Hello everybody, here I am from the lockdown zone
This is the first time I am writing a blog, so please forgive any mishaps and other amenities. I was prompted to write as I found myself inside the lockdown zone in Lombardia, Italy, luckily in my beautiful country home, rather away from all urban life and other forms of what I consider civilisation. It’s been circa two weeks since coronavirus first appeared on the Italian soil, after one good month of warning from China, which I am afraid no one here took too seriously. We in fact had a government concentrated on power games, the opposition concentrated on various forms of destructive behaviour, the general public in total denial (skiing holidays and aperitivos being the most frequent forms of denial explicitation), the ‘experts’ busy on how to extract most money and fame from the situation, and various other idiots compounding the scene. We experienced as in China rapidly escalating numbers of infected people and subsequently rapidly increasing numbers of dead people, although thanks God for the vast majority it was patients with other serious medical conditions who suffered the worst fate. Even dummies now know what is logarithmic growth.
It started off with the initial spread in a hospital in a small town south of Milan. It later became apparent that there were two different protocols in place for how to deal with the typical Coronavirus patient. And so it was that it took quite some time for the first patient to be identified as such and in the meanwhile this hospital was transformed into a massive Petri dish, and the town of Codogno became the first virus hotbed in Italy. Being northern Italy the most productive and active region of Italy, characterised by high mobility due to work relations, before one knew, the virus had spread to quite a number of other less known but nonetheless productive small towns.
At the time I was in a remote ski resort at the border with Switzerland, not so many Italians, but really many people from northern and eastern Europe there. I thought it would be unwise to take the runs which necessitated using a closed ski gondola, so I had become a pain to my partner who was a bit more relaxed about this, and was choosing my skiing itinerary based on the prospect of using only open air chair lifts. After a while I stopped skiing and stayed home. Eventually the virus spread got worse and tourists started cancelling their holidays not so much for fear of catching the virus there, but mostly due to the fear of being quarantined once back in their countries of origin. The ski resort got progressively empty. Bar and restaurant owners increasingly depressed. And I got very bored and restless especially because it had started snowing heavily and being locked up in two rooms was not my idea of heaven. I even started having visions of my bum sagging due to inactivity. ‘Figures’ as they say in Milan.
So at the first chance I escaped. I bought a first class train ticket and travelled in splendid isolation to Milan. It took me three days home in Milan to prepare for my final escape. I loaded my car with books and clothes and SHOES and travelled to this country house in the middle of Pianura Padana, the large Po Valley, in Lombardia. I arrived here last Friday, and found that on the same day in the nearby houses a few couples of elderly people had also arrived to run away from ‘the plague’ and stay safe.
Milan in the meanwhile was living a schizophrenic moment with people wanting to prove that life goes on. ‘Milano non si ferma‘ was the logo of the day for a few days. They even printed trendy T-shirts with the logo. Images of youths drinking outside bars along the city’s canals dominated Instagram and made their way to the papers. Parents decided to take their kids for a skiing holiday to the Alps or even better to the nearest beaches in Liguria, thanks to the good weather. Photos of packed ski resorts and beaches also appeared on the national media and eventually someone alerted our Prime Minister.
On Saturday evening the news that the government was going to declare Lombardia a red zone, in lockdown, was leaked to the press. As usual I kept my wits, and decided that there was no point running away from here because the virus would spread anyway from here, and that if I were to catch it, I’d rather be treated here than in some hospital in the south were corruption, nepotism and incompetence might be present, or even in London where BloJo is now determined to let the virus run amock among the population.
On Saturday night a few people called to check on my well being. My mother in Rome was unwiswly having a dinner party at her home. She seemed very happy though. A British friend called thinking I would be rather upset by the developments but was happy to find me in very good spirits and suggested I started a blog to communicate with the rest of the world what it is like to those who will get to this point later. And so thank you Anna for goiving me this idea. And thank you Sheila for helping me set this up.
Ski resorts were shut. My partner who had decided to remain in the ski resort was left with not much to do but listen to the news all day. I am happy here, with books, garden, netflix, cooking and the elderly neighbours. It feels a bit like a holiday for now. I ration the amount of news and do not look at the stock market. I concentrate on good things. I might even see the Clematis bloom. Last night the whole of Italy was put in lockdown and there are rumours that it might get worse, with only food stores and supermarkets allowed to stay open.
I will report to you news from the lockdown also known as the red zone. They say it will be until April 3rd. Sperem as they say in Milan, let’s hope so.
