The Importance of Human Contact!

The first week of the Tier 4, time went really slow, it took some time visually to adapt to the shops being closed again; not seeing anybody around. Long term I actually enjoyed it as I found more food inside the supermarket, I didn't have to go at a specific time inside to get what I wanted. I didn't have to worry about people walking too closely as it was so quiet, like I have to now. Sadly, more shops shut for good during lockdown while other shops have adapted as click and collect or take-aways only. In comparison to the first lockdown, there were slightly more people about and it was very busy in the park. It is the first kind of a lockdown in winter and I have noticed that neighbours have disappeared, I have not seen them as much as in the first lockdown. If it wasn't for chatting to my friends online I think I would have felt isolated and the weather has been cold and rainy all day every day, one feels like being stuck inside of tank with no light. To amuse each other the other day, me and my friend started looking at kitchen mittens on Amazon, we were scrolling through pages and pages of kitchen mittens, so I said to my friend via Zoom we are really scraping the barrel here, we spent an hour just finding some kitchen mittens as a present for my other friend, we were laughing and we said to each other: If someone ask me how I survived the pandemic of 2020 I would say by spending hours checking out kitchen mittens, there is an endless selection of them on Amazon! Yes, because generally in a crisis one is told by the government to help others, this time we have been told to do nothing and stay at home, which feels really unnatural to me and I am sure to many others. I would rather be outside volunteering, helping others, even my volunteering has died down, as have all my Christmas parties which have been cancelled.

A couple of days before Christmas, I am happy I have finally been able to see my neighbours outside to have a chat and see how everybody is doing. We exchanged presents so things are looking more positive. Did a round at the supermarket and it was all stocked up so no need to panic buy, frankly as a nation I think we could do with eating less and the supermarkets should be selling smaller portions. Because the Port of Dover was closed over the last couple days, the French Government decided to put a ban on freight coming in. People over here were panicking, things seem to have calmed down and the border has re-opened and it seems we have got a deal, till the next crisis comes along! We seem unable to go out without a crisis at the moment! 

 

I am looking forward to Christmas day, to have a nice meal, opening presents despite all the fearmongering from the government. We have been put in Tier 4 but the rules don’t really apply to the people in Government so a lot of people are just not following the rules, they are fed up. I bumped into a couple of friends by chance in the street, so it was really good to have a chat. The pandemic is reminding me how important human contact is, it can’t be replaced by a session on Zoom, but it is good to keep in touch regularly with people by whatever medium. It is about supporting each other, being there for others. I am grateful to my friends; who have made the last long 9 months more bearable and vice versa. Several people have told me that since being in lockdown and not seeing people enough, they are struggling with talking, so I made a point to call them regularly and to speak to them as long as possible. Lockdowns, tier 4 whatever you want to call it, can give long-term mental health problems, some people can retreat within themselves, which is not healthy.

I am just happy coffee shops are open for take-aways. I support them and local businesses. It’s nice to sit in the park with a good coffee at hand while still seeing people about getting some exercise.

 

Then there has been the saga with the mouse in my flat. I woke up one morning and I found my Christmas presents eaten by a rodent as well as the wrapping paper, the neighbour next door has been complaining about rodents for the past year at least, although we have never had them in my flat. I think what’s been happening is that all the building work in the opposite building has unearthed the land there and is sending mice towards our building. A friend of mine told me that the same thing happened outside her building last year, when they were doing major building work. Anyway, I have bought some electronic ultrasound and it seems the mouse has not been back but as a precaution I have moved most of my paper artwork, photographs I have made into  my friend’s garage. Mice and rats can eat anything! Just the thought of a mouse sending all my artwork to smoke gave me nightmares. This on top the lockdown crisis, the Covid crisis, the Brexit crisis and now the Dover crisis and possibly the food crisis and civil unrest after Christmas … anything else???!! It was a real joy to move most of my stuff just before Christmas!

 

All the while thinking yes that I am in a nice flat in a good area with friendly flatmate, but I am monitoring daily the mice situation on top of the damp situation which has not been fixed properly and it keeps raining... I really don’t know in which realm of Dante’s Hell we are going to be in 2021, I try not to think about it too much, plenty of stirring from the media already. For me, in 2021, I would like to have an art studio where I can focus on painting and wandering around central London like things were before the pandemic.