Simple Pleasures

It seems a very long time since Maggie and I have been able to sit down in a cafe and enjoy a meal together. Although we have reluctantly had a few take away meals, that was mainly to support the struggling businesses, rather than to share a fun time together.

Yesterday marked something of a significant milestone in the return to a more normal existance. Restaurants and cafes are now able to open their doors to a small number of customers, provided that the all important "social distancing" can be maintained. The proprietors also have to collect names and contact details of every customer. Even with these restrictions, we thought it was still worth celebrating.

Even though it was a less than perfect day, Maggie and I really wanted to get on the bikes for our first shared ride on our familiar paths since February. So on went the wet weather gear, on went a couple of extra layers and off we went. It was freezing, but fun.

My biggest challenge was to convince Maggie that it would be safe to sit inside our favourite cafe and have lunch together. She was not entirely convinced, but smothered herself in hand sanitizer, held her breath and walked in the door. At least it was warm inside and the other patrrons were well spaced apart from each other. I did not think that even the most energetic coronavirus cell could jump across an abyss that wide.

The owners were obviously very excited that they were able to finally reopen and did everything possible to make us feel welcome. When our meals arrived, it really felt great to be able to sit and share a meal and coffee together again. It was something we had missed enormously.

After lunch Maggie applied another litre of sanitizer and we climbed back on the bikes to continue our ride. The rain held off and the temperature had risen slightly above zero. We explored some more new paths, before returning home. It was a small, but very significant step towards recovery. I wondered whether the cumulative effects of applying hand sanitizer every few minutes might be a greater risk than the virus itself.

Across the Pacific we see that the USA is slipping closer to civil war, with huge crowds of demonstrators in cities across the nation. Hundreds of buildings have been looted and/or burnt. While this is happening their lunatic president gets ever closer to complete insanity. An interesting time in historyRead more