Diary of dislocation, day nineteen…

Today we hear of another thousand people losing their lives, Matt Hancock reminds the press conference that these are individuals with family and friends, and then lets us know the Prime Minister is taking short walks in the course of his recovery. This before upbraiding people about their use of PPE, as if it’s the health workers that are the issue, not the planning, modelling, logistical support and leadership shown by this government.

Apparently supplying PPE is a ‘Herculean effort’, of great complexity. I imagine any number of people might have been able to advise him that this were the case weeks, indeed months ago. Last month Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, a consultant urologist wrote a Facebook message to Boris Johnson outlining the urgent need for PPE for frontline staff and calling for testing for healthcare workers to be fast-tracked. His death was announced yesterday from Covid-19. He was 53 with no underlying health conditions.

I am stopping my daily attempt to document this/our reality and will perhaps update things every few days from now on instead. It feels inappropriate presently to document the everyday when it’s merely the mundanity of staying put, particularly whilst many others are struggling. There are also only so many pictures of the same environment I can post, and these are unlikely to hold anyone’s interest, including mine.

So on day nineteen, our days remain repetitious, and privileged. As ever we get to eat pancakes, sit in the garden and read or watch television. I have somehow managed to get bursitis in my knee, which is painful but routine and everyone is happy with their new haircuts. Gwyn is probably best able to cope with home isolation, as she’s already done this once before, she’s the most creative of us all and is a revelation in terms of her ability to encourage joy and levity.

For a brief period this afternoon I dispensed with my knee brace and went looking for some light. Spring continues to find a way inside and looking hard for this light reminds me of the environment I otherwise take for granted.