Confusion reigns this morning as we were told a few days back that elderly people would be allowed outside for an hour starting 1st May, with maybe restrictions before 2pm whilst children would be allowed out after 2 pm. Now we hear everyone will be allowed out for 1 hr exercise from the 2cnd with social distancing rules in force. With no confirmation of the earlier announcement, I sit here not knowing if I need to wait until Saturday or which hours it is permitted. In my confusion I am wondering where my patience over the last 47 days has gone!
I was horrified yesterday to hear that in Zahara de los Atunes, near Cadiz, the authorities used tractors to spray more than 2km (1.2 miles) of beach with a bleach solution a day before Spain allowed children out of lockdown for the first time. It has caused “brutal damage” to the local ecosystem and protected birds after the area was flourishing with no human presence. A local official has admitted it was “a wrong move” and since apologised saying “it was a mistake, it was done with the best intention,” (to safeguard children). As this was a very local decision the Andalusian regional government is now considering fining the local authority for its action. I have personally passed through this area many times and visited 2 homes there, besides the actual town the surrounding area hosts many “household names” second homes. I know because I have been in one, a few dwellings are situated behind an entrance that you would never guess would have anything behind it, they all shared the same area of beach which was only accessible behind the entrance. It does pose questions as to why this decision was taken?
We have seen flaunting of regulations locally from the start, for example by an ex prime minister who broke rules and travelled to his second home from Madrid which was the epicentre of the virus. He was seen by locals to be not isolating coming from a high infection area, but walking along the beach with his wife and dogs surrounded by bodyguards. The beaches were closed off so again it poses the discussion of Wealth and Power, action and reaction and cause and effect. At the time it led to an outcry, triggering many who were locked in there homes with unwanted emotions of anger, frustration and even the guilt, by wishing Karma for them in the form of hoping they catch the virus! At the end of the day we are all human beings and share the same feelings and emotions, being told that we were all in this together felt like a lie as we were not all equal in it. The selfishness that some people exhibited sparked others to not conform to regulations and it made people question the authenticity of the situation, asking surely if it was so bad why would these people be taking risks of catching or spreading the virus to others?
With UK’s death toll now overtaking Spain’s and closing in on Italy, it will soon be the 2cnd highest in the world after the US. How has this happened? If you look at the figures below taken today from NCov2019 , it shows a much higher death rate for much lesser figures infected, compared even to all the countries not listed here and especially countries like Italy who have the highest population of elders anywhere. Spain at the moment has had the second largest cases in the world and we still have a large number of critically ill and active patients, our figures for deceased however is relatively good. This information shows that we will still need to be cautious for a while as we come out of complete lock down.
| Cases | Critical | Deceased | Recovered | Active | |
| ★ Spain | 236,899 | 7,764 | 24,275 | 132,929 | 79,695 |
| ★ Italy | 203,591 | 1,795 | 27,682 | 71,252 | 104,657 |
| ★ United Kingdom | 165,221 | 1,559 | 26,097 | Unknown | 139,125 |
Meanwhile in Iceland an Icelandic whaling business that specializes in hunting Minke Whales has announced it plans to abandon whaling altogether, this is fantastic news if they carry through with the plans! Also the largest whaling company in the country that specializes in Fin Whales, has paused its whaling operations for the second year in a row. In other good news: whilst it was reported a few weeks ago that the hole in the Antarctic ozone layer had significantly lessened, at the same time it was also reported that above the Arctic a hole in the ozone layer had opened and was recorded as the largest ever on record. Today we here that it has closed once again and was a temporary tear from an extremely strong polar Vortex. Its always uplifting to hear good news!
I sit here thinking these will be my last days of this diary, what started out as a challenge to myself I look back and assess my goals. I have achieved posting daily, 50 days in a row when I stop, but will I carry on? I doubt it. I will still write daily working on articles or updates, as I have actually enjoyed this time, but I haven’t mastered efficiency in the time it takes to write and upload. I have found that I have to start in the morning as afternoons don’t work so well, I cant find the same focus, this leaves little time for the necessaries like cooking and cleaning as my energy levels are too low to start cleaning at 5 in the afternoon. My sons routine too plays a part, leaving 2.30 to 4.30 where I can’t do anything, I am sure he wouldn’t appreciate the hoover whizzing around while he is home for lunch trying to relax. Also some days he is in a bad space having suffered with mental health issues which leaves me needing to ground and balance myself when he leaves back to work.
I will enjoy working on pieces as I used to, with no pressure I can work as much or as little each day as I choose or feel able to. I am now more efficient having mastered most of WordPress and finding it a little easier proof read now I have changed to a different word processor. So all in all I have learnt a lot and become a little more efficient. I guess it would be different if it were for financial gain/job, but just for pleasure? I must go back to better managing all the other things at hand that need attending too. I will also be going out for my daily walks before it becomes too hot to do so and hopefully soon will have visitors and more social contact once again. All this contributes to not wanting to place more stress on myself by keeping this self imposed challenge.
It has been a pleasure writing during Isolation, it has flowed with my daily emotions and feelings and will be nice to look back on one day. It is the strangest feeling, writing and sending out into the public domain of cyberspace, sometimes it has felt a little pointless as generally nobody sees it anyway. Also it goes against my comfort zone as I am a private person but I guess it has helped me to voice some of my own thoughts or beliefs which nobody knows outside of family. At first this felt scary but with introspect was easier knowing that nobody would really see it so I wasn’t being judged. I would not have stuck to a diary or written with any structure, so for that reason and also it looks prettier, it has been worth the effort.
As I leave to try to find more news on my long awaited hour trip outside and whether it will it be tomorrow? I will leave you with a few photos from my 5 minute trip to two rubbish bins and my path through the rampant thistles. I wish you a beautiful day with peace in your heart, please stay safe and take precautions to protect yourself and loved ones including taking care of your mental health 💜
Growing Old 
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[…] growing old – lock down day 47 Walking through the flourishing Thistles to take out rubbish […]
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