The Koonzt/Camus Thread (for writerly solidarity during a time of plague)

[Rich.]

We're planning a massive party when all this is over. Latin blood, even by association, makes you want to dance. My kids boogie to this one several times a day...

 

[KateESal]

As for the kids and I, our world has become very small, defined by the walls of our apartment. It's hardest on them (they're 3 and 5). They need to run, and we're gonna need new beds for all the jumping on them.

Rich, why don't you and your guys join our PE classes? Our wonderful PE teacher, Mr Borthwick, has created a Youtube channel with indoor workouts and fun to keep everyone moving. Our school is from age 2-18, and he's put sessions up for all ages, including adults. They're proving very popular with our kids!!

Andrew Borthwick

This channel is for Elian's School children to continue accessing their PE lessons whilst at home..

www.youtube.com

Also, our splendid Reception teacher, Mr Luke has created a set of lovely videos for his class, which you can also access for your older one, if you like (for English teaching....if yours are only following the Spanish curriculum, might not be so useful...)

Luke Reynolds

www.youtube.com

 

[Barbara]

We're planning a massive party when all this is over. Latin blood, even by association, makes you want to dance. My kids boogie to this one several times a day...

Pipe that onto a shop floor and everyone will buy lots. No, hang on they do. I'm off to the farm shop in the hope they have vegetables.

Thank you for posting that one. I needed something to banish that Jungle Book song from my head.

 

[E G Logan]

From today's Art Newspaper


Do remember they can’t cancel the spring © David Hockney
"David Hockney is currently in complete lockdown in Normandy, where he has been since his last exhibition opening. But he is still producing beautiful things, which he wanted to share with us (Art Newspaper) as something positive."

 

[Rich.]

Rich, why don't you and your guys join our PE classes?

Brilliant, we will check this out. Thank you!!!

David Hockney ... is still producing beautiful things

Wonderful. We could all do a few more beautiful things right now. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Barbara]

There's an estate near me where the kids have started to do front window decorating according to a theme. Currently the theme is 'hope'. Lots of rainbows. April's theme will be 'spring'.

 

[Rich.]

Odd thing: Today they disinfected our village. Groups of cleaners wearing full hazard suits driving dumper trucks with 400 litre barrels of chlorine and bleach (some mixture of which we are told is safe). The civil guard came through beforehand and told us all to close our windows (or at least they told some of us; some, now angry, people missed the message).

#livinginamovie

Beautiful thing: Conference calls between five-year-olds. Pure chaos. Utterly hilarious.

#screensandscreamsandrockandroll

 

[KateESal]

My 10 yo daughter's videochats have been driving me slightly insane, mainly because not all of her friends are as organised or tech-savvy as she is, so the arrangements she makes don't always come to fruition as she'd like.

"Mum, I can't hear her...."
"Mum, how do I invite someone else?"
"Mum, she can't hear me..."
"Mum, can you WhatsApp her mum to tell her I'm calling...?"
"Mum, why isn't she answering...?"

etc.

 

[Hannah F]

Song lyrics (I can't do the giving you the video thing):
"Tell me, how hungry are you, how weak you must feel; as you are living here alone, you are never revealed" The Queen and The Soldier, Suzanne Vega.

"We all play the game and when we dare to cheat ourselves at solitaire" at Seventeen, Janis Ian

 

[KateESal]

Here's a song...kinda apt and also

RIP Kenny Rogers, another legend gone.

 

[RK Wallis]

I hadn't heard, just been listening to him today...

 

[Webbwalker]

This has been in my head for days.

 

[Rich.]

The Mighty Boosh! Oh, you've made my day posting that.

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

I think so too. Tonight, at 10 o'clock, we're all going out on our balconies to applaud Spain's medical staff. That's been just one of the beautiful bits of solidarity doing the rounds.

On Wednesday 25th March at 19.30, all the church bells are set to ring in solidarity with the medical teams etc. We are supposed to light candles in our windows. (We don't have a window that anyone could see, so I shan't bother, but I'm looking forward to the bells).

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

 

[KateESal]

We heard last night that one of our colleagues - who also happens to be my daughter's teacher - has been hospitalised with covid-19. Yikes. Apparently, she's doing well, so hopefully she'll make a full recovery.

Scary, though. Made us raise the domestic threat level a bit higher, but we all seem to be fine so far.

 

[Rich.]

It brings it home when people we know contract the virus, doesn't it? It is scary.

Looks like they're extending the lockdown here in Spain until April 12. Strange days.

 

[Leonora]

W

It brings it home when people we know contract the virus, doesn't it? It is scary.

Looks like they're extending the lockdown here in Spain until April 12. Strange days.

We're a couple of weeks behind you. Soon be joining you I don't doubt.

 

[Rich.]

Yeah, I imagine so.

 

[Ancora Imparo]

Hope your village is okay, @Rich, after the spraying. I hope it does some good.

 

[Rich.]

It's a ghost town today. The local government put out a message on Friday evening, here and in around 20 villages across La Sierra Norte, asking us all to stay at home this weekend no matter what, including essential travel. The implication being the authorities are worried that people from the city with second homes out here will come and spread the virus, despite the fact that such travel is banned.

But tomorrow is Monday, so at least then we'll be able to get in some groceries.

In brighter news, I took a punt and introduced my boys to the first Harry Potter film. They're 3 and 5, so I was a bit worried it'd be too scary. Well, they absolutely loooooooooved it. It was real magic to see their reactions. That JK Rowling's a clever old soul, I tell ya.

(Next job will be to turn them on to the books, though I'll have to wait a bit for that. My eldest is just beginning to show interest in longer stories, but little'un is still firmly in picture book land.)

 

[Barbara]

asking us all to stay at home this weekend no matter what, including essential travel

Wow.

I took a punt and introduced my boys to the first Harry Potter film

Are they now running around the flat with a broom? Might be useful.

The ice cream van has just driven past my house. I guess he's helping people self ice-olate.

There has been call for ice cream vans to stock basics like bread, milk, eggs etc, for the elderly. Not sure it's a good idea.

 

[HayleyG]

I thought this was an interesting article. I agree that none of us can possibly have the perspective yet to write a COVID-19 novel (but I bet a few bad ones get written in an attempt to cash in on relevance)

Instead, I thought that now is the perfect time to write about our life prior to the pandemic. I think we are all getting more perspective on that every single day.

Someday, We’ll Look Back on All of This and Write a Novel

Writers are taking notes on the pandemic, says Sloane Crosley. But now’s not the time for your coronavirus book.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I don't mean to sound cynical, though I am being opportunistic, by observing that with so many people self-isolating there has to be an increase in readers. It's a real "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" situation. More books will be sold, including eBooks, so why not take advantage of a literally captive audience?

 

[E G Logan]

Going back to the Beautiful Things posts, again from Art Newspaper, there is a remarkable video of an art installation, a HUGE lightshow -- not unlike the Northern Lights -- intended to celebrate St Patrick's Day, that lost its physical audience and is now online. Very much worth seeing.

"Savage Beauty, which would have drenched a five kilometre stretch of Connemara mountain in shimmering emerald green and sapphire blue light, was cancelled due to the ever tightening coronavirus regulations—along with almost all the current programme for the ill fated Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture."

Savage Beauty | Light Artist Kari Kola

www.karikola.com

 

[Robert M Derry]

Unfortunately, this is all I have going around my head at the moment:

 

[CageSage]

More books will be sold,

More people are downloading books, but the majority of them are hoarding holding onto their money - who knows what the future will be? So they hold onto the reserves they have, download free books, and wait for 'the end' - whatever end it turns out to be.

 

[Geoff]

Just woken up, and strolled out into the garden, the overnight frost has given the grass a silver coating, the air smells better, with fewer cars on the road. Above me a blue, pure blue sky, no vapour trails, no aircraft pollution. I have stories about people being able to see the bottoms of once polluted rivers and canals, due to the reduced numbers of motorised boats using them. The world is still there,and doesn't take long to resurface, when it gets the chance. Maybe time, once this has passed, to rethink things.

 

[RK Wallis]

Well, they absolutely loooooooooved it. It was real magic to see their reactions. That JK Rowling's a clever old soul, I tell ya.

yay!

Maybe time, once this has passed, to rethink things

If only...

but chicken sales are going through the roof over here! I only hope people do the right thing by them.

 

[KateESal]

Mother Nature is making the most of this opportunity...the birds are much louder than usual where we are and plants are growing where they didn't grow before.

We humans should take a lesson from this, methinks.