Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Context, Corona Virus, England, Health, New Zealand

Yesterday, my life consisted of the 2 movies above.
Why?
Because despite moving 12,000 miles to NZ to get away from covid, we found only ourselves back where we started.
In lockdown.
OK, it’s only for 7 days [for now] … but the feeling of it happening was so familiar.
The gathering of your work stuff.
The dark humour between colleagues tinged with truth.
The sense of things closing in and taking over beyond your control.
You’d think having had well over a year of lockdown, I’d be OK with it, but it still felt uncomfortable, even though I am fortunate to have already had one of my vaccinations.
But there was one big difference between yesterday and March, Friday 13th, 2020.
And that was the way the Government handled it.
Where in the UK we had chaos and confusion … here we had incredibly valuable detail, clarity and calmness.
In addition, the schools not only sent out an immediate message that detailed how online lessons would be handled, the note also said the following:

Given how badly the UK government handled providing parents the tools to teach from home – not to mention the additional pressure they placed on parents to keep up with the curriculums – it was amazing to see them acknowledge the importance of providing reassurance rather than just demand adherence.
It’s a weird time, even if it’s just for a week, but the way it has been handled is light years away from what we experienced not that long ago.
Not only that, the fact the patient and doctor identified and reported their case immediately – and this was followed up with not just track and trace info, but down to individual locations and destinations – is also another reason to be hopeful that if anyone can deal with this situation effectively, it’s NZ.
We’ll see. But regardless of the outcome, thank you to the patient, the doctor, the government and the people of NZ.
If it wasn’t certain before, I can categorically say Jacinda is miles better than Boris.
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You lockdown for one person and we locked down when it felt there was onlu one person left who didn’t have covid. Hope you are all safe over there.
Comment by Pete August 18, 2021 @ 8:03 amAll good mate. That said, it was pretty emotional for me last night. Not because I’m worried about anything – but because it brought back a lot of the memories of last time.
While we had the most privileged of all lockdowns in the UK, it was only when we got to NZ that we realised how much stress we had absorbed of the general stress. Which is why I have even more admiration for the people who dealt with things under much more challenging circumstances – from being a single parent ro living on their own to living in an apartment with no outdoor space.
That said, the lockdown we are in and – specifically how it was handled – shows that sometimes, the sequel can be much better than the original.
Comment by Rob August 18, 2021 @ 8:10 amkarma are like busses. you wait ages for the fuckers to turn up then 2 turn up at once. stay safe campbells. thats for jill, otis and the cat.
Comment by andy@cynic August 18, 2021 @ 8:14 amSensitivity is your middle name.
Comment by DH August 18, 2021 @ 8:18 ammr dead fucking sensitive.
Comment by andy@cynic August 18, 2021 @ 9:13 amThat school letter is better than anything I’ve read from any organisation.
Comment by DH August 18, 2021 @ 8:19 amWhen I heard the news, I wondered how you would be feeling. Glad it has been a much more positive experience than the one you had in the UK. Take good care of yourself Robert.
Comment by Lee Hill August 18, 2021 @ 8:24 amJacinda proves that leaders are revealed in crisis.
Comment by George August 18, 2021 @ 8:40 amCould be worse, you could be in that quaramtine hotel. #positivity
Comment by John August 18, 2021 @ 9:31 amI liked my quarantine hotel.
Though that could also be because I liked being away from Boris.
Comment by Rob August 18, 2021 @ 10:04 amYou’re from Nottingham.
Comment by John August 18, 2021 @ 10:36 amFTW
Comment by DH August 18, 2021 @ 10:54 am