[Magdalen] Happy New Year

[Roger Stokes]

Good to hear from you again Sally. That new variant of the virus us 
certainly troublesome. Here in the UK it caused an upsurge in infection 
even when we were in lockdown in November. Schools weren't closed to 
in-person teaching this time as they had been earlier in the year and 
this variant seems to affect younger people more than the original did 
as well as being more infectious. The government wants schools to be 
open but has started backtracking with secondary schools having the 
start of in-person teaching next term delayed, which also applies to 
primary schools in London and some other areas. I would not be surprised 
to see this extended further before the children are due back on Tuesday 
or perhaps a more disruptive closure in a couple of weeks.

What had been planned as a relaxation of restrictions over Christmas 
(when I was planning to visit family) became tighter restrictions with a 
"stay at home" order locally. Despite this some idiots think the 
restrictions don't apply to them and head off to another area, meet 
together to party or even protest the restrictions claiming that the 
virus is a hoax. Sadly the USA does not have a monopoly of such 
irresponsible idiots.

IT has certainly been a boon enabling virtual meetings to take place. 
Zoom is the platform I am most familiar with and on most often (now 
including Morning Prayer Monday to Saturday) but I also use Teams (which 
I dislike), Cisco Webex more often and have used a couple of others once 
each. I Zoomed with my family on Christmas Day and, as my meetings are 
normally in various places, it has cut down on the time needed getting 
to and between them.

Roger

On 02/01/2021 07:42, sally.davies at gmail.com wrote:
> Happy New Year to everyone still in the Pub!
>
> It is lovely to hear from you all. I have finally managed to clean up my
> formerly unusable Gmail account and made it a NY resolution to keep
> clearing it. The Spam was unbelievable - much if it due to my addiction to
> US politics. Honestly I do not know how you guys stand all these PACS and
> people pretending to be Nancy Pelosi!!
>
> These days I do everything on my phone or iPad so typing is less fun and
> much slower unless I dig out the Bluetooth keyboard. Still, I have a new
> phone which allows me to sweep what Malcolm Guite calls the “Twenty Six
> Summoners” into life, and I just need to master this peculiar new trick to
> befriend social emails again.
>
> We are still in the Eastern Cape, in a village called Blue Horizon Bay.
> Both kids out of the house though Evan (our younger son) is studying in
> nearby Port Elizabeth and starts with my sister in town so we see him
> often. Keith has been at home the whole year with very little work but we
> get by somehow.
>
> I’m still working in InPatient rehab which has not been much of a fiesta
> this past year but continues to provide an income and a wonderfully
> supportive team. It’s been a sad and uncomfortable year togged out in our
> PPE; I am not working with known Covid patients (due to what my young team
> mates, with unnecessary frankness, consider to be my advanced age) but of
> course you never know who will unexpectedly test positive in a so called
> Green Zone. So far only one of us has been infected so we did well; she’s
> now finally back at work but struggling with post Covid symptoms - further
> reinforcing my conviction that however inconvenient life may be, we are not
> taking any chances with this awful thing.
>
> Unfortunately the young tend to consider themselves invincible (‘twas ever
> thus) and when what has undoubtedly been a very tough year dragged to its
> end they wanted to celebrate and to party. So now we have a second surge
> and even a new variant of the Rona that appears to be both more contagious
> and more inclined to affect children. Our city was the first to hit crisis
> with this; TBTG our numbers are going down now but other places are really
> struggling.
>
> After gathering frustration and concern about the platform’s ethics and
> willingness to accommodate bad actors of all types,  I deactivated my FB
> account so regrettably have lost touch with Pub friends of yore who were on
> there. I persisted with Twitter @sallyshuttle - but if you seek me there
> currently, you will not find me. Owing to an Unfortunate Misunderstanding,
> sooner poor phrasing, and inability to resist tweeting historical minutiae,
> I am exiled to “Twitmo” and currently have little hope of escape from that
> lonely isle since their idea of investigation is “when did you stop beating
> your wife”.
>
> I am therefore exploring and so far enjoying the visual feast that is
> Instagram - will gladly follow any of our number who is on there - let me
> know how to find you. IG handle is Sally_D_in_SA.
>
> Being confined to home when not at work, I’ve been improving the shining
> hours by delving into Shakespeare plays throughout 2020 - with occasional
> diversions into other delightful works such as the Ancient Mariner,
> Wuthering Heights, and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. I don’t read much anymore -
> eyes tire too easily - but YouTube is a firm friend. Theatre productions,
> including some wonderful American ones, are available and sometimes movies
> as well. I haven’t had to pay for anything yet!
>
> I can’t imagine how tough it would be to get through a year like 2020
> without the boon of IT - from Zoom to What’s App (yes, I know that’s also
> FB, to whom I bite my thumb)- to YT, Twitter and Netflix. Also Apple
> Podcasts...
>
> In August, our little Mimsy cat passed away quite suddenly from kidney
> failure, leaving us sadly reduced. But in October, just as our elder child
> and physics boffin Donal headed back into the wilds of Cape Town after 7
> months confined patiently at home, our fur family expanded to include
> Gimlet, a silky, slinky and highly adventurous black kitten. He’s now four
> months old and growing by the day. Our bush surrounded home is full of
> dangers for small cats, not least our own dogs in the back yard and next
> door’s 3 cats, but Gimmi is fearless! So once again we are parents of a
> “teenager”, caught between his angry meows at being kept indoors, and
> anxious scanning of the yard as we wonder where he is and who might be with
> him!
>
> Whatever 2021 may hold for all of us, let us hold fast to our own guide
> rope. We are not yet even close to the surface of this deep, gloomy dive
> into which 2020 has plunged us but we slowly rise toward the light; and
> blindly cling on, knowing Whose hands are firmly grasping the other end of
> the rope.
>
> Love and blessings
>
> Sally D
>
>
>
> On Fri, 01 Jan 2021 at 02:02, Roger Stokes via Magdalen <
> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>
>> If I had any doubt the noise of fireworks would remind me that 2020 is
>> making way for 2021 as I write. Some aspects of 2020, such as Covid
>> restrictions, will necessarily still be around for a while and here in
>> the UK we are now in a different relationship with the European Union
>> but we are called to face the future with confidence and faith.
>>
>> Roger
>>
>>