Empty street, by Terry Freedman
London was much emptier yesterday, both literally and metaphorically. “Literally” because people are staying away. Indeed, had it not been for the fact that I had a course to attend, and library books to return, I'd have stayed away too.
I also decided on taking the sensible course of action and foregoing the remainder of the courses I am currently enrolled on. The announcement by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, advising against non-essential travel plus self-isolation for those with an underlying health condition, persuaded me to give up all my courses after the one I had travelled in for. (There would not have been any point in going home early yesterday because I would either have had to travel on public transport at the height of the rush hour, or spend three hours walking home.)
As it happens, I need not have decided anything: the two institutions I was taking courses at have shut up shop for the foreseeable future as of today.
And “metaphorically” emptier? Because of people, events and other stuff disappearing. The UK’s Society of Authors has cancelled its drop-sessions until further notice. All of the three events E and I are booked on have been cancelled too.
My friend M (who I met on a writing course) and I met up in London two weeks ago, and after brunch, a very enjoyable chat about writing and this and that, followed by a brief visit to the Society of Authors, shook hands and said goodbye. That won't happen again for a while, and if it did we would greet with elbow bumps rather than a handshake, and probably not in a cafe.
Empty tube carriage, by Terry Freedman
Same with meeting up with D a few weeks ago, when he wanted to discuss an idea for a course. We shook hands too when we met in a cafe. If the meeting had been today, we would have elbow bumped, and again, probably not met in a cafe.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with H again, with an elbow bump hello. We chatted about writing, work and life. But again, no more meet-ups for a while because she is leaving London altogether (which reminds me of The Day Of the Triffids). Of course, we elbow bumped our goodbye.
The reason I mention the elbow bump thing is that it emphasises that one of the things we're losing, hopefully temporarily, is the physical contact one enjoys with friends: a kiss on each cheek or a handshake. E and I went to a concert recently (the last large-scale public gathering for who knows how long), and the first violinist and the conductor elbow-bumped instead of shaking hands. Same with the conductor and the soloist. Somehow it doesn't seem like a proper greeting. And as for that footsie business…. Mind you, I’m glad that these alternatives have been devised. Much better to be safe than sorry, or worse.
So I was finding the situation of things ending somewhat depressing. I love London and there is something profoundly distressing (for me) to walk along a normally thriving thoroughfare like Covent Garden with hardly anyone else around. Also, I like working in cafes, and I actually quite like people, so it's sad that such a change is upon us. I don't often get downhearted, and don't like it. I tend to take the Panglossian view that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds, even though it often doesn’t seem like it. I think my feeling low was not a little because of tiredness: a relative recently ended up in hospital, and we didn’t get to bed until 2am the next morning, and I have not had much undisturbed sleep since. That can definitely affect a person’s mood!
Anyway, having had a decent-ish night’s sleep last night for the first time in a while I have thought of some practical things a writer can do in the current circumstances. If you have been feeling miserable about Covid-19, perhaps these thoughts will help you too, if you can adapt them to your own situation. I’ve only focused on things pertaining to the individual writer, not everyone and everything.
Practical ideas
Many freelancers will lose work because of this. The Society of Authors has compiled a list of sources of financial assistance if you are a writer and that applies to you. If you belong to a small business association or something similar, it might be worth checking if they have similar options to pursue.
Spend more time with your other half. Mind you, my own glee at this prospect is slightly dampened by a tweet I read recently that suggested that 88 couples emerging from quarantine in China immediately filed for divorce!
Update your online CV or portfolio (or both). That is the kind of job that I find gets pushed aside when I am really busy, so now might be an ideal time to catch up.
Get more exercise. People in the UK are allowed to go outside even if they are self-isolating. At least, that is the state of play a the time of writing this. (If it changes, and you get arrested, don’t blame me.)
I don’t wish to sound unduly morbid, but it’s an unfortunate fact of life that some people will die from Covid-19. Therefore, now would be a good time to try and put your digital legacy in order. I’m not a legal adviser, but one thing you could do, for example, is make sure that your next-of-kin has a document listing all your passwords. I have created such a document, although I should like to organise it in a way that will make it easier to navigate. My view is that if I shuffle off this mortal coil, E will have enough to worry about without being locked out of my website, Paypal and other accounts. To export your passwords stored in the Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera or Firefox websites, look here: Exporting web passwords. You will obtain a file in CSV format, which you can open with a spreadsheet (best, in my opinion, for ease of formatting) or a word processor.
Also consider listing all the programs on your computer, and their licence numbers. Here is a list of programs to do this on a Windows PC.
Explore connecting with people and classes online. The tutor of one of the courses I’m on is going to attempt to continue using Skype. A conference I was due to attend will go ahead online, by means as yet unknown. Although seeing people face to face is always preferable in my opinion, online is absolutely better than nothing, and we are very fortunate to have the facilities to do so. I’m hoping to be able to continue chatting with H, M and D in that sort of way. Here is a list of applications you can use to do so. My own preference is Skype, followed by Facetime. I’ve heard good things about WhatsApp’s video chat facility.
If you are in a writing group, or have been in a writing class, consider exchanging pieces (it’s called “workshopping”) with others online. Options to consider are Google Classroom, if your place of study has set it up for students — if not, and you have a Gmail account, you can set up your own: it’s really easy; Google Docs, to share work online and comment on other people’s work; and Facebook: it’s dead easy to set up a Facebook Group, invitation only, and share stuff with others in your circle. And of course there is good old email. M and I already send each other articles to obtain feedback on, and A and I intend to do so too.
If you’re interested in how germs spread, look at this new educational resource I’ve written about:
Finally, keep checking your government’s website for information. For the UK it’s Coronavirus (COVID-19): UK government response.
Stay safe!