The Loneliness of the Cross-Town Bus Driver

By -
We have 18 deaths now due to Covid-19. This is more than double the number of passengers that I have seen on buses since the Level 4 Lockdown began over 4 weeks ago. Now I know this isn’t a rigorous piece of statistical analysis, but while out for morning walks, or ambles with my senior management, I think I have seen 40-50 buses plying their regular trade, and the majority have been completely empty. The drivers must wonder, like me, why they are doing it. And they probably don’t have any Simon & Garfunkel to listen to either (that reference may be lost on all the under 50’s reading this apart from one). Which also raises the question, do any under-50’s read this?

Apart from Tuesday, which started damp and foggy and remained overcast most of the day, and some cloud on Thursday afternoon, we have had another week of clear skies and wall-to-wall sunshine. Even though the daylight hours are fewer, and some of the breezes have been a little chilly, it has been very pleasant, and required much wearing of shorts, winter or otherwise varieties.

Our domestic routines have continued much as usual, interspersed with games and briefings. I have done one remote support call. Shopping has been easier this week, and I have finished scanning all the photograph albums. Next come some loose photos, which are turning up in various unexpected places, while hunting in the garage for the mouse traps. We have discovered earlier in the week that we have a visitor. So has Dawn, so I suspect it has learnt something from cats about befriending more than one establishment, or they are hunting in packs!

Communication highlights of the week: a video chat with Bruce, Wendy and Marnie on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. They are all well and seem to be having a similar lockdown experience to us. On Wednesday Bert the Builder contacted us with a revised completion date (spring) and he and I had a good chat which was very heartening. He is a lovely man, with a very good sense of humour. On Thursday Nicky had a prison prayer group meeting via Zoom, and also socially distance conversation with Jancis in the BHB Recreation Reserve.

Nicky and I had an amble down to the beach on Tuesday, and I took these photos, because Nicky liked the flowers, and to indicate how busy the Main Street in The Bay is currently on a Tuesday afternoon:



Yesterday was Anzac Day. No mass gatherings allowed, so those who wanted to mark the day were asked to put their radios on just before dawn (for the last post etc), and stand at the end of their drives or somewhere similar at 6am. We did. We only saw one person across the road following suit, but thousands around the country appear to have taken part in the event. The RSA’s commented that they think more people commemorated the event this year than usual, and I wouldn’t be surprised.

As it is a long weekend (tomorrow is a public holiday with Anzac Day falling on a Saturday) we did a 1000 piece jigsaw yesterday (which we finished at breakfast this morning) and a 500 piece one this afternoon. Nicky attended church via Zoom again while I went out for a walk.

We are a little over 24 hours from going to Level 3.

Take care, Rick

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Challenging week

By -
Image
 It has been a challenging week. At the beginning of the week Nicky was still getting worse, so she arranged an appointment with the GP on Tuesday afternoon. The GP confirmed that Nicky had bronchitis and sinusitis, but that her chest sounded clear. With the infection being viral, there was no medication that could be prescribed, but some additional painkillers were in order to manage the symptoms and assist with the pain caused by congestion, coughing and vomiting. As the week progressed Nicky started to improve slowly. The periods of incessant coughing and coughing induced vomiting started to subside yesterday. She was able get a little more sleep and keep a little more food down. The washing machine has been very busy with regular changes of PJ’s, dressing gowns and bedding. Some of the laundry has been dried outside but the winter weather has deteriorated over the last couple of days. While Nicky has been unwell she has cancelled all her commitments. I have been running errands...
Read more

Tea and Tissues

By -
Image
 We have had a quiet week at home, doing jigsaws and listening to Harry Potter. Nicky seemed to be getting better at the beginning of the week but it was short lived. As the week has drawn to a close she has actually started getting brighter and felt like doing some things round the house. Nicky got dressed for the first time this week on Friday to go to the hospital for a blood test, and we did a little shopping on the way home. Yesterday she made a couple of lemon cakes and delivered one to Eleanor for her birthday. Nicky found the few minutes walk there and back exhausting. Meanwhile, I gradually got worse through the week until Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday I ploughed through a whole box of 240 tissues, and most of a packet of throat lozenges. Paracetamol helped with the general aches and temperature fluctuations. This weekend is the first time I have done my morning exercises in over a week, and I even managed a short amble this morning in the lovely (almost spiring-like) ...
Read more

Easter

By -
Image
 Steve continued his convalescing with us at the beginning of the week, and continued to improve each day. He decided to start the journey home on Tuesday by driving to Te Kuiti. As Monday was going to be his last evening with us he provided another take-away dinner from the Spice Guru, which we enjoyed as much as the previous one. Steve and I were a little early collecting it, so while we were waiting I was having a look at the buildings at the bottom end of Victoria Avenue and spotted this: I think Whanganui rivals Napier for the quality of its Art Deco architecture. Before Steve left on Tuesday morning, he and Nicky went to the Splash Centre to have a wallow in the thermal pool. This had been recommended by Nicky’s physio when she had seen her on Monday. Nicky had a short swim too and they both enjoyed their time. We were very pleased that Steve felt sufficiently recovered to start his journey home, as it was not good seeing him in as much pain, as when he first arrived. It was ...
Read more