TRAVEL TUESDAY 233 - CORONAVIRUS DIARIES VIII - AT HOME

 

“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” - RobertFrost 

Here we all are, cooped up indoors, observing the isolation and social distancing guidelines. We are all protecting ourselves from the invisible enemy, hoping thus to win the battle against the dreaded Coronavirus. Suddenly, many things we all took for granted have been wrested from us – but then again, most of us did not put up much resistance and willingly let go: Any sane, logical, thinking and educated person gave up those things willingly. We stayed home and protected ourselves but also our friends, our neighbours, our workmates, the strangers that we encountered every day, our whole community.

We gave up our visits to concerts, sporting events, the hairdresser, the pub, friends’ houses. We stopped going to the beaches, the picnic grounds, the malls, the cafés, the restaurants. Seeing relatives in distant suburbs or other towns was not an option any longer, visiting the elderly in nursing homes and hospitals was forbidden. Schools and churches closed, and numerous restrictions were placed on a number of social gatherings, including funerals, weddings and other celebratory events. Anything “non-essential” was postponed or cancelled.

Moreover, travel for pleasure is completely out of the question. Airports are no-go zones, railway stations for interstate or international travel are all but closed, while ships have been shunned, cruising for pleasure being unthinkable given the extremely high number of infections and deaths due to COVID-19 on board. Thus, all of us who relish travel and jump at the opportunity to pack suitcases and fly off at every opportunity remain grounded, our wanderlust frustrated…

Home suddenly has become more than simply the place we come to in the evening and spend some time at, before we venture out into the wide world again the next morning. Home is the place that we live in all the time, really live in, all of the sudden. The place where we eat, sleep, interact with family/housemates, where we amuse ourselves, where we must do things that we used to do elsewhere. Some of us cope better than others with this housebound existence. Some of us worked at home even before this crisis. Some of us are homebodies in any case. But those who lived out there for work, for pleasure, for socialisation, for meals are suddenly thrown into the deep end of the “home” and it is no wonder that they are disgruntled, bored, angry, stir-crazy.

Yet, we must be grateful for having that home to take refuge in. Think of the thousands of homeless people who must weather the pandemic any way they can. How many of those unfortunates will succumb to the virus? Think of the refugees, the institutionalised, the transients, the prisoners, the elderly confined in aged care facilities. All of those who are sitting ducks, extremely susceptible to becoming infected and possibly dying of COVID-related illnesses. Home is becoming a very attractive place even for those who spent precious little time in it under normal circumstances.

I, as a person who has travelled a lot, as an inveterate traveller if you like, am also a bit of a homebody. I enjoy being at home and never get bored here, my varied interests, multitudinous hobbies, countless projects and numerous pastimes fill every available slot of my time. Even when I travelled constantly in the past, every time I came back home, a surge of bliss filled my being. “Home, sweet, home” was all I could think of, never mind how exotic the place that I had just visited was, no matter how good a time I had had, no matter what interesting things I had seen, great people that I met, or marvellous experiences that I had had.

Now, at home, I am enjoying my “confinement”. Enjoy yours, take it as a holiday. Do things at home that you would do while travelling: Dress for dinner, organise special activities, surprise yourself and others. Become an armchair traveller in your own living room: Watch travel documentaries, see your old travel photo albums again, watch your travel videos, reminisce on good times you had while away with your family, housemates. And of course, visit the links below where fellow travellers drag their old snapshots from the archives to kindly share with us…

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CORONAVIRUS DIARIES VII

 

“How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.” – Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet 1:1-2 

Yesterday afternoon I had to go into the City for work. I took my car in as the traffic was light and a parking spot was provided for me. In these days of COVID-19, the roads have become a pleasure to drive in and the traffic jams of a couple of months ago have disappeared. Add to that the tumbling price of petrol, which we have not seen the likes of for decades! To drive for pleasure would be good, were it not for the “Stay Home” directive, which most people (I, included) observe. Driving nowadays means going to work (if one can do that!), or alternatively go out for shopping (locally!) or other specified activities that observe the social distancing rules.

In the evening, after work, driving back home was also easy to do, even in the gloaming as the streets were all but deserted. I decided not to take the freeway home as driving in the deserted City was a strange thing, which I wanted to experience. Strange and unusual soon became disturbing and depressing. The empty streets, the few cars, the occasional tram – that too almost empty – gave me the willies. The darkness falling and the street lights eerily shining on the clear tarmac and the desolate pavements put me in a mood of despondency and melancholy. The radio started to play the lovely aria from Bizet’s “Pearl Fishers”, “Je Crois Entendre Encore”, which further heightened my dolefulness, my nostalgia of pleasanter times past.

Going past the Victoria Market, not a soul was to be seen in its brightly illuminated and empty covered corridors and arcades. The major hospitals that I drove by next had illuminated windows and I knew well what life and death struggles were being played there every second, every day. The University buildings across Royal Parade were dark and the students that normally walked in droves around the grounds and surrounding streets were absent. The pubs – their usual haunts – across the way, they too empty and dark. I turned into College Crescent and on my left the Cemetery loomed large, it too dark and gloomy. How many COVID victims had been interred there? How many more till this pandemic peters out?

As I turned into the smaller streets that I usually follow from habit, avoiding the main thoroughfare that leads to the freeway and which in the past was teeming with bumper-to-bumper traffic I became aware of a curious activity on the roads. Bicycles, scooters, motorbikes zooming up and down the streets, each driven by a masked and gloved rider, each carrying a large cubic box in the back. I looked more closely and yes, they were the food delivery workers from the take away food shops. Earning their wages perilously, risking life and limb on their flimsy, ill-balanced conveyances, endangering their health by possibly exposing themselves to the virus, taking their chances on encountering a mean or violent customer. I thanked fate that my work was safe, secure and low-risk on all counts…

The nearer I drove to home, the greater the darkness and the more marked the deserted appearance on the roads. The radio news bulletin began. It was then I heard of the fatal accident on the Eastern Freeway. Yes, the one that I avoided that evening… Apparently, the driver of a black Porsche was pulled over for speeding near the Burke Road exit at Kew during a routine check at about 5.40 pm. The driver was allegedly speeding at about 140 km/h when he was pulled over. A fluid test was conducted, allegedly returning a positive result for drugs. Two officers called for back-up from colleagues and were preparing to impound the car when a semi-trailer ploughed into the group. The crash killed four police officers while the Porsche driver (a mortgage broker, who was on bail – as I learned later) left the scene of the accident on foot. Today the driver was apprehended and is in police custody, while the semi-trailer driver is in hospital, supposedly having suffered a medical episode on the road.

I was out driving for work today, doing something that is allowed under the current COVID restrictions. It is conceivable that I could have been on that freeway, going home and I too could have been involved in an accident with a car driven by another driver who had no business being on the road. All these past weeks, I have been staying home, doing what every sensible, community-minded person does. Yet we hear every day of idiots who flout the restrictions and party, hold social gatherings, organise dinner parties, go out on joy rides, irresponsibly putting the lives of others at risk. And they can kill, through these actions of theirs: If it is not through infecting other with COVID, it is through their brainless behaviour such as this driver who set in motion a series of events that robbed the lives of four police officers, who in these difficult and trying times were out there protecting us.

COVID has changed the world. It has brought out the best and the worst in people. I daily see people doing the right thing, or even going out of their way to help others. There are emergency workers such as ambulance personnel, firefighters, police; health workers: Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, diagnosticians, laboratory technicians; supermarket employees, essential services shop staff, cleaners, rubbish removers, security staff, and so many others who risk their lives in order to prevent more infections and deaths in our community. Ordinary people who have lost their jobs or have been placed on leave, are staying home, doing the right thing. Elderly people who have isolated themselves willingly and have been missing their family and friends, not daring to go out of their house. Children at home, learning remotely by teleconference.

Then there are the irresponsible and egotistical nincompoops who defy everything and flaunt every rule and regulation. They who carry on as usual (or worse!), not fearing the virus, placing their trust in God (not remembering that God helps those who help themselves!), or embracing Lady Luck (gamblers never win, do they?), or having the egomaniac’s mentality of “it could never happen to me – I am SPECIAL!”. The lamebrained who turn to alcohol or drugs to allay boredom, or seek nirvana, or shirk responsibility, or wallow in some chemically-induced stupor that distances them from a painful reality. Yes, they too suffer in the end, they are harmed, but through their thoughtless actions, how many innocents are harmed also?

Four families today are mourning four dead: They were sons, brothers, fathers, daughter, wife, mother, partners, workmates. Four dead police officers who never went home last night, whom their families will never see again. The man who caused the situation that put them in mortal danger, the man who ultimately was so intimately involved in their needless death walked away unharmed, ran away and hid – but not before taking explicit photographs of the carnage he left behind him and which photographs he posted on social media. The same man talked idly about the accident in a chemist shop the following day. Seeking fame? Seeking social approbation? Am I looking for reason, a rational explanation for such actions in the few irrational neurones that man possesses?

We have living amongst us many sociopaths. Every day their actions and words chip away at our society, everyday they demolish our social mores, brick by brick. Their fellow sociopaths observe them and “like” their sickening, mindless posts on social media. Disgusting displays of antisocial behaviour become viral on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Yes, Twitter has been a means of publicising the workings of the dark, labyrinthine, irrational and warped minds of many a sociopath – even if they are rich, famous, or the holders of offices of great responsibility, power, influence and prestige…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 232 - BRIGHTON UK

“The highest form of bliss is living with a certain degree of folly.” ― Erasmus

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Brighton is a seaside resort on the south coast of England. It is part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman The town’s importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. 

The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses. In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion in the Regency era. Brighton continued to grow as a major centre of tourism following the arrival of the railways in 1841, becoming a popular destination for day-trippers from London. 

The Royal Pavilion, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic style prevalent in India for most of the 19th century. The current appearance of the Pavilion, with its domes and minarets, is the work of architect John Nash, who extended the building starting in 1815. Between 1815 and 1822 the designer John Nash redesigned and greatly extended the Pavilion, and it is his work that is still visible today. 

The palace is striking in the middle of Brighton, as its Indo-Islamic exterior is unique. The fanciful interior design, primarily by Frederick Crace and the little-known decorative painter Robert Jones, was heavily influenced by both Chinese and Indian fashion (with Mughal and Islamic architectural elements). It is a prime example of the exoticism that was an alternative to more classicising mainstream taste in the Regency style.

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CORONAVIRUS DIARIES VI

“Before you call yourself a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or a believer of any other theology, learn to be human first.” ― Shannon L. Alder

I recently found myself in the emergency department of one of our major public hospitals in Melbourne at 4:30 a.m. I was accompanying someone who had need of assistance (no, not COVID-19!). The place was deserted at that time and we were seen to immediately after a rapid and efficient triage. The set-up was impressive and the care given was exemplary. Six hours later, the person I was accompanying had been seen by nurses, doctors, radiographers, had been given appropriate medication that relieved her acute, severe pain and was ready to be discharged. She had been given a prescription, and the first lot of suitable medication to last her a couple of weeks, but also a referral to see a specialist and have some more imaging done, all within the next two weeks.

At that point in time I thanked my lucky stars that I am living in a country where in the midst of a pandemic that is causing havoc in most countries around the world, I could still rely on our public health care system to deliver timely, efficient and effective emergency intervention. There was adequate, appropriate diagnostic equipment, care by experienced and courteous medical professionals and also immediate access to medication that relieved excruciating algesic symptoms.

Up till now, in Australia, our intensive care facilities have been able to cope with the increased demand that has been placed on them with the COVID-19 cases. At the time I am writing this, Australia still has a relatively low rate of infection and fewer deaths than other countries of a similar development status. Diagnosed Coronavirus cases here presently are: 6,447, while total nymber of deaths is: 63, with recovered cases: 3,686. The death rate per million population in Australia is 2 per million, compared say to Italy, 348 per million population, or USA, 79 per million population. The response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia was drastic, timely and universal. This proved to be a life-saving intervention.

We still have an effective public health system, despite the increased demands placed on it by our ageing population and the decreased funding it receives. One of the reasons it remains effective is because of the dedication, conscientiousness and professionalism of our health care workers. Paramedics, orderlies, nurses, doctors, diagnosticians, laboratory workers, specialists, surgeons, physical therapists, dieticians, cleaners, kitchen staff, etc, etc, all of these people who work within our public health care system, deserve our appreciation and gratitude for a hard job done well.

Unfortunately, though, we still have a problem in that many health care workers are being subjected to abuse, verbal and physical, by the people they are desperately trying to help. Seeing someone doing their best to save someone’s life and at the same trying trying to defend themselves from abusive behaviour is more than disheartening. One questions the norms of the society we live in, the kind of behaviours that people are raised to believe are “normal”, the types of persons out there that find it “OK” to shout obscenities at paramedics, physically abuse nurses, refuse to co-operate with doctors.

I was talking about this with a friend of mine who is a medical specialist. He said that many of the violent patients that are encountered in a health care setting are on drugs or have psychological or behavioural problems. In their minds, whatever they do is excusable because of their “problem” and later, when they sober up or realise what they have done, they cite their “problem” as an excuse and expect instant and absolute forgiveness. Fortunately, legislation is changing nowadays and that type of excuse is becoming untenable. If you commit a crime and you are high on drugs, you will be punished to the full extent of the law, while “being on drugs” is no longer a valid defence.

We live in a strange world. Times have changed rapidly and people behave in quite disturbing and extremely selfish and antisocial ways. The values of typical, large, post-industrial Western societies have deteriorated, and unchecked capitalism seems to have created a mindset where all is possible, all is allowable all is excusable if one has money. The pursuit of wealth has become the be-all and end-all of existence and our humanity has suffered as a result. Rampant development, widespread exploitation of resources, unthinking consumerism and pullulating globalisation have created massive social, economic, moral and ethical problems.

Perhaps we did need a wake-up call of the order of a pandemic. Perhaps COVID was a necessary evil that we desperately needed in order to stop, rethink our existence, and if we survive through it, change our lives for the better. Perhaps we needed this worldwide emergency to highlight everything that is wrong with our modern civilisation. Perhaps we needed to be afraid, very afraid, of our individual future, and contemplate our own untimely and rapid death in order to consider the survival of our species, the good of our society, the repercussions of our actions on others – people, animals, plants, society, ecosystems, the planet…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 231 - TAJ MAHAL, INDIA

“India has always had a strange way with her conquerors. In defeat, she beckons them in, then slowly seduces, assimilates and transforms them.” ― William Dalrymple

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

The Taj Mahal (Persian for ‘Crown of Palaces’) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 42-acre complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (US$827 million). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as “the tear-drop on the cheek of time”, it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7–8 million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the ‘New 7 Wonders of the World’ (2000–2007) initiative.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 230 - SITHONIA, GREECE

“On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars.” - Phil Simpkin 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Sithonia (Greek: Σιθωνία), also known as Longos, is a peninsula of Chalkidiki, which itself is located on a larger peninsula within Northern Greece. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west of Sithonia and the Mount Athos peninsula to the east. The neareest big city is Thessaloniki to the Northwest.

Sithonia is also a municipality, covering the Sithonia peninsula. The seat of the municipality is the town Nikiti.Spathies Beach is typical of the beaches in this region, with crystal clear waters and pine trees that come down almost to the water. The beach is about 44 km southeast of Polygyros and south of Nikiti. 

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CORONAVIRUS DIARIES V

“She refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring.” ― Zelda Fitzgerald 

How is your social isolation going? Are you being good, staying at home like you are supposed to, or are you being stupid and going out and about and spreading virus around? Despite the number of detected cases of infection surpassing the million mark worldwide today and the number of deaths due to COVID19 reaching 54,000, there are those idiots amongst us who still believe they are not likely to be infected and behave as though things were normal. The result is that often, they are harbouring the virus, which is spread to their every contact. Thankfully, the case of the active, deliberate spreader of infection who knows they are positive and go out to infect others, is rare (remember that type in the days of rampant AIDS?).

I was speaking to an acquaintance on the phone today and she told me that she was going out of her mind locked up indoors, with nothing to do, except getting terminally bored. I was not surprised as she is a boring person. Staying at home has been a boon for me as I am now doing many things that I had no time to do before. I don’t mean having ample time to reorganise the pantry, tidy the kitchen cupboards and drawers, polish the silver and wash the crystal; clean the bathrooms, dust the house, mop the floor and vacuum all the rugs (twice). Well, yes one does all of those things and they are out of the way the first few days… Afterwards, there is plenty of time left to do all of the fun, interesting things!

COVID does has a silver lining and staying indoors, I am now enjoying reading many more books than I was normally (currently reading the excellent “Mother Tongue” by Bill Bryson). I am spending more time painting, sketching, and sorting through my art journals. I play more music and have more opportunity to compose. I write, spend time on my computer sorting my thousands of photographs. I have time to talk more with family members and friends (on the phone!). Watch a movie (we saw the wonderful old film “The Education of Little Tree” ) the other night. At home, I can play cards or some board games with family, look at old photo albums with them, reminisce, have a laugh. Luckily we have a garden and it is a pleasure to go there and spend time tending the flowers, or take a cold drink and sit out and enjoy the sunshine. The list is endless and the enjoyment one derives from one’s hobbies and interests is immense.

Fortunately, we are still able to go out of the house and do some exercise. I still savour my morning walks and I see people walking their dogs, or luxuriating in the sun with their children in tow. Everyone is quite conscious of social distancing and they keep a respectful distance from other walkers, although some people are quite ridiculously cautious. I always keep well away from other people when I pass them, but smile at them and greet them with a hearty “good morning”. Most smile back and greet me, but there are a few who scowl at me and either mumble something unintelligible through a face mask or purse their lips and walk on by in silence. Excuse me, people, we can practice social distancing but we don’t have to grow distant from one another!

Here are some things to do at home:
READ!
Explore the Gutenberg free ebooks site, it’s quite amazing!

LISTEN TO MUSIC!
Of course there is YouTube, but searching the net you can find some interesting other sites where you can listen to some genres of music that you have never heard of before!
LEARN TO PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT!
Take out that guitar that has been gathering dust in your cupboard, or plug that electronic keyboard back into the power point.
Online resources to help you learn are plentiful. For example, Udemy.
SEE A FILM OR AN INTERESTING DOCUMENTARY!
Explore Vimeo, and Popcornflix.
LEARN A LANGUAGE!
Take out your old French, Spanish, German, Indonesian or Chinese language books from school and brush up your linguistic skills. There are numerous sites on the net that can help you.
DRAW, PAINT, DO CRAFT!
Yes, it’s time to take out the colour pencils, paints or crafting tools and get into some fun, relaxing, creative activities. There are plenty of offerings to inspire you online.
COOK SOMETHING NEW AND UNUSUAL!
Lots of cookbooks lying around or masses of stuff online to get your mouth watering!
REDISCOVER AN OLD HOBBY!
Take out that old stamp collection and look through it, you may find a rare stamp worth thousands of dollars! OK, that’s unlikely, but you may be pleasantly surprised as you remember your green years.
LEARN TO PLAY A NEW (OR OLD!) BOARD GAME!
Anyone for chess, backgammon, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Yahtzee, draughts, Dungeons and Dragons, cards? Raid the cupboard in the living room and get those games out.
TALK TO PEOPLE!
Face-to-face with your family, housemates; on the phone with people far from you; online with others.
GET TO KNOW YOUR KIDS
Yes, they live there and you’ll see more of them now. Spend time with them, share activities and discover common interests. Talk with them, listen to them, enjoy their company.
W O R K !
Of course many people are working at home and they may find it difficult to do so with all the other people around being noisy and enjoying all of the above. Please be mindful of the breadwinner trying desperately to do some work and give them the space and the quiet they need!

Stay indoors and see the confinement as an opportunity to unwind, to refill your batteries and to enjoy some of the things that you didn’t have the time to enjoy before COVID came to visit us…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 229 - BERNKASTEL, GERMANY

“There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.” ― Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette  

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Bernkastel-Kues is a well-known wine-growing centre on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort), seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Bernkastel-Kues and birthplace of one of the most famous German polymaths, the mediaeval churchman and philosopher Nikolaus von Kues (Cusanus).

Bernkastel-Kues lies in the Moselle valley, roughly 50 km from Trier. The greatest elevation is the Olymp (415 m above sea level), and the lowest point (107 m above sea level) lies on the Moselle’s banks. The municipal area totals 23 657 101 m², of which 7 815 899 m² is used for agriculture, thereby making Bernkastel-Kues one of the Middle Moselle’s biggest towns by land area.

Worth seeing in Bernkastel is the mediaeval marketplace with its gabled timber-frame houses from the 17th century, foremost among which is the narrow Spitzhäuschen (“Pointed House”) from 1416. Around the St. Michaelsbrunnen (“Saint Michael’s Fountain”) from 1606 gathers a row of well-preserved buildings and also the Renaissance Town Hall from 1608. The Graach Gate is an often visited tourist attraction. Then of course, nothing like a glass of Moselle, or maybe a Gewürztraminer?

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CORONAVIRUS DIARIES IV

“A nation loses the place which it once held in the world’s history when money becomes more precious to the souls of its people than honesty and labour. A universal, widespread greed of gain is the forewarning of some upheaval and disaster. Civilisations have been born and completed, and then forgotten again and again.” – Colonel James Churchward 

Millions of Americans expect to receive $1,200 cheques as part of a $2 trillion stimulus deal that was signed off by President Trump on Friday. This was cited to be a measure to combat a sluggish economy by getting the beneficiaries of this handout to spend it, and thus stimulate the nation’s industries by the direct injection of funds. Other governments of first world countries are commencing similar such releases of funds into their economies, hoping thus to stave off a worldwide depression.

An interesting site to view in light of the President’s announcement is the US National Debt clock. I looked at it mesmerised for a few minutes as the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt increased with each fleeting second. You may have heard of the immense economic strife that Greece found itself in through reckless borrowing of funds and unchecked spending. Currently, every Greek citizen owns about $40,000 USD of their country’s national debt. Terrible, isn’t it? Well, you may think, the US is a more powerful country, with a stronger economy, much more resilient finances and home of the richest people of the world. Think again, each US citizen owns about $73,000 USD of the national debt. Furthermore, each taxpayer in the US owns about $191,000 USD of the national debt.

Play around with the US National Debt site. There is an interesting feature called “Time Machine”. Go back to 1980 and see the National Debt per citizen: About $4,000! A lot of money has been printed and injected into the economy since then to “stimulate” it! By stimulation I understand that means the stock market does well, the few filthy rich get richer, the middle classes do less and less well, while the poor get poorer and poorer, each citizen paying a higher and higher price for a “flourishing economy”.

Coronavirus had infected at least 92,932 people in the U.S. as of Friday 27th March and killed at least 1,380 people, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Of course, simply tracking confirmed cases underestimates the actual scale of the problem. Many more cases of infection will lurk in the community undetected. This is particularly the case for a virus like COVID-19 where symptoms can be mistaken for a cold or flu. Without massive investment in testing, cases will always be missed.

New cases of infection and casualties continue multiplying in the USA. New York and Louisiana hospitals are grappling with a flood of patients that threatens to overwhelm their health-care systems, and their resources are dwindling. Meanwhile, the president and political conservatives are increasingly agitating to end drastic restrictions meant to buy time and save lives. The rhetoric is: “Give people a stimulus handout, get them to spend it, and thus end this nonsense over a stupid ‘flu’ which is keeping them from being happy workers and model consumers.”

Politics has always been a dirty game, but especially so in the Trump era. In recent days, a sizeable and growing number of Trump supporters have claimed that health experts are part of a deep-state plot to hurt Trump’s re-election efforts by damaging the economy and keeping the United States shut down as long as possible. Trump himself pushed this idea in the early days of the outbreak, calling warnings on Coronavirus a kind of “hoax” meant to undermine him. The distrust of Science and Scientists runs deep in the psyche of the uneducated, the simple, the ‘average’ person, but also in the twisted mind of the sly opportunists who wish to further their own fortunes no matter what the cost, human lives included. 

Epidemiologists are medical specialists who have been educated for decades in order to be able to give advice on how diseases appear, how they occur in communities and in the case of infectious diseases, how the diseases spread and how we can limit that spread. They act based on their knowledge, their experience and the scientific modelling that they carry out in order to protect communities and increase the health of a population. Their role in these days of COVID-19 is to avert massive numbers of deaths and devise strategies in order to stem spread of disease and make the disease disappear. One of the frustrations of  epidemiologists trying to prevent disease (rather than curing it, as doctors do and with appreciation of the cured patients), is that it’s often difficult for the public to understand the disasters epidemiologists help them avoid.

A noted epidemiologist, Neil Ferguson published a paper on March 16th, outlining the model of Coronavirus infection and its toll on populations. If nothing were done to prevent  COVID-19 infection in the USA, the number of deaths was predicted to reach 2.2 million people. If all patients were able to be treated, there would still be in the order of 1.1-1.2 million fatalities in the US.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call. We are all aware of it, we are all affected by its consequences on our daily existence, we are suffering its effects on our jobs, our leisure, our interaction with family, friends, even strangers. We are all experiencing varying degrees of fear, ranging from foolhardy insouciance, to mild apprehension, to informed alarm, to justified dread, to mindless panic.

We react to the pandemic in direct proportion to our subjective feelings of fear. Foolhardy politicians inject funds into struggling economies and hope that the deaths amongst their political opponents will be higher than the deaths in the camp of their supporters. The rich and famous are mildly apprehensive and plan courses of actions that decrease their probability of contracting the virus (as advised by their exclusive medical care personnel). The thinking, rational, educated person is alarmed and does what epidemiologists and microbiologists advise, lessening their personal risk of infection, but also doing what is best for the community. People who have come in contact with the virus and its effects first-hand are filled with dread and can act irrationally – perhaps justifiably so. The mindless, panic and act unpredictably with often dire consequences.

Open your eyes, unstop your ears, think! Read critically and follow the advice of experts whose job is to protect the lives of everyone in the community – yes, your life too! If you cannot understand something, ask for clarification. If you have been affected personally by illness or death of a loved one, support is available. If you have financial troubles and you cannot cope, there are many places that provide real support and material help – help that goes beyond one-off handouts of money that you spend on consumer goods to support economies and raise stock prices.

You have been asleep in your comfortable, unthinking existence; blithely unaware in your cushy, mindless routine; you have flooded your existence with cheap thrills, huge numbers of consumer goods you don't really need, you have been in pursuit of trite goals. Wake-up! Re-examine your existence. Find again all that is important, really important, in life. Reach out to your family, your friends, your community. If you’re dead, it doesn’t really matter if your stocks do well in the NYSE or if Trump is re-elected (growing National Debt notwithstanding)…

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES III

“My life is like a memento mori painting from European art: There is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human ambition.” - Yann Martel

Memento mori – “Remember you will die”. An apt reminder in these days of COVID-19, with deaths due to infection with this sinister and highly contagious virus climbing to higher and more alarming levels day by day, worldwide. We look at the deserted streets in our cities and we are reminded of our mortality. We look in shock as military trucks in Italy convey scores of corpses to a place where they will be prepared for burial, and memento mori, the Latin phrase resounds through the centuries to remind the survivors that death lies in wait, that they too will die. Madrid in Spain is the new epicentre of COVID-19 in the world and a huge skating rink has been converted to a temporary morgue to hold the hundreds of corpses. News bulletins inform us of increasing infection transmission rates and we are obliged to think: “Am I next? What if I get sick? What if I get very sick? What if I can’t be cured? What if I die?”

Most people in our society push the idea of their death into the darkest and deepest crypts of their mind. Our culture has a become a life culture, a youth and pleasure-seeking culture. Death has been sanitised and has become something that is seen mainly on the TV screen, in movies, in video games, as a fitting end to deserving miscreants. We have been given a diet of ‘cartoonified’ death (especially as it relates to an untimely and violent death), where death is trivialised and treated with a contemptuous disregard. The more we see the ease with which death is meted out to others on screen, the more it has made our own death a more distant and unlikely possibility – after all we live in the real world, don’t we?

Think of the hypothetical situation where you are infected with the deadly Coronavirus and the even more hypothetical eventuality where you will be told: “You have two days to live…” What would you do? Is what you do much different to what you would do if you had been told: “You have two weeks to live.” Or perhaps: “You will die in two months…” Or even “You have two years of life left!” What then determines your course of action? Many around the world have had to deal with this scenario, confronting a horrific and rapid death as something they or a family member will go through  in a matter of days.

The religious amongst us may say: Vanitas vanitatum, omnia est vanitas; which you will find in Ecclesiastes 1:1 onward: 
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 

In the past when life on earth was seen to be a transient and preparatory phase for life eternal, death was seen as a liberation, a door through which we passed to be greeted by the angels of paradise and its eternal bliss. Death was then a part of life and a promise of liberation from all of our wordly cares and toil. None feared death then, provided one lived a devout and God-fearing life with thoughts and deeds as stipulated by the Gospels.

We have ‘progressed’ and ‘evolved’ socially. Our lay society largely views death as an abrupt end to life, an eternal and dreamless sleep – or even more bluntly perhaps, an infinitude of non-being. Is it a surprise then that we nowadays live our life seeking pleasures, riches, enjoyment, shallow and constant gratifications of every one of our whims and selfish desires? Is it a surprise that we shun even the thought of death and remove from everyday existence even the mention of the word? How many euphemisms we have devised to replace the straightforward ‘she died’? “She passed away; she perished; she went the way of all flesh; she crossed the great divide; she went to meet her Maker; she croaked it; she kicked the bucket…” And so on.

Enter Coronavirus from stage left. It brings with it a sharp sickle, shining bright, its blade whetted and ready to be used. All are vulnerable, all may become horribly sick, all are at risk of dying. Yes, dying, not undergoing some strange linguistic euphemistic transmogrification. We are suddenly jolted back into the grim reality of death as an end to life. And even more so we are forced to contemplate the possibility of an unfair, premature, agonising death far from those we love and who love us. A rapid, sombre funeral (if we’re lucky!) to follow, no ‘celebration’ of our life and the telling of funny anecdotes in the upbeat ceremony, no playing of our favourite pop song.

To add insult to injury, COVID-19 has hit at the foundation of our comfortable, pleasurable existence. Worldwide, economies teeter, stock prices tumble, politicians flounder and pass bill after bill in parliament trying to rescue nations from recession, the world from a depression. Shops close, companies fold, our jobs are at risk, our lifestyle with its multitudinous delights has suddenly been degraded, all those activities which readily gave us amusing diversions and pointless recreations have suddenly ceased. The restaurants and bars have closed, the spectator sports have stopped, the cinemas, the discos, the clubs, the multitude of crowd-pleasers that filled our vacuous existence are all ‘temporarily suspended’.

Instead, we are now confined at home and forced to be alone with our worrying thoughts about life, death, the universe and everything. A reassessment of our existence to date inevitably follows. If we are lucky, we share our home with family, a partner, a pet, or even compatible company. The unlucky amongst us close our door and remain truly alone, making the isolation and ‘social distancing’ even more absolute, more trying, more gnawingly soul-destroying.

Really, when we consider everything, is it surprising that we have panicked? Is it so astounding that people all over the world are behaving in very strange ways? It is such great revelation when we see the scenes of mass hysteria, when we observe people doing whatever they believe will avert the possibility of their infection and the highly unpleasant dénouement it often entails? After all that, buying and stashing toilet paper seems to be a logical and greatly satisfying activity, which makes us better able to deal with the insanity of the situation we have to live through. I think I’m running low, I need to go and buy a few rolls…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 228 - KINDERDIJK, THE NETHERLANDS

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“There are, indeed, few merrier spectacles than that of many windmills bickering together in a fresh breeze over a woody country; their halting alacrity of movement, their pleasant business, making bread all day with uncouth gesticulation; their air, gigantically human, as of a creature half alive, put a spirit of romance into the tamest landscape.” - Robert Louis Stevenson 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. 

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Molenwaard, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam. Kinderdijk is situated in a polder in the Alblasserwaard at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best-known Dutch tourist sites. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

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CORONAVIRUS DIARIES II

“I don’t know how one actually would define obscenity. I’m sure the definition is different according to the age one is living in.” - Jane Alexander 

What is it about the acquisition of hoards of toilet paper – of all things! – that has defined the COVID-19 pandemic? People madly rush to buy up all the rolls they can find, and a frenzied scramble it often turns out to be, not without casualties in the course of the battle for the desirable rolls of triple-ply, pure white, cloud-soft, disposable bliss. If you’re lucky you’ll even be the proud possessor of the luxurious, embossed, floral print rolls… Worth every bit the skirmish and the casualties thereof you sustained in order to grab these trophies and proudly carry them home!

Since our kindergarten days, “poo”, “bum” and “wee” have caused uproarious laughter every time they were uttered by your fellow 5-year-olds. “Fart” was an added bonus and toilet jokes were sure to bring the house down. Some of us manage to outgrow this phase and such jokes that rely on the scatological become obscene. Obscene in this case meaning “in bad taste”, “not suitable for intelligent discussion”, “not witty enough to be considered humorous”. Yet, there is living proof that the scatological provides a ready source of material for countless stand-up comedians (especially the low-lifes that rely on embarrassing individuals of the audience, whom they pick on and make the butt – sorry, pun unintentional – of their “jokes”). Similarly, any number of sit-coms where the punchline invariably depends on the “poo”, “bum”, “wee”  and “fart” tetralogy. Not to mention the “blue” pub jokes, which if not sexual are, more often than not, scatological.

A bodily function that is performed in private is for the majority of people considered to be obscene – obscene in this case meaning not to be exposed to public scrutiny: “Ob scaena” what is not allowed onto the stage, what is supposed to remain behind the scenes and only hinted at, or implied, as in classical tragedy. Hence our numerous euphemisms for the shithouse: Toilet, bathroom, powder room, water closet, john, dunny, privy, lavatory, latrine, convenience, etc, etc… 

Ancient Romans did not consider going to the toilet obscene as is evidenced by the rows of toilet bowls next to each other in public toilets in Ephesus, Pompeii and Herculaneum, where you could sit and do your business, while chatting pleasantly to the people next to you. Interestingly, Europeans were amazed when confronted with traditional Tahitian cultural norms, which considered that eating in public was an obscene act and hence such a bodily function would have to be performed privately and separately.

The packaging and marketing descriptors of toilet paper provide us with the ultimate euphemistic package for an obscene, yet necessary, normal, and healthful bodily function. Shopping for toilet paper becomes a decent and socially acceptable duty because it is so hygienic, so delightfully presented, so beautifully described: Pure, soft, lily-white, downy, angelic, gentle and sanitary. “Sanitary”: Hygienic and clean, contributing to health! If using that paper doesn’t somehow protect you against the Coronavirus, what else can?

Most people don’t normally have large stashes of toilet paper. This day and age where space is at a premium in our increasingly smaller and smaller abodes, bulky toilet rolls take up lots of space. Hence one buys as one needs, small numbers of rolls, enough to avoid embarrassment in one’s private (obscene, if you like) moments. Good taste also dictates that toilet rolls remain out of sight, hence one cannot have them in public view. Normally the few rolls that we buy are put in the bathroom cupboard, out of sight until needed.

Many amongst us are control freaks. We want to be in charge of things, run our affairs as we see fit and desire, be masters of our own destiny and ensure that people around us conform with our course of action, which is the only right way to go about things, isn’t it? It’s all about power and empowerment, being in control and not at the whim of fate’s vicissitudes: “I am in charge of my life and not some God-damned new virus that threatens my comfortable and pleasant routines!” Of course that means that there should be plenty of toilet paper around, doesn’t it? Control freaks are so full of shit!

Think of it also another way: Toilet tissue is a cheap commodity that can be put to other uses, for example it can be used as a tissue and if people have a cold and a runny nose, toilet tissue is a ready substitute for the tissues that you run out of. Interestingly, people are more reluctant to use tissues or paper towels or other disposable wipes in lieu of toilet paper in the toilet… Hence the stockpiling of toilet rolls in the case of a pending epidemic respiratory system disease which amongst other symptoms (in the public mind) includes a runny nose (though not necessarily so in actual case!).

Buy toilet paper, be prepared, be hygienic, be in control! Take an active role in your health management and disease prevention! The more you buy, the more your chances of fending off the disease! Toilet paper has become a powerful apotropaic amulet that will stave off infection with COVID-19, and prevent illness, or an even worse fate! You are right, for toilet paper is a worthy trophy for the modern day warriors of the supermarket aisles. All you, soldiers of the grocery store wars fighting tooth and nail for a few rolls of the prized possession, you the modern day knights errant of this, our sick society, you are the ones who are truly and utterly obscene.

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES I

“We are born. We die. Somewhere in between we live. And how we live is up to us. That’s it.” ― Steven Ramirez

This morning I went for a walk around our neighbourhood. It was 7:45 am, Saturday, one day after the Autumnal Equinox. The sky was leaden grey and the temperature cool enough to necessitate a jacket over my sweatshirt. My ramble in the neighbourhood was because the gym I usually work out in was closed temporarily as a measure against the spread of COVID-19. I think that there are few places on earth at the moment where people are not aware of the novel Coronavirus and the havoc it is wreaking worldwide. Currently in Australia, we have over 900 confirmed cases, with seven deaths from COVID-19. More than 115,000 tests have been conducted across Australia. It is a health emergency, but it has more sinister aspects in the way that it is affecting our society and our interactions with other people.

The early morning streets were quiet – almost eerily so, even for a Saturday. Few cars drove by and even less pedestrians were to be seen out and about. I walked briskly, enjoying the deep breaths of cool air and the effects of the exercise. I could sense my face warming up and the tingle of increased blood flow through my stretching muscles. As my heart rate increased and a slight sweat began to make me appreciate the comfortable warmth I was feeling all over, my thoughts turned to the pandemic and what it meant to me, my family, my friends, my community, my country, the world.

The immediate thought that entered my head was that of a slightly similar crisis that the world lived through in 2003, and most people forgot about a few months afterwards. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which was a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), was first reported in Asia in February 2003. Over the next few months, the illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 8,098 people worldwide became sick with SARS during the 2003 outbreak. Of these, 774 died. In the United States, only eight people had laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV infection. All of these people had travelled to other parts of the world where SARS was spreading. In Australia 138 people were investigated for SARS: 111 as suspect and 27 as probable infections. Five probable cases were reported to WHO after review of other possible diagnoses. SARS blew over, with minimal worldwide effects, and hardly worth remembering unless one’s near and dear had been affected.

Here we are today, 17 years later with yet another Coronavirus emerging and causing a new, more virulent form of disease than SARS, more contagious and with more sinister consequences. The reason in fact for my now usual, brisk early morning walk replacing my gym workout. Hardly worth mentioning or even thinking about if that were the extent of behaviour modification that each of us has to adopt. Seeing in the news how people are behaving in routine encounters, while working, shopping, socially interacting has caused me considerable dismay and in a few cases frank disgust. An interaction with someone during my morning walk drove home some of these points.

As I walked down a footpath of a typical, quiet suburban street I saw ahead of me an elderly man. He was about 70-100 metres down the street and walking slowly, haltingly. I smiled and thought that here was another man exercising in the morning, enjoying the serenity of the place. As I neared him, quite suddenly, he dragged his feet, slipped, tripped and fell face-down on the concrete, uttering a cry of surprise and pain. He lay there motionless and I ran to assist him.

He was a tall, rather gangly man of about 75 years, in fairly good shape, balding, with a lined, sunburnt face that was deformed by a grimace of pain. He was doubled up, his hand clutching his left knee. I crouched down beside him and asked if he was OK.

“Thanks for stopping and asking…” He said rather breathlessly. “I’m OK, just feeling embarrassed and rather crestfallen!”

“Of course, I’d stop and help if I can.” I replied. “Are you in pain? Does it feel as though you’ve broken anything?”

“No, no, I’m sure it’s just a bruised knee. It’s arthritic and falling on it doesn’t help.”

“Would you like me to call an ambulance, just to make sure all is OK at the hospital?”

“No, I’m OK. I’ll just hobble home and lie down with a cuppa.”

“Do you live far?”

“A block down the road. I’ll be fine.” He winced as he tried to get up.

“Here let me help you sit up and see how you feel, see if you can walk.”

He turned and looked at me and smiled for the first time.

“You know, many people would just cross the street and walk on by quickly. I’m surprised you’re here helping me.”

“I’m sure most people would help you if they saw you topple like that.”

“Aren’t you afraid of catching the virus?”

“The chances of me catching the virus and something horrible happening to me afterwards if I help you are minimal – no more than other everyday encounters. Letting you lie down on the footpath, ignoring your predicament would cause me greater harm. My conscience would trouble me and that would be quite a distressing thing…” I said, giving him my hand and helping him up.

“Conscience!” He said and chuckled. “A rare commodity nowadays. I’m Joe, what’s your name?”

“Nick; pleased to meet you, Joe.”

We walked slowly on the footpath, his injury causing him to limp and occasionally grunt. I supported him with my arm and steadied him as best as I could. We soon reached his house and he smiled again as I opened the garden gate to get him into the yard.

“Thank you, Nick, you’re a gentleman and I appreciate your act of kindness. Would you like a cuppa?”

“Don’t mention it, Joe. I’d love a cuppa, but I’m expected home and I’m running late as I have walked further than I planned. Perhaps another time?”

“Any time, mate, just knock on the door and most days I’m home. I’m a pensioner and especially these days I don’t venture far. Thanks again, a pleasure to meet you even under these circumstances.”

Yes, we are living through a pandemic. Yes, we are at risk of catching a horrible virus that can make us very ill, perhaps even cause us to die. Yes, we are meant to practice “social distancing” and avoid contact with other people. All of this does not mean we are also meant to lose our humanity, dispense with our conscience, ignore the plight of our fellow man. Compassion, sympathy, mutual support, community spirit, helpfulness and assistance towards those who need it most, especially these days, are something we all should be striving to find more of within our being and give liberally to others. Do not deny strangers your kindness, you may rely on the kindness of strangers yourself, perhaps much sooner than you think.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.