Stitching the Maribyrnong

Okay, time for something different, time to reflect on creativity.

I now go to a weekly sewing group, an informal get-together where we bring along whatever we are working on. Some knit, some crochet, some quilt, some embroider and we all natter and enjoy each other’s company. Going to the group encourages me to have something to stitch. It’s kept me on track.

For quite a while I have been thinking about how to show the Maribyrnong River in stitching. I found my way through using maps as my reference.

Let me back up a little.The Maribyrnong River is the second Melbourne river, after the Yarra. The Maribyrnong, which flows north to south, is rather a forgotten river, which makes its charms hidden and special.

I live about a kilometre away, and the part of the river close to me is manicured, with bluestone banks, sports fields and bicycle tracks. However further upstream are some wonderfully less constrained areas, where the trees reach into the water and the paths meander through. I found some delightful spots when I was building up my legs for the Memory Walk.

Volcanic activity 1.2m years to 820,000 years ago in the west of what would become the state of Victoria created extensive lava plains. There was little to stop the flow of lava and it created sheets of basalt rock at least 60 metres thick under the Keilor/Werribee Plains and all western Melbourne. The Maribrynong cut a deep valley through the basalt quite early on, so in parts marks the eastern edge of the lava plain.

I mention this geology as it was something I wanted to stitch. That lead to Geological time #1. (Ignore the fabric beyond the hoop.)

Geological Time #1

The red stitching is a bend in the river, the blue represents the bluestone/ basalt and the green is the more alluvial areas. It is based on a geological map created in 1959. For those of you who know the area the top right hand blue part is where Essendon/Moonee Ponds now is, to the left Avondale Heights.

Geological Time #2 was more adventurous, and, to my mind, more interesting.

Geological Time #2

If you look closely you can see that it is the same set up as #1 ~ bluestone areas, green alluvial around the river. However the stitching adds texture and interest. The tufty stitch is velvet stitch, a favourite of mine.

The idea behind this is the vegetation that grew on the basalt plains was vast grasslands, often kangaroo grass. In fact when when early white colonists came in the early 1800s their eyes lit up, as they saw this as perfect pasture for sheep and cattle. They never saw or acknowledged that this land had been managed and cared for for millennia by Aboriginal peoples. The colonists grabbed the land, warred with and killed any First Nations peoples who dared to fight back or steal sheep or cattle. The hard hoofed animals were disastrous for the grasslands, compacting soil and allowing for the introduction of invasive weeds.

Very little of that native grassland is left. I wanted to show how amazing that vegetation would have been, and how the land was cared for so well by the Wurundjeri people and others. I also wanted to show how it was intrinsic to the geology of the area.

I am in the early stages of another.

It is further down stream, at the confluence of the Maribyrnong and Yarra Rivers. It’s based on an 1867 map of Footscray, a very working class suburb on the west side the Maribyrnong.

If you look closely you will see that it is called the Salt Water River, an early name as it is tidal, and therefor salty, for quite a way up. Apparently Maribyrnong comes from an Aboriginal phrase meaning ‘I can hear a ringtail possum’. Unsurprisingly the area was an important meeting place for the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples.

So, lots more stitching to come! And I have much more research to do, and would love to find out more about the indigenous history of the area.

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live, stitch and walk – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present. The land always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

I also acknowledge that this week is National Reconciliation Week, and the theme ~ Now More Than Ever ~ is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders will ~ and must ~ continue. To find out more go to Reconciliation Australia.

Butterfly time

Early this year I wrote a post that mentioned Dragonfly Time. Dragonflies, which were so prolific at that time, symbolise transition, change, adaptability. It helped me get through some very difficult times when Terry moved into residential accomodation.

Now it is Butterfly Time. Again, they are prolific visitors to my garden, and especially love the statice. Butterflies are symbols of rebirth and metamorphosis, which again is just what I am going through.

Finding my feet in this new life is a process, I understand this. I am learning that grief is a strange thing. Mostly I am fine but can get teary quite easily. Some days the exhaustion of the stress from the last years overwhelms me and I curl up on the couch. Some days I am able to get most things on my To Do List done and other days having coffee with a friend will exhaust me. However, I am gentle with myself and try to have time to bobble along at my own pace.

A big thing to think about ~ and this comes back to the butterfly metaphor ~ is the shape of my life in the years to come. What might I become in this new world? What’s my purpose? For the last 5 years or so it has been Terry and his declining health. Before that it was art. Before that it was teaching for many years. Now I am not sure. Definitely art in there somewhere. But at the moment I don’t need to be sure. I just need to be open to ideas and thoughts, and listen to what feels right.

It’s not as if I don’t have things to do. My life is about dealing with Stuff ~ physical Stuff and task Stuff, so much Stuff (another post about all of that!). And I have some plans forming in my brain. My house is in dire need of maintenance and a good spruce up. I am gathering ideas about that. I am doing some sewing, and have a few more plans about that.

I have a big plan, and it is exciting, and I want to tell you about it.

I am doing the Memory Walk in 2024, in memory of Terry, and also to raise money for Dementia Australia.

https://www.memorywalk.com.au/fundraisers/annelawson/melbourne

In May I am going to walk 6 km (twice around Princes Park in Carlton, there’s a map below), along with friends who have joined Team Terry. I am being sponsored by anyone who wants to donate money to this excellent cause. I am blown away by the generosity of people so far. If you follow the link to my page you can see that I am well over my target already!

I mention the 6 km figure because at the moment I can, on one of my good days, walk 2 km. Only a third of the distance. My plan is, by the end of each month between now and May, to have increased the distance I can walk by a kilometre.

So there is a good reason to pull on my shoes and get out the door for a decent walk each day. No excuses. And we know how important regular exercise is to being healthy, including/especially brain health. I may even shed a couple of the way-too-many kilograms I am carrying. That would be a bonus.

At the end of each month I am going to update you on my walking progress, so you will be an important part of my team too 😊

The blue is the 3km circuit. By May I will need to be able to do two of these! The black loop is my progress so far. A few more steps to go!!

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live and walk – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present. The land always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

A tiny adventure in Brunswick

I have Jill to thank for my tiny adventure today.

Jill blogs at Filosopha’s Word. She primarily writes thought provoking pieces about the state of the United States, with regular music and ‘good people’ posts. Every Saturday she has a surprise.

A couple of weeks ago I left a comment on her Saturday Surprise post. I can’t remember what she wrote about (sorry) but my comment was about the painted grain silos in Victoria that have become a tourist trail. That prompted Jill to devote a whole Saturday Surprise to them.

As I scrolled down my attention was grabbed by a stunning art work of Jacinda Ardern hugging a woman, from a photo taken just after the Christchurch massacre. The silo was in Brunswick, a trendy inner suburb of Melbourne, not far from me.

Caring for the Fella takes time, and so I am learning to find the pockets of time that I can use, like this afternoon. After going to a friend’s exhibition I went to find the silo.

I had the street and, as it was a tall structure, I could see it…but couldn’t quite find where it sat in the street.

This photo sums up Brunswick….the old grain silo is a nod to its industrial past, the sign for an electric bike factory is a nod to its present and future and the graffiti a nod to its grungy, edgy dishevelment.

So I wound my way around. On the way I went under the new rail overpass, built to remove a level crossing in Moreland Road. After a short walk along the railway line I had a good view of the magnificent art work by Loretta Lizzio. What a powerful moment of human dignity to capture.

It was lovely to be out and about in the Spring sunshine. And a thank you to my American friend Jill for pointing me to something on my own doorstep.

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live and on which this silo sits– the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present. The land always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

My street

I was going to write about the garden. However, last night I researched people who had lived in my street. I was intrigued by some of the stories, and I thought you might be too.

This interest has come about from my home being, in an artistic sense, my place. I know some of its history, but wanted to find out more about the people who lived here. I didn’t find any thing about them, but I have a better sense of the unofficial history of the street.

I used the excellent resource Trove, a site with indexed, digitalised, Australian newspapers, maps, images etc. It is indeed a treasure trove!

I typed my street name and suburb into the search engine. The search was not precise, as it included mentions of the suburb and often the abbreviation st, so I had to winnow out the relevant articles.

Articles were from the first half of the twentieth century, and as was the way, usually included a house number with the street name. Now I have a list of at least a quarter of the occupants who lived the street from 1913 to 1968. Some of the information came from death notices and obituaries (“A quiet gloom was cast over Ascot Vale Parish when it became known that Thomas Loughnan….”), one from a notice of a 50th wedding anniversary.

Others came from citizenship notifications, which showed how migrants moved into the suburb in the 1960’s. My next-door-neighbours were there.

I picked out these stories for you. Some of them were rather gruesome, but I suppose that is the way with newspaper articles ~ the more sensational the better.

• 1917: Mrs Norrish won 7th prize in the Sisters of Mercy raffle. No mention of what the prize was, but you do wonder.
• 1918: WG Werry was noted for his results in a hen competition
• 1918: Miss Emmins ran a first aid class as she was a bandaging instructor.
• 1922 William Morley was fined 5/- for smoking in a non-smoking train compartment, costs were 7/6. That seemed rather out of whack.
• 1915: John McIver, a fireman, presumably on the trains, had his foot cut off by a train in a workplace accident. Imagine the ongoing trauma this would have caused.
• There is no date for this one, but it must be early. “‘Joy rider’ jolted from jinker”. James Dillon, who lived elsewhere, stole a pony and jinker from the Ascot Vale Hotel. He drove it in circles in my street until the wheel hit a curb and he was jolted out.
• And on horses….in 1934 one crashed into a tree, completely wrecking the cart. The horse bolted through several streets “with the shattered shafts trailing on the ground”. The horse was found a mile away, uninjured, grazing in a paddock.
• 1967 Mrs V. Obese (how real is that name?!) was mentioned in a women’s magazine for her great tip on how to dry a tea cosy. You drape the damp cosy over the warm teapot and it dries in shape.
• 1951 Patrick Heard, who lived in my street was admitted to hospital with shot-gun pellets in his left leg.

My favourite concerned Charles Allsop, who lived in my street. It was a story that went over a few articles. Allsop, a bookmaker, sued a farmer in Thorpedale for damages to his reputation. The farmer believed Allsop had short-changed him over a bet he, and called him “a robber, a thief and a welsher” at a few race meetings. The defence argued that as Allsop had been a drinking partner of Squizzy Taylor, a notorious criminal, and had been disbarred, he had no reputation to loose! Unfortunately that argument didn’t fly, as Allsop was awarded 80 pounds compensation.

I wonder what noteworthy events are happening in our street now. What will someone find in another 50 years? With the demise of suburban newspapers, probably not the same wonderful tit bits.

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Of course, all of this happened on land on which First Nations People had lived for many thousands of years. I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present. Their land was never ceded ~ Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

Some Halloween joy ~ or we made it, Melbourne

I am not a fan of Halloween.

It is too centred around lollies and sweet things. And all those decorations that, at best, will end up in landfill.

But maybe I am a Halloween grinch because it is not my tradition! We didn’t have it when I was growing up, so I ignore it.

However I felt more fondly towards Halloween this year.

It was a beautiful evening in Melbourne, and we had just emerged, bleary eyed from six long lockdowns over the last 18 months. I went for a walk to the wetlands, a place I have walked almost daily over that time.

And it was alive with ghosts, witches, pirates, zombies, fairies and every other dressed up child. They were going to the houses that boarded the wetlands. There were picnickers, and adults walking with fairies on bikes and zombies on scooters. All around was the sound of children having fun.

These are the same kids that have missed out on parties, sleepovers, school camps, footy training, playing with friends in park, hugging grandparents. I could not begrudge them the joy they were finding in being together to get lollies.

I remembered how way back in March last year I was walking the same area, anxious about how the world would be, worried that we would descend into a dystopian future. Last Sunday I realised that this joyous event was a declaration ~ that we had made it through the lockdowns, that we had worked together (well, most of us!) to make sure the vulnerable were protected, that our sacrifices have given our stretched hospital system some chance.

It’s not over and care, masks and continued vaccinations are still needed, but it was so lovely to see all those kids being kids, the big grown-up kids too!

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Melbourne experienced extreme winds last Friday, bringing down trees and power lines. Some homes are still without power. My internet has been off for the last eight days, but came on this morning. Yay!

Now I can catch up with all those tasks that require the internet, including catching up with your blogs. Things are just not the same on the small phone screen.

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past, present and emerging.

My wounded Melbourne

I am a proud Melbournian. My great-grandfather came here in the late 1800’s. (You might remember a couple of the family stories I shared last year. “The cable tram” and “Grandpa Mason”.) I have lived here all my life. One of my treasured joys was to wander through the lanes and alleys of Melbourne, and it is one thing I have really missed through the long lockdown. (And just in case you feel like having a binge on my posts about Melbourne, go for it!)

Melbourne has been crowned the Most Liveable City for quite a few years. Not lately though. And one of our main (unofficial!) exports has been baristas, sending them out to all parts to give the world decent coffees.

But this week Melbourne has hit global headlines, for all the wrong reasons.

Let’s start with the most serious. You may have seen footage of (mostly) men rioting around the Shrine of Remembrance. They had been out on the streets for a couple of days, including holding up and terrifying traffic on the Westgate Bridge, the main bridge over the Yarra River to the west of Melbourne.

It began as a protest against mandatory vaccinations on building sites and a closure of building sites for two weeks. I don’t support anti-vaccination or anti-mask demands, and to gather in large numbers is plain stupidity. It seems that the protests were quickly taken over by extreme right groups who leeched onto the anger over lockdowns and vaccinations. As a consequence footage of the protests have given succour to the extreme right wing around the world.

That is not my Melbourne. We are a proud multi-cultural city, with a long history of supporting progressive issues.

That this can happen is partly a product of the second news item about Melbourne. Apparently we now have the dubious record of the city with most days in lockdown. We have spent 235 days in lockdown, just overtaking Buenos Aires. That’s not continuous days, but fairly close, and it’s not over yet. I think all of us feel every one of those days.

Of course there is frustration, there is anger. Small businesses have been shut down for most of that time, parents have been home schooling, we can’t see the people we love. A tragic consequence is that mental health problems have really escalated. However, most of us recognise that lockdown is a necessary measure to give us time to get vaccination rates high enough to not overwhelm the health system. Most of us are not out on the streets. In fact there are way more people getting vaccinated than protesting.

So, let me say again ~ my Melbourne is there getting tested and vaccinated and helping out those who need an extra hand, not on the steps of the Shrine.

The other Melbourne news you may have seen is that we had an earthquake this week. Again, that is not the Melbourne I know. We don’t do earthquakes! Occasionally we have little tremors, but not 5.9 quakes! Fortunately there was little damage done.

I was about to hop in the shower when I heard an odd noise and then felt the house move on its stumps. I dressed quickly (no one wants to see a naked me out on the street!) and checked things with the Fella. All good, no damage and our neighbours were okay too.

The ongoing effect is that it has given us something other than lockdown/riots/covid/vaccinations to talk about!

And the last indignity that Melbourne has had to suffer this week is having the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final played in Perth. Melbourne is the heartland of Aussie Rules football, and the Grand Final has been played at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) for always. Well, until last year, when it had to be played in Brisbane. An empty MCG is a sad sight.

What’s more, there are two Melbourne teams playing ~ the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne (yes, there is a team called Melbourne.) In 2016 the Bulldogs won their first final since 1954; Melbourne won their last in 1964. Both are well due for a win. If the decorations in the streets around my house are any guide support is pretty even.

For me? Well the Fella has barracked for the Doggies ever since he arrived in Australia in the 1950s, so I will be cheering them on. But really, I don’t mind. Many members of my family are keen Melbourne supporters, so I will be happy to see them win. As we all say “As long as the game is a good one”!

So come tomorrow night most Melbournians will be in front of the telly, forgetting about lockdowns and riots and earthquakes, engrossed in a game that has a very Melbourne feel. And thinking that maybe next year the Grand Final will be back where it belongs and we will be celebrating out in the streets.

Out

This time a year ago like everyone else I was preparing for the pandemic. A State of Emergency had been declared in Victoria; museums, art galleries and libraries were closing; festivals, the Grand Prix, footy matches were abandoned; toilet paper was being hoarded and all of us became experts on how viruses spread.

We knew a lockdown was coming, but we had no idea of what that meant or what was to be at the end of it. Were we heading into a dystopian future? I bought dress material and potting mix, planned to learn Auslan, decided to clean out my cupboards and wash the windows. I still have the material, only recently used the potting mix, never began learning Auslan, and the windows and cupboards remain as they were. Fortunately we didn’t head into the dystopian future.

Then in July Melbourne and I went into an even longer lockdown. My list reduced down to making sure I laughed everyday and to find comfort in creating. And there was a comfort in knowing that all I had to do was stay at home and be safe. The roof over my head was secure, as was my income. Like everyone I learnt that there was enough toilet paper to go round and that food would be on the shelves.

Although most of our restrictions were lifted during October it is only now that I am feeling like going out and about. It’s a strange thing, because it is not fear of the virus that had kept me from wandering further than my neighbourhood. (My reduced fear is not reckless, our community transmission numbers are very low.) Instead I think I have become something of a hermit. Home feels safe, secure. I don’t have to go far to find what I need.

My health issues have made me reluctant to go far afield and I worry about the Fella. But really, I am just not ready.

Well, I wasn’t until Friday of last week.

I went, with my sister, to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) to see the Triennial Exhibition. What winkled me out of my hermit cave was combination of spending time with my lovely sister and seeing the exhibition.

And what a lovely day it was.

I caught the tram into town. I haven’t done that for over a year! I wandered across the Yarra to the NGV. I haven’t done that for over a year! We were amazed by the exhibition. I haven’t done that……(!) To top it off Judy and I had a delicious lunch in the restaurant and chatted. We have talked a lot over the year, and she has been one of the people who has kept me afloat.

The Triennial exhibition is a wonder, a collection of contemporary art and design spread through out the gallery. I am sorry I can’t show you the really amazing ones which involved light shows and changing digital images. If you follow this link you will see some of the exhibits. Maybe you will just be happy with some of my photos. If you live in Melbourne, and are ready to venture out, you have until mid-April to see it.

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Yep, that chandelier is made from glasses lenses.

So yes, it is time to leave the hermit cave and remember what life used to be like.

Oh, fabulous day!

Today, Melbournians emerge with our unkempt hair and our huge grins into our new ‘COVID-normal’ life.

Because we have done something extra-ordinary; we have got our case numbers from over 700 a day to 0, and 0 deaths, for two days running. Two Double Donut Days! To put that into perspective, on the 5th August we had 715 cases while Belgium had 334. A couple of days ago Belgium had 15, 622.

I don’t want to gloat, but rather celebrate our achievement. We got here with a strict and long lockdown which has been very hard for so many people. So much repair will be needed.

Today, for the first time for months, we can sit down for have a coffee and a meal. We can go into a shop that is not an essential service ~ art shops! We can catch up with friends outside ~ I am off for a picnic with friends! We can leave our homes for whatever reason we like. (Previously we had only been able to leave for 4 reasons.) We can live our lives.

With caution, of course. There is no room for complacency as we have not eliminated the virus. Recognising that the home is one of the most dangerous places, visiting indoors is restricted to one family a day. Sitting with family and friends is something we have been longing to do, but because our guards are down, it can be the place where the virus will spread. Indeed it was larger family gatherings that rapidly spread the virus in June.

I can visit my Mum! I am seeing her on Friday, and the thought of taking her out for a coffee brings a smile to my face.

For a couple more weeks we can only travel within 25 km ~ the trip to Mum is 22km! There is still no travel in or out of metro Melbourne. Mandatory mask wearing will stay for quite a while yet.

To be honest, I am still a little dazed by it all, and still thinking it through, reflecting on that strange liminal time. Undoubtably I will have more to say in later posts, but for now I will enjoy my friends, my Mum and a latte in a glass rather than a takeaway cup, sitting at a table. And celebrate the simple things, the important things.

Liminal time

Melbourne has been in Stage 4 lockdown for a few weeks now. Exercise once a day for a maximum of an hour; shopping for essentials once a day and only one person; only within a 5 km radius. And a curfew from 8:00 at night to 5:00 in the morning. Businesses have been severely curtailed, with only essential work to be carried out and workers needing a permit to show they are essential.

Mask-wearing has been mandatory for about a month, and most people are complying.

Our borders with NSW and South Australia are closed.

Fortunately these very strict measures seem to be bringing the numbers down, although our elderly in residential care have had a very tragic time. You might like to read my last post about our Elders.

And me? Thank you for asking! I feel that I have been doing this for ever, and indeed it has been a long time…..Day 47 today. My postcode was one of the hotspots that had to go into Stage 3 lockdown on 2nd July. A little over a week later there was a Melbourne wide Stage 3 order. Numbers weren’t coming down so Stage 4 restrictions were put in place. So 47 days of sheltering at home.

Even looking further back, there was never a time since the end of the first lockdown where I felt really comfortable being out ~ although I did have a chance to meet up with my Mum in June, and that was delightful. So I feel like I have been inside my house since mid-March.

It has been a very odd time. I am sure that every single one of us feels the same ~ this strange time, this between time. This liminal time.

Liminal time is a concept I have just come across, but to me it sums up this time so well, and in a strange way gives me consolation.

Liminality is the state of being between, being just on the verge of something, understanding that this time and place feels out of the normal. It is leaving the known, the familiar, but not being in the new.

Long haul air travel (remember that?!) is an example. Once you walk through the departure gates you experience liminal time, where the old has been left behind, but you haven’t arrived at the new, your destination. You are in a between time, way beyond your familiar.

Richard Rohr says it is “when you have left, or are about to leave the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer.”

So the coronavirus has forced all of us to experience liminal time, even those who are not now in quarantine. We have been forced to let go of our old lives and plans, but we have no idea of what our ‘new normal’ will be like. What will the economy be like? Will there be jobs? Will there be my job? Will my lovely Melbourne ever be lively and bustling again? Will the familiar patterns still exist? Will we travel overseas again? Will we ever be free of this virus? Will we……? The questions go on, because we have no idea.

Our sense of time has changed. How often have we said “What day is it today?”? Time feels like wading through sand and yet skidding over the top of the waves. Even our language to measure time is different ~ when this is over; when we have flattened the curve; when we have slowed down the spread, when we are back at the footie/concert/ballet. Or, as I am doing, measuring the time as days sheltering at home, rather than the days on the calendar.

This in-between time is a very difficult time for many people. It is riddled with anxiety, uncertainty, an unsafe time. Someone I read said that maybe this is why humans have built extensive rituals around these times ~ rites of passage, the change of seasons, even things like 21st birthdays, and graduations. The rituals are often guided by the elders and done in the community. To use that very overworked phrase, these are unprecedented times and so we have no rituals to soothe us.

My experience though is a little different. I am not going to loose a job, or be evicted, or be forced into bankruptcy. At this stage everyone I love is safe and secure. I have a comfortable, warm house and I can shelter in place with lots of things to keep me occupied. I feel safe, even though my future is unknown, and unknowable.

But not always easy. It is a sombre time. It is winter here in Melbourne, so the cold, grey, still days have perfectly matched the time. It’s a quiet time and a reflective time, but an anxious time.

It seems to me that liminal time is not limbo. There is movement and change, we just can’t see the final outcome. Like the pupa stage of a butterfly’s life. Which is not to say that at the end of this there will be a beautiful butterfly. Life at the moment is a shit-show and what emerges from the pupa could be mean and ugly. Or beautiful. Or a mixture. All we can say is that it won’t be the same.

It is understanding that I am in this strange between time that anchors me. The familiar has become the unfamiliar and will turn into the unexpected. Strangely, knowing that gives me some comfort, which I think it comes from relinquishing control. All I can control is me, and even that requires some letting go. I am thinking of the shape of my future life, although, because I am in liminal time, it can only be the vaguest of outlines. However, to reach the end of this lockdown I have reduced my expectations of myself ~ things like finding comfort in creating, doing simple drawings and sewing, things that feel right; laughing every day; being in the fresh air; connecting with others. Celebrating making it to end of the day.

I hope you are doing okay in these times. Remember to ask for help if you are not. If you are interested in knowing more about liminal time, just ask Lord Google. You may even come across liminal space, spaces between, like stairwell and schools after everyone has gone. Those places that have an odd feel to them.

I also found this podcast with Alain de Botton really interesting and surprisingly positive. One of the things he talks about is ‘constructive pessimism’ ~ bringing our worst fears into the power of the light. Instead of saying “It will be okay” ask “Will I be able to get through this?”, “Will I be able to bear this?” and “Will I be able to endure the worst?”. The answers will probably be “Probably”.

Stay well, stay safe.

Well, here I go again….Lockdown #2

The northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, have seen a disturbing number of COVID-19 cases over the last week or so, most of them coming from community transmission. Compared to many other places the numbers are still low ~ in the 60s and 70s each day ~ but still enough to know that it must be brought under control. We can see from other countries how easily low numbers can increase to numbers that overwhelm.

So the Victorian Government has declared that 10 postcodes (zip codes) are to go into lockdown. My postcode is one of them. And I am perfectly fine with this. Action needs to be taken now, and we know that isolation works at suppressing transmission.

It is interesting to think about why Melbourne has been affected, as the other states have either very low or no new cases. This is my interpretation of the information I have gleaned from the authorities…..

International arrivals, ie returning citizens, are quarantined in hotels for 14 days. Quite a few of these arrivals seem to have come with the virus. In Victoria security at these quarantine hotels was farmed out to a private security firm, while in other states it is the job of the state police. I suspect that some of the security guards caught the virus from returned travellers. That was compounded by breaches of hygiene protocols by these security guards. Sharing a cigarette lighter has come up a few times, as well as crowded tea rooms and lack of protective equipment. So, a couple of the security people caught the virus, and inadvertently took the virus to their families.

At this time restrictions were being eased and families could gather in groups of 20. We love our families, and I can imagine how exciting it was for these families to see Grandma or Grandpa or cousins for the first time for ages. It is hard (but necessary) to maintain that 1.5 metres in a loving family gathering. So the virus was shared around. Then it moved to other family groups, and so it spread.

Now we have too much spread and these 10 ‘hotspots’ have to go into isolation.

We can only go out for the usual four reasons:

• shopping for food and essential supplies
• exercise
• care and caregiving (this includes medical)
• work and education if you can’t do it from home

It all feels very familiar.

And comforting in a weird way. As restrictions were gradually being lifted I felt a little confused. Not confused about what I could and couldn’t do, that always seemed clear to me. Rather I was confused about assessing the level of risk. Should I go to the hairdresser? I answered myself “No”. Should I go back to pilates? Probably not. Would lunch at a restaurant with friends be okay? Yes, as there were only 3 of us, and I knew they had been very cautious. I assumed the restaurant had the right protocols in place. Each venture out needed to be weighed. Now any dilemma has been removed ‘cos there is no option to go out!

The other thing that strikes me about this lockdown is that my level of anxiety is lower. Were you like me back in mid-March, or whenever your lockdown began, worrying about all manner of things? Will the rubbish still be collected? Will supply chains hold up? What happens if our electricity supply can’t cope? Would I have enough food? I even remember wondering if the parklands would be maintained. And I didn’t even have the worry of job losses or loan repayments or how to keep a business afloat.

I know what this quarantine period will look like, and that I can deal with it. I am confident that things will hold up, that the rubbish will be collected and the lights will stay on. And I know that there are others, like my wonderful family, on the ‘outside’ who are there cheering me on.

We are still at the beginning of this pandemic, and numbers in many countries are frighteningly high. So uncertainty is our new normal, our Covid normal for quite a while. We know what we have to do ~ practise excellent hand and respiratory hygiene, socially distance (at least 1.5m, please), wear a mask and don’t go out if you are feeling unwell. And if you do have to go back into lockdown, please do it.

On the practical side, the exhibition where I had two pieces hanging has been put on hold. The Incinerator Gallery has been caught up in all of this. Disappointing, but that’s how these things go.

Let me finish on my lovely librarian. You know how I love my library, and how happy I was to have it open, even though I couldn’t browse. I went in yesterday, before the lockdown, to confirm that they had to close. The librarian asked me if he could select a bundle of books for me to borrow. So between us ~ me standing behind the desk and him at the shelves asking if I like this author or that style ~ I borrowed a stack of books. I wouldn’t have chosen some of them myself, but I will certainly give them a go.

So, between my art and my book supply I feel that I am well equipped for another month at home.

Stay well.