Dreaming towers… Frangokastello in Crete
Monday March30: Among the Covid-19 debris are plans for a Cretan family holiday. We’ve been going 40+ years. 2020 would’ve been 3 generations with grandson. I try to push away images of mountains, sound of flisvos, big horizons, wild flowers, goat in the pot, icy Amstel, ferocious raki. Might look at later dates but post-virus there’ll be mass migration, prices soaring.
… Walked to Sainsbury’s. Queued. No explanation but couldn’t change my mind as I’d have to squeeze back down the line. Eventually, doors opened. Picked up veg, juice, loo rolls, muesli. Still amazed at idiots scanning shelves with no sense of people round them. Many had facemasks covering their mouth, unaware how many orifices access the lungs.
The toll: 1,415 dead, up 180 from Sunday
Tuesday March31: Glimmer of hope, deathtoll dropping over the last three days, snuffed out by big rise, including healthy kids aged 13 & 19. Another 381 dead
Wednesday April01: Late to bed after too much Grouse. Considered a day in bed but we can’t get too sloppy too soon.
… Walked. Little traffic but many drivers see empty roads as a racetrack.
Deathtoll rises by 563 to 2,352
Mood music… lockdown digital folk gig
Thursday April02: A 6-week-old in Connecticut died. Also, 78-year-old Large half of comics Little & Large. My friends & family fall between those ages.
… Mooched, unmotivated. Lots I should do but I can’t be arsed. Neighbour knocked to say they were off to an out-of-town store and did we need anything. Very kind.
… Recycling collections are cut to fortnightly. I’m crushing cans and keeping bottles til last so they compress papers and packaging beneath.
… These are terrible times but it does bring out the doomsday prepper in me. I enjoy the challenge of a crisis, forward planning, weaving around problems. Helps pass the time, too.
… Neighbour dropped off most of what we needed. They wouldn’t take money which annoyed me as I don’t like owing.
… Out late afternoon. Bought masks from the semi-fortified chemist and, holding my breath, plunged into the warren that is the village store for eggs & hummus. Turned for home as a guy doubled up, coughing violently, strands of viscous liquid dancing from his lips. Then he spat repeatedly.
… Left eggs outside for next door, sat on forecourt for a sundown Harvey’s. Trawling my phone I found Babis, who runs the Coral Shisha Lounge taverna in Crete, hosting a Facebook watch party with Cretan singer-guitarist Emmanuela Chiotaki. Folk music mingled with the evening song of birds on TV aerials around me. In this time of death it was a weird and magical moment.
Disco fever… or cabin fever?
… Daughter Skyped. Grandson dancing wildly in a dark living room crazy with disco lights. The terrible twos could be made more terrible by lockdown.
… Later daughter sent grandson videos. Instead of fuzzy blond hair we make do with fuzzy video clips.
… Stepped out in the early hours. Half moon brilliant, mountains visible. And perfect glorious silence.
Deaths up 569 to 2,921
DANNY LANCASTER, what readers say…
▪︎The Wreck Of The Margherita: ‘If you like Child/McNab, you’ll absolutely enjoy this’ – FREE ebook!
▪︎Death Squad: ‘Action aplenty… Great stuff, packed with thrills and spills’
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▪︎Godlefe’s Cuckoo: ‘Unlikely hero, baddies, lust, unorthodox DI, writing’s a joy’
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