Thursday, March 26

With lots of time on my hands, I've taken to reading some books from yester-year.  Inspector Frost was a favourite from decades ago and I discovered I had some stored in e-book format, so I settled back to re-live the stories.  They are still a good read but I was gobsmacked after just a few pages to see how poorly they have survived the years.

I'm into book 4 at the moment and have just about managed to come to terms with the sexism and gratuitous abuse of young female officers but there's a sleazy element which has permeated each of the first 4 novels: the image of highly-sexualised young females, as young as 11, in relationships with older men, and the snide and lip-smacking way that Frost refers to them.  Perhaps it might be an understandable device on a rare occasion but it's more like a recurring theme.

I don't know anything about RD Wingfield but I might have some suspicions about his morality after reading his books.  Of course, the past is another country and there's danger in reading books through the lens of today's values.  Nevertheless, I don't think that Frost's attitude reflects the time accurately.

Cruise Ship Madness

I heard from our friend, Robyn, that there were several large cruise ships loitering off the coast near Wollongong so I checked my Boat Watch app to see what they were.  This app keeps track of the whereabouts of cargo ships, cruise ships, etc, around the world and it was able to tell me that, yes, there were, in fact, 4 ships in that vicinity, with two others just passing by.  And, looking a little further north, there are 3 in Sydney Harbour.

Marilyn says they might make great floating hospitals if things get worse.

New Direction

Over the last couple of months there has been a gradual but revolutionary change in the philosophy which drives my technological life: I am no longer an Apple nerd; instead I have gone to the dark side and adopted Android and Microsoft.

It's like changing your religion - it takes much soul-searching, and reflection, gnashing of teeth and cold sweats.  For those so inclined, prayer can be a comfort.

But now the decision has been made, it's as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I've been a fan of Apple computers since they were released in the 1980's.  I got my first iMac in 1999 and my first iPhone in 2000. I bought my first iPad with my Craft Fair honorarium in 2012, and my iPad mini in 2016. We've been happy together, Apple and me, but problems started to appear quite early.

I couldn't afford to replace my original iMac with something similar, but I justified my slight lapse by knowing that I still had the iPhone and two iPads.  That was Stage one of the betrayal.. Then, last year, the iPhone had a seizure and I couldn't bring myself to spend $1000 on a new one.  Instead I bought a shiny new Oppo (Android) phone which does all that I need it to for less than $300.  Stage 2!

That was the thin edge of the wedge.  Earlier this year, Jamie gave me a Samsung Tab X tablet which has satisfactorily filled the niche previously occupied by my iPad mini which has somehow acquired a cracked screen and is held together by gaffer tape. See how quickly you can reach Stage 3.

I knew the end was in sight when Apple callously stopped supporting my venerable iPad 2.  A decision needed to be made: get another over-priced iPad or face the inevitable.

Economics (and common sense) won out and I now have a sparkling new Microsoft Surface tablet with detachable keyboard.  Stage 4!

My heart may be heavy but my wallet is heavier than it would have been if I had stuck with Apple.

Early Morning at Coles

_{Marilyn sent me out yesterday morning early to take advantage of the Oldies’ Happy Hour at Coles.  I didn’t know what to expect but it turned out to be a very pleasant experience.  I was greeted by a cheerful young man who wanted to check my ID.  They were clearly serious about keeping out the younger, fitter people who would likely be unconcerned about shoving senior citizens out of the way to get the last tin of baked beans.}

_{There were some gaps on the shelf but plenty of fresh fruit and veggies and I don’t think we felt deprived.  I’ve never seen so many staff in the store, replenishing shelves and generally being helpful.  I usually get irritated with the stupidity of the staff leaving their big trolleys right in front of the area I’m trying to reach but somehow their smiles and cheerfulness softened my mood and I moved around in a pool of sunshine.}

_{The checkout chick was efficient and, again, cheerful so I went home with my little bag of stuff full of the joys of spring. Living with coronavirus is not as difficult as I thought.  Thanks, Coles, for making my day a little easier.}

On the Diamond Princess

Roger sat up in the comfortable bed on the cruise ship.  His ‘phone told him it was just after 2am but he couldn’t sleep.  An inside cabin on a cruise ship is probably one of the darkest places on earth, he thought.  The only glimmer of light he could see was the tiny red glow from the fire alarm.  There was no porthole, and not even a gap under the door to allow light to infiltrate.  In his bedroom at home, even on the darkest night, the yellow numbers on his clock radio made a difference and there was always light from outside elbowing past the curtains.

This was certainly turning out not to be the cruise he and Andrea had planned.  Things hadn’t been going well at home; the kids had all moved on and the spark had well and truly disappeared from what had become a fairly pedestrian marriage.  He and Andrea rarely spoke and a sharp word was never far from their lips.  They’d tried marriage counselling but both agreed that a well-meaning but glib young woman had no appreciation of what they were experiencing.

In a desperate attempt to salvage something from the thirty years they had been together, he had suggested a cruise.  All those years ago, they had planned a cruise for their honeymoon, but that had not eventuated so the idea of a cruise around Asia had a lot of appeal.  Unfortunately, Roger had allowed his prudent nature to prevail and he had ended up booking the cheapest cabin on the ship: Inside on Deck 5. Andrea had said, as she often did, that he was just mean.

The first few days had been fine.  They left Singapore in good weather, the cabin was comfortable and they had made a few acquaintances at their dining table.  Still, Andrea would choose to go off alone each day, to the Spa or the Gymnasium, or to a Cooking class or some mindless Trivia competition, leaving Roger to twiddle his thumbs.  In some ways, it wasn’t much different to being at home.

But, of course, things had changed as they approached the end of the journey,  They were a bit out of touch with international affairs but they had heard talk of some mysterious disease coming out of China.  They couldn’t imagine they would be affected until the captain informed the passengers that no port would allow them to disembark and they would be quarantined for fourteen days before they could head for home. In effect, that meant solitary confinement, in their tiny cabin, with one fifteen-minutes supervised walk on the deck each day, meals being delivered to the cabin by their steward and no real contact with other human beings.

As was her nature, Andrea began to complain bitterly, blaming Roger for everything that had gone wrong but Roger’s nature was to take stock and plan what needed to be done to survive this unpleasant situation.  The television was there as a back-up but Roger knew they would need plenty to read.  He began to download to their iPads the sorts of novels which would grip their attention for hours at a time.  Andrea hadn’t read a book since High School but she enjoyed detective programs on TV so Roger downloaded samples from various authors for her to try.  By chance, Andrea became absorbed by Anne Perry and there were more than thirty books in the series she was reading. That would certainly keep her occupied.

Their daily routine became comfortable.  They read, watched the TV news with their breakfast, read a bit more, exercised as best they could in their small cabin, walked on the deck when possible, watched a movie or two in the afternoon, had a glass or two of wine delivered by the masked steward, and  read some more.  Andrea found she enjoyed playing various games on the iPad; the cabin steward brought them some board games and they played them together.  Roger, after being accused several times of cheating , was delighted to hear Andrea laugh, a sound he thought he would never hear again.

One night he woke to find Andrea snuggling into his back, for the first time in years, and the next day she took his hand when they were walking on the deck.

The day came when it was time to go home or, at least, to Christmas Island for another fourteen days of enforced solitude.  Many of the passengers were whinging about it, but Roger was finding it hard to conceal a little smile.

Wednesday, 18 March

We’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, about the way our lives have changed in just a few days.  Until the coronavirus scare, we were typical busy oldies, finding something to do on most days and with plenty to do between social engagements.  But our routine is now in disarray.  Both  of my writing groups have been cancelled and we’ve put Probus into recess for at least two months, so time is hanging heavy at the moment. The movie theatre we frequent is limiting its audience to no more than 60 per session with two empty seats between patrons and our favourite coffee shops are no longer as attractive.  In any case, the best advice for oldies seems to be to stay home until the plague has moved on.

At my Wednesday writing group last week we were asked to think about how we would fill our time if we were on the Diamond Princess and confined to our cabin.  But it’s no longer an exercise; we’re living the reality.  I did complete the writing exercise and will post it in this blog.

We are both waking early at the moment so the days are long.  We read a lot.  Marilyn is finishing a series of crime novels by Pete Lovesay and I’m enjoying a book by Margaret Kirk set in Inverness. We have plenty of books downloaded and the local library makes hundreds more ebooks available on-line.  We shouldn’t run out.

Over the years I’ve collected a lot of TV programs and movies we want to catch up on.  There’s always something to do around the yard and my current project is gathering rocks which have made their way to the surface.  It’s not easy work, but I put on my headphones and listen to podcasts so the time passes quickly.

Life is not so bad.  Even if we’re stuck a home, we’re never bored.