The Musings of a Dik-dik

...but is it really a good thing? Lockdown is over. Not really, but that is how so many of the population appear to be interpreting the latest relaxing of restrictions due on 4th July. Yet, even though there are businesses that still cannot reopen, even though there are restrictions for the businesses that can, why are so many seeing it as an effective end to the restrictions? I'd argue it's because of the haphazard way in which the government has communicated throughout this crisis. In addition to the poor handling of those in senior positions being found to have gone against the restrictions. While the government has "moved on" from the Cummings affair, a large portion of the population hasn't forgotten. But let's not forget that Jenrick was also found to have taken the proverbial early on in lockdown, used his parents as a get-out clause and got off very lightly - he played on the sympathies of having parents living far away and the fact they were shie...

How will these times define us? Everyone everywhere is using the phrase "the new normal". An oxymoron in itself but we won't dwell on that too much. Due to the global pandemic that we are in the midst of right now, almost everything about the way we go about our lives has changed and more is in the process of changing. What I'm trying to decide is this: are we simply adapting to meet the current needs as a temporary measure or are we evolving in the way we do so many everyday things that we are unlikely to go back to how things were before Covid-19 struck? I'm inclined to argue the former at this point (perhaps with a dash of evolution thrown in for good measure). Society has had innumerable changes imposed upon it as a result of the pandemic. We are twelve weeks into restrictions and we still see complaints that certain aspects of the guidance are not being followed by so many. Add to that the fundamentally unnatural perspective to much of what we are livi...

This past week since the government announced their "road map" to ease restrictions has seen huge debate on its appropriateness and the country's readiness for such changes to take place. First of all, let's address the horrendous soundbite that is the "road map" to come out of lockdown. I refuse to use it without quotation marks because, from the announcement last Sunday evening, it is anything but a guide showing us the way forward. There were so many "side roads" and "T junctions" and "traffic lights" that the term "road map" is highly inappropriate. So, some observations and reflections that I have pondered over this past week. Dates The dates set out at specific "junctions" on the "map" were optimistic at best. How can a predetermined time gap between each step of the plan (albeit with the caveat that these changes would happen "from" not "on") be truly based on scien...

Will the doom and gloom prevail? This whole period of time where we have been living with coronavirus in our communities has been difficult for the majority of us. More than difficult. It's been unbearable at times. But there are glimmers of hope for the future, however dim they can seem some days. The doom and gloom is being massively exacerbated by the media. They questioned the seeming delay of implementing lockdown. Then wanted to know immediately when and how it would end. They weren't getting the answers from the government (which is nothing new) and so proceeded to speculate and then use their own speculation as the basis for questions to the government. All the while, doing a huge disservice to the general public that they are there to serve in the capacity of being a "voice for the masses". I've commented before on the lacklustre questioning at the daily press briefings, and they get no better. I must say that yesterday's briefing was a littl...

It's so much tougher than expected. I would have said that in spite of certain eccentricities, my household is a pretty happy one. Yet, there are so many days where one of us (usually me) is griping at the other. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and has much to do with what our respective employers want from us. Mine is expecting me to get on with things at home in preparation for September. All fine with me, it's my preference in terms of what I do to earn my money. I won't go into the fact I'm being asked to do things for my new role that starts in September already. That is a little annoying, but I've dealt with worse in the past. The husband, on the other hand, seems to not need to do much at all. The occasional checking of emails, the odd response here and there and his work is done. Ever since I've known him, he's made it look like he gets away with doing next to nothing. Almost seven years later I'm still trying to work out how he does...

… the UK is on lockdown. We all sat last night at 8.30pm to hear the ministerial address from the prime minister. We all knew what he was going to announce, especially after the daily press briefing had been ominously cancelled. We knew it was coming after the pictures over the weekend of people flocking to open spaces and not using their sense to turn around and go back home because there were already too many people there. So many now are in shock at the sudden removal of our general freedom. So many are now wondering how their marriage will survive. So many are wondering if they will survive. It's easy enough for us to blame those who flocked to the countryside and the seaside at the weekend but I've come to realise there's more to it than that. This time last week, there were screams for schools to be closed because they were breeding grounds for the virus and contradicted the advice surrounding mass gatherings. And people flocked to the parks and beaches at the w...