Not wanting sound like Cassandra…
The madness that is the end of a term is magnified in the summer threefold and this year as we throw off the shackles of the pandemic everything appears to be turbo charged. Exams, performances, trips, reports, planning for the next year, meeting new intakes etc etc. In the next two and a half weeks I have two three day trips to the Battlefields in Belgium and France, 6 different Shakespeare performances and at least 120 reports write, still at least it’s not dull and I’m my own worst enemy by taking in gigs as well. The other thing that is beginning to add to the madness is the creeping number of staff and pupils that are suffering again from COVID. I was knocked over by it two weeks ago for the second time and other members of staff have also been affected. This latest variant appears to give you flu like symptoms but you don’t test positive initially and only after a few days does the ominous red line appear. Hospital admissions are up and numbers in Scotland indicate that 1 in 20 have the virus as of last week.
And yet… and yet. We hear nothing about restrictions being amended or any change in government policy. I get it, I really do, we’ve got our freedom back and we’re not losing it again and we probably can’t afford to lose it again on several levels. However, the lurking concern is that articles published this week are highlighting the fact that some are now getting it for a third time and worryingly that is the time that puts them in hospital.
I have washed my masks and started wearing them in crowded situations again and my parents are seeing less of me for now which, ironically, gives me more time for the music. The Felice Brothers were emotional this week in Cambridge, they were the last gig before lockdown ( 20.3.20) in the same venue. They were immense. Spooner Oldham is a muscle that runs through most of the torso of modern music and this cuts deep. And one should always return to Justin Currie every now then for some splenetic bile. Take what you want or need and stay safe if you can afford to.
