Diary Of A Stay At Home, VI

Self-Quarantine Day 24: Monday, 6th April, 2020

It was the year of staying home, of lemony drinks, of being suspicious of winds from the bungalows next door, and of herbal teas most foul. It was the year of being practically unemployed, of anxiety, and of uncertainty as to where the next batch of food might be coming from. It was the year of 2020, and it still is, and it will be for many more months.

The world is hurrying out there, beyond these walls. Researchers and medics are hurriedly trying to repurpose existing medications and vaccines, in the hopes that they might help, while other do their best to develop medicines especially for the Big Nasty as quickly as possible, while not cutting so many corners that they produce completely worthless rubbish. Inventive people are developing equipment that can be 3-D printed, while merciless tycoons and unsavoury leaders try to push unsafe medications on their peoples, in exchange for favours as yet undisclosed to us, the general public. All of these things at once, while here in the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister I never wanted is hospitalised with an uncertain future.

Yes, it is the year 2020, and everything has gone rather ca-ca. Still, it could be worse. Indeed, it could be far, far worse, and we'll just have to wait and see what will happen. Here, things continue in an endless loop, and the squirrels in the garden continue to frolic. We're up to four now. They're nice little rapscallions. There's something hypnotic about the way they move: Fast jumping runs interspersed with moments of utter stillness. That's the beauty of squirrels. Maybe they'll take over one day. That would be nice, and much better than 'Planet Of The Apes'. Yes, I'll have to write 'World Of The Squirrels'. What a wonder that would be!

Yes, this post has to end with 'World Of The Squirrels'. That has blotted out all else, even the incredible irony of a tobacco firm claiming to have developed an antigen, which it's growing inside its plants. Even that has been eclipsed by the squirrels. It could be a great series of novels. 'Birth Of The World Of The Squirrels', 'Revolution Of World Of The Squirrels', 'Dance Of World Of The Squirrels', and... 'Nut Festivals Of World Of The Squirrels'. It must happen.

O.