Well, 2021 has certainly continued on from where 2020 left off, and the airwaves are still saturated with coverage of COVID-19. We are in the midst of a so-called 'third wave' of the disease, and case numbers and hospitalizations in Ireland have been extraordinarily high recently. It is now generally accepted that lockdown will be an ever-present feature of our lives for the forseeable future, notwithstanding the rollout of various vaccination programmes. As these new vaccines are largely untested, the risk to vulnerable populations is just too high until we have more data and can more accurately assess the efficacy of our vaccination strategy. We therefore need to buckle up and settle in for the long-haul as it has become crystal clear that this is most definitely a marathon and not a sprint.
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We have now entered 'Phase 2' of the easing of lockdown restrictions in Ireland, meaning we can travel where we wish within our own counties (and 20km from home if crossing a county border), all retail outlets are open, and we can gather in groups of 6 either indoors or outdoors; social distancing still applies in all scenarios and the wearing of masks is recommended. This is monumental as many people will now be allowed to visit family members they haven't seen in months and shops designated as 'non-essential' are permitted to trade. It also seems to be the case that the remaining phases will be accelerated and we could have a return to some kind of normality by the end of June. Psychologically, I think people are understandably wary and it will take some time before confidence levels are high enough to persuade large swathes of the population to venture back outside; it is a welcome relief, however, and an economic necessity at this stage - obviously, the situation will have to be closely monitored but there is a feeling that any second wave is unlikely to occur during the summer months and now is the perfect time to trial a 'new normal'. Let's hope it goes well and we can remain sensible and vigilant - we just don't know enough yet to predict how the infection rate will be affected but it's absolutely necessary to start opening up (slowly) while knowing we have the capacity to respond quickly and effectively to any potential surge.
From the outset, I have decided that this post will not focus unduly on COVID-19; suffice it to say that, although the virus remains in circulation and infections are still being reported, the number of daily new cases has reduced sufficiently in Ireland to permit the slow re-opening of society. Public health messaging has become more positive and non-coronavirus news stories are starting to be reported in the media again; there is a cautious optimism - tinged with an understandable anxiety and an underlying sorrow and grief that has not yet been fully acknowledged or expressed - that we can now ease lockdown restrictions, albeit in a 'phased' manner in order to prevent any recurrent spikes in infection. We still can't travel beyond 5km of our places of residence (with exceptions) but there's been a noticeable increase in the amount of traffic on the roads and this fabulous weather is drawing everyone outside, which can only be encouraged (good old-fashioned sunlight and fresh air are the sworn enemies of many a microbe). It's hard to know how this will all go, but for the moment we've been granted something of a reprieve and this is being embraced wholeheartedly - the societal psychological damage wrought by this pandemic is truly beyond words and it will take some time to assimilate and address all that has happened. We also have to accept that the global economy is effectively in ruins and we are inevitably headed for an almighty worldwide recession; in addition, there are many countries that are still struggling to contain this virus and it's essential we provide support where we can, especially to poorer countries that may not have the same resources that we take for granted in this part of the world. We can only pray that SARS-CoV-2 will just slip away like so many infectious agents before it, or, failing that, we manage to develop effective therapeutics or even a vaccine. For now, however, I'm grateful for this momentary respite and I'm looking forward to meeting up again with family members and friends that have felt so far away for so long...
_________________________________________________________ People are definitely reading more these days and I'm never without a book-in-progress (or two) at the moment. I recently finished 'The Lost Letters of William Woolf' by Helen Cullen, the 5th offering from the pile accrued during my personal shopping bookshop consultation last year. 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.
Happy New Year! Well, it's been a jam-packed 2020 so far and I'm just starting to feel like things have settled down a little this week. I had such a lovely Christmas, after a pretty stressful lead-up, and I enjoyed the few days off so much. The new year has been full on, however, and the weather has really outdone itself - we've had wind and rain and cold and grey and Galway is looking mighty battered at this stage. On the plus side, there's the tiniest stretch in the evenings (there is!) and we're making our holiday plans for the year ahead and it's actually quite nice to be back in the day-to-day routine: it's all good! I haven't really had a chance to process 2019 until now; it was busy but great and some of my highlights were:
I also did a fair bit of reading over Christmas and have acquired some exciting new books (see above) for 2020. While I'm here, I also wanted to write about the two books below, so here is a little review! Well, the summer went quite quickly for a finish, albeit with a final, defiant flourish of sunshine and loveliness for a few days in September, and autumn is now upon us. There's a chill in the morning air, the nights 'are drawing in' (please note: this is the opposite to 'a grand stretch in the evenings', which applies to spring only), and the leaves on the trees are starting to display their beautiful colours. After several years of west of Ireland living following our relocation from the more benign climes of East Anglia, I have re-assessed my previous antipathy towards summer and now crave all things sunshine - it's certainly a strange state of affairs. I find the Irish winters long and dreary, particularly post-Christmas, and the unremitting grey and gloom make me long for spring and green and blue and yellow. Consequently, I no longer unreservedly rejoice in the coming of autumn and it's taken me a couple of weeks to make my peace with its arrival; saying that, in the last day or two the changing colours of the trees have been unobliterated by sheets of torrential rain (notwithstanding the overnight onslaught of Storm Lorenzo, which appears to have abated this morning after a dramatic 12 hours of wind and squally showers) and I've really enjoyed strolling through the little park beside our house, with early piles of yellow and red leaves crunching underfoot - I think my main issue is with the rain and the grey rather than the change in season per se. Anyways! Here we all are, and it's going to be great!
So, as you can probably tell from the image at the top, I'm going to write about my latest personal shopping consultation book, 'Convenience Store Woman' by Sayaka Murata, translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori. On the surface this book reminded me very much of Strange Weather in Tokyo, and it actually has a recommendation from that author on the cover; however, despite the similarities in tone and style, I think this book is an entirely different kettle of fish. I've been having such a lovely summer; although the weather has turned a bit ropey this week, we've had loads of sunshine and the national mood has definitely been cheered by the long days and warm evenings. Notwithstanding my Iran trip earlier this year (this was amazing and I am so grateful), Anthony and I have had quite a stressful time of it lately (seriously though, who isn't stressed these days?) but I feel like we've been granted something of a reprieve over the last few weeks and I've thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to recharge my batteries...
Following on from my last post celebrating my (very) immediate environment, I've had two exciting excursions outside the house, and they were both awesome! Last Christmas my wonderful sister gave me a Personal Shopper voucher for a bookstore in Galway, and during the week I had an hour-long personal shopping consultation with an extremely knowledgeable-but-not-at-all-intimidating bookshop member of staff. I was a little bit nervous as I wasn't too sure what to expect, but it was such an exhilarating experience! My consultant sat me down with a cup of tea (well, hot water; I only drink tea under extreme duress) and talked me through several piles of books he had picked out for me, based on a questionnaire I had filled out beforehand. This was so much fun and the hour absolutely flew by. I managed to whittle the selection down to seven, and I'm beyond delighted to have such an excellent repository of books to dip into over the next while. The books I went for in the end are shown below, but I was genuinely impressed with the overall selection presented to me - they all pretty much looked great. To be honest, I was kind of blown away by the whole process; my questionnaire answers were so erratic and all-over-the-place and yet a complete stranger, who had never met me before, was able to drill down into the rambling mess and find books from completely different genres that I instantly loved - seriously, what a gift! I've decided to start with Nina Stibbe as her book seems funny and inviting; I've been editing a lot lately and desperately searching for something friendly to read for winding-down purposes before bed. It really is the loveliest feeling to have a big pile of brand-new books that have been specially chosen JUST FOR ME (and look at that colour-coordination!)...
'Jamaica Inn' by Daphne du Maurier was our most recent book club read and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was my choice; I had bought a copy of the book while in Cornwall several years ago (see here!) and I had never actually got around to reading it. I came across it again on my bookshelves a couple of months ago and, after a few pages in, I thought it would make a good book club offering...
'Jamaica Inn' is set in Cornwall in the early 1800s although it was actually written in 1935. Daphne du Maurier lived for much of her life in Cornwall and had visited the real-life Jamaica Inn in remote Bodmin Moor, which still stands today (we called in during our tour of Cornwall and spent a very enjoyable few hours here - see the photographs below!). A flourishing smuggling trade existed in Cornwall back in the day, and in the book, the inn and the bleak moors surrounding it play host to a highly organized, blood-soaked smuggling operation. I've just realized that 5 out of my last 8 posts have been book reviews, which obviously means I've had far too much spare time on my hands lately - nobody should have time to read these days, what with all our technological advancements and being constantly 'on' and all our modern fandangled social media demands, right?! I've had a run of great books recently though, and I've got to the point now where I feel utterly lost if I don't have a book on the go - I'm chain-reading like nobody's business and have started to read in the evenings when the day has settled down, rather than watching tv or doing 'more productive' bits and pieces like being hunched over my computer sending emails or cleaning out the bins. I like this new development!
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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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