April 5th
An landmark day. The Queen makes a rare address to the nation. Her message of hope, her rallying call for unity, her promise of a happy ending, clashed with shocking news that our Prime Minister Boris Johnson entered hospital with worsening corona virus symptoms. We are truly a nation in crisis, our upside down world rocking wildly on its unsteady axis.
This weekend has been warm and sunny, the perfect time for that first bbq of the year with family and friends. Instead the garden is still , only nature's musical soundscape of birdsong echoing around me, unnaturally loud in my silenced home.
My mood is at odds with this gorgeous weather. I want my BBQ, I miss my family and friends, I want to laugh with my loved ones, play with grandchildren, I want to walk freely, without fear, visit a beach, a city, I want to do all those things I have taken for granted for so long.
On Sunday evening HRH Queen Elizabeth, regal as ever at 93, urges us to stay positive. Her speech evoking the blitz spirit in both words and pictures touches me, her stoicism uplifts me. In her much heralded address she reminds us all of her younger self rallying the people of Britain during World War 2. Echoes of Vera Lynn bring tears to my eyes. "We will meet again" is music to my ears.
Whether this rallying call for today's generations will make a difference to those who persist in ignoring the rules, who knows? I sense maybe this parallel with another era of crisis and chaos, one still within living memories , could drawn a useful shape around our disembodied lives, give us hope and direction for the future. This is not the first time normality has vanished yet the country, the world, righted itself again.
Britain is rightly renowned throughout the world for our democracy and civil liberties. A privilege we have taken for granted. As a society, as a culture, we cherish our freedoms. Our police do not traditionally carry guns. Our landscape, our beaches, our countryside, our cities, are our playgrounds. To find ourselves stripped of our liberties is almost beyond comprehension.
Our society lives by common consent but it is hard for all to willingly consent to this sudden loss of free will. Dissent can be heard all around as well as discontent. But if individuals do not conform, for however good a reason, how do we collectively cope, how will we ever find our way back or out of this.
The history 'lesson' and the moral of the past in the Queen's speech was, to me, a salutary one, a necessary moment to resolve wobbling sense of cultural unity. A promise that we can and will come through this together. That there will be a happy ending.
But then, a shocking headline. Boris Johnson is in hospital. The most important and most protected man in the land has been proven vulnerable, unable to shake off this virus unaided. News veers between the Queen's address and sudden, deeply disturbing, development. The Government assures us it is business as normal. So obviously unrealistic broadcasters struggle to convey this with any reassurance.
A day of multi/mixed emotions. Frustration, malaise, depression, pride and shock. Once the dust has settled from this momentous day I will spend time with my reflections and experiences of living in lockdown Britain. There is time ahead to do that but I feel this landmark day. April 5th , merits its own post. Time has acquired a new dimension. The long Easter weekend is only days away and yet to me minutes can seem like hours, days turn into weeks, and I do not dare think beyond a week.
Each day brings it s own challenges as the road we travel takes unexpected twists and turns, steep ascents and sharp, sudden drops. Who knows what lies around the next corner, the next bend in the road.................
An landmark day. The Queen makes a rare address to the nation. Her message of hope, her rallying call for unity, her promise of a happy ending, clashed with shocking news that our Prime Minister Boris Johnson entered hospital with worsening corona virus symptoms. We are truly a nation in crisis, our upside down world rocking wildly on its unsteady axis.
This weekend has been warm and sunny, the perfect time for that first bbq of the year with family and friends. Instead the garden is still , only nature's musical soundscape of birdsong echoing around me, unnaturally loud in my silenced home.
My mood is at odds with this gorgeous weather. I want my BBQ, I miss my family and friends, I want to laugh with my loved ones, play with grandchildren, I want to walk freely, without fear, visit a beach, a city, I want to do all those things I have taken for granted for so long.
On Sunday evening HRH Queen Elizabeth, regal as ever at 93, urges us to stay positive. Her speech evoking the blitz spirit in both words and pictures touches me, her stoicism uplifts me. In her much heralded address she reminds us all of her younger self rallying the people of Britain during World War 2. Echoes of Vera Lynn bring tears to my eyes. "We will meet again" is music to my ears.
Whether this rallying call for today's generations will make a difference to those who persist in ignoring the rules, who knows? I sense maybe this parallel with another era of crisis and chaos, one still within living memories , could drawn a useful shape around our disembodied lives, give us hope and direction for the future. This is not the first time normality has vanished yet the country, the world, righted itself again.
Britain is rightly renowned throughout the world for our democracy and civil liberties. A privilege we have taken for granted. As a society, as a culture, we cherish our freedoms. Our police do not traditionally carry guns. Our landscape, our beaches, our countryside, our cities, are our playgrounds. To find ourselves stripped of our liberties is almost beyond comprehension.
Our society lives by common consent but it is hard for all to willingly consent to this sudden loss of free will. Dissent can be heard all around as well as discontent. But if individuals do not conform, for however good a reason, how do we collectively cope, how will we ever find our way back or out of this.
The history 'lesson' and the moral of the past in the Queen's speech was, to me, a salutary one, a necessary moment to resolve wobbling sense of cultural unity. A promise that we can and will come through this together. That there will be a happy ending.
But then, a shocking headline. Boris Johnson is in hospital. The most important and most protected man in the land has been proven vulnerable, unable to shake off this virus unaided. News veers between the Queen's address and sudden, deeply disturbing, development. The Government assures us it is business as normal. So obviously unrealistic broadcasters struggle to convey this with any reassurance.
A day of multi/mixed emotions. Frustration, malaise, depression, pride and shock. Once the dust has settled from this momentous day I will spend time with my reflections and experiences of living in lockdown Britain. There is time ahead to do that but I feel this landmark day. April 5th , merits its own post. Time has acquired a new dimension. The long Easter weekend is only days away and yet to me minutes can seem like hours, days turn into weeks, and I do not dare think beyond a week.
Each day brings it s own challenges as the road we travel takes unexpected twists and turns, steep ascents and sharp, sudden drops. Who knows what lies around the next corner, the next bend in the road.................
It is indeed a weird time for everyone. I think that the Queen's address had a gravitas that really underlined how serious the events that we as a country, and the rest of the world, are currently facing. I do think it also had a rallying effect, a sense that we will get through this together if we just keep going.
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