Why worry...

Gosh, it's a worrying time. A dangerous pandemic announced by the WHO, Italian restaurants closed (what'a no spaghetti, si?), in fact, the whole country shut down, and now America has closed its borders to flights from Europe (not the UK though which shows the depth of thought put into that decision - not). No loss to me that one as I'm not going back there ever anyway, certainly not at the moment. Yes, it's a worrying time and I'm generally not a worrier. I'm more Mr Micawber than Hiram Grewgios (look him up) in general, always trusting that 'something will turn up'. It usually does.

Yes, something will turn up at some point and eventually (hopefully a vaccine), but for now, it's a time for retreat and not to be bombastic or selfish. Yes, it's a pain that it's going to stop us going abroad or into cities (and it will), a pain that we would be better advised not to go to pubs, restaurants, gigs, football matches, the cinema etc. It's a pain that... well, it's just a pain generally. Mind you, it's not as big a pain as dying, and let's not forget that people are.

I say thank my gods and Tim Berners-Lee for the Internet, it helps us in so many ways - entertainment, news and information, online purchasing, instant communication with friends, it's all so very different from the isolation we might have lived in back in the past when 'worrying' events took place. Worry is made worse by not knowing, being isolated in every way, not being able to get what you need. It might still happen, but so long as we have the Internet and access to it then things aren't so dark as they were, let's say, in the days of the Black Death (bring out your dead).

Back in the War (God save the King!) which, of course, I don't remember we were told to 'Keep Calm and Carry On' and we did (chin up, stiff upper lip and all that, blah, blah, blah). But this isn't a war, (except in the most symbolic of ways) and this enemy isn't even visible and - currently - we have no defence against it.

So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to stay indoors, try not to go out or have any contact with anybody, watch Netflix, listen to old Radio 4 dramas on Youtube, read, cook nice food, eat, drink, and be as merry as possible in these worrying times. I'm going to treat it as a holiday and use the time to have a good think. I'm a big fan of thinking - if only people thought more in general instead of demanding that they can continue to do what they want regardless and then complain about the result. There will be things I miss, but I'd rather be as safe as possible, I can deal with missing things but maybe not death (the ultimate missing).

This worrying time has made me realise once again (as if I didn't already know over and over) that you never know what's around the corner. In fact, you don't even know there is a corner until you turn into it. Corners are like that and even a sat-nav can't give you any direction on this one. Worrying isn't it? This is me looking worried - I hope it makes you smile but I hope it makes you worry a little. Worry is good in worrying times, it may just keep you alive.