Not out of the woods yet - and probably not for a long time.
Some people assume because the government has relaxed some of the ideas around Covid 19 that the pandemic is over, when it very much is not.
More close downs are expected as countries around the world are experiencing massive rises in daily diagnosis and deaths and where many sectors of industry will be forced to shut again.
With schools opening soon, and with tens of thousands of children mixing - even if socially distancing - which is impossible with children as they want to play and run and do things together and we cannot assume them to always wear a mask and keep at least a meter away from others, and the potential is another mass shut down, another mass panic, another hoard of deaths and another period of fear based anxiety crippling the country, the economy and the mental head space of millions.
Coming out of lockdown this last period has shown what a load of tossers many became, offering outragous aspects of themselves and creating chaos everywhere they went. Mass crowds on the beaches leaving ten times more rubbish than ever before - where they simply - it seems - didn't care.
We have experienced it minimally here at Hamilton Hall - as reported last week, but in the wider world it seems, many are fed up with it all and just want to ' get back to normal ' when the truth is - we are not going to be getting back to normal any time soon, and certainly not by the end of this year and maybe even next. As winter approaches and as the cold and damp weather returns, - being a perfect breeding ground for colds, flus and virus's - we could be in for a long winter ahead.
We have now had some experience of lockdown. We now know what is expected - what is needed and what to stock up on, and I don't mean just food stuff, but DIY stuff, games, DVD's - things to amuse and keep busy and - should the power go off, candles and a way of keeping warm. We know that if we are alone we are going to become lonely, and if cooped up in a tiny flat with nowhere else to go, we are going to get cabin fever. There are many down sides to all of this, but there are also positives as well - as there are loads of wonderful programmes on the telly to watch and with Netflix and Sky as well as our normal terrestrial TV, we have more to keep up entertained than ever before.
We have the internet - communication around the world couldn't be easier - keeping in touch at the push of a button and seeing those we love who may be the other side of the world, is free on Skype etc. and before you moan, think what it would be like without the internet or TV - think how the Victorians would have coped, at home with books and paints and and crafts to keep us busy... as maybe there is something there for us to learn. There is more than telly.
How about using these times to study, read something of importance and I don't mean War and Peace - ( although ... ) but why not a foreign language - or take up a craft that is new to you and see how you get on - - redecorate the bedroom or remodel the kitchen. get some paint in - just in case - and then if and when, you have something in mind to keep you sane.
When people say they are bored, it usually means they are boring people - as someone with an active mind, an imaginative mind, is never bored. There is always something to amuse, entertain, educate and inform,. and I for one, never stop learning and creating and thinking and formulating and - I am never bored.
Maybe write a Blog for us to put on here - your experience from the last lockdown, or your losses - job - friends - family - or about where you walk your dog or bake your own bread.
There is always something to share if you just take the time... Look at the subjects I cover here - all kinds of things come to mind and all sort of things, I share, and get HUGE responses to, and I am just an amateur.
So plan ahead for the winter and do not assume it to be like any winter you have ever experienced before.
Hamilton Hall also has a large Diary of Events planned for various weekends throughout the winter months as well as the Festive Season and if you ever want to break that winter period up, or if you do not fancy being alone thoughout the dark nights, come and stay with us here.
Better yet - check out COMMUNITY LIVING and see if you would like to come and live here with us.
We are not out of the woods yet.
John Bellamy
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