2021 will be remembered as COVID 19 “year two”. However, like any other year it has had its ups and downs. The moment that stands out for me was when I got a phone call from our son, Declan, to say he was safely in Sydney. He had been given a seat on a repatriation flight from Bangkok. The relief and joy of knowing he was now in the same country was unbelievable. He still had two weeks of quarantine in Sydney to face before we could catch up, but that was just a blip when compared with the months he had spent trying to get back to Australia.

His original flight in May 2020 was cancelled and so began the tortuous process of  booking flights and then being notified of cancellations. In fact, he was about to give up trying to get to Australia and was in the process of returning to Dubai when he was informed about the possibility of repatriation flights being commenced from Bangkok.  He informed his father but suggested it be a secret from me for the time being. He was hoping to arrive back, do his quarantine and turn up as my birthday surprise. Unfortunately, he missed out on the first flight but was in quarantine in Sydney for my birthday- the best present possible.

Declan has spent the last sixteen years working in the Middle East as a University lecturer. When he's not working, he spends time in Thailand and visits us regularly, but Covid19 restrictions impacted his ability to visit us and of course, we could not leave Australia. Normally I am not worried about his wellbeing, but these last two years have put a different slant on things. Prior to this pandemic I was confident that we could visit him if needed and vice versa.

Declan is remaining in Australia at present.  I am enjoying the fact that all our children are presently in the same state and just a two to three hour drive away.

I know this will not last as he will return to Dubai to work when Universities resume face to face teaching.

Whether life will ever return to normal remains to be seen, but at the moment I am     
                
"Carpe Diem" 


Marg McCrohan
​February 2022


This story was written in response to the topic 'One moment, this year ... 2021' by 'As Time Goes By' class member Marg McCrohan.

Looking over the last year, COVID dominated our lives.  There were a lot of lows - not being able to visit family, my orphan calf dying after spending months caring for her.  The grandchildren missed having graduation ceremonies, presentation balls and birthday parties, not forgetting the little ones unable to socialise or play in the park after enduring months of home schooling.

However, the highs were numerous too.  We did spend Christmas in 2020 and 2021 together, having a brief break in lockdowns.  We did manage short trips between lockdowns to see friends.

It was a wetter than usual spring and summer, so we planted a vast vegetable garden.  It was a huge success and we picked peas and beans, tomatoes and cucumbers, squash and zucchini, and gave lots away.  The corn was amazing and parsnips, which are notoriously hard to germinate, thrived.

The spring flower garden was our best ever, the bottlebrushes were weighed down with red brushes, and the camellias flourished in the wetter, cooler conditions.  The iris garden which we had worked on for years was an amazing rainbow of pink, blue, purple, yellow and white.  I waited with interest to see how my newly purchased bi-color irises would grow.   Lots of photos were taken to remember this special season.

The pair of thrushes who have nested in a flower pot on top of the hot water service on the back verandah, hatched three chicks.  I was lucky enough to be watching the day they hopped on the lip of the pot and took their first precarious flight.  One made it to the garden shed roof, another got as far as the tree line beyond the back fence, but the third only made it to a bush close by.  It paused, recovered, and followed its mates.  Rain was threatening.  I worried about them out on their own.

The biggest high was at the end of lockdown when our two grandchildren from Melbourne arrived for a visit.  A five and seven year old who love the farm.  From the moment they walked in the door they were at home. 

Thomas had missed his birthday party and I had promised to make a birthday cake on their next visit.  On the way up his mother phoned to remind me, so I hastily made a marble cake, iced it with lashings of chocolate icing and sprinkles.  The cake blowing ceremony was held, seven candles on a separate cake (due to COVID rules), and a huge amount of cake devoured. 

The calves were inspected and the chook house visited in search of eggs.  Peas were ready to pick and pod.  They learned this quickly and were a great help.   

It was a lovely visit.  Caitlin summed it up beautifully by announcing that she was lucky because she had a home in Melbourne and a home in Benalla.


Margaret Nelson
February 2022

This story was written in response to the topic 'One moment, this year ... 2021' by 'As Time Goes By' class member Marg Nelson

​Well here I am in Lockdown number six,
All the jobs are done, nothing else to fix.
I’ll order up an extra case of red,
And stay another hour in bed.
Soil’s too soggy to dig or feed,
And unless it’s fine I can’t weed.
Writing and painting - I can do that,
And yell at the telly, or talk to the cat!
No visitors allowed is Daniel’s plea.
Without technology, where would I be?
My hair is growing out of control -
Might have to get out the mixing bowl.
Let’s hope the idiots stay inside
And to the rules they do abide.
​
Betty Milligan
Creative Writing
August 5, 2021

One moment stands out like none other.   It was the day We reached over seven hundred Covid Cases in Melbourne. 
 
We had a real pandemic on our hands.   Not a little, let’s play pandemic; this one was real.   I listened to Brett and Dan announce a huge Shut Down in Victoria--that if we did not shut down, we could end up like the US OF A or England.  
 
I must admit that the Covid Crisis affected me more than I thought it would.  It was like an invasive blanket sitting over everything I did.   There was danger out there and I had to admit I was scared.
 
I was on my own at home during the shutdown, just communicating minimally outside the home, mostly with shop assistants.   Well, the Moment went on for quite a long while.  One moment in time which stretches, even now, into a huge moment of fear and faith and security in the decisions people make.  
 
Facing almost certain death began to impact me as if there was a War.   I am of that lucky generation who has never experienced War, but I imagined that the Covid Crisis was a bit like a War.   In a War: Peace is dependent upon the actions of other people.  Mostly, other people!  But I had a role to play to remain safe and follow the community rules.
 
Fear that we would not do the right thing.   Fear that some fool would carry Covid into our Community.  Fear that some unknowing carrier of Covid would accidently spread the virus into our lives.  That someone I love may get Covid.  
 
Interestingly, my fear was a controlled fear.  The logic of the whole situation being examined every day.   Okay; stay home; stay safe.   Wear your mask.   Do not touch other people.  Listen and watch the numbers and instructions every day.   Simple! 
 
I accidently touched my Dentist this morning.  He handed me something and I accidently touched his hand.  I felt us both pull back.   We do not do that any longer.   He gave me some hand sanitiser to use which I was glad of.   We talked of Covid, because despite the Vaccinations we are still experiencing the effects of the year of Fear we lived in.   We both agreed; we have a way to go yet before Australia is safe.   But generally, people feel we will never be safe again.   Not just Covid, something else will develop.  
 
Family members returned to Australia to live after living in the US OF A for twenty-five years.  They went into two weeks Quarantine and there was an anxiety that perhaps they carried the virus in from the US .   They did not; and after release they headed straight for family and the beach.  They are not going back to the US OF A.  Or anywhere else, for the moment.
 
So; the doubters; the conspiracy theorists can pooh pooh my fear.   But it was my fear.   And it was my caution which has kept me home and being very careful during the Covid Crisis in Victoria, in Australia, in the World.  The figures speak for themselves.   And I will continue caution. 
 
So, this is not my normal ‘happy chappy’ write.  It is a form of therapy; a confession to being totally scared of Covid.   And to talk of the respect I have for the Australian population who worked to control the Virus.   And the lack of respect I have for the people who maintained it was not true.   Mind you, I think around 2% of the population always insist upon saying and living the opposite of other people.    It seems to give them individuality and they are entitled to their opinion, particularly as 98% of Australians have worked to keep them safe as well as themselves.  

2...

We will need this year and next to find a normal world again.   And then a couple of years for the trauma of Covid to slide into a memory.   In the meantime, stay safe; follow the rules and be vaccinated.   Then perhaps by the end of this year Australia will be smiling just a little more widely than it is now.   We seem to be heaving a sigh of relief, but with caution right now.   A way to go!  Lots of building to do.  Hopefully, a better world will develop as we have all faced the same enemy.
 
 
Helen Duggin
22 February 2021 ​

​The sky is that clear ice blue that only a regional winter can produce. There is a snap- sharp-shiver feeling in the air. It is freezing. 

My arthritic back is becoming stiff with cold as I lie spread-eagled on the bitumen and just gaze up at the pristine sky. I glance over to my left at Trevor a few yards away.  Trevor is also prostrate on the bitumen. He says, “I remember once I had a holiday and the sky was a bit like this colour”. Beyond Trevor I can hear the signal bells of the rail crossing as the morning passenger train heads down to Melbourne. The train is almost empty. If I squint a bit without my glasses I can see, on the other side of the rail crossing, the Great Northern Hotel, now closed and reduced to a takeaway. How sad.  I remember some good times there. 

Traffic on the Midland Highway is light today and mainly consists of small trucks, delivery vans and the odd car or bus so the fuel fumes don’t worry us much. A stray police car slows and has a good look at me and Trevor and all the other eighteen masked persons lying on the basketball course in the cold clear early August morning. 

It surely must look like a massacre from the police car. Or some futuristic terminus of geriatric junction. Or a movie set.  But they move on.
 
“Roll onto your right side and bring your left leg up and cross it over your right”. Okay, okay! Much grumbling, groaning and silently mouthed expletives as all twenty of the Senior Exercise Class attempt to change position on our mats--- on the bitumen--- on the Benalla Netball Court--- in mid-winter---in the early morning. Dedicated die-hards we are and all determined not to enter into aged care in the foreseeable future. If there is a future. 

The Covid 19 pandemic that is devastating the world is having an impact here in Benalla (almost at the bottom end of “the world”).  We are about to go into stage 3 restrictions of the Government mandate on health protection from this deadly virus that will change our world forever and I have to confess I don’t want to miss one surreal moment of it. This is our last class. Previously we were adhering to stage 2 restrictions which meant we could not attend our gym indoors and have been using the netball courts to achieve the “social distancing” rules that go with maximum gatherings. 

Well that was a good thing you know. We discovered we did not need a gymnasium building with the walls lined with mirrors. Most of us are around 70+ years of age and who needs a mirror that often at this age. If any muscle is going to ‘ripple’ we take that as a miracle not an aesthetic compliment. So our class engenders a lot of laughs and if you can still laugh at yourself well you know you’ve made it to ‘graceful ageing’ with some degree of sanity. The freedom to bounce around the court with plenty of space, great views and fresh air pumping in and out between squats and lunges gives us a sense that we are not redundant yet. We can enjoy the moment. 

But back to change of position ---on the mat ---on the bitumen ---with the left and right legs a tangle as one tries to work out left and right upside down in reverse or whatever. What a view! (Not us.) Out there. Beyond the footy oval there are the gorgeous blossoms of early spring and the cattle which prompts continuous commentary by the farmers amid our group. Sometimes it is so foggy in the early mornings we can barely see each other and, apart from the laughter or groaning, our steamy breaths are the main indicators of social distance. 

This class is “do or die” for me. I cannot imagine anywhere the setting could be more perfect. Where else but Benalla in August 2020.


​Judy Perry
August 2020

​Two wild ducks are slowly crossing the deserted main street in Goorambat. There’s no hurry as there’s no traffic. This is a regular morning excursion for them and portrays life in a very small country town in our second lockdown during this pandemic. They are going to the Hotel that is closed.

With the highly infectious Covid 19 virus worsening in Victoria a “State of Disaster” has been declared.  In regional Victoria we enter another six weeks of stage three restrictions. There are only four reasons to leave home; a medical appointment, brief shopping, work or study and exercise.  We can’t have anyone visiting our homes. On Sunday afternoon there were joyful cries as two women friends met accidently on the footpath.

Life on my corner block has become very quiet. I have only one neighbour who lives behind his seven foot fence. The park and the empty Hall are on the other side and the grain silos opposite.
​
The tourists who thronged our small town viewing our silo art, no longer visit. There is no one admiring the bright eyes of Millie the barking owl who adorns the full length of a tall concrete silo. No eager tourists with cameras and drones record the lifelike painting of the three working draught horses on the silo opposite my house.

The New South Wales border is closed. The empty V/Line bus that now runs from Yarrawonga and connects with trains at Benalla swishes through the town six times a day without stopping. No one waits at the bus stop, no one gets off. The radio plays the rhythmic beat of the song, “Living in a ghost town!”

Passing the local cemetery I see the stark reality of the pandemic; a funeral where the only mourners are five men in navy suits standing distanced from each other around a freshly dug grave.

A rumble on a rough patch of road heralds a truck going to the silos. Any activity over there has become company. The sound of wheat being loaded onto the truck is of welcome manmade origin!

The most positive experience is collecting our mail from the post office.  Here those who are living alone have contact with other people. We smile behind our masks and greet each other with enthusiasm. Our postmistress radiates good cheer from behind her safety screen.

Bird life is restricted by human activity. With no one around varieties and numbers have increased and the bird song is beautiful.  Brightly coloured parrots lift our spirits. A friendly honey eater is already conning me to share the coming fruit harvest.

Now that we have “Time,” we have no excuse to procrastinate.  All those tasks that we have pushed aside can now be done.

In my quiet corner of the world, peace reigns. This day is mine to mould as I wish. There is no pressure, there’s nothing I have to do, but so much that can be achieved. Friends and family have become even more important. Although they are far away I can sit down with a coffee and the phone for a pleasant interlude.

When I was very young I promised myself that someday I would spend some time alone. In later years I completely changed my mind.  Be careful what you wish for! That time is here; right now.

We look forward to better times to come. 

Beverley Morton
August 2020

This story was written by Beverley in response to 'As Time Goes By's' August topic - 'Right Here, Right Now'.  Thank you, Beverley, for agreeing to share it in the newsletter and on the website.

​Victoria’s regional Stage 3 restrictions began the day after we emailed our August Newsletter.  This photo, featuring Easy Walks group members, mandated masks in place, was taken by Wendy Sturgess at Winton Wetlands on Wednesday 5 August, their last walk for at least six weeks. ​

After this ‘final interim Easy Walk’, group member Andi Stevenson, shared this post on her Facebook page -

“So many thanks to U3A Benalla and District & those who kept things happening in our period of partial freedom; Bushwalks (Wende Sturgess & Marg Walshe) - Bird-watching (Kathy Costello) - the picnic - and the rest! And to those who will keep things happening as we dive back under (oh blimey Creative Writing is next week - where's the pen...)”

Hear, Hear!

Many members are, within the limits of Stage 3 restrictions, touching base with others through phone and video calls, socially distanced and masked care visits and lakeside walks. 

Our Secretary, Geraldine McCorkell, has been keeping in contact with members in outlying regions as well as those who are not able to travel into town, making sure they are coping with the current Stage 3 restrictions.       

Margaret Walshe forwarded this photo of U3A member Shirley Vickers, who turned 92 on the 25 August, on the newly completed ramp which allows easy access from her front door.  “Shirley was so excited she attached balloons and invited me to view it from the street – ‘Social Distancing’, of course”.    

Media Team - Bev and Heather
From ...Covid Musings, September newsletter
​Photos:  Wendy Sturgess and Margaret Walshe

It seems some of us are becoming - often by necessity and not always without feelings of frustration - a little more ‘tech savvy’ during the corona virus break.  

Judy Amery:  “I’ve been using my mobile phone to help me to practise Recorder, recording the alto line, then playing it back and accompanying it with the soprano line.  I’d only just joined the Recorder group when Covid-19 hit and I’m really missing it”. 

Wendy Sturgess:  “I’d been a bit resistant to using Zoom on my PC as I had to have it rebuilt fairly recently.  I decided to join a Zoom meeting a few days ago when a family member’s funeral in the United States was broadcast using Zoom.  I will keep using Zoom, but on my old iPad, not on my PC.”  

Barry (and Pamela) O’Connor: “I’d like to break my IT at the moment!  We are continuing to have constant dropouts.  It’s very frustrating, particularly when I get immersed in family research and the internet drops out… We do use Zoom for family meetings and celebrated Pam’s birthday recently on Zoom.  Our car club – the North East Mini Owners Group - normally meets at the golf club in Benalla on the first Monday of the month with an attendance of 24 to 30 people. Since Covid-19 we have been having a monthly Zoom meeting of around 6-8 people who have good internet reception and the skills to use Zoom.  Pamela has regular Zoom meetings with other volunteers in the St Vinnie’s welfare team.  Pamela said it’s fine, ‘as long you have a clean top on’!”

Heather Wallace: “I’m using Facetime more with the family instead of the phone, and I’ve learnt to use Zoom now for quite a number of things… I must say though that I’m getting a bit grumpy with the media increasingly forcing us to pay for digital subscriptions which can be quite expensive up front…”

Len (and Rae) Jeffers: “I’ve been vegetating pretty much, U3A wise… no Zoom meetings! Rae’s taken over the secretarial role at Probus so I’ve been working to adapt the U3A data base program to suit their needs.  Rae is doing German with Pauline and Horst and has been doing lots of homework.   She’s also keeping up with Recorder practice, though apparently waits until I’m out of the house!  We’re still riding our bikes every day.  We had to take a mask today. We don’t have to wear it when riding, but I had to put it on when I went into the Post Office”. 

Bev Lee “I blocked someone on Twitter!  I became suspicious when a ‘new follower’ message popped up shortly after I’d retweeted tweets reflecting my concern about the ABC cuts.  When I looked at the person’s account their posts were very derogatory about the ABC.  They had all the hallmarks of a troll…  I certainly didn’t want them trolling my posts!  I found a video in twitter’s support area which helped make blocking the person easy to do.  Nipped in the bud!”

Les Rodgers: “The Microsoft software on my computer keeps upgrading overnight, so it seems every other morning there’s a problem to be solved, such as the computer not talking to the printer and so on… Something else faintly technical… I decided to bring technology to bear on my tomatoes this year. My total crop last year was three tomatoes after the predators had finished, including birds, fruit fly and other nameless invaders. This year I am adopting an automatic drip-fed hydroponic system in my shed, under high powered variable led grow lights. Hopefully, the fruit fly won’t know about my shed and the birds and others are excluded. I also have a head start as my shed is frost resistant.  I have two varieties, one a green tomato which is eaten green and another more conventional red one.”

Also heard around the traps –
“I sold something on Benalla Swap and Sell on Facebook”
“I’ve begun to make voice calls over Facebook Messenger.””
“I’m thoroughly enjoying exchanging video calls with my grand-daughter using my iPhone”
“I purchased a dozen bottles of local red online using Benalla’s new Buy from Benalla website”

Did you know that our website has a search-box?  It is at the top of each page and in the footer.  With the website containing content added since 2015, it’s a great way to find something you are looking for.  Also at the top of each page in the blue menu is the label ‘FB’, which takes you directly to our Facebook Page.  Why not ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ us on Facebook?  


Beverley Lee - with thanks to Judy, Wendy, Barry (and Pamela), Heather, Len (and Rae), Les, (and a few ‘anonymous others’), for participating!

​'Are you coming for a walk,' Bill asked.
Just give me a few minutes,' Ellen replied as she went into the bedroom. Picking up her hairbrush, she ran it through her unruly grey locks. She still wished she had nice manageable hair. Bill didn’t seem to mind that she kept her hair short making it more controllable.
 
With her hair looking slightly tamed and ensuring the back door was locked; she waited inside the front door saying ‘I’m ready.’
Bill slowly and stiffly got out of the armchair and approached his wife. Ellen opened the door and stepped outside, holding the door open for Bill.
 
They walked companionably along the footpath, commenting on such things as the empty drink cans and bottles that were discarded by uncaring people, or the fronds that had been blown off the palm trees by the blustery wind the previous night.
 
When they reached the park, they stopped by the edge of the lake watching the waterfowl. Ellen would always notice if any of the ducks with unusual markings was missing. They would both be concerned, especially in the duck-hunting season. They knew culling was necessary, but it wasn’t fair to the ducks. Surely they had a right to life too.
 
As they walked past the tennis courts, they watched energetic young people playing, running this way and that, in an effort to hit the ball back over the net. In their youth they had played tennis with friends and neighbours, now they were all parted by distance and death
 
Walking along the park pathway by the water, meeting people, smiling, nodding and greeting strangers was part of the enjoyment of the day as was ‘having a go’ on the exercise equipment. They would count their movements on each apparatus and were pleasantly pleased if they reached the goals they set.
 
Further on they sat on a bench seat to absorb the serenity of the park and have a little rest before continuing on their way.
 
Bill sometimes picked a rose for Ellen. This was not allowed in the park, but Bill loved to see Ellen’s delight when he gave her the beautiful flower.
 
On returning home one or other said ‘I’ll put the kettle on for a cup of tea.’
 
Today Bill said ‘Are you coming for a walk,’ before realising Ellen was no longer there. He rose stiffly from the armchair, opened the front door, and sadly walked to the park.
 
It was a sunny winter's day by the lake but only a few people were out walking. Those who were in the park stayed well away from each other. The unused tennis courts looked forlorn. The exercise area was quiet and empty. Striped red and white tape surrounded the equipment with an official sign saying ‘Closed.’
 
Even sitting on the park bench was out of bounds. Bill picked a pretty pink rose for Ellen, but he could not go to the cemetery to place it on her grave. That was ‘unessential travel’. Life had changed and all because of Corona Virus.֎


Elizabeth Kearns

This story was written and shared as part of the Creative Writing group program during the Covid-19 break.  Thank you for agreeing to share it in the newsletter and on the website, Elizabeth.

​These musings first appeared under 'Wine Appreciation'  in the June Newsletter..

Reading through the newsletter in late May while adding reports to the website, I noticed Film as Literature and Let’s Talk Books class members had shared news of films they have been viewing and books they have been reading while in social isolation.  With no report of planned visits in the newsletter for Wine Appreciation, a somewhat quirky question sprang to mind… “I wonder what Wine Appreciation members have been drinking while in isolation?”!  I decided to make a few calls…

My first call was to Margaret Jenkins… “What do I have in the fridge?   Tarzali Reisling 2019… because I like it!   It’s good to have a bottle in the fridge in case friends call in.  Also, Tarzali is the first winery I visited when I joined Wine Appreciation”. 
 
My next call was to Wendy Sturgess, “What do I have in fridge?  Point Leo Estate Pinot Grigio.  I tasted, enjoyed and bought some when I took my sister there just before the lock up.  It’s a beautiful drop.  Hopefully, I can find someone to enjoy it with me”. 

Next, Marg Walshe… “What wine am I currently drinking…?” (…sounds of Margaret going to the fridge)… “Cofield Provincial Parcel, Beechworth Chardonnay, 2015. I was given it by lovely neighbours recently.  It’s rather a nice wine, very smooth, with ‘rich flavours of citrus and apple, a complex texture and a crisp palate’.”
 
Ray O’Shannessy responded, “I’ve been drinking Gapsted Pinot Grigio which I bought at a recent Wine Appreciation visit.  It’s very nice, I’m enjoying it very much.”  

My final call was to Keith and Heather Rodgers, convenors of the Wine Appreciation group.  “What are we drinking with our meal tonight?  Mudgee Creek 2018 Shiraz.  It’s a lovely red, we only drink nice red!  Life’s too short to drink cheap wine (Keith adds in the background ‘and white wine’).  The alcohol content is 14% which is good…that’s 8 standard drinks in bottle.  It’s fairly powerful.” 

I asked Heather about any plans for future group visits to wineries … “We don’t think it’s worth arranging visits until we can enjoy sitting at a restaurant together.  We’re not interested until the situation is back closer to normal.  It might be a couple of months.  We’re not interested in social distancing when we are meeting to have a social occasion.” 

In the meantime, other Wine Appreciation group members are, like Margaret, Wendy, Marg, Ray, Keith and Heather, highly likely to continue appreciating wine while ‘in isolation’.
​
Beverley Lee - with thanks to Margaret, Wendy, Marg, Ray, Keith and Heather for having a chuckle when asked the question!

"I’ve just heard on the news that the GDP figures will be released tomorrow.   Headlines of ‘Gloom’ and ‘Doom’ about percentage losses in paid production levels resulting from the corona virus pandemic abound. 
 
Musing from my armchair, with a glass of ‘buy local’ wine bought through the new on-line ‘Buy from Benalla’ website beside me, I wonder about the accuracy of the GDP figures in terms of truly measuring production.  An example used in Economics classes rings in my ears – if a person employs a paid housekeeper, GDP will increase;  if they go on to marry and not pay this housekeeper, GDP will fall, although household production will remain the same. 

COVID-19 regulations have clearly resulted in an increase in household production, production which is not paid for and therefore not included in GDP.   Meals and coffees purchased in restaurants and cafes, which were included in GDP, are largely being produced at home.  Office space is now being provided by households; children are being mentored if not taught at home.  Videos and books which were sitting as ‘stocks or inventory’ are now being viewed; tasks previously in the too hard basket being tackled which will make future life operate more efficiently and effectively.  Clothes are being mended, or produced; old projects completed, new projects around the house commenced and so much more. 

While sales of the materials needed to complete production by households will go up and be included in GDP, the labour involved will not. Not being able to use our cars will mean that GDP as reflected by petrol sales will fall, even factoring in the reduction in petrol price; while at the same time there is a benefit in the reduction in pollution and green house gas emissions.
 
I wonder if some economists will point out that GDP figures are flawed in not measuring household production, which will clearly have increased during the COVID- 19 hiatus, and that it is possible to develop imputed values for this production.  I very much doubt that this will happen.  So, when I hear commentary about the GDP figures tomorrow, while obviously concerned about economic recovery, I will be taking some of the hype with a grain of salt! 
​
“Armchair Economist (name supplied)”

It was a sunny autumn day as I walked beside the lake,
The exercise area was empty due to the corona virus outbreak.
Red and white striped tape issued a warning, that using it is banned.
All restrictions put in place are much the same across the lands.
This curse called corona, or COVID 19 to use its scientific name
Has spread its invisible tentacles as it plays its lethal game.
Few  now  walk  the  streets  without  some  justification,
As  everyone  must  do  their  bit  to  stop  this  infestation.
We must practise social distancing and be aware of good hygiene
Sanitizing or washing hands with soap and water is a safe routine.
For those in nonessential jobs we must stay home in isolation,
But we can all help each other make the most of this situation.
And besides, think of all those nuisance jobs that can be done.
Or get yourself a dose of natural vitamin D, by relaxing in the sun.
Flying solo can get difficult for those who are living home alone,
But there is Skype, Face time, Zoom and of course the telephone.
Now that we are almost through the tunnel, there is light ahead,
The fear is gradually fading and being replaced with hope instead.
So, as I leave the lake behind me and my home is within my sight
I believe we’ll have our freedom and the world will win the fight.
And all the tapes will be removed as we reclaim our rightful space.
So once again together we can meet and mingle,... and embrace.
 
 
Betty Milligan

This poem was written for Creative Writing,for publishing in the newsletter and is included in Betty's Stories in 'As Time Goes By'

“It is perhaps tempting to sit around wondering and worrying rather than getting on and “doing”.  I had a thought about how to keep active and shared it with my Film as Literature and Creative Writing classes.  This is what I thought: keep to a routine that matches as much as possible the routine I would normally follow.
​
For me this means:

• Walking the lake for as long as it is allowed each weekday morning (the Monday walk replaces the U3A exercise class; the others are part of my normal routine)
• Monday afternoon do something around writing.  On the second Monday this involves a Creative Writing class activity; the other weeks involve writing for the Memoir Writing class, other writing or doing an online writing course
• Tuesday afternoon watch a film.  This is the time that I am usually ushering at BPACC.
• Wednesday morning once a month was U3A Play Reading, so I will sit down and read…and not feel I should be doing something “more productive”
• Wednesday afternoon knitting at the library is replaced by either a knitting project or an online knitting class to learn new skills (or other craft class).  On the second Wednesday afternoon I will follow a plan for keeping the Film as Literature class operating.
• Thursday is a little less clear as it was the day my husband and I would go out somewhere together, but we can still plan to do something together during the day at home
• Friday was shopping and lunch with friends – we still need to do some shopping, but add catching up with friends and family via phone/email/Facebook etc

 
By putting this plan in place, I am sure that I can keep mentally and emotionally active and happy.  There are obviously other times when I will be writing or involved in a myriad of other activities, but it provides a starting routine to work with.  I feel that routine will help me through.”
 
Joy Shirley convenes ‘Creative Writing’ and ‘Film as Literature’, a member of groups including ‘Exercises for Fun’, ‘Play Reading’ and ‘As Time Goes By’ and is also a key person involved in organising ‘Benalla Rugged Up’, Benalla’s yarn bombing event now in its third year.

Do you remember the polio epidemic in 1949—50, or previous flu epidemics before vaccinations were available?    They were worrying at the time, but nothing compared to the present pandemic, made even more frightening because of the frequent TV updates, and no available vaccine.

I clearly remember the polio epidemic—most people knew of someone who caught the disease and become crippled, or worse, ended up in an iron lung to enable breathing, or even died. The people were advised to avoid crowds.

My most vivid memory is of my first day at Benalla High School. Our family had just returned from a beach holiday on the Saturday,  for the start of school on the Tuesday. I duly went off on the Violet Town school bus with my local state school friends who started that day, decked out in my new uniform and hat.

When the bell rang, we assembled in the quadrangle, and it was announced that anyone who had not been at their residence in the last two weeks had to stay away from school for the next two weeks. This was scary to a shy little country girl! There  were a few others from Violet Town and we had to fill in the day wandering the street and gardens till bus time at 3.30, then go back on the bus with the other children.  So much for isolating us from the others!

Another two weeks at home! Fortunately the local headmaster felt sorry for me and set some maths and English for me so I wouldn’t get too far behind. Eventually I restarted at Benalla High School, but the others had had their intelligence test and were allocated their form and their sports houses.

Not an ideal start but I got going.

It was much later before a vaccine was produced.  Salk, an injection, and later perfected to a syrup, Sabin, which was successful.

Hopefully a vaccine for COVD19 will soon be available.

Margaret Nelson
March 2020                                                      ​