Week 1 of 'non' lockdown

 Week 1 of 'non' lockdown

Officially, this is not a lockdown. It is a 4 week period of 'tough new restrictions' , England wide. Hardly a surprise to discover this bizarre four week period has a indistinct label  😕😠

Week 1 is over. 7 days of getting on and getting through. There are shafts of light, breakthrough news of an embryonic new vaccine and, yay,  the beginning of the end of Trump s era in the USA. 

Whilst for much of the country life carries on as normal, I and many like me grieve for more missed time with our grandchildren. The broken hearted cry silent tears of sorrow and isolation. Unlike the spring there is no sense of unity now. 

The country is split many ways, poor and rich, alone and together, and, vitally, those who stick to the rules and those who break them. I absolutely truly understand why people bend the restrictions, these laws are laughable, but it breaks my heart more to see them being treated with such contempt when  my week is empty due to my compliance.

Fortunately I have my social bubble of husband and daughter to keep me afloat.  Its not been an easy week for them either, this week 1, with Lewes Bonfire, the highlight of their social calendar, cancelled. 

Lewes was a ghost town shrouded in mists of mourning on November 5th. Annie and  Paul and I marked the night with their usual ritual of chilli and sparklers anyway  plus a walk on the hills to admire a multitude of  fireworks from gardens across the town. A 2020 'not the same but better than nothing' moment. 

In fairness , for me, for once, this was better than the usual 😁 I don't like crowds or fire so Lewes Bonfire holds little attraction. I 've managed to see the procession once in the 30 years we have lived here. Beyond amazing and I m glad to have seen it but once was enough.

My eldest son has brought his family up in the firework tradition , although in his case its one of blowing up everything in his garden. He triumphed in the  2020 pattern of inventiveness as his superb technology skills gave us a firework family zoom evening.  A truly good show enjoyed by one and all, including his near miss with the exploding rocket 💥 

Whilst watching clutching my granddaughters warm hands in mine cannot be duplicated,  no smell, no taste of burnt marshmallows, yet this was an extra special evening after all. The effort involved to make this work drew the family together, an unspoken bond to get through this by whatever means necessary. 

It is a surreal non lockdown. The streets are humming with life. Schoolchildren throng the town. The playgrounds are heaving. The question of how little too late plays on everyone's lips. Those of us who have had our life silenced again watch on in envy those whose lives continue as normal.

This much shared post on Facebook demonstrated the frustration shared by so many business owners and reflected the confusion shared by so many shoppers. 

News to be thankful for:

Two shafts of light brighten this bleak, dark, November week.

1. Thank God.  Joe Biden has won the US Presidency. Trump is still refusing to concede so weeks, even months,  of legal wrangling lie ahead but America and the world has recognised Biden as President Elect. 

It took days of nerve wrenching waiting after the election date on Nov 3rd for this momentous decision to be called. Early results terrifyingly showed Trump in the lead but painstakingly, state after state, especially with mail in voting , predominately preferred by democrats, came good and the final tally swung in the democrats favour. 

Whilst Biden endeared  himself to everyone by his calm patience and 'elder statesman' persona during this long wait Trump played golf and fired off increasingly wild twitter posts. 

It is great news that Trump's four years of right wing /climate denying/racist/sexist policies are over yet I find it sad so many Americans voted for him still. It is hard for me to know why. All I can say is we have Boris Johnson/Brexit so I guess is equally hard for the EU to understand this. I can hardly believe it myself. 

2. One of the multitude of vaccines in escalated  development has shown spectacularly good results.  The news from Pfizer/Bionetic in the USA had been held back until after the US election as it offer promise that a safe synthetic vaccine is closer than the world dared hope. 

Needless to say, it is just that, a promise. There is much water to flow under many bridges before our world is righted.

Three more weeks to go:

I cannot think as far ahead or as far back in imagining the world as it was before.

November is about getting through, one day at a time. 

Three more weeks. I hope 🤞