Walks

Season 1.3: A walk amongst the COVID-19 landscape in Ireland and remembering what Lockdown meant for us all.

Walks with Bowie, Walks with Plant.

On the path, on the road, on the path. Your turn, my turn, i’ll skim the verge as you go around. Just to be sure, to be safe. Sure they didn’t try at all - let’s cross here.

And no need to look, hasn’t been one for a while now, must get the bikes out, must just get out. Sick of going out. Will we go out?

The weather is good, it’s dark isn’t it? It’s colder than it has been, getting warmer now I think. That went fast didn’t it? What’s on?

And your one is on again with more numbers. And HSE Green, and that yellow, and high vis on everyone with their dogs in the park throwing balls with the old neighbours, the new co-workers, the new small talkers;

Comparing breeds and agreeing that they did well didn’t they? Sure, they’re doing what they can. What are they doing at all? What will they do next? What have they done!?

And what they wouldn’t do for a pint, for a gig, for an auld song. Just to see their mates, to have a cup of tea, with gran, with dad, a moment up close, a hug… just a hug, one last time maybe.

Sure go on, it’s Christmas.

Just one before we are gone, before they are gone. How can they be gone? I can’t remember the last time. What if this is the last time. That’s no way to go. By phone. They might let the family in - but we know it’s going to be no.

Because everyone knows. Despite it all, we know. And those that really do know - like Tony¹ or Philip² or Ronan³ and the projections and words of woe.. the predictability of it all - the dead certainty that just doesn’t wash well, with the public, or the girls, or the lads, the shoppers, the farmers, the drivers, everyone…

All those people that they know - like Leo⁴ or Micheál⁵ or Regina⁶, holding it down before she gets the chop - before we all got the chop - before it got too long - it is too feckin’ long, or too short now with locks of brown and grey dancing across the lawn and littering flower beds that have never seen a better day.

And the cats and dogs that have never known a moment away. Chasing balls in the morning, at lunch, after work - chasing balls again? The poor cats and dogs that can’t get away.

And we all send a link and a password. Protecting our privacy and our kitchen backdrops, or stacked bookshelves, or funny filters in virtual meetups, virtual meetings, virtual parties, virtual fights, virtual breakups, virtual rebounds.

Working out how to do it. We all do it now. Click here. Just to be there when they need you, when they marry, when they are born, when they finally let go. Life and death in widescreen, high definition, LCD.

Checking on the CDC and JHU and counting absolutely everything; steps, meters, attendees, minutes, pennies for pints and every positive case, every meal, everybody in the room, and who is who’s friend or server or taxi driver or delivery guy.

And it doesn’t matter who you are you’re a contact - count ‘em - and are they close? Or where are they? Did they travel? Can they travel? I can’t believe they are still travelling! I’d love to travel.

And I can’t even leave my country, my county, my house, my room, my husband, my situation. I can’t leave the lights on, I can’t get the shopping, or a job, or a delivery time - I can’t get through to Eir⁷ - I can’t hear you - you need to turn the microphone on.

I can’t believe we are here at all.

And not one minute more than the 40 minute pay wall. Eyes can’t take any more. I preferred it when we didn’t need to call at all. And tea breaks in the kitchen to get away. Resting our eyes on our timelines. In a scroll hole, in a twitter storm, in a comment thread, cancelling the next sorry soul.

Cancelling plans, bus passes, tickets, careers, whole calendar years - Subscribing to every single thing that I can do within these four walls - and cancel that too.

And will we go for a walk? And look at all their gardens, and the houses, and the empty roads - and hear it all getting quiet and loud again. And wasn’t it so quiet then? And isn’t it so loud now?

And I hope you are doing well. I thought I’d send you a letter. We sent everyone a letter. Everyone got letters. And gifts, to you, gifts to me, to ourselves because of it all. Because we deserve it.

Hang in there.

Maybe go for a walk.

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Thank you so much for reading my work. It means a huge amount to me to have even 1 minute of your time, let alone the attention needed to read and understand these words. If you like what you see tell other people about it - it is the absolute best way to support me and my work and I would appreciate it hugely.

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Read more from Season 1…

This is the first season of Notes and Noises. If you liked this (or didn’t) why not take a quick look at some of the other posts in the series:

1. At Breakfast

2. By the Pier

3. Walks

4. A Cracked Thing

5. Loose Changes

6. Away

7. The Castle Garden

8. Out at 4pm

9. Box of Rain

10. Pulling at the Surface

11. The Best Version

12. Can You Describe It?

13. Bulb

14. A Break in the Sun

15. People Person

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1. Dr. Tony Holohan, Chair of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and chief medical officer at the Department of Health.

2. Prof. Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group

3. Dr. Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer in the Department of Health.

4. Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland 2017-2020, 2022-2024.

5. Micheál Martin, Taoiseach of Ireland, 2020-2022.

6. Regina Doherty, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, 2017-2020

7. Eir, one of Ireland’s main telecommunication providers, who during this period were under pressure for the quality of their customer service.