Schrodinger’s City

Increasingly I find that the experience of Covid is one of living in two parallel perspectives simultaneously. Today for instance we went to London and had a lovely experience, and yet at the same time we were always slightly anxious. We were both happy to be there and not happy to be there. It felt normal but it also felt strange. The crowds were smaller than usual and yet there were too many people. The pandemic felt very close and threatening, yet most people seemed oblivious to it.

This was the first time I had been to London since the 31st of January. We walked along the south bank in the sunshine just as we have done on so many occasions before. We shopped, we ate, we drank on the terrace of the Globe Theatre bar.  We bought bread and spices at Borough Market. It was great. Ŷet it was also very uneasy...

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.

We were amazed how many people weren’t wearing face masks, had so little disregard for social distancing, and were generally acting as if Covid was not a thing. But it was good to be back in London.

Don’t think we’ll do it again for a while though ...

I had an embarrassing moment with the ticket collector at Waterloo station. Embarrassing for him that is not for me; as I walked through the barriers he said "like your glasses mate, that one-eyed thing is really cool." Turned out that he thought my one blacked out lens was a fashion statement, like wearing odd shoes or having half your head dyed. He was a bit taken aback when I explained it was a medical necessity, but he was also impressed when I showed him how I had adapted the  a pair of sunglasses to blackout one of my prescription lenses.

For the record my eyesight is no better, and attached as an extra is my photo shopped attempt at an illustration of what my myasthenia gravis induced eyesight is like ...