Dear Readers, for the past few days I’ve been hearing the wheezy calls of young starlings as they chase their parents around the garden begging for food. There doesn’t seem to have been the enormous influx that there has been in past years, when I’ve been worried that the neighbours will complain about the racket, but numbers seem to be growing steadily day by day. As these wide-eyed innocents gaze around, wondering why all the other birds have flown away and failing to notice a creeping a cat, I feel a particular kinship with them as I, too, am starting to venture out after two years of lockdowns and being careful.
Today, for example, I am off to the theatre to see ‘Straight Line Crazy’ at the Bridge Theatre. It’s about Robert Moses, the man who tried to redesign New York, and the lead role is played by Ralph Fiennes, so it should be good. You can have a look at the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4-Hq4XOD_k
But I find myself a bit anxious. After so long avoiding crowds, I’m going to be in the middle of one, for two hours and fifty minutes. I don’t think it’s so much about Covid (after all, I’m triple-vaxxed and have actually had the disease) as it is about social contact. I feel as if my world has shrunk over the past few years, and to ratchet it open is actually a little painful, like going back to the gym after a long break. My trip to Canada helped, but somehow getting back to ‘normal’ at home feels more difficult.
Still, I am a great believer in not letting our worlds become smaller if we don’t have to. It feels like finding a balance at the moment. I am still wearing a mask on public transport, and will do so in the theatre, as much to protect others as to protect myself. I do think that the current wave of covid has whistled through the UK, but I also think that there are new variants waiting in the wings. I do intend to get back into the world, but I also want to be prudent. I would love to hear what’s happening where you live, and how you’re negotiating any return to the new normal. In the UK I have the distinct feeling that the pandemic has been declared over and we are all just trying to work out what the best thing to do is, which will vary widely according to circumstances.
On a more personal level, we have a weeks’ worth of Away Days coming up shortly. This will involve actually meeting people in person, and I fear that my social skills will have atrophied while I’ve been happily interacting on Zoom. There are people in my wider team that I’ve never met in the flesh, and the thought of discussing work-related stuff with them for the best part of three days is frankly a bit overwhelming. And being an introvert, the thought of ‘fun’ activities fills me with horror. It’s not that I don’t like being with people, it’s just that with lots of folk all having Fun I often feel like the odd one out – I’m much better getting to know a small number of people well. I crave meaningful connection, and I find that hard to achieve in a big group. But I am trying to have an open mind, and to not let my anxiety get in the way. I intend to take it one day, one hour, one minute at a time. I imagine there will be things that are enjoyable and stimulating, and things that are rather less so, but at the very least I will learn about my colleagues and about myself, and that’s no bad thing. Is anybody else negotiating a return to face-to-face activities? How are you doing? Is it fun, or do you want to crawl back to bed and pull the covers over your head? Or, like the young starlings, are you emerging happily back into the light?
Wearing masks inside shops and for indoor meetings is still mandatory here, although one can now walk or run outdoors sans one. I nonetheless think people are still being cautious. Eating places are not full; chairs are still placed a little distance apart for public lectures; and, among my circle of friends anyway, we tend to visit each other singly. Our Book Club has not survived as none of us feel comfortable hosting several people at a time in our homes. Covid is still ‘on the books’ with cautions about numbers rising ahead of the fifth wave. I think the public is gradually becoming less anxious about it though than they were.
Hi Anne, I think South Africa has been really on the ball when it’s come to identifying new variants, and people do seem to be largely taking precautions, as they were in Canada when I visited. Wearing a mask isn’t a big thing to do (unless for some reason you can’t – I know that my late Mum would have really struggled, she hated having anything over her face and it sent her into a panic attack). Sorry about your Book Club though :-(. It’s not the same on Zoom, is it.
I understand your concerns, about both going to a public place filled with people and those dreaded ‘away days’ where the HR people try out their latest bright ideas and techniques on human guinea pigs. You’ll have to post something about what you did and how it goes. I’ve been lucky to mix mostly outside with up to 30 golfers, but this weekend has been a bit scary, as there is a special “80th” birthday party going on in the neighbourhood (2 years late due to COVID) and we’ve been stuck inside an albeit rather large house with 30 to 40 others of differing ages (from newborn to 90 ish) and from all around the country and at least 2 from abroad (Paris and the States). Time will tell whether we’ve been struck down. 🤞🤞
Fingers crossed, Mike! It’s been lovely to see family again, though being on a plane was a little concerning. Still, we’ve been back for a fortnight and we’re both ok, so job down done hopefully!
I’ve felt very lucky to be living in an area surrounded by sea and open space during the whole pandemic period. As Covid rates seem to be quite low now, I’m no longer wearing a mask much, although I always have one with me. I’ve been to two birthday parties and several business events in the last few weeks, and it’s starting to feel more normal to be in a roomful of people again – I’m sure you’ll find your social skills are still there, just as I have! Next weekend, I’m off to a folk festival in Wales, and I’m not sure how crowded it will be – but I’m excited at the prospect of going somewhere new for the first time in three years.
Good luck with the Away Days. I’d rather take part in fun group activities than make stilted conversation with people I don’t know well, although it depends on what form the fun takes, of course. Anything involving art or craft brings me out in a cold sweat, but I loved pitching a “wacky” business idea to a Dragon’s Den-style panel, which involved providing a flying reindeer service for tourists!
Hi Liz! It’s great to be getting out and about again, for sure, and I’m also sure that the Away Days will be ok, I’m just a bit prone to anxiety and for some reason this is triggering it. It will all be fine, and even fun :-). I seem to remember that Cornwall had a very good Covid ‘war’, at least until the G7 crowd turned up…
The pandemic is not yet over and we are trying to develop a new normal for us. We are still wearing masks in shops and indoor spaces even though many around us aren’t. We went away recently for a weeks break to a rental cottage that had been booked and cancelled twice due to covid rules. It was good to have a change of scene and see the sea but we are still reluctant to go into crowded situations right now.