If I didn't Laugh....I'd Cry

Hello Everyone, I hope you have all had a good weekend and you're now ready to face another week. As I have received a number of messages asking about the 'Freedom Day' we were going to allegedly enjoy on July 19th, here in the UK, it made sense to write about everything and so all your questions could be answered. As you might have already guessed by the title, it hasn't been quite as joyous as we had all hoped....let me explain...

Firstly, like many other nations around the world, here in England, the government set up a 'Track and Trace' app, which, was supposed to send alerts to people so they'd know they had been in contact with someone with COVID and so they needed to self-isolate. On the face of it, a good system to prevent the spread of the illness, so why am I mentioning it ? Well, it turns out people who have not set foot outside their front door are being 'pinged', also because the app uses Bluetooth- your phone can easily receive an alert sent to someone else. Obviously this constant malfunctioning has resulted in (at last count) over 2 million people plunged back into self isolation- most of which could be completely healthy ! The knock on effect has meant every possible essential service is being crippled by lack of staff, from delivery drivers to health workers, food producers to ambulance crews. So, in fact, far from being 'free' quite a large chunk of the population are still in a kind of lockdown.

So, with so many people affected, I bet you can guess what's happened now, can't you? Yes, you're right, we now have food shortages because there are infinitely fewer drivers to bring deliveries to our supermarkets-yay! Naturally, this news has brought the hoarders out in force again, (I'm sure you remember the toilet roll explosion) and so while some are wheeling out trolley loads of supplies, others are barely managing to create a basic meal.

But the current discomfort doesn't end there, oh dear me no ! Unusually for the UK, we have been experiencing record temperatures and so we've had heatwave conditions. I cannot even begin to tell you the joy of hiking around the neighbourhood, looking for food, in baking heat. I really feel the 96% average humidity makes the experience even more pleasurable, as rivers of sweat run down every inch of your skin. I should like to add here, I checked and the levels here are actually 10% higher than the Amazon rainforest! Oh and while on the subject of water, over the weekend, there have been flash floods which have left large parts of the country underwater.

In a rare moment of confidence, I considered going out for the day but was quickly dissuaded as not only are their too few train drivers which mean cancelled services but the railway lines themselves are either buckling from the heat or under several feet of water. So, as I write this to you today, I am basically still as housebound as the last 500 days of lockdown.

Tentative plans made back in June are once more shelved and there seems to be little hope of much changing in the coming weeks as our government flips its policies on almost a daily basis. So, one day it might be 'you don't need masks anymore', but when you wake up the next day,' you need them back again'. Another example would be, 'if you have had both COVID jabs, you're as free as a bird', now it turns out, you're really not! As I understand it, they are now considering issuing 'COVID Passports', so if you can prove you're fully vaccinated, you'll be allowed to visit nightclubs etc but there's quite a strong feeling against this policy already, so I won't be breaking out the dancing shoes just yet.

There are loads more reasons to moan and yes, I am aware I am not brimming with happiness, but it's the ongoing travel restrictions which are a particular thorn in my side. I think I explained before in a previous post, the traffic light system we have here, when it comes to going to other countries. In a nutshell, the government releases a list of places we can either fly too with/without quarantining upon return to the UK. Some places are severely restricted whereas others are 'open for business'- it sounds straightforward, doesn't it? But like everything else, it has become an ongoing problem mainly because this 'definitive list' changes much like wind direction. So, families have flown out to 'green' countries for a holiday, only to discover the 'status' of their destination has now changed and so they either have to flee back to the UK ASAP or they stay and risk being thrown into quarantine and/or face a fine. Speaking personally, this constant indecision has resulted in me having to cancel and postpone prospective trips, as it's just too much of a risk, not only because of the potential fines etc but also the huge financial loss of booking flights only to have them cancelled, which would leave me with the epic struggle to gain a refund.

Finally, amidst all of these ongoing problems, the streets are now filling up with protestors who are either against masks or vaccines or both ! So naturally, these people are crammed together while they either march or gather in vast groups to listen to even angrier leaders threaten anarchy while insisting every vaccine perhaps contains a microchip so Bill Gates can ultimately control the world or even more likely (???) the whole population is being turned into drones to be used by 'dark forces.' Quite honestly, if these forces can sort out the current mess, I can't say I would be totally against them.

So, as you asked, this is how 'Freedom Day' has gone so far and as the title of my post suggests, I have to find some molecule of humour in the whole situation otherwise I'd be sobbing into my pillow. Even my constant companion 'hope' is starting to fade which is never a happy place for me because it's only the belief things will get better which keeps me going.

I know everything changes in the end and no bad time lasts forever, but there are days when it certainly feels as if this current situation might be what life is always going to be, I sincerely hope not, for the sake of everyone. I believe most of the world just wants to return to some kind of normality which, if nothing else, gives us all a common purpose and dream - so maybe that's where hope lives ! Anyway, look after yourselves, stay safe and until the next time...

Take very good care xx