The outbreak of coronavirus is on the wane in the UK, or so we are told by our government.
But what is it, really? For me, it’s like a mist that’s been slowly drifting across the country. Sometimes you can see it clearly, creeping up on you; at others it’s almost invisible it’s so thin on the ground. And its appearance changes where you are. It’s not so easy to see it in prosperous well-off areas, and easy to see in already economically hard-hit places like the Midlands, the North West and North East of England – though it looks as if it reached near-epidemic proportions in the London area, perhaps because of the high density of the younger population and the number of vulnerable elderly people living there.
But here in Devon, where most people seem elderly, it can hardly be made out; especially when – like me – you’re in that age-group that’s been told to stay at home. I have rarely been out – other than to sit in the garden with my beloved wife – since sometime in March. That’s a long time! So much so, I hardly know what Budleigh Salterton and the surrounding area actually look like. Oh, we’ve been out once – on one of our fine days – but only for a short drive to the Bicton Park area, with my wife doing the driving. And that’s it.
Still, I’ve read a number of books, and been able to get on with my Open University history course and learned quite a lot. So, it can’t be all bad.
But I do wish it would go away!
