Blowing off the cobwebs...

It has been a while... I certainly hadn't intended the blog hiatus to go for more than six years, but one thing led to another, and the longer I left it, the harder it became to start the engine going (a little bit of shame as well as feeling like I didn't have anything important to say).

Whilst we're under lockdown for Covid-19 seems to be as good a time as any to bring the blog back to life. We're still in New Zealand, and I'm very much of the opinion that we have ended up in the best location to see out the pandemic, in terms of leadership (who else has a Prime Minister who takes the time to reassure children that the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny are essential workers?), the early decisions that were taken (restricting and then closing borders as the scale started to become known), and then a very speedy move from beginning general restrictions to a more complete lockdown. We have had clear and calm messaging, and leaders who have stepped up and inspired trust.

The approach seems to be working; whilst we do have our cases (19 new ones today), and, very sadly, our fatalities (a total of five have passed away so far), it feels like we will come out of this faster, with less human-cost impact, and with more resiliency than other countries. It doesn't mean that life will go back to 'normal' any time soon - it has been made clear that any restriction lifting will be gradual, so as not to undo all the good work that we have done. Our tourism industry, which normally contributes nearly 6% to GDP -(with supporting industries contributing a further 4%) has already taken a huge hit from the closing of borders and the complete halt of non-essential internal travel. We have our share of the increase of people losing their jobs. The knock on impact for service based businesses may well see a proportion shutting for good, even with wage subsidies.

I can also feel very lucky in the ability that I have to work from home, with very little loss of productivity. And I get to spend my days sitting at the dining room table, looking out over the fig tree and the grape vine, and watching the birds feasting on fruit, insects and seeds. There are certainly worse places to be in isolation...