I started the year in the heat of the Brazilian jungle looking to photograph sloths, monkeys and iguanas. I ended it with a frosty walk up on to my hill on the wolds. It’s been quite a year. A year like no other.
When I started my diary in March I had no idea I would still be writing it at the end of the year. I had expected to go down with the disease and write about how it made me feel. That hasn’t happened yet.
Since March we have been in isolation. We have met up with friends and family for walks and meals outside but social contact has been extremely sparse. We miss it greatly.
Because the calendar has been completely empty it has enabled me to focus on other things. We have decorated the whole house, inside and out. I have written ten books (two of which were rewrites) and listened to a large amount of music. I have managed to do a five mile walk each and every day and seen more of nature than since I was a child. So there have been many benefits!
Life has slipped into a pattern.
Today was typical. I started the day with some editing then went for a walk up my hill. At midday there was still frost on the ground and the mud had turned solid. I took my camera in hopes of catching my pair of red kites but no joy. I did record a few pictures though. I’ll put them out later.
Back home, in between chores, I’ve been playing some Randy Newman and doing more editing.
Tonight we’ll watch some drama on the TV – it’s been Philip K Dick’s ‘Man In A High Castle’ recently.
That’s how my days have been going.
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland we are all paying the price for putting a batch of populist dummies into power. Apart from the nationalism, jingoism and Brexit (which is bad enough) we’ve got complete ineptitude on every front.
Trump is excelling himself with stupidity. While he is out playing golf and ignoring the calamity sweeping across the country another 229,349 people went down with the virus yesterday and a staggering 3808 people died of covid! That’s more than a 9/11 a day!! He has presided over the death of more than 343,000 Americans!
It’s going berserk in the UK with another 50,023 new cases and 981 deaths!
It’s the same in Brazil with 55,649 new cases and 1194 deaths.
I hear people saying – ‘yes but would anybody else do any better’. The answer is a resounding YES!! One only has to look at countries like New Zealand and Vietnam to see that. Hardly any cases and no deaths! They did it better!
Here it is utter chaos. They are locking everywhere down, dithering and changing their minds. Schools are definitely going back, now they’re not. Teacher will get the jab. Then they won’t. We no longer hear of Track and Trace or our world-beating app.
We are in a worse state than we were before the last lockdown.
Unprepared!! Complacent!! Arrogant!! Overconfident!! Dithering!! Incompetent!!
All this lot wanted to do was get us out of Europe. There is nothing else in their empty heads!! Disaster!! Catastrophe!! Stupidity!!
This bunch of nincompoops are in charge of rolling the vaccine out!! Help us all!!
Stay safe! Happy New Year!! Let’s hope it is a new start!!