Real world testing

After breakfast under overcast skies, packing and loading the car was the priority, as we were due to be out of the caravan by ten thirty. We were allowed the use the hotel car park to stay on longer, and went there for a coffee later before parting company at lunchtime. But first, we walked a few kilometres along the beach together and took photos of Kath cartwheeling and Owain doing star jumps to camera using burst mode to good effect.

It's been lovely to have these few days together holidaying en famille, as we haven't done for many years, apart from a few days at Christmas. Naturally we missed having Rachel and Jasmine with us. It's something I'l never get used to. Our children get on well and have fun when they're together, and this is a source of great contentment to us as we get older. 

On our journey home, Clare and I turned off the M4 to eat our picnic lunch in Margam's Country Park where cars were parked on the grass, hundreds of them, indicating how popular a place it is when beaches are miserable grey places. We wanted to return, get the washing done, the mail answered and photos uploaded before the weekend, so we didn't go into the park to have a look around. Another time we must make the effort, as neither of us has been there, that we can recall.

The last week or so has seen a marked resurgence of covid-19 cases in EU countries. It seems that it's younger people that are being infected, perhaps due to the slow return to normal social interactions. The impact is far less severe in many cases it seems. It suggests the virus is mutating in an evolutionary way, to co-exist within live human tissue rather than killing people, which isn't in the best survival interests of the virus.

Today the surge in infestions has led to the sudden imposition of quarantine for people returning from France, ruining thousands of holidays, causing mass travel panic for Brits and untold economic damage to the holiday and leisure industries. This development has seemed likely for several days, so an early warning would have served better than a sudden change. I wonder if the government really understands the impact this is going to have on people's lives. 

The same too in relation to the way grade assessments for GCSE and A level students have failed to recognise the academic achievements of many school students and devalued their performance on the basis of an algorithmic abstraction, rather than on the evaluation of their teachers. It's taken widespread uproar nationally to get it reconsidered. I don't really understand why ability and achievement aren't being monitored by continuous assessment rather than by exams, which are a contrived form of testing with a tenuous relationship to real world challenges. There are lots of smart clever people in government but decisions taken don't always reflect wisdom or reliable common sense. They fail the real world test.

A case of déjà vu

Yesterday evening, the government re-imposed two's week of self quarantine on those returning from Spain, due to a succession of localised surges in coronavirus cases, mostly in Catalonia and Aragon. It's not a surprise because the possibility was leaked when concern increased. The Balearics and the Canaries, with lower infection rates and outbreaks well controlled, are included in this ban, and it has caused chaos for holidaymakers, many flight cancellations by TUI, not least due to such short notice. Over a third of Spain's holiday economy depends on British tourism. The consequences for travel and tourism will be catastrophic. 

Island tourism is well placed to lead the economic recovery as it's that much safer offshore than in the conurbations of the Peninsula. There's a perverse logic to the position taken by the government. The quarantine kills flight demand, leading to cancellations. That will include direct flights to the islands. Anyone wanting to return to Britain would then be obliged to take a two stage flight via Barcelona or Madrid, both areas of increased risk at the moment, and quarantine on arrival. No government spokesperson has pointed this out, that I've heard.  For me, a case of déjà vu

If excluded from the imposition of quarantine, island direct flights for holidaymakers could continue with negligible additional risk. Another instance of the damaging impact of thoughtlessness in government decision making, with far reaching consequences. Britain is leaving the EU, but leaving behind a trail of ill-will in member states is not a recipe for fruitful future relations.

Quarantine Cymru - day Thirteen

More rain, cloud and cold wind again today, and for the rest of this week it seems. At least it will keep some people from going to the beach or having outdoor parties, littering the environment and crowding in on each other in a risky way.

Nephew Jules emailed me a big zip file of photos of his mother to select from in composing a life story slide show for the end of my sister's funeral service. The Windows 10 app which edits videos can also be used to make MP4 video slideshows with photographs. It took me a while to work out how to use this in the absence of proper instructions, but I got there in the end.

It was interesting to discover that there are no photographs of Pauline as a baby. The first photo in which she appears, she is aged five, and seen in picture with her baby sister June. There's not even a formal posed studio photograph. I believe the reason for this is that Dad and Mum were too poor to afford photography of any kind during the period of the general strike and the great depression.

It's also interesting to see across two generations of holiday snaps how many were taken at Weston super Mare. For South Wales miners it was the nearest and most popular holiday resort away from Wales. Geoff and Pauline's family home for forty years was in Bleadon Hill, a few miles away from Weston. They may have gone elsewhere on holiday by the time the children arrived and they could afford to, but Weston was the nearest shopping town and having a beach was forever an attraction. 

I realised this afternoon that day one of my quarantine was actually the day I arrived home. Despite the title of today's posting this is the last day of my fortnight in isolation. I had to count several times on my fingers to take it in! Clare and I had a big hug, then I went out and did a small practice shopping run to the shops, dutifully wearing my Virustatic mask and noticing how few others were wearing masks anywhere.

As I returned home walking up Severn Road, I saw the caretaker of the Bilal Mosque, dutifully wearing a mask, unlocking the building for another man, without a mask, who wanted to enter and pray on his own I guess. He turned and looked in my direction, I smiled and said 'Salaam', and was delighted to receive a Salaam and a wave in return.

Then I went out to the park for a walk down to Blackweir Bridge by an indirect route. The bridge is still closed as it's too narrow to permit social distancing. Despite the fact that it was a chilly fifteen degrees, even lower with the wind, three boys were swimming above the weir. Hardy kids!

Crossing the fields I was surprised to find a family of swallows flying in circles where I was walking, almost under my feet, there were so low, presumably after a certain type of insect at grass level. Down at the weir a couple of dozen swifts were also feeding on the wing, but higher up, over the water. More swifts than I remember seeing in recent years. And down on the waters edge below the bridge, a solitary heron was keeping watch. What a welcome back to Taffside!

I reached my 10k walking target once more today, and cleared the attic bedroom of everything that Clare had provided for me over the past fortnight. It meant dozens of trips up and down the stairs. By the time it was done, I was exhausted, but happy to be free at last to re-insert myself into Wales' 'new normal'.

Quarantine Cymru - day Seven

I do enjoy waking up at sunrise, in this good weather. This week I've been going to bed an hour or so earlier than usual so I'm still getting a good night's sleep. After a week's in quarantine I've had none of the coronavirus symptoms so far, nor symptoms of the wound infection returning.

I had a phone call from Chris Reaney this morning. He was interested to find out about my return from Ibiza and my time there. He spoke about his experience of lock-down ministry in a valley community where only two members of his elderly congregation are internet users. He's had to keep in touch with his flock by 'phone and letter rather than Zoom and WhatsApp. A timely reminder that the digital divide is excluding some church members. Is this being taken into account by the powers that be in their enthusiasm to benefit the majority by use of electronic media?

More work on transcribing our Greek travel journal today. I have difficulty reading my fractured cramped handwriting on times. I think it's become more legible in later years. In contrast, Clare's handwriting was well rounded, balanced and clear to read in those days, and has changed little since then. I'm up to day twelve now, and we've just celebrated our first wedding anniversary, going to church on the island of Paros to join n the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration, our feast.

In the post, a birthday card from my sister June. It couldn't be sent to Ibiza during lockdown as I had no access to the chaplaincy house mailbox in the village of St Josep throughout my stay. Now it doubles up as a welcome home card. A nice touch.

After lunch I completed editing my Sunday sermon and then recorded it, and also gathered a few music tracks to use when I put the service together. When I installed Audacity on Windows 10 I was unable to use it to record as I have no plug and play USB microphone to wake up the software that records input. This morning I remembered that it was possible to dig down a few layers into the PC operating system and tweak the settings to record from a digital stream apart from a microphone. Now Audacity is working as intended, and that makes my life much easier.

Owain sent me a link to an Arena documentary called 'I am not a Negro' which makes use of writer James Baldwin's prophetic testimony on racism and the American way of life. Film footage of him being interviewed or lecturing was interspersed with film and photos from the 1950s to the present day of civil unrest, civil rights marches, and from a succession of movies portraying black people in a wide range of different ways. Baldwin spoke about his relationships with three murdered black activists - Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jnr, and their relationships with each other as their shared struggle evolved.

It was powerful and disturbing to watch in the light of recent police murders of innocent African Americans, which have provoked storms of protest around the world and not just in America.

Quarantine Cymru - day Three

It rained for most of the day, confining me again to pacing around the house for exercise until mid afternoon when I stopped and dried out so that I could walk in the fresh air. Such a relief!

Clare brings me meals upstairs. I'm still trying to find the most comfortable and convenient spot in which to eat. That may sound daft, but sometimes, wound discomfort obliges me to eat standing up, and having a chair and table at the right height for sitting and eating isn't easy in the confined space of an attic bedroom.

I thought I should make contact with our GPs and find out what it takes to get examined and tested to make sure the infection has gone, and to see what can be done about blood pressure fluctuations and slow heartbeat. I don't feel unwell, but better safe than sorry. I rang the surgery and was asked to send a a photo of the wound, and a request for a phone call from a GP. 

Dr Dyban rang me at tea time, and the outcome of the conversation is that I'll do swab test at home Monday morning. I will also receive a visit from one of their team who will do an ECG at home and check my vital signs. I'm not sure how that will work, but it's impressive that despite covid-19 they are working away at resuming their usual high standard of care.

I completed work on next Sunday's service, with the exception of adding music. Having installed Audacity on my Windows PC yesterday, I was disappointed to discover I couldn't directly record YouTube audio clips with it, the audio input device wasn't activated by default, as there's no built in microphone. Digging down into the software layer to change that is something I haven't needed to do for years and calls for research. I vaguely recalled that I could do this with the Chromebook, but was unable to remember how. Rather than waste time, I emailed service files without music this week.

Quarantine Cymru - day Two

Rain all day today, so I've been confined to the house, unable to walk out into the garden. At least it has enabled me to concentrate on recording and editing the service for next Sunday. When it came to sound editing, I went through the usual routine, established in Ibiza, of converting files to MP3 format on my Linux laptop before editing the files using Audacity on my Windows PC. Curiosity made me install Audacity on the Linux laptop and try it out. 

I was surprised to discover that despite the laptop's age, Audacity ran smoothly and quickly. Also it worked, loading several different audio file formats with none of the error messages associated with a more complex Windows Audacity installation. I finished the sound edit in record time, pleased with this small discovery. The ancient laptop I converted to Linux in Ibiza may not have been quite powerful enough to achieve smooth editing, as a 32 bit machine, but it never occurred to me to try, and the routine I established switching from machine to machine was rather a time waster. Just as well I had time on my hands then!

Thinking about what else I can do to occupy my time in confinement, there are lots of old travel journals that need transcribing, and thousands of photo negatives to scan, telling stories from past decades which it'll be a pleasure to recall in detail. Small anecdotes and pictures awaken dormant memories and emotions in a marvellous way. Digitising our past may be of little interest to anyone but me, but the effort I find is an enriching and enjoyable way to wander down memory lane.

It was good to be welcomed home with a phone call from Ashley this evening. He's still clearing the CBS office slowly, and says that Motorpoint arena is deserted, apart from security staff at the gate. When will it be able to re-open? Will it ever be able to re-open given the financial damage caused to its entire operation by the pandemic?

Some time ago there was talk of the site being redeveloped with a new arena and conference centre being built elsewhere. It's hard to imagine what will happen in terms of future investment ambitions in central Cardiff, especially with the ten and a half year old St David shopping centre struggling to survive without becoming insolvent. 

Well, in fits and starts through the day, I walked my temporary 5k daily target again, this time indoors, including climbing the thirty odd stairs to the attic many times. I need to count the number of climbs I do. It's different exercise from walking on the flat, and maybe makes up for not walking so far in expended energy. I'm determined not to lose the fitness level I've gained as I feel so much better for it.
    

Quarantine Cymru - day One

I wonder if I ever slept in our attic bedroom before, but now I'm living in it for the next two weeks. The bed is very comfortable and I slept well, waking with the sun rising into a clear blue sky and the neighbourhood blackbird singing its heart out. It's a tiny precious thread linking me to my fourteen week sojourn in Can Bagot. There, the blackbird sang from the neighbouring Torrent a little further away, its song slightly muted by intervening trees. In this urban setting where we're mostly shielded from traffic noise, the blackbird's song echoes off the terraced houses making it that much more vivid to hear.  

Just being home again with Clare is such a blessing. All the tension of travel in such strange conditions seems to have drained away. No nightmares, no flashbacks, nothing to worry about coping with, just gently relaxing, like being on holiday in the last week, after accumulated work stresses have finally evaporated. 

Clare is being very strict with me about confinement, doing everything for me, which is going to take some adjustment, as I'm so used to fending for myself, and also like to think that ordinarily we collaborate well on many domestic tasks. Kath teasingly said as she departed yesterday, "I wonder how long it will be before you drive each other crazy?"

My attic room is kitted out so that I can make drinks for myself. I have use of my study and the bathroom while Clare uses all of the downstairs, kitchen and shower room. We can both sit out in the garden - socially distanced of course. She brings meals up for me on a tray, really delicious meals, home made bread, raspberries from the garden with breakfast porridge, home grown salad to add to the organic veggies from Core Hills Organics. And best of all, blackcurrant crumble made with currants freshly picked from the little bush in our garden. It's done well this year with a 300 gram harvest.

My first task was to update my Windows 10 PC, after fifteen weeks of idleness. I must say that the Windows update process has improved. It took about four hours to clear the backlog of half a dozen outstanding items. I can remember times when I returned from being away for eight weeks and the updating would take more than a day, with several 'fails' thrown in. My Linux laptop only too ten minutes to clear the backlog, by way of contrast. Both Chromebooks updated instantly, as they are designed to, and these are with me in the attic, as they are light and don't take up much space, vital given that the double bed occupies nearly half the floor space.

It was almost exactly twenty four hours after passing through UK Border control that I received an quarantine advisory email from Public Health Wales setting out the rules. Twenty four hours. If I was infected, which I don't think I am, given the 'hygienically safe corridor' I've passed along since leaving self-isolation in the Ibiza Chaplaincy house, how many people might I have infected in the time elapsed if I was ignorant of the facts in the time elapsed? 

Most annoyingly, I am confined to house and garden for the next fortnight. The advisory presumes everyone has a garden - such a bourgeois bureaucratic assumption. Medical researchers think that people confined indoors may become vitamin D deficient and less able to cope with covid-19 infection. I can sit out in the garden all day I suppose, except when it rains as it does here, more than I appreciated. My exercise regime has to change. 

I'm up and down to the attic dozens of times now, and feeling the benefit of weight and strong legs, which is good for me, but getting up to 5k a day (with stairs) still means a lot of pounding around the place and risking annoying Clare. And if it rains, I am even more confined. I've been told I should be thankful that I don't live in an apartment under lock-down. But I wouldn't willingly make an apartment my home. Many enjoy the benefits of apartment living, make this their choice, and in these circumstances suffer in a way they wouldn't have expected to. 

In the evening I started working on a sermon for next Sunday. I'll continue to offer audio services to Ibiza until they come up with an arrangement that serves people better. It's something I can do to express my appreciation for the support I received while I was there.