Same Same but Different
So much has changed since I wrote my last entry here. All our lives have been hijacked by Covid-19! For some it has been disastrous ! Loss of work, cancelled educational courses, forced movement or the opposite, restricted movement. And for others the tragic loss of a family member or someone near and dear.
Yet life goes on regardless in all its guises. We adapt and try to keep moving forwards. Finding ways to distract ourselves or coming up with creative solutions to the obstacles we encounter.
I was in Melbourne, Australia when this health crisis made it presence known to us. I would probably have preferred to stay out there and look after my elderly mother, already at the time realizing that the elderly amongst us were in one of the most vulnerable categories of potential victims.
Alas life had other plans for me and I joined my partner in Kuala Lumpur where the day after I arrived the country went into quite a strict lockdown. One that became more and more restrictive, as the days and then the weeks passed. We were contained in a modest sized apartment with no balcony or garden, only permitted to leave to do grocery shopping or for medical reasons. There was no provision for being allowed out to exercise as was the case in many places.
My partner was working from home and we were fortunate that he was one of the lucky ones still able to work. Still, being in each other’s company 24hrs a day every day, presented its challenges. Somehow we we got through almost 3 months of this until finally I was required to leave due to my Visa limitations.
The Airport was a strange place when I left Kuala Lumpur. The lighting had been reduced and there were only two flights scheduled for departure. I had a flight bookeed with Qatar Airways going back to Paris via Doha. It was the last flight respecting social distancing with every consecutive seat blocked and the entire flight crew dressed in head to toe PPE. Otherwise it was just like a normal flight and quite relaxing!
Finally on arriving in Paris it was as a shock to see everyone on the street wearing masks! To see an entire city going about it’s business wearing masks was odd. Back in KL everything remained closed and our movement was so restricted that there wasn’t the same effect.
My taxi driver from Paris Airport told me it was his first day back at work after some lockdown restrictions had been relaxed. He offered me hand sanitiser before entering the car and maintained his isolation behind a plexiglass screen separating driver from passenger. There was not yet a return of traffic on the roads and it was one of the quickest trips from the airport to the city centre I had ever experienced!
The train from Paris down to Perpignan was full. Not a single free seat to be seen. This was a bit of a shock after my half full flights. I became alert to any cough and was wary of anyone not covering their face properly with a mask. The paranoia was definitely present. The woman sitting next to me fortunately kept her mask on and regularly used hand cleanser. Life had clearly changed since I was last here in France.
Since then many of the rules have been relaxed as France cautiously came out of Confinement with the considerable reduction of Covid cases and deaths. I had not been in the country for the worst of it. People were happy to be rediscovering some freedom. The cafe terraces were filling up again and people were out shopping and exercising. Summer holiday plans were being made. Or were being altered as overseas trips were being changed for alternative holidays staying in France.
Over the last few weeks you could almost be forgiven for thinking everything has returned to normal. Whilst there have been some storefronts permanently closed, most shops and restaurants here are open for business. Of course mandatory masks must be worn when entering any public place or business as is also the case for open air markets and flea markets or any cultural gathering.
The local Cinema has closed for the Summer citing Summer Vacation as the reason but it was clear that viewers were not confident enough to enter an enclosed shared space over more than an hour. This with the lack of any big new release films has been enough for them to decide for the first time ever to close their doors during the usually busy Summertime Vacation period.
Restaurants, hotels, and tourist sites have stated that their financial takings are well below normal this season. I have been to the beach a few times and have never had a problem finding a place to lay my beach towel. I can still hear lots of foreign accents in the streets of the historical center of Perpignan but obviously the are less than usual. The one thing that is really noticably missing this year is the many and varied cultural calendar.
Event after event announced their cancellation. The fleet of touring bands that perform to the beach crowds every summer are nowhere to be seen. The program of evening concerts and street performers that usually animate the city center are all absent this summer.
I live about thirty kilometers from the Spanish Catalan border. On the Spanish side the high numbers of covid cases have returned and many cities are back in Lockdown. Melbourne, Australia where my family live are also back in Lockdown. As are many places who felt it was safe enough to relax confinement rules and have found themselves once again submitting to movement restrictions. I I have read just this morning that even New Zealand ir returnin to Lockdown after 100 days of no new Covid-19 cases. So I can't help but wonder, with all the european tourists moving about more or less freely here, how long we have before a second wave arrives?
In the meantime I will continue making sourdough bread, take the train from time to time to the beach, go out for a bike ride or a walk around the lake.
My next Covid cliche project will be to set up a chicken coop! Mmmm fresh eggs!
Currently Reading : Middlemarch - George Eliot