A Tale of One Virus.

It’s that time in the COVID19 pandemic, for old Charlie Dickhead (yours truly), to dust off his Dickens and go all philosophical and shit. Trying desperately to appear more intelligent than I actually am, by trotting out ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness’. But spookily these words actually hit home. Our world is in turmoil, just as it was in the late 18th Century.  When ‘The Terror’ of a Revolution was swishing off heads, faster than you can say ‘Robespierre is a garlic munching, frog eating t***!’

Bad/Good/COVID19 Times. (Multiple Choice) As Charles put it, ‘It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness’. In bad times, we tend to innovate like crazy. Our minds tend to go into overdrive and technology has a growth spurt. This terrifying COVID-19 pandemic is causing so much change, that we may never be the same again. We’ve suddenly got all the time in the world to actually reflect on what kind of human beings, we’ve become. But more importantly, what kind of human beings our kids and their kids, could become. It’s in our hands, people, let’s not f*** this up!

Coronavirus Crossroads? Dickens gave us a clue to the choices that we face today, more than two hundred and fifty years before Coronavirus criss-crossed the earth. ‘It was the Spring of Hope. It was the Winter of Despair. We had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way’. Spookily accurate don’t you think? Personally, I know where I’m going and it isn’t upward, that’s for sure.

So, which way now? It’s up to us methinks. Dickens described a historical period that resembled his own. Again, that story of two cities, two characters, two time periods echo down into our own time. B.C.- Before Coronavirus and A.C.- After COVID9. Two periods separated by a matter of months. The time of ‘After COVID19’ being one we can all impose our will upon. To paraphrase we can turn the worst of times, into the best of times. We can sacrifice the life we had before, for a better one to come. It is a far, far better thing that we do do, than we have ever done; it is a far, far better life that we go to, than we have ever known. COVID19 could show us a better way of living and working. Appreciating the small things of life, that we might have missed before the virus struck.

A Tale Of Two Tall Cities. London and New York two cities the Coronavirus has found most inviting. Cities characterised by high-rise dwellings. Prime real estate that COVID19 seems to value above all others. Residents living in close proximity, making social distancing almost impossible to achieve. Coupled with high-touch areas like lift buttons and shared facilities like mail rooms. With the added attraction of occupants now forced to stay home. These vertical villages provide perfect conditions for COVID19, like tall stationary cruise ships. You can almost envisage the virus rubbing its hands together in anticipation.

For COVID19 to slow down, we must apply the brakes. The pace of our lives has incrementally increased over the centuries. Little by little, speeding up, as well as getting a whole lot noisier. Before Coronavirus struck, very few of us had opportunity to be still, let alone quiet. Buzzing brains, fizzing with ideas left no time for minds to relax enough to entertain the notion of where we might be going and how we might get there. We now have that time, so let’s use it wisely. We might even stumble across something worthwhile to believe in. Here’s hoping. Peace & Love. x