Thursday
The ‘World News Journalist of the Year’ may well be the man or woman who unearths a major story that is not Covid-related. There is nothing else…
Most of us dip into the Internet a few times a day for news, sport or entertainment/trivia updates…but even that simple pleasure has been infected by the virus. We’re told (with good reason) to limit our Covid coverage intake, but it’s not that easy. Unless you go on to YouTube or some version of life BC – before Covid – there are very few websites you can access that aren’t carrying never-ending coronavirus references.
Up to a few weeks ago, when I browsed ‘Sport’ on the BBC or RTE websites, I got sport. These days, what purport to be sporting ‘stories’ are just more angles on Covid-19. The Olympics deferred. Speculation about how the English soccer season will be wrapped up. The Mick McCarthy/Stephen Kenny conundrum (since resolved). The consequences for the GAA season. There is virtually no respite.
When, out of boredom/Covid excess, I dipped into ‘Entertainment’ on the BBC website, the lead story was the death of the entertainer Eddie Large…from coronavirus. (Only readers of a certain vintage are likely to remember when Eddie’s star shone bright – Saturday night box office!).
I liked him a lot. He rose to stardom in the 1970s as part of a double act with Syd Little. Little and Large were…well, ‘big’ back then. Inexplicably, so were Cannon and Ball. Of course the superstars of the double act genre were Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies.
Personally, I found Cannon & Ball very irritating, about as funny as those party political broadcasts that used to be slipped in before the Nine O’Clock News for five deeply tedious minutes.
By the mid-1980s, the Little and Large Show was a massive TV success. Syd Little’s role was as straight man, with Eddie Large wise-cracking and doing some very decent impressions. He was a man of considerable talent, the main reason why their weekend specials attracted up to 18 million viewers. At their peak, they were major stars, in an era when Saturday night telly was all about family entertainment in the form of sketches, dance routines and repartee between middle-aged men. Truth is, this type of comedy has not aged very well (cue a double-take from the ghost of Eric Morecambe). A lot of what we watched then would make us cringe now, but Eddie Large was a very talented entertainer who brightened our lives in those far-off days.
Friday
The figures are rising in Ireland, to over 4,000 now. And yet, there is a real sense that we may be managing this crisis well. All we can do is compare ourselves to other countries, observe our own trends. And when we do that, we have to take some encouragement. The Taoiseach had, after all, speculated about there possibly being 15,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland by the end of March, and we are a long way from that tally. Of course we need an increase in testing in order to get a fuller picture. (Also, many peope may have already had coronavirus, but with minor symptoms).
But social distancing is clearly having a positive impact. The roads are much, much quieter, our towns and villages stripped of whatever vibrancy they had. This is good and necessary, albeit devastating for small businesses.
A Roscommon man has unexpectedly emerged as a symbol of hope. Paddy Joe Lynch from Ballinameen is on the front of the Irish Independent, and also featured on the RTE News and in other media. Paddy Joe (82) contracted the coronavirus and recovered from it, his discharge from Sligo Hospital a rare and inspirational good news story.
Saturday
In our house we hoard newspapers; well, I hoard newspapers. I can’t resist buying them, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays. Then they pile up, parts of them unread, but not unloved, bulging sections of beautiful print. Sometimes I hoard them for two or three months. Then I blitz the pile on a Saturday or Sunday morning, flying through page after page, reluctantly binning some, retaining others in the hope that I will find time to read articles of particular promise.
Today, it’s a bit surreal to read headlines from before the virus went worldwide. The papers were focussed on the election outcome, on Sinn Féin and Mary Lou, flooding too…and of course the sports pages breathlessly reported on the Premier League, the Six Nations and the GAA leagues. So much has changed in the weeks since. It’s even strange to see photos of people in close proximity to one another. Meanwhile, the travel sections in the glossy magazines (from February/early March) tempt us to travel to far-off places for holidays or weekend breaks. The hoarded newspapers of February are like a window on a different world, one that’s not now open for business.
Sunday
That was no tame finale to Sunday. First, Queen Elizabeth addressed her people. A little while later, breaking news: the UK PM Boris Johnson was admittted to hospital, his Covid-19 symptoms requiring tests. It was reported that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (formerly a doctor) will rejoin the medical register to help in the fight against the virus. And Scotland’s chief medical officer had to resign after making two trips to her second home during the coronavirus lockdown. Quite a Sunday evening…
Boris was barely in the ambulance and the Twitter trolls were gleefully relishing the opportunity to spread some more hate. There was an entirely predictable and nasty reaction on social media. However, there were more than enough decent and caring sentiments to maintain one’s belief that the trolls are merely a pathetic minority, no proper reflection of society.
The Queen, in her 94th year, made a timely and highly impressive address to a wounded nation. She is remarkable. It must have lifted the spirit of a people who are hurting.
Monday
Everybody says we’ll be changed people when this is all over. Changed – and hairier.
We need to keep our sense of humour in these difficult times. We may also need to keep our hair. Either that, or join the ranks of people who are moving into DIY mode and getting their hair done at home!
Without the option of popping into the barber or hairdresser, we fear a return to the hairstyles of the 1970s and ‘80s. Will we end up looking like The Bee Gees?
Or will we resemble those sheepish looking long-haired youngsters queuing outside dole offices in that footage from Reeling in the Years?
Tuesday
Boris Johnson is in intensive care. The British people are in shock as news of their Prime Minister’s serious health deterioration suddenly races around the world.
This really is playing out like a movie, a dark thriller with a far-fetched plot. Problem is there are no ad breaks, the lights aren’t going up in this cinema. Not yet. Somewhere out there, frustrated scriptwriters with drafts marked ‘Mystery virus brings world to a standstill’ are tearing up their scripts/deleting their plot ideas.
But this won’t last. We need to keep following the guidelines and look out for one another. At some stage we’ll return to the sports’ pitches and the coffee shops and bars, with smiles on our faces. With a good deal more appreciation of how we need to appreciate the simple things in life. With a good deal to reflect on. And probably with a good deal more hair. Take care.
