It's hard to believe that we have now officially been living under some form of COVID-19 restrictions for over a year - and what a year it's been! However, despite the difficulties (and not to underestimate the hardship endured by people), we have also seen the emergence of a thoughtfulness and resilience, that spark of humanity, which has caused us to reach out to each other and try and make things better, even in a little way (for example, check out this virtual world tour through other people's windows!) - I honestly feel that so much good is going to come from all of this, even though there's a lot of hurt and pain and damage that also needs to be addressed. I'm convinced that this pandemic has brought out the very best in people, and it has shown us what is really important to us. At the same time, it has exposed areas in individual lives and in society in general that we had always pretended not to notice or would prefer not to see, which has been traumatic in its own way. It has been a reckoning of sorts, uncomfortable and even unbearable for some, but perhaps this realization can be used to improve those aspects of our immediate and wider environment that we had previously tried to hide or ignore - this experience has been a real eye-opener for all of us and it's up to each individual not only to acknowledge the suffering, but also, to take the good from what we've had to endure. It's not an easy process, for sure, but it could be a very worthwhile one
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It really is a sign of the times that I completely forgot to post on the 18th of February this year, the date of my first ever blog post way back in 2012 - how did I not remember this?? All I can say is that these are NOT normal times and we need to make allowances for one another... things are hard enough so let's all just be friends and ignore each other's failings! I find it difficult to believe I've been bothering the internet for 9 years now; it's been lovely and busy and distracting recently, despite our latest lockdown conditions, and because nothing much is happening in terms of going places or doing things, I haven't focused too much on writing here, but I love my tiny corner of the world wide web dearly - it's my own little fiefdom and I've spent many, many happy hours pondering and analyzing and meandering here. Words are a great gift to us, and I consider myself extraordinarily blessed to have this outlet for my thoughts and ramblings, or my digital scrapbook/diary as it is also known (to me). So, happy 9th birthday Andonanothernote.weebly.com and here's to a great year to come!
Happy New Year's Eve everyone! What a monumental year it's been - it's really quite difficult to put into words the sheer emotionality of the 2020 experience and I think it's definitely the case that we haven't yet fully processed everything that's happened. It's been strange and sad and scary and quite unbelievable, but we're here at the tail-end of a truly historic year, and it's appropriate at this point to reflect a little on how our lives have been so massively overturned compared to this time last year (we really had no idea what was coming down the tracks). Families have been torn apart, our cultural and societal scaffolding has been rent asunder, we have had to go to war with an unseen enemy and there has been a surfeit of human suffering and loss - everyone has been seriously affected in some way by this pandemic, including the most hardened COVID-deniers. We have been subjected to a non-stop onslaught of fear, spilling over into overt terror at times, and have had to endure the most severe curbs on personal freedom ever seen in a democratic state; people have lost loved ones, livelihoods, pretty much all familial and community supports and there has been no real respite all year apart from a few golden weeks during the summer - Christmas was not the free-for-all we had been promised and which was desperately needed. Now, we are back at full lockdown in Ireland, with even the re-opening of schools being delayed to give our country a chance to reduce the high number of infectious cases before our health service is no longer able to cope. Dramatic times, indeed...
In Ireland, November is traditionally very much a month of reflection, with its dark skies and short days, where we remember our ancestors and get ready for Advent and the Christmas period. It has been especially poignant this year, and it really has been a very intense few weeks as we have also been at Level 5 lockdown (pretty much full lockdown, although schools remain open) in the country since mid-October. I've always loved November; the weather suits the mood so well, and I've enjoyed it again this year, despite the restrictions in place. This second full lockdown has felt completely different to that earlier in the year, and I've found it far less stressful - we now have a much better understanding of the virus and how to treat people who are sick; there are more reliable therapies and we have the promise of an effective vaccine that will be available for use quite soon. Of course there are things that I miss; I miss my friends and family and going places and cafes and crowds in the city centre. However, I've also been reconnecting with people I care about but may have not kept in touch with, and I've been discovering the joys of online communication: in the last few weeks I've virtually attended a neuroscience conference, listened to a talk on the European Drug Report for this year, joined a choir and completed a CIEP course on Medical Editing! Life goes on and we have to make the most of it... I think we'll emerge from this a little sadder but far more wiser - we have had a real lesson on what is important and perhaps this is something that will be a force for good within the human race in the future.
This is only a short post because I completely forgot to put anything coherent or meaningful together during the month - all those online courses and neuroscience conferences took over somewhat! Advent began yesterday and it's time now to prepare for Christmas and look forward to meeting up with our loved ones again in a couple of weeks' time (our Level 5 restrictions are due to be lifted tomorrow and we can travel across county borders again from the 18th of December) - I can't wait! We don't know what 2021 holds in store but let's make the most of this time and enjoy the build-up to Christmas... it's been a long year for everyone and we could all do with a good dose of fairy lights and mistletoe... Well, after several months of feeling like things were slowly getting back to some semblance of normality, there has been a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and Europe is again facing the reality of further restrictions to curb the spread of the disease. At this stage, 6 months in, people are tired. There is little appetite for heeding additional government warnings and a growing minority are beginning to question the viability and efficacy of the overarching strategy that has been employed worldwide; that is, indiscriminate suppression of the disease within the general population at whatever cost. We now know so much more about this infection - the structure and mechanism of action of the causative agent, how it is spread, who is vulnerable, how best to treat patients - but a vaccine or reliable treatment is still some way off. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are hugely variable and infections need to be treated on a case-by-case basis; the course of the disease can be long and difficult and there is no 'one size fits all' approach. As it will realistically be some time (another 6 months? A year?) before the medical and scientific communities are able to efficiently and reliably neutralize the disease (if at all), is lockdown or its variants the best that we can do? The damage to the economy and the psychological/emotional wellbeing of individuals and society as a whole is beyond comprehension at this stage but the real problem is that despite our best efforts to mitigate spread since the lifting of lockdown (social distancing, limits on gatherings and household visits, the wearing of masks, good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette), the R rate or reproduction number stubbornly remains above 1, and the number of cases continues to rise. Total lockdown, where there was essentially no movement of people beyond a certain distance from their homes, did work well to flatten the curve and for a time afterwards, as restrictions were slowly being eased and behaviours were readjusting, the number of cases remained low. However, as soon as people got back to work in earnest, and children returned to school, and we had tentative opening up of various social outlets, the number of cases inevitably increased again and there is once more a genuine fear that this could translate to an overwhelmed health system in the next few months. Geographically localized lockdowns, with varying levels of restriction, are now the preferred strategy but this is somewhat unwieldy to implement in a country as small as Ireland and brings with it uncertainty and a lack of clarity.
July has been busy, busy and the arrival of the end of the month has completely taken me by surprise; the weeks are just flying by! There's been a massive change in the past few weeks here, with more lockdown restrictions being lifted, and we can now travel anywhere in Ireland (foreign travel is allowed but strongly discouraged) and pretty much all sectors have opened up for business (except for many 'social' venues such as pubs, nightclubs, theatres and so on). Mask-wearing is mandatory on public transport and within indoor retail spaces, and social distancing/hygiene measures are being tailored and implemented by all business owners - public compliance is good and things are slowly returning to normal (well, the 'new normal').
Although this lockdown period has been difficult in so many ways, we've had the most wonderful weather and I'm absolutely savouring my daily forays outside. We're obviously limited with respect to the distance we can travel, but here in the suburbs of Galway city we're beyond fortunate to live close to a beach and a couple of lovely, big green-field playing pitches, lined with many large, suddenly leafy trees. I love my walk every day and have never been so aware of the physical world around me; Nature has truly reclaimed her territory and it's just a joy to walk through the overgrown grasses, teeming with wildflowers and bees. It's a multisensory experience, filled with sights, smells, and sounds; I listen to the birds singing and the rustle of the leaves on the trees, and feel the gentle breeze on my face. I close my eyes and absorb it all, so grateful for this amazing world we live in. When I go to the beach, I walk right down to the water's edge and listen to the sound of the little waves lapping at my feet. On a warm, clear evening the water is like glass and the air is soft; there are no cars and no distractions, and all is well again after a day of airwaves and social media filled with pessimism and fear, while my poor achy muscles, sore from sitting over my computer for hours, throw off the tension of a particular gruelling edit. I usually go for my wanderings in the early morning, before I start work, or in the evening, when the air is still and I have my walk more or less to myself. I've always been attuned to the seasons but never more so than right now, when our world has become so small and stripped-back; lockdown has affected us all profoundly in many ways, and I truly believe it has altered our collective relationship with our natural environment forever - this time outside is sustaining us and giving us strength, and I don't think we will ever forget that.
I don't often take my camera with me when I go for my walk as it's my time to decompress and assimilate; however, here are a few photos that I've taken over the past couple of months - I like them because they tell the tale of the changing seasons, the transition between spring and summer. [Note: I've been intrigued by the yellow-flowered plant as it seems to smell strongly of coconut, excitingly... I've looked this up and I think it may be gorse, which I have never seen up close before. It also appears that some people can't really get the coconut smell, which is just very interesting indeed.] Well, what a time it's been... we're now into Week 7 of lockdown, which has included 5 weeks of extremely restricted movement (no travel beyond 2km of an individual's place of residence, except for the acquisition of essential provisions or familial/work obligations) and there's ever-so-tentative talk of exit. Several US states and other European countries have already made some moves in this regard, opening up various places of business, schools, parks etc, but social distancing is still being practised globally (for the most part), despite growing isolation fatigue in populations and serious economic concerns - it's been so hard and continues to be hard and there really is a way to go yet...
It always amazes me how nature keeps going, no matter what; the seasons change, the birds sing, the tide comes in. COVID-19, which I wrote about in my previous post, has utterly changed how the entire world goes about its business - we are all self-isolaters now, and it's hard to know how this will eventually be resolved - but spring has arrived as usual, and it makes my heart glad. As we all make the most of our allotted daily period of 'brief outdoor exercise', we can enjoy the birdsong and the arrival of blossoms and green buds on the trees... I have never been so grateful to live beside a park and be so close to the sea. These are indeed strange times.
So! This is the 3rd week of so-called 'lockdown' in Ireland, with more restrictions on movement having come into place last Friday night. Now, the only people who can go to work are those providing an essential service to the state (for example: employees in grocery shops, post offices, banks, pharmacies, certain research/manufacturing plants, utilities companies, bus/train drivers, farmers, and - of course - healthcare workers) and so far nearly 25% of the workforce is receiving some kind of unemployment benefit or government subsidy. I went to the supermarket yesterday for our weekly shop and it was the oddest experience; after dousing my hands with an alcohol gel I joined the queue outside with my trolley, 2 metres apart from the person in front of me and the person behind me, waiting to be allowed inside. Once inside the door, my trolley was disinfected and I took off around the place, making sure I stayed well away from the other shoppers, many of whom were wearing facemasks and gloves. There were some empty shelves (fresh fruit and vegetables, and cheese, for some reason) but I got pretty much everything I wanted (no need for panic buying, it's all good!); there was no music or advertising apart from a repeated message over the shop tannoy warning of COVID-19 and how to prevent the spread of infection. Nobody made eye contact or smiled or chatted - everyone was quietly focused and intent on their task. The girl at the till sat behind a plastic screen, wearing a pair of gloves; I paid, went to the car-park and packed my groceries into the car, before re-dousing with the alcohol gel and driving home along the deserted roads... all in all, it was a fairly grim outing. Well, it's definitely strange times at the moment... Europe is currently being besieged by COVID-19, an infectious respiratory illness caused by the newly encountered coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and scientists and public health officials are warning that unchecked transmission of the disease will more than likely lead to a catastrophic outcome for all countries affected. Coronaviruses are usually fairly harmless for the most part, causing colds, coughs, etc., but this particular strain is highly infectious and virulent and has wreaked havoc on its journey from Wuhan in Hubei province in China, particularly in Iran and Northern Italy, and is now being transmitted at a high rate throughout Europe and the rest of the world. We don't know a whole lot about it; it's particularly dangerous for at-risk groups, such as those who are elderly or immunocompromised, and can cause serious life-threatening complications including pneumonia and ARDS - the fear is that our health systems will become so overwhelmed by the sudden huge numbers of patients requiring critical care that entire collapse could occur. Europe has responded by staging a series of public 'lockdowns' whereby schools, universities, workplaces, shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, museums, galleries, and so on are closed down, and 'mass gatherings' are banned. People are being urged to self-isolate indoors and be vigilant. There is panic-buying taking place on a grand scale, and a palpable sense of unease pervades the airwaves and all conversation. It is profoundly worrying and I feel particularly sorry for anyone who lives alone or who is classified as being 'at risk'. It's impossible to know how everything is going to resolve but there is hope that warmer weather and sunshine could lessen the virulence of the virus, and that the isolation measures that have been put in place will keep people safe.
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About my blog
Really, it contains a little bit of everything, from a celebration of science and the English language to the joys of travel and the Shipping Forecast. The title ('Meanderings') is a fairly accurate description of its content: I write about different things as the mood takes me, but hopefully there's something in here for everyone... Categories
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