There’s a kind of hush all over the world

by Amanda Ward

‘There’s a kind of hush all over the world’ right now are the words that come to my mind when thinking about our current situation.

Although it’s clear Herman's Hermits were not thinking about fatal diseases when they released their song back in 1967.

So this is the situation as we know at the moment, a fatal disease sweeping around the nation and the rest of the world, killing without prejudice of the young, old and vulnerable, reminiscent of the Black Death or Plague from the 12th century.

It’s unprecedented so far in my life time and in most people’s life times.

It’s difficult to not become depressed and scared when we are constantly being bombarded with the numbers of the ones that have lost their battle with the dreaded disease.

New words are entering our everyday vocabulary ‘quarantine,’ ‘self isolation,’ ‘lockdown,’ ‘corona,’ ‘masks’ ‘gloves’ ‘crisis’ etc.. etc… etc….

The media and all the technology we have at our finger tips nowadays is making it easy for us to have quick access to the latest updates on fatalities and those that are sick. It’s on our mobile phones, on TV screens in the house on our laptops, computers, on the news, it’s everywhere.

The streets are deserted, the shops are closed, play areas and parks are silent, no children’s laughter from the swings, no chatter from bars and restaurants.

The beaches are empty apart from the seagulls looking for food, unaccustomed to having the sand all to themselves, no tourists and locals soaking up the sun.

It’s like something from a zombie movie, people keeping their distance from each other, afraid to hug or kiss and greeting each other with elbows.

Our children are working from home, what would we do without technology in this instance? They can keep in touch with their friends and classmates via Facetime, Whatsapp and other apps they download to their phones. Despite being locked in for almost 3 weeks now the general morale and attitudes of the children is amazingly positive, we can learn from these children, our future generations.

And what of the future? What will come from all of this? The future for tourism is looking a little bleak at the moment on an island that depends greatly on people flying over and using our hotels, bars and restaurants and services. We can only hope that when all the restrictions are lifted and people are once again allowed to fly the world freely, we receive a boom in tourism.

In the mean time, my mind wonders to the climate, to the oceans, to the forests and the wildlife, I don’t think they mind that there are fewer humans out on the streets, in the seas and using the parks.

Maybe we can try and look at this situation positively and think about how the world is having a break, a respite from the pollution and damage we would normally cause on a daily basis.

#Istayathome