farewell ‘normalcy’

By Daniel McSweeney

Leamington Spa, England

With all the unprecedented disruption in our lives, I am recalling when we freely mingled with fellow citizens in crowded streets, shops and pubs both here in England and in our native Canada. It was a time of normalcy when trains, buses and subways were packed with people living ‘normal’ lives.

    We all went about our business heading to work, to the gym, the movies, to football games, the doctor’s office and to airports that are now just huge parking lots for idled airplanes. People just weeks ago jumped in their cars to shop at Morrison’s, Tesco or Sainsbury’s without face masks or latex gloves. Most gave no thought whatsoever to checking out the fruit and vegetable section with other shoppers breathing down our necks, even those perhaps with mild sniffles.

   On Saturdays we felt perfectly at ease wandering around crowded streets up on the ‘Parade’ and enjoying a cuppa Joe and an apricot croissant at our favorite Nero’s coffee shop. When we walked down the pavement, we didn’t have to give a wide berth to people so we could avoid infecting them; or them infecting us with a terrible illness. Most of us thought our investments were safe; and if we owned a home, its value was reasonably secure in a stable real estate market. We looked forward to welcoming visitors and even visiting London that now is at the UK epicentre of the virus.

   Meanwhile, our grown-up children in Canada were settled nicely into their daily routines; kids in daycare or school and  supper hour family chats about the upcoming big day of graduation in a crowded auditorium with cameras flashing and wide smiles on the faces of proud parents. Birthdays might even be celebrated at restaurants where candles would be blown out with abandon. “Mom, he spit on the cake,” a younger sister might say. “I don’t want any of his boy germs on my piece.”

       And they all would laugh.

    It was a delicious time of complacency that has now disappeared as an  invisible enemy threatens our health, wealth and well being. Each morning we tune into BBC Breakfast Show to catch the news. At the same time, we embrace a new ritual of visiting websites that record the numbers of the sick and dead from the previous day. Sadly we  find ourselves thinking of just numbers rather than the flesh and blood human beings behind them struggling to breathe with the help of ventilators.

   The reality is that we are in early days for the spread of the disease; just as we are for the horrendous economic impacts it will have on our lives. It all makes one pine for ‘normal times’ that now seem like a beacon on a distant shore as we sail into the unknown.As I write, more than 41,000 have died; and the general consensus is that the worst is yet to come. On the economic front, industries and businesses are failing; jobs are disappearing and the impact on real estate and investments is dis-heartening. I believe, however, no one really understands the magnitude of the ripple effect into business, industry and the livelihoods of millions of people. Only time will tell.

    The cost of keeping us as safe as possible and the economy functional is astronomically expensive.’  While the level of national debts may have once caused us to raise our eyebrows, our heads will soon spin in Beetlejuice style at staggering debt levels in the future. Our leaders though have no choice in the matter and must do whatever it takes to overcome this unprecedented health, social and economic crisis. May these people in leadership roles have the wisdom to make the right decisions at the right time as we sail  into the unknown and leave the old  ‘normalcy’ we once knew far behind us.

Next blog: They couldn’t catch a break 

Bravery & stupidity

By Daniel McSweeney

Leamington Spa, England — From my comfortable chair here in our flat on England’s historic Grand Union Canal, I want to ruminate about the COVID-19 virus, an unprecedented 21st century health, social and economic crisis unlike anything seen since the global calamity of World War Two.

   To those people ranting that the pandemic is being overblown by governments and media, I too hope its’ spread might be contained sooner than later. Consider though such an outcome might be a product of the drastic actions taken to keep it under control. Had our leaders not responded with such vigour, we just might have made the so-called ‘Spanish Flu’ of 1918 look like a walk in the park.

   With that said, I believe we are living in a time of exceptional bravery – as well as stupidity.

     What got me going on these diverse reactions to the crisis was watching a clip about several young ladies in a warmer clime strolling around a crowded beach in bikinis enjoying March break. That sort of thing usually would bring a smile to my face, remembering times long past when I enjoyed time off from university – and of course just watching girls in bikinis.

    I was astounded at one girl claiming she would not let the corona virus stop her from enjoying vacation. Her reasoning was that she had ‘a good immune system.’ Well maybe she does – but that doesn’t mean she won’t pass it on to more vulnerable people like Grandma, Grandpa or some poor soul sneaking out to a grocery store to pick up loaf of bread. And even though these March breakers are young and seemingly healthy, it doesn’t mean they cannot become gravely ill from this insidious virus.

     Such people might be encouraged to realize this crisis is ‘not all about me.

    And then I watched a piece about a church in the United States that continues to hold services with hundreds of people, crying and weeping over each other as the Pastor urges his congregation not to be afraid because God will take care of them.

   He promises his flock that while emergency health and ambulance personnel might not be able to reach them, the Holy Ghost could and would take care of them.

   One ‘older’ woman, presumably attending the same service where tears and spittle flew through the air, boldly asserted no corona virus would stop her from attending church. It is nice to have such faith – but not when it endangers others.

   At the far end of the scale are people who purposely spit, cough at sneeze at others. That is not only stupidity – it is outright criminality.

    Enough of the darker side of humanity in this time of global pandemic. The good news is that bravery and nobility seems more abundant than stupidity.

   I believe bravery includes people self-isolating, living with the knowledge that they might not have jobs when all is said and done. They might lose loved ones; their homes and like all of us, our sense of security. It’s a heavy cross to bear just thinking about all this as we hunker down behind closed doors away from the rest of the world. We all worry about our kids and grand kids and how they will fare in this pandemic and from the  social and economic changes post COVID-19 will bring to the world.

     Even our leaders trying to mitigate the pandemic’s effects don’t have all the answers. By virtue of the modern world never having experienced a pandemic of this magnitude, they are, by necessity, making flexibilty a virtue. As circumstances unfold, all institutions of our society are going to have to re-write their playbooks. I assert that one of the most influential pillars of society – the banks – must  understand how they will play a big role in preventing more social and economic chaos from this terrible pandemic. In such places of commerce, where profit seems to be everything, it will be a hard pill to swallow. People though will not forget those who treated them poorly.

   I admire most the people who must go out everyday into a world of invisible microbes that threaten their health at every turn in the course of a working day. We would be lost with such brave souls. These include doctors, nurses, emergency health responders,  pharmacists, police and fire services and others who drive buses and trains, work in grocery stores, deliver essential goods and services; fix people’s emergency plumbing needs, folks who keep at least a semblance of society going.

    Here in the UK, the government issued a call for volunteers to help vulnerable people stay safe and well at home during the pandemic. The work involves delivering medicines, driving patients to appointments, bringing people home from hospital or simply making phone calls to check on people isolating at home. Most of the work they claim can be performed while exercising social distancing.

    They asked for 250,000 volunteers. More than 500,000 responded; and I expect they will have no problem signing up an additional 200,000 more as the need increases.

    In closing, stupidity is in no short supply in this time of the corona virus. On the other hand, bravery is making the rounds with every passing day illuminating the essential goodness in most people with whom we share this planet.

    And that’s something for which we should give thanks.

St. Patrick’s Day virus blues

By Daniel McSweeney

Leamington Spa, England — Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a usually grand celebration of Irish culture that for many involves hoisting an ale or two in pubs with one’s best mates; and ‘the wearing of the green’ while parading in the streets of cities around the world. In Chicago, they even dye the river green to mark this festive occasion in honour of St. Patrick who brought Christianity to Ireland way back in the fifth century. Even if you are not Irish, or of Irish heritage, it might be part of your ritual to trot out a smattering of the green on St. Patrick’s Day to show you are at least Irish at heart.

    Most people though have no idea why green is associated with the Irish and St. Patrick’s Day. One story is that the colour makes mortals like us invisible to mythological creatures known Leprechauns, perhaps not to scare them away. With that delightful  blarney out of the way, many people are proud they come from Irish stock. Consider that about 10 percent of Americans claim Irish descent and about 15 percent of Canadians. On St. Patrick’s Day, it’s anyone’s guess what the percentage would be.

      And when it comes to celebrating the day, geography knows no bounds.

So no matter what, it is indeed ‘a great day for the Irish’ everywhere!

 A different sort of  St. Patrick’s Day

Celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, however, is turning out to be radically different this year.

    Even the big St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago has been cancelled. With COVID-19, so is pretty much everything else in the world. It is turning out to be perhaps the most significant  global crisis in this century since the ‘Spanish Flu’ of 1918 and the Second World War. In the words of England’s Chief Medical Officer, COVID-19 is ‘on the upward tilt’ and the ride will get rougher. Everything from the hospitality industry to the airlines business is feeling the impact. It is indeed time, as one writer suggests, to view the act of  ‘social distancing’ in 2020 as a sign we can work together in ‘social solidarity.’  It will all of course come at a huge cost to society in terms of social and economic impact.

    Yesterday a publican told the BBC he was voluntarily shutting down as the virus ramped up in his community. It comes at a particularly bad time because St. Patrick’s Day weekend is usually his busiest time. He had stocked in large supplies of beer that now will sit unsold in coolers that will generate power bills he might not be able to pay.  Even worse, he may have to close permanently as cash flow dries up. And then today, the UK government started advising people not to patronize, pubs, restaurants and theaters and such. In Ireland, the government there then announced all bars and pubs should close until at least March 29 throwing an estimated 50,000 bar employees out of work.

     This story will be repeated over and over with others in the  weeks and months ahead.

    No one knows just how serious all this will turn out to be for the economy. Drastic ‘lock-down’  steps though are being taken to save lives; and that’s what really matters the most. Once the pandemic is over, some members of the so-called chattering class will claim government actions were Draconian.  But what might have happened had we all sat back and went on about our lives with much lesser restrictive measures? I believe therefore we all must take a leap of faith and take the considered advice of credentialed medical experts advising our leaders on what they think is best.

   Just this morning Sandra’s employer advised her to work from home until further notice. We will of course still have to venture out for exercise and to buy food and other necessities of life. Hopefully supply chains will not collapse and the essentials of life will still be available. On that note, happy St. Patrick’s Day from Leamington Spa where we will fight any ‘St. Patrick’s Day virus blues’ knowing that COVID-19 will eventually pass. And from it we will have learned valuable lessons about how to deal with future pandemics that will creep into our lives like the proverbial thief in the night.

The year of ‘The Pandemic’

By Daniel McSweeney

Leamington Spa, England — Folks in Canada are asking how we are coping with the COVID-19 virus as it ramps up across this densely populated nation of more than 65 million people.  The UK is indeed a crowded country where controlling the spread of the disease presents huge challenges. It also will have major effects on the tenuous British economy as the country tries to tactfully and gracefully leave the European Union with minimal chaos and disruption. In many ways, COVID-19 has cruelly gifted Prime Minister  Boris Johnson  with a perfect storm that will test his leadership abilities.

   With that said, we are just fine. Our temperatures are in the normal range and we are not experiencing bouts of coughing or aches and pains out of the ordinary. The bad news, however, is that we quite likely will get infected if the projections of virus spread across the UK prove to be valid. If we were still living in rural Nova Scotia, I would be more confident that we could isolate ourselves from the worst of it. Given our lifestyle in the UK, and the throngs of people around us, ‘complete social distancing’ is hardly a practical option. Sandra must still hop on a crowded bus for work and we have no ability to store large quantities of food in our flat; therefore necessitating periodic grocery runs.

   We will of course continue to vigorously wash our hands. We will avoid close contact with people on the street and in supermarkets; and we will postpone traveling into the big smokes of London and Birmingham.And we will categorically follow the tongue-in-cheek advice from our niece in New Brunswick to ‘not lick strangers.’ (It’s a piece of advice we had never contemplated receiving. Thanks Christine.) The good news is that Sandra and I are reasonably healthy and might only contract a mild case of COVID-19. We just don’t know; and will simply take all reasonable precautions to avoid getting ill. Our concern is that if infected, we might spread the virus to other more vulnerable people. We will therefore do our best to follow government advice in the weeks ahead.

    Boris Johnson this week acknowledged some people will lose loved ones; and that drastic measures need to be taken similar to those being imposed elsewhere in the world. Still, some members of the British scientific community do not think the UK is going far enough. My view is that no one really knows the best strategy. Without doubt, mistakes will be made and there may be negative ‘unintended consequences.’ Given the complexity of this new uncharted pandemic territory, I don’t believe, however, there is anything to be gained by eventually playing ‘a blame game.’ The whole world must learn from the COVID-19 experience that will make us better prepared for pandemics of the future. The players should find the wisdom to set aside politics and sort out what worked – and what didn’t.

    I have never been a fan of Boris Johnson. He did, however, come across to the nation in his public address as very ‘Prime Ministerial,’ totally unlike a certain other leader on a distant shore who may not even understand the word ‘presidential.’ In closing, we were asked earlier today about possibly returning to Canada in light of the Canadian government’s recommendation that ‘travelers’ abroad should consider high-tailing it back home sooner than later. We are, however, not ’travelers’ in the purest sense of the word. We have been here for four months and plan to stay considerably longer. And besides, we have a rather nice place on the canal to hunker down, watch the narrow boats meander by,  and hopefully survive ”the year of the pandemic.’