So many questions...

I’ve had a lot of people write to me today to say they’ve been feeling anxious. Having listened to the Prime Minister last night, then in Parliament this afternoon and just now in the daily briefing —- (how uncomfortable did lovely Chris Whitty look?) —- it’s no surprise many of us aren’t feeling brilliant at the moment. 

We now have a road map of how to live in 50 pages and 8 documents about making workplaces safe. So here’s what I know tonight:

I am told to stay home but I can go out for exercise as often as I like. 

I am told as I’m still in the clinically vulnerable group of people just below shielding I should stay home but if I do go out I should take care. 

I am told I can go to a garden centre on Wednesday, or play golf on my own or with my wife on Wednesday. I don’t want to do either, but I can if I want to. Lis doesn’t want to do either, either! 

I can meet one person in a park who doesn’t live with me as long as we stay two metres apart but if while there I bump into other people I know I must ignore them or run away from them. 

I can meet one person two metres away from me in the park but I cannot have them come to meet me over the garden gate, even if my garden gate is further than two metres from my front door.

 

I am told I can drive for exercise anywhere I want as long as I don’t stay there overnight. So if I want  I can drive to Blackpool, see the Tower, walk along the Golden Mile, get fish and chips and drive home. I cannot though drive into Wales or Scotland despite really wanting to live anywhere but England at the moment. 

(Loving the Scarfolk website...)

If I did a proper job, I would be encouraged to go to work from Wednesday, but not get the bus or the train and if I had to use them wear a face covering made out of an old tee shirt. (There’s a serious government document telling us how to make one of these 😂) My employer would have to have made my workplace safe, even though the guidance on how to do this was only published at 5.30pm tonight. 

If I had children and needed to go back to work I could have my nanny and my cleaner back. We would all be fine if we open some windows (it’s in the appendix of the 50 pages, that!) 

I have friends who are teachers. I am told some primary school year groups could go back to school maybe from June 1. How on earth do you get toddlers in reception to socially distance? 

I have friends who are shielding. The advice to them has not changed and the implication in the guidance is that they may need to keep shielding for much longer. 

There is nothing about non essential businesses opening in the short term, so no moving yet, and no hair cut, and no beer in a pub or trip to a cinema or dinner out. I feel for the hospitality industry much of which may not recover from all of this. 

And what do I know about church long term?

Well, places of worship are listed in phase three with any movement in them no earlier than the beginning of July. 

What might that mean?

Clergy being able to film services in a church building as a first step? Small funerals and weddings with limited numbers maybe? 

Longer term how could we gather for public worship and be socially distant? I know some churches have people sitting as far apart as possible now, but it is a serious issue. Would we need to offer services at different times, work out how many people could safely come, and get them to book in somehow and given a time slot? 

How on earth could we administer communion? Have someone in PPE put a little bit of bread and a little cup by each allocated seat before people arrived and we all consume together? 

What will pastoral visiting be like? Do we do that in the park? If we could yell at the church member over their gate from the road, that might work! 

Will meetings now always be on Zoom? 

What does the poet laureate of Twitter, Brian Bilston make of it all?

Brilliant!!

And what I am not told...

How am I safer on the 11 May than I was on the 23 March? 

No wonder we are feeling anxious. 

I guess we hold on and keep safe. I don’t need to go to the shops or do anything silly. I’d love to move. I want to be able to work properly in September. I live with fretting in my head. I’d love to drive to Blackpool, but I’m not going to. 

I guess as I’ve always done, I write my anxiety out and give it to God. Yes, I’ll keep alert, but for now, I’m staying home, and can I ask this, where has protect the NHS gone?

Keep alert let’s not forget in all this does have a more positive message. In all our anxiety, we hold on to what we know. And if we can’t do that tonight, well, there’s always cider. Cheers! 

Night everyone x