Year: 2022

  • Day Thirteen of Lockdown – We cannot get out…

    Day Thirteen of Lockdown – We cannot get out…

    Day 3 of the 48hr Curfew: The chat group was full of desperate messages people wanting to know why they cannot leave the compound. All I kept hearing in the residents and Owners Wechat Group was, “We cannot get out…” Tolkein came to mind, so I rewrote: “The Last Page of The Book of Marzabul…”…

  • Day Twelve of Lockdown

    Day Twelve of Lockdown

    Day 2 of 48hr Curfew: The police no longer guard the gate; But, one stairwell of apartments are in extra Quarantine; The playground NAT tent is in disarray, even as the children play; A father takes his daughter for a walk; The playground is supervised; Garbage disposal is back under control; The shop’s kiddie-ride is…

  • Day Eleven of Lockdown

    Day Eleven of Lockdown

    They said that from 00:00 a 48h Curfew would begin: (No going outside into the broader community.) Just before the curfew deadline, I went out to see them set up… There was no one there… The empty shed glows red and ominous in the dark; The gate is unmanned. In the light of the morning,…

  • Day Ten – Under Quarantine, Again!

    Day Ten – Under Quarantine, Again!

    The sky, weeps with the tears of the Earth, for it knows we will be in Lockdown… again.  Today, would be Day 10 of our initial lockdown — we were released! But, we were told we would still need to do the initial Day 14 NAT – seemed like a fair deal to me. However,…

  • March 16, 2022

    March 16, 2022

    Freedom! It’s a really strange feeling. I am outside, in the street, sitting at a Cafe… and I just want to go back to my apartment.

  • Day Eight of Lockdown

    Day Eight of Lockdown

    There’s a strange atmosphere in the air. Looking out the window the Quarantine volunteers are packing up? A notice comes… The lockdown is being lifted – YES! …Please stay in place until the paperwork is done: Collecting the temperature chart; Receiving the release notification; Signing some paperwork; The “Merlin Garden’s” entry card indicates my name…

  • Day Seven in Lockdown

    Day Seven in Lockdown

    Today, the sun hides in the sky, and the wind blows hard. The Quarantine continues… Tea to start the day; The rubbish must be put out; The testing area has been a little better controlled, but the people still rush the line; My sample bottle is labeled; Waiting to be stabbed in the nose, it’s…

  • Myopia: A Lockdown Journal

    Myopia: A Lockdown Journal

    I was asked, “Why are your pictures are square, and in black and white?” “They seem so constrained and myopic.” … And that! Is the very reason why. I am on a second floor, on the end of a building. The from the windows is less constrained, myopic, if you like, than it is for…

  • Day Six in Lockdown

    Day Six in Lockdown

    Lockdown Continues. My head’s in a better place today. The Quarantine crew work long hours away from Family. I gave the volunteers outside my door, a cake of white tea and a teapot with five cups: A table for tea; A short moment to sleep; Thermo-pots for sale, they nest nicely;  I finally got around…

  • Day Five in Lockdown

    Day Five in Lockdown

    Didn’t do much. The day drifted by in in a brain fog. Some thermal insulation arrived and I spent all afternoon fitting it to my all-in-one brewing pot. This should improve the thermal efficiency and temperature stability during mashing. Didn’t even look out the window today.