Photographed 27th April 2020 - 36 days into lockdown
We felt intimations of Coronavirus long before lockdown but all seemed at a distance until the day before, when friends were due for supper. We all agreed to cancel. Suddenly we felt the impact of no personal contact with family or friends, no regular activities and cancelled holidays.
With the wind in our faces, two wheels underneath, may blossom, bluebells, sunshine and a load of home-made scrubs bags in our panniers on the way to Saffron Walden, we know how fortunate we are. Just a pity we cannot stop at Cafe Coucou. but how trivial, when so many are fighting for their lives, many more are waging a relentless war to help them, and thousands of people are incarcerated in urban garrets.
It is heartwarming but embarrassing to be waited on by family and neighbours, to be on the receiving end of so much goodwill, and yet to be fully able. Generosity is infectious and uplifting. We have been entertained and inspired by the ingenuity of people to entertain themselves electronically and to maintain contact with the world, and we have taken pleasure in renewed contact with distant friends and relatives.
Covid 19 is dreadful for those who catch it, a huge threat and a grinding inhibition for everyone else. This infinitesimal dot ravages the World, killing thousands and ruining many more. Like the aftermath of all wars, society will return eventually to harmonious stability having gained new techniques and technology, but the scars will persist for a very long time.
This is a unique global opportunity to assess how changed patterns of human behaviour could stimulate lasting changes to the way we live, with a greater sensitivity to our environment, reduced energy usage, and appreciation of different roles in society.
Written 10th of May 2020.
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