Coleus and Covid

Here are a few of the coleus plants on the back patio. I don't know why I don't grow these more often. They're easy as pie and really beautiful. We have three pots of them and I'm really happy with how they've turned out. Apparently they're related to nettles!

I have a little more time this morning, so maybe I can write an actual blog post. I suppose I could sit down the night before I post and write something more thoughtful, but for me this is part of my morning routine -- as much about the process as the result. I would miss writing in the morning if I didn't do it. It's a quiet activity to start my day, gives me something to do while I enjoy my coffee, and it helps me gear up my brain.

Some of you might be wondering how we're doing in school with Covid. The answer is, we're not really sure! Last year the school sent out alerts when anyone tested positive, and close contacts of infected people were required to self-isolate for ten days or so to make sure they didn't pass it on. Thus, we had some sense of the infection rate. This year, all of that's gone by the wayside. If someone tests positive they're not even required to tell the school, and there is no isolation of close contacts. I think we've basically decided that vaccines have to do the job. (Which appears to be consistent with the UK's national policy for schools.)

Just yesterday I had a kid come to my desk and return some books, and as he handed them to me, he said he'd been absent because he had Covid. I don't think the risk from touching books is very high, but I sanitized anyway, the minute he walked away! It was more for psychological than physical reasons.

I feel sort of fatalistic about it all. I'm taking sensible precautions, I'm washing my hands and for now (as long as the school requests it) I'm masking. (The masking may go away, though, as it has in UK state schools, and even at our school I often see groups of unmasked kids sitting and talking together.) I also take regular lateral flow tests. Overall, I have confidence in the vaccine. I realize there's a chance I could catch Covid anyway -- and I have vaccinated co-workers who came down with it -- but I guess that's just our new reality, unless and until the vaccines get better.

It's a brave new world.

Out and about in London, people are still supposed to use masks on the tube -- but I'd say at least half don't, or don't wear them correctly. Masks are no longer required in shops or public spaces, and although you still see them, many, many people have stopped wearing them. Sometimes I put one on to go in a shop and find I'm the only one who's masked.

Another co-worker told me yesterday that a concert we'd planned to attend last year -- which of course was cancelled -- has been rescheduled for later this month. So, soon I'll be at a rock concert! I have mixed feelings about that, but I'm going to take the plunge. (The band is Elbow, and the concert is on the 22nd.)

I guess what it comes down to is -- and I've said this before -- we just have to live our lives, and life involves some risk. The trick is to minimize the risk while returning to some semblance of normalcy. I think we're finding that balance, but time will tell.

Well, I didn't intend to make this whole post about Covid, but it's still on all our minds, right?

I found this walking home from work yesterday. It's just a bit of cardboard printed with what looks like a mid-century abstract painting. I Googled it but nothing came up, so I'm not sure what it is -- but I kind of like it.