Step back please

[snoop1130]

Step back please

by Neil Brook

 

 

Covid-19 has crushed the world and as we seem to be heading out the other side with countries opening borders and relaxing social distancing rules, the past few months have been an experience many would care to forget. As countries around the world moved to protect their own, I became a Corona refugee, as my friends have affectionately labelled me, unable to return home to Vietnam as I’ve quite literally been stranded in the UK. In these uncertain times when we were confined, almost by invisible chains that allowed exercise, essential shopping and travel for key workers, my one walk a day has turned into an adventure where exploring my local neighbourhood has revealed a hidden treasure trove of sights and sounds, architectural delights and newly discovered gems. I have been blessed to have found an amazing house just metres from the beach in Brighton on the English coast.

 

While here I have jumped at an opportunity to help out with a local Ambulance service and have used this opportunity to learn new skills and explore new horizons. A key takeaway from the turmoil is that you should manage the things you have control over and mitigate the damage from the things you don’t. As a key worker I am blessed to have been welcomed into the NHS family in the UK and now more than ever appreciate the dedication, commitment and loyalty the staff have in providing essential services to the community. The social interaction and new friendships have also provided a lifeline that has cushioned the effect of lock down.

 

I’ve taken to walking a different path each day. So often as we were once filling our days in between work and play we missed the beauty around us and failed to realise the wonders in our own backyards. Now, taking the time I’ve marvelled at the architecture a block away. Ornate doors of different styles and colours where homeowners take pride and care, grand mansions and Art Deco council blocks that blend to form historical patchworks and a kaleidoscope of colour and design. I’ve noticed the intricacies of each uniquely painted beach hut lined up along the shore, which open up to reveal the personality of their owners who will again flock to the seaside in the coming months. Whilst the timing of a pandemic is never the right time, spring has certainly made it more bearable as gardens are in bloom, daylight savings allows longer days and squirrels frolic in the trees. When the sun shines on the English coast its magical. In fact, when it rains and the seas are choppy, there’s still a quality that entices wanderers to brave the elements and walk along well constructed paths along the shore. 

 

On my one walk a day as we hear stories of company collapse and business uncertainty, small local entrepreneurs have endeavoured to keep the cash flowing, serving essential food items and some treats, sourced locally and have turned the economy cashless. If we take something else away, it’s that there are things we can do without and essentials are no longer essential. I’ve been living out of a suitcase that’s well packed with interchangeable clothes and easily maintained colour palettes and in all honesty I could probably live quite comfortably out of it forever. Neither my friends nor myself care that things have been worn more than a few times before. Priorities have changed and coming out of this on the other side, life for me will be simpler and less cluttered. Hopefully the world will wake up and see the clean seas and the blue skies and realise disposable is a thing of the past and conspicuous consumption is passé. New and old money could be spent wisely not frivolously. We’ll see…

 

There’s a new level of respect as walkers pass each other in the street and parents with small children say thank you as you walk out onto the street to allow social distancing. It’s become a habit where no one gives it a second thought. On steps heading down to the beach people wait while others pass before continuing their journeys. On the foreshore there’s plenty of room guided along paths hugging chalk cliffs and rock pools or you may prefer to crunch the pebbles that construct the beaches that are synonymous with the British seaside. I’d love to think society has rediscovered the art of courtesy and the importance of personal space. Again, we’ll see. As I turn the corner I come across a park, actually a manor house garden and a cathedral a block away, with another in the distance looming tall above the rooftops. Relics of history have allowed us to intertwine with the modern day capturing a history that dates back over hundreds of years.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/step-back-please/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2020-09-21

 

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[rumak]

16 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/step-back-please/

You mean THAT  wasn't the FULL STORY ??      omg       i think i have read enough.   thank you

[BritManToo]

30 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Covid-19 has crushed the world and as we seem to be heading out the other side with countries opening borders and relaxing social distancing rules,

Which countries have done this?

Not Australia or the UK for sure, more lock downs and restrictions announced every week, and not even winter yet.

Not Thailand or any other Asian countries, their borders will be closed until next year at the very least.

 

I doubt we've even seen the tip of worldwide unemployment, loan defaults and home/car repossessions yet.

Edited September 21, 2020 by BritManToo

[2 is 1]

Dear Neil, nice to hear that you finaly get some! Nobody can't have so "sunny" day ,if not happen something odd ! Keep on walking ......

Edited September 21, 2020 by 2 is 1

[Lacessit]

31 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

 

I doubt we've even seen the tip of worldwide unemployment, loan defaults and home/car repossessions yet.

IMO it depends on what governments do by way of social support. They will be jawboning banks and lenders to go easy on people who can't meet their repayments. It's already happening in Australia, there's the irony of a conservative government presiding over the biggest budget deficit and income support package in Australia's history.

You may be right. It depends on individual governments. I'm predicting the swing to socialist governments will be even more pronounced than the swing to the conservatives over the last decade.

[BritManToo]

13 hours ago, Lacessit said:

They will be jawboning banks and lenders to go easy on people who can't meet their repayments.

Don't think the banks and other lenders have the liquidity to survive that for long.

Most banks have been living on the brink for the past 20 years.

 

If the banks go down, everyone's pensions/savings/investments are likely to go with them.

Edited September 22, 2020 by BritManToo

[Bender Rodriguez]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Covid-19 has crushed the world and

not in thailand

 

only the head in the sand blind panic that followed fake estimations of 3 million deaths in USA

[Aspaltso]

15 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Which countries have done this?

Not Australia or the UK for sure, more lock downs and restrictions announced every week, and not even winter yet.

Not Thailand or any other Asian countries, their borders will be closed until next year at the very least.

 

I doubt we've even seen the tip of worldwide unemployment, loan defaults and home/car repossessions yet.

Yes, the world hasn't even come to the end of this for sure. It'll be June 2021 in my estimation before things get back to semi-normal i.e March 2020. We're only in early fall, and the infections are surging in the Northern Hemisphere countries. After the vaccine is introduced things will quiet down a bit, but the airline industry will not just start rerouting flights back to Bangkok or anywhere else for that matter at a seconds notice. People are going to have to learn how to live with this virus because its going to be with us forever as far as we know.

[Benmart]

I prefer the "Step Back and Be Grateful" posture. I can't control the world or the publication of any "news", post or utterance. I am happier for that.