A Time To Reflect On Life.

January 22 seems such a long time ago, that date, of course, was when China first reported their first deaths from the Coronavirus. It was also the day that they reported 17 deaths from it.

That is not to say China has been truthfully reporting how many victims they have had. I happen to believe they have been rather less truthfully with what has been going on in China. However, that’s a story for another day.

We are now well into April and with Easter this weekend its a time for reflection.

Many of us are now locked down at home with just an hour outside homes for exercise and shopping only for essential goods such as food and medicine. For everyone, it’s a trying time, we are not used to being locked down, are we.

I have though noticed how quiet it is, I live in a small community of just forty homes on a large estate, a Cul-De-Sac which is usually buzzing all-day a lot of us know each other and many have lived there for at least 35 years, there are also the young families who have children and at night they would normally all be playing outside, school holidays are the same. Cars are always on the move, going to work in the morning, coming home at night, the ones who are retired can be seen driving out somewhere.

Now nothing, it’s dead not a sound except for the odd car that goes to the nearby shop driven by an older person, we see a family scurry by walking their dog 15 minutes later they scurry past our house going back home, then a young girl go past on her bike a few times then goes back inside, two young brothers come out every day to play football 10 minutes later they are back indoors now and again a delivery person appears, we get used to who they are and usually have a lighthearted chat with them, same with the postman.

Now they deliver and hold up their hand as they see you come to the door, don’t open it please they say I will pop it on your doorstep, wait until I am gone. The postman comes he is the same unless he is just posting letters.

When the Supermarket delivery person comes, gone is the lighthearted banter we would have and the help with unpacking he has to put the crates on the doorstep and stand on the pavement until we are finished taking the items out of the crates. Gone is the policy of no plastic bags everything now comes in them.

I look up into the sky there is nothing there but clouds, not an aeroplane in-sight, clear blue skies not even the sound of the air ambulance which we would normally hear at least one a day, now nothing. Just half a mile away is the M6, we can’t see it the hill hides it but usually, we can hear the drone, now it’s silent.

I reflect as I sit in the sunshine in my back garden that this is what it must have been like a hundred years ago.

We bought a new Bird feeding Station on line the old one we have had for years was on its last legs, we have it in the front garden. I erected it and then sat back to watch for the birds. I was not disappointed because it’s so quiet the birds flock to it..

Although now retired I am actually quite enjoying this lockdown. I am not going out so saving money on fuel. The weather is nice, both my wife and I would be going out in the car to enjoy the pleasures of garden centres buying plants to get ready for our hanging baskets. I am still buying them, I am just not driving miles, I am having them delivered and many are at a fraction of the cost I would normally buy them.

I am sitting outside in clean air planting them no cars no planes equals fresh clean air. Because I am not driving anywhere I am now beginning to find I have a pair of feet that now take me for short walks again in clean air.

I hope others are enjoying this lockdown unless you have a family member with the virus or you are one of the key workers doing such a vital job its the perfect time to relax, reflect on life in general. If you can do that then blood pressure will come down, that can’t be a bad thing can it……………unless you have low blood pressure that is.