A bit of pessimism. Video-chats. Planning for Chinese New Year.

There’s a certain feeling of the world unravelling around us. The PM gives us reassurances that we, the over 70s, will be vaccinated against the virus by mid-February. But then nobody seems able to agree on how long a pause there should be between the first and second injection. And will there be enough vaccine to go round? And is it fair for us to be vaccinated while our daughter who is out there facing half a class of school children four days a week isn’t.

And already some are busy profiteering from the whole situation. Phil received a scam email the other day offering him the vaccine. Some people have already fallen for tricks like that and accepted vaccinations of who knows what sort of stuff.

And our borders might be being closed. But maybe not. We could deny entry to people coming from certain countries but then we won’t check for people who come from those countries via another, supposedly safer, country. There’s a certain amount of not-wanting-to-annoy-too-many-people around. Besides, is it maybe too late to remember that we are an island and could have done more to isolate (the words are connected) ourselves at a much earlier stage?

Between that and the increasing number of stories of the cost of importing stuff into the country and business losing their European customers because of the cost of exporting, we really seem to be in a bit of a mess. 

And please don’t get me started on schools. All the people shouting about how the government needs to have a route map for getting children back to school, as if the pandemic was something predictable and the government was somehow just trying to annoy us. No, I am not standing up for Mr Johnson and co, but I really don’t think they know what’s going on and just refuse to tell us. I think they are as befuddled as the rest of us. 

Talking about a “route map”, is that somehow different from a “road map”? One can grow weary of government by metaphor!

Okay, that’s the pessimism over and done with. 

We spoke to the southern branch of the family on video-chat last night. Their six year old seems to be coping well with home schooling, proudly showing us her workbook with the stuff she has been doing. She’s happily getting on with it but she is missing her friends. The parents are a little frazzled but are getting by.

Meanwhile I have other problems to deal with. Closer to home problems that I might actually be able to solve. Facebook threw up for me a memory from last year: a photo of crocheted rats! I made them for my daughter’s two half-Chinese offspring. She had decided it would be a good idea to start a tradition of giving them a toy animal to match the Chinese year about to start. So I have been scanning the internet for patterns for crocheted oxen - year of the ox coming up - and rooting in my bag of spare yarn for appropriate coloured wool. So far so good. Watch this space for results. 

I have seen at least one house already decorated for Chinese New Year, by the way.

Today I have run round the village without fear of slip-sliding away. It’s still cold but mostly above zero, although here is still ice on the millponds. Some of the trees are showing signs of new growth. Maybe we have turned the corner. After all ...

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!