Happy Valentine's day

This comes just before Valentine's day, le Saint Valentin in France, and a  bittersweet day for many, including those in our family, who have lost people dear to them over the past year or so, or even longer ago.  Remembering people dear to us is important though no substitute for their presence, but of course  the current pandemic crisis brings it closer to reality for many, not just from death but from forced separation because of travel restrictions or quarantine.  So this is in memory of many like my brother Tom who are no longer with us, and also thinking of those friends separated by travel restrictions, or living alone and isolated by circumstances, or bereaved and still missing a dear companion.  Even if we find the current restrictions trying, or dull, we (Mary and I) are much more fortunate than many in having at least one another's company.  

On top of that I personally am lucky and grateful to be being well looked after by M as well as by health services as my recovery from a broken arm continues slowly but surely.  I am now back in the land of regular physiotherapy, 3 times a week at the local hospital where I had my operation.  It takes place in two rather cramped rooms (not at all good for social distancing) with a team of bright young therapists who manipulate, massage and apply ice jackets in a slightly chaotic atmosphere.  I think I'll be back and forth there for several weeks.  

We have both been reading a lot in the past few weeks, and while Mary has returned to French books around the 19th century Goncourt brothers, mine has lately been about epidemics.  One book, Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney, is especially apt as we've just passed the centenary of that pandemic, which killed an uncertain but certainly huge number of people.  There are strong and obvious parallels with today's situation and despite advances in scientific knowledge superstition, fear and gut reactions all too often rule the roost.  In fact, 100 years on, you could say that the influence of education and rational choices on people's behaviour is still limited.  Spinney wrote, just before Covid, "What the Spanish flu taught us, in essence, is that another flu pandemic is inevitable, but whether it kills 10 million or 100 million will be determined by the world into which it emerges."  In our case it was a world of Trump and Johnson so many chances to minimise damage have been missed.  

The rest of this post is in pictures and captions. 

Sand appeared in our weather forecast this week, though not as much as feared - I think the heavy rain washed a lot of it away!

 

People who run or work in restaurants are in a dire way with long and repeated closures - there are some govt bail-outs but many people lose their jobs all the same, and rats have a field day apparently in closed premises.

Ben Jennings summarised well all the misfires in UK govt policy over the past year - French and European problems are mostly about getting enough vaccine soon enough

and back home, we have just had a cosy weekend in front of the rugby as the 6 Nations tournament begins.  France are looking pretty good while the perennial doubts about whether Italy are good enough to take part resurface