Journal of a plague year (entry 1)

Ok, so I have not written in this blog for four years apparently! I guess I've moved away from politics by quite some way.

What a time to reignite this blog eh?

I've not really been paying attention to the news over the last few months. Those of you who know me personally will know that I've been going through things in my personal life which have taken up a lot of my attention and time. I'd heard snippets of a new illness coming over from China and of quarantine but frankly that was pretty low on my list of concerns.

In my new flat I must admit that I don't have television. I have a pile of DVDs to watch but to be honest I have had no inclination. I am in the process of researching a book on pre-Dreadnoughts during World War One and so I have a literal pile of papers and books to be reading but again, I've not always got the inclination to do that either. I am more likely to be reading about World War One battleships than the news.

I work at the Imperial War Museum for the Security department... well the company that was outsourced to look after the security. As a public building and manned by civil servants there has been regular updates for Museum staff but I've been kept so busy that I have not had time to read all of them. My company has also released updates but beyond skim reading them and passing them to my staff I've not read all of them. In a way I have been blissfully ignorant of it.

Today though is the first time that I have really started to worry.

I've watched a lot of movies.

Probably too many movies.

Today I felt like I was in a zombie apocalypse movie.

These sort of movies have a certain archetype of characters including the person who saw it coming, the female victim, the loving couple and the guy who had no idea that anything was happening - suddenly I realised I was that guy.

I had noticed people wearing face masks from time to time in the streets in London but not really thought much about it.

I had heard of cases in other countries especially Italy as my manager had to cancel her journey home to see her family.

I had heard that Covid-19 was coming but so what?

Suddenly I have a moment of clarity when stood next to a man on the train reading the metro with a headline that read something like "159 dead in Italy"

I sat down at work and started reading the updated plans and statements and found myself asking;

Is this really as bad as they think it is?

The news hasn't helped with borders closing (Trump closes European travel but not the UK -

dumbass), schools closing, workers being advised to stay at home where possible. Then there is the death rate - currently 4300 (3000 in China) which is steep but not on a Bubonic plague level.

Then I caught a brief part of the Q&A on the BBC with the Deputy Chief Medical Officer who said that around 80% of the British population will contract the illness but should recover - oh and you can get it multiple times....




I'm not worried for me.

Probably famous last words but - I don't get ill. My constitution is frighteningly robust (and can be augmented with rum).

I am worried for my mother who is pushing 70 and more importantly I'm worried for my son,
George.

You may or not know but George has a rare heart condition which has left him with half a heart, some epic surgery scars and a prederiliction to contracting illnesses which will hit him hard. Should he get a cold he can be laid up for a week, the flu maybe a fortnight, Covid-19 who knows? We had been originally told that Chicken pox could kill him (thankfully it didn't) or hospitalise him (again, he was fine).





I don't know what the future holds over this. It could be another SARs, it could be another plague, I don't think anyone really knows at this stage.

I don't think this will be a Dawn of the dead sort of thing but the way people are panic buying toilet rolls and hand sanitizer you wouldn't be blamed for believing it might be.



I'm hoping to form a bit of a weekly blog/journal of what is going on for posterity and also for my own joy.... Let's see what will happen.