games will have to be
played behind closed gates. So I am
affected by the restrictions, but can continue to live in virtually normality. It remains to be seen whether or not the
present restrictions will be sufficient to contain the virus, one hopes so!
Meanwhile, time gained must be put to good
use. I am now drafting out two poems:
the memory poem continues to be elusive and it has been joined by a poem about
wasps – well, I thought I would branch out a bit from flies!
