The
first week completed; I would feel some sort of sense of achievement, if it
wasn’t for the information that this is likely to be the first week of months of
lockdown to come.
We were first told that this Draconian
form of self-isolation would last until the end of March. My school said that lessons would probably
resume on the 30th of March.
People were geared up for a couple of weeks of ‘hardship’ before
something approaching pre-virus normality was restored. That now seems like a fond, self-deluding
fantasy. Some people have talked of a
whole year of confinement!
Although we have been told not to expect a
vaccine for at least a year or more, we can look forward to some sort of
treatment for the virus in a very much shorter time. This may be metaphorically putting out the
fire rather than ensuring that the fire never starts, but it is better than
nothing. If things go according to plan
we ‘at risk’ group should be able to look forward to some sort of augmented
flue jab by the autumn and some sort of treatment if we are actually infected
and, who knows, perhaps a vaccine in short order too!
But what will be the real costs of this
pandemic extending through spring, summer and into the autumn? Taking the worst of the PIGS (Portugal,
Italy, Greece, Spain) group of countries first, what exactly is going to happen
to Greece? Economically Greece is the
basket case of Europe, and it was before the virus, so where does that place it
now? And Italy? After (and during) the extended disaster of
the virus on the country what is going to be left on which to build? Portugal was a frail economy, what adjective
can describe it now? All of Spain’s hotels
are closed, the tourist trade is dead; restaurants, bars and shops closed: how
are they going to recover? And when does the recovery process start?
From a personal point of view, I am one of
those lucky buggers to have been able to retire at an age when I could take
full advantage of an income-linked pension.
Even when I started to draw my pension, the government was belatedly
panicking about how to pay it in the future.
The raising of the pension age was a (belatedly) desperate decision to
put off the day of reckoning when the sums finally would have to be worked out.
A shrinking working population
supporting a growing population of pensioners simply doesn’t work. What those ‘sums’ are going to be like when
this crisis is finally over is not something which makes me feel confident
about my future finances.
‘Confidence’ and ‘Fairness’ are two key
words to bear in mind when thinking about the short and long term consequences
of the virus. As with payment of
pensioners, there will be questions about payment of workers who, because of
the self-isolation policy, not working.
The government will be paying out and not getting anything like enough
coming in to pay for it all. OK, the
interest rates on available money are almost insultingly low, so governments
can borrow at more than attractive rates – but that money eventually has to be
paid back. It will be hardly surprising
if people start to question the apportioning of scarce wealth in the coming
months, and difficult questions will be asked about those to whom the limited
wealth is given.
Our politicians are fond of using war
imagery during crises, and in Britain there is often an appeal to some sort of
mythical national characteristic that is at its best in times of threat. The appeal to ‘The Spirit of the Blitz’, the cheerful
resignation, the make do and mend, the we can take it syndrome that will see us
‘muddle though’ and allow us to look back on national catastrophes with a wry
smile and a slightly disbelieving shake of the head. That’s the fantasy.
The reality is supermarket shelves
stripped bare as the outward sign of the vicious selfishness that is a far clearer
marker for ‘national character’ than any of the mythic positive qualities of
the past. The ignoring of government
recommendations to stay at home, to close pubs and clubs, to avoid travel and
all the other ‘suggestions’ that the Blond Buffoon’s government were too
cowardly to make into instructions when they were needed.
British people, we have been told, have
flocked to the seaside, are still gathering in dangerous groups, a still having
a drink are still, in other words, doing all those selfish things that ensure
the spread of the virus. Modern Britain
is generally, a glaring reflection of the selfish negativity that gave us the
Brexit vote.
I know that this negativity does not apply
to the whole population. My cousin in
London has said that she has been overwhelmed by the number of emails and
offers of help that she has received, that her street has an active and
positive on line group that ensures that people in the at-risk group are never
alone. There will always be good people
doing the right thing, but with a virus, all it takes is a tiny minority of
irresponsible people to create havoc – and the minorities are hard at work
doing exactly that in Britain today.
My
walk around the pool was a more social event than it has been over the last few
days. This time, there was a fellow
walker – not I rush to add in the same area as I, but in the next door’s tennis
court, safely apart from our pool. A
young lady, with earphones securely inserted walking with brisk purpose around
the court, their pool and back again. We
gave each other a quick, smiled “¡Hola!” as we passed. I was waved to by two of our neighbours who
leaned out from first floor living room windows. But, if more people follow my example and
perambulate around the pool, then I will stop doing it, the risks will increase
and I will be confined to the third floor terrace. That should be no problem, as we have been
informed that someone has run a full marathon on a 7m balcony! Where there is a will there is a way.
But I do not think that the will is that
strong. Already you can see signs of
‘fraying’ as people buck against the unnatural confinement. People want out! And who is going to stop them? And that is where I see the real problems
lie.
Talking to a friend in Britain, he said,
“There will be riots in three weeks, if this keeps up!” People will not be confined, and it will
take police and the armed forces to keep them in place. I think that social unrest is almost
inevitable. I was shocked to learn that
in northern Italy people are not keeping to the strict restraints of
quarantine. In northern Italy the most
toxic centre of the virus in Europe!
50,000 people turned up to see the Olympic Flame in Japan! What part of contagion do these people not
understand? If rules continue to be
flouted what is left for government, but enforcement? And then god help us all!
Well,
having thoroughly depressed myself, I will now turn to something a little more
uplifting. Um . . . ur . . . um . . .
I
joined the MOOC (Massive Open On-line Course) with a university in Madrid
looking at a series of paintings from the Renaissance to the death of Goya.
(European Paintings; from Leonardo to Rembrandt to Goya – Universidad Carlos
III de Madrid) Although the course is
‘free’ there is a massive attempt to get you to pay $50 to have an augmented
experience and be able to do the multiple answer ‘exams’ and to get a
certificate at the end of the course.
The course is in English and it comprises a series of short videos and
an on-line forum.
I have looked at the first few videos for
the course and, as far as they go, they are fine and dandy and aimed fairly
squarely at those with little or no experience of art history: they are an
engaging introduction and there is a standard choice of artists to
consider. I will ‘follow’ the course,
but I’m not sure that I will learn a great deal, but there is much to be said
for revision! And I am looking at other
courses that will be more stretching, and I have already found one on Modernism
that looks promising!
A reminder that drafts of my new poems are available on my blog smrnewpoems.blogspot.com
