A Very British Plague

A nation of eccentrics reacts to the unprecedented

We’re an odd lot, we Brits, there’s no denying it. What other people will avoid their compatriots when on holiday abroad because they’ve ‘heard them talk’? Who else could cram so many regional accents and dialects into a country smaller than most American States? Who other than the British can stand at the same bus-stop, with the same people, for ten, twenty or even thirty years and never exchange a word beyond a laconic ‘Morning’?

So, of course, we handle Covid-19 with the same approach. Not with proud, stoic, uncomplaining compliance, but with cheerful grumbling, dark humour, an acknowledgement that we’re all in this together and a bloody-minded determination to find a way to enjoy the experience!

Podcasts proliferate, some serious, some light-hearted, others completely bonkers! The same goes for Instagram, Facebook and Youtube postings. Postmen deliver letters dressed as Spider-Man, Postman Pat and even Darth Vader. Grandparents master Skype, WhatsApp and a dozen other platforms and apps in order to see and talk with beloved grandchildren. Virtual Sunday dinners, birthday parties, boardgames, pub quizzes and play-dates are all happening. But that’s just the day-to-day stuff.

People who haven’t spoken for months are getting in touch “Just to make sure you’re OK”, anything from long-lost relatives to far-off exes. People who’ve been taken for granted for so long are now an object of genuine concern.