Sunday, March 22, 2020

Beware the ides of March?

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Tuesday, ‎17 ‎March ‎2020
Fine and sunny on Tuesday afternoon, but only half as many people turned up at the Croquet Club as the last two weeks.  The streets are quieter than usual but the supermarkets still have a lot of empty shelves.

More and more it feels to me as though I'm an extra in a disaster movie.  Things are progressing rapidly -- stores and offices closing down, transport restrictions, friends advising you to stay home and avoid crowds,  politicians trying to put a spin on increasingly bad news.  The radio is so incessantly full of the Corona virus I switched it off tonight and listened to a Bossa Nova album on You Tube.

I would have said I wouldn't be affected much by the virus scare, but I don't know now.  The Bocce Club has shut down for the duration, the Quiz Team didn't meet this week, I didn't visit friends on Monday, all sorts of little things.  What the future holds for we 69-year-old diabetics seems hard to fathom. 

‎Wednesday, ‎18 ‎March ‎2020
The Radio Classics Store has finally straightened out the problem with my account that stopped me downloading the big lot of old radio shows I bought last year.  (Main problem was I didn't realize I had to download them all within a month!)  I have until May to download them now, but better safe than sorry, so I spent this evening grabbing the 18 episodes on the album CLASSIC ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.  Still to come -- HARRY NILE, COUPLE NEXT DOOR and HOPALONG CASSIDY. 

‎Friday, ‎20 ‎March ‎2020
Another day of semi-isolation.  Some friends dropped in for lunch, bringing take-away food.  We ate out in the carport, being careful not to touch each other or anyone else's stuff.  It was pleasant enough, but conversation kept drifting back to the international situation.  I thought of going out to the K-Mart, but didn't go since I had enough provisions in the house for this week. 
The cat played with me for a while till he got tired, then I had a couple of hours undisturbed with the laptop while he slept under his blanket.  Then he got up and wanted attention again.  I fed him and he decided to take another nap.  Why aren't we all be more like cats?

‎Saturday, ‎21 ‎March ‎2020
As part of anti-virus campaign, the South Hobart Tip Shop is closed.  I wasn't sure if the Salvation Army would still be open but they were.  No plastic baskets unless you brought your own, to avoid cross-contamination.  Fewer people shopping than usual on a Saturday, so we could practice a reasonable amount of "social distancing".    Lunch at the Green Store, who were also still trading, though they were very pro-active in wiping and cleaning all the tables.   I await tomorrow to see how Sunday goes.

‎Sunday, ‎22 ‎March ‎2020
Sunday saw our first "Social Distancing" church service.  It was a strange experience.  Now I know how the footballers feel playing in an empty stadium. Not counting the minister and his helpers, there were less than a dozen of us spread around the church -- it's to be hoped that most of the congregation would have been tuned into the Internet feed.  "These are extraordinary times," the sermon began.   Indeed.
There were noticeably fewer people in the city.  That's the first time for about two years I've been able to park right at the back door of church. 

 

  • Following similar announcements in Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia have announced tough new measures that will see both states close their borders to slow the spread of coronavirus 
  • Press reports say Sydney's CBD has fallen silent as Australia's increasing social-distancing measures and fears about coronavirus spark a mass exodus in business hubs and tourist hotspots.
  • Martin Place, Barangaroo and Circular Quay have become ghost towns punctuated with empty restaurants and deserted shops, and there's never been more room on the roads or train platforms of New South Wales.
  • Breaking news:  AFL football games suspended.

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