December 2020
Day 1
“Sorry, guys, but the test has come back positive”. The words felt like a hammer blow.
Covid-19 had just arrived home.
Worldwide, 2020 has already been an annus horribilis. Coronavirus has swept through every single country, regardless of GDP or religion. As an English language teacher, I was one of the first ones to be made aware of the devastation wreaked by this most unwelcome visitor. My school, like all the others in the UK, closed down in late March.
Yet, deep within my psyche (and I only came to this conclusion after reading and re-reading the text from my landlord to both my housemate and me letting us know that he’d contracted the virus) was the thought that all this was happening somewhere else. How reality-defying must one be before reality imposes itself? Sometimes in the most unaccommodating of circumstances.
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COVID is hitting home for a lot of us. Please stay healthy and strong. I still hope we can get it under control soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can avoid the beast. I really, really hope it.
ReplyDeleteHi ACIL - so pleased you've got through it ... I admire your approach to coping ... I'd hate to be confined to one room - but one copes I know ... we are perfectly capable to managing ourselves. Thanks for the book and film reviews. All the best now ... it's just not easy for anyone - so frightening ... but it's good to hear from you - oddly I was thinking we hadn't heard from you ... stay safe and calm ... Hilary
ReplyDeleteThat turned out about as well as it could. I keep reading or hearing about fish pie in British lit and films. I can't imagine but people seem to like it.
ReplyDeleteUff CL !!I hope you will come out good!It is right we tend to think this will not happen to us..We live like we are undeadly..Until the day comes I happens to you! I hope you will soon be fine without no side effects
ReplyDeleteGreetings Anita
My kids have several friends who were positive it really hits home.
ReplyDeletePraying
ReplyDeleteBoa tarde é preciso se cuidar e melhorar logo meu amigo, muita saúde.
ReplyDeleteI can identify with the self-isolation aspect of your post, CiL, although my own periods have nothing to do with Covid 19. In fact, the coronavirus continues to be "other worldly" for me and life on "my street" goes on pretty much unchanged from the norm. The ability to be able to retreat within books and films and to contemplate them makes such times both easier to handle and beneficial in an educational sense.
ReplyDeleteI did notice your life and lifestyle evidently have undergone a rather drastic change of which I was unaware. Now, perhaps, would be the time for you to buy a pair of cowboy boots and to renew your interest in dance .... sort of a double entendre there ....
You did make your way through the isolation very nicely and neatly, CiL, and I am glad you chose to write about it in a manner to reveal more of CiL Actual. The "old" Russian writers, notably Fyodor Dostoevsky, are among my favored .... something about their characters and storytelling ....
I'm glad you're over the worst of the isolation and look forward to hearing when it ends completely. 2020 made me think often about the many old people who live all alone all the time, and are too frail to go out. I feel sad I didn't visit more of them when I was younger. I also applaud the way that one or two were always cheerful welcoming and determined to have fun when I did visit - that must have been so hard to do but of course I didn't have a clue what they must have really felt like.
ReplyDeletePlease stay safe and healthy.
ReplyDeletetake this as a time to read more books and watch more movies.
The situation over here is pretty much under control, but there is a fear of the infections spiking during the coming Chinese New Year, so the authorities have announced a slew of new restrictions regarding gatherings. It will be a very different holiday this year.
Glad you are over the worst of it! I think how frightening and lonely people must be - especially older ones - when no one is allowed to visit.
ReplyDeleteDear Mario, stay safe and well.
ReplyDeleteI devoured this post because living with Covid in London is a topic near my heart.
It also made me want to see Educating Rita again. :)
Greetings to London!
Oh no, Mario! How stressful! Will you keep us updated? Ojalá que te mantengas sano.
ReplyDeleteOh I am so sorry to hear it has arrived at your residence!😨 Please do keep me updated...you are in my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Hampshire.
It is a stress time--I have been near a number of people who have contacted the disease. My one test, last summer, was negative. I hope it stays that way. Take care of yourself.
ReplyDeletehttps://fromarockyhillside.com
Super post
ReplyDeleteGod bless you
ReplyDeleteTrato de no pensar en nada ahora esta lo de la vacuna inglesa.Mejor escribir y divertirnos no sieno uno sino muchos
ReplyDeletebso
2020 wasn't a good year and now 2021 has started the same way.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to read about your experience, but hope things are back to normal now ... whatever normal is these days!
You are in my thoughts.
Take Care.
All the best Jan
I'm so sorry! I hope you're healthy and safe.
ReplyDeleteYikes! It's been over a month since you posted this. Are you okay?
ReplyDeleteHello, I hope you are okay.
ReplyDeleteThank you all. I am perfectly fine. I'm doing more writing on medium now. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.