Tag: Spanish flu

Another pandemic Christmas?

Christmas 2021 was a controversial event. The new Omicron variant of COVID had been tearing through the population but the powers that be were divided on what action to take. On one hand, there were loud calls from some for another stringent lockdown. On the other, there was a lot of evidence that the new variant was relatively benign. The result was a combination of confusion and apathy from the general public. The nations of the UK were divided in their approach, which didn’t help with the confusion. Luckily for me, restrictions in England were ruled out before the New Year. Dire warnings were issued by those who disagreed — hospitals would be overwhelmed — millions would die — it would all be the government’s fault. Hyperbole was flying around like Christmas tinsel. As for me, my Christmas morning was spent at Southampton parkrun.

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An Omicron Christmas

Twelve days before Christmas 2021, Kim and I were wrapped up against the cold, up to our ankles in mud and taking photographs of yet another cross country race. Meanwhile, the media were doing their best to whip up a storm about the new COVID variant, Omicron. It was spreading like wildfire, but everyone I knew who’d had it described it as a mild cold. Most only knew they had it at all because they’d taken a routine test. Some had no symptoms other than a positive test result. Even so, there was plenty of hype about cancelling Christmas and locking the country down again.

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Out of the blue

By mid may 2020, the lockdown restrictions were slowly being eased. It had been a strange couple of months. Many people had worked from home, others had been furloughed and were being paid to stay at home. Non essential shops were closed, as were pubs and clubs. Some people had been self isolating and not going out at all and the supermarket suddenly felt like a dangerous place. Despite all this, lots of unsung heroes had been working through it all.

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Echoes of 1918

Long before this current pandemic began I’d been researching the Spanish flu of 1918 for something I was writing (all will be revealed later I promise). One hundred and two years on, in the spring of 2020, the echoes of the previous century made me vaguely uneasy. I told myself to stop being so paranoid, this current crisis was not the same at all, a lot has changed in a hundred years. So, after dipping my toe into the water of walking through the local pretty places, I decided to keep walking but to stick to the streets. They were nowhere near as inspiring but they did have the advantage of being empty. In fact, there was an almost eerie silence. Roads that had once been thrumming with life were deserted. Where had all the cars gone? Where were all the people? The world took on a strange, post apocalyptic character that made me feel as if I were the only person left alive.

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