The year the virus came

‎Monday, ‎23 ‎March ‎2020
Sunday night I slept for almost nine hours.  I guess my body thought I needed it, because when I woke up I had the feeling that nothing was going to be the same again.  It was like the day after September 11th in a way.  A friend had phoned last night and given me a summary of the Prime Minister's latest speech and it hadn't been soothing stuff.
All the states had closed their borders.  Two weeks of quarantine for all people travelling, inside or outside Australia.  Pubs and clubs had been shut down, restaurants, sporting events, churches and any other "non essential" activities.
You could say 2020 is shaping up to be a memorable year, but I suspect it may be a year we would rather forget.  The weird thing is that it comes exactly a century after the Spanish Flu...
A little googling reveals there were also pandemics and epidemics in 1820, 1720 and 1620. Would it be paranoid to suggest burying a time capsule to be opened in 2120, warning the authorities to be wary?

‎Tuesday, 24 ‎March ‎2020
Usually Tuesday is a busy sort of day.  Croquet at lunchtime, pub quiz in the evening and in-between downloading all the weekend's radio shows from America.  But times change.  I ventured across to the Croquet Club and found two other players there -- what a difference a week makes, last Tuesday we had 15 out on the lawns.  We had a couple of games, resting halfway through as we sat at opposite ends of the shed, drinking from our own water bottles.
Afterwards, I stopped off in Moonah to support the local coffee shop, who were still open for take-aways;  they said they would keep going as long as they could, or until the government changed the rules again.  At the moment, the official word is very strong on the messge "Stay home unless absolutely necessary." 

Friday 27 March 2020
Quiet outside but there were a few things I had to do.  Firstly, I woke up to find I had a text message from the water company telling me there had been a problem with the water supply to my street and it wouldn't be restored for a few hours.  Fortunately I had enough water in the kettle for breakfast, and I was able to get enough out of the watering can in the garden to provide for the poultry.  It was not, as one might have thought, the final sign of the collapse of civilization in the 21st century.
Then a request from the people next door for any feed sacks I had that weren't needed.  I swapped a bundle of sacks for some home-made stewed fruit from their apple tree.
Most of the afternoon was taken up moving crates around.  I had promised to lend a friend a particular DVD and as usual it wasn't where I thought it was.  I had no option but to start glancing through the three dozen odd plastic crates I had stacked up (which is why I always use the clear plastic design).  I found it in crate #29.

‎Saturday, ‎28 ‎March ‎2020
Last time I was in Woolworths I noticed customers were limited to two packets of bread or rolls "excluding Hot Cross Buns."  Huh - is this because in their greed they ordered thousands and thousands of these so they could start selling them in January?   Difficult to feel much sympathy for them.

‎Monday, ‎30 ‎March ‎2020
Wednesday I had my monthly consultation with my psychologist via Zoom.  It was a little strange, though I suppose it was better than nothing.  It did make me feel a little self-conscious;  I'm not used to having conversations with my laptop.  Not to mention the interruption when the cat sat between me and the camera.
Then on Sunday I attended church via You Tube.  This went along fairly well, until the last five minutes when the sound dropped out and the vision started to buffer.  It's only the second time we've done this, so you must expect a few glitches.  It was odd on Saturday night thinking I didn't have to drive in to church the next morning for the first time in thirty years.

‎Tuesday, ‎31 ‎March ‎2020
Looks like being a quiet day at home. Gatherings of more than two people have been banned from midnight on Monday night and Tasmanians have been ordered to stay at home for the next four weeks or face arrest. (The only exceptions will be for people going out to buy essential supplies, going to school or work, or check on neighbours or elderly relatives.)
My minister phoned to ask how I was going, which was nice.  He asked if I was keeping in touch with my friends, and I told him on Saturday I had three people ring between breakfast and lunch.  (I also exchanged e-mails with one neighbor, and another pulled up as she was driving past to say "If you need anything, just knock on our door.")
Aside from that, I pottered around the place feeding the poultry, playing with the cat and drinking too much coffee.

After spending the morning with the laptop and the phone, decided on a late lunch out in the garden.  Made some sandwiches and enjoyed the fine weather while reading a Sherlock Holmes on my Kindle (a new one by Lyn McConchie)

Muldoon tells me we're going to have to call it a "world-wide pandemic" instead of a "global pandemic."
Apparently there's been an objection from the Flat Earth Society  😊