Cancelled

"Cancelled*" is probably the word we hear and read the most these days - everything is being cancelled, from hairdresser's appointments to pub quizzes, from small birthday parties at home to stadium-filling events.

Up until yesterday, I was determined to have my party. The guest list had already shrunk to about six or seven, and it was planned from the start that this time, my parents would not be at the party; instead, I had intended to have a traditional coffee & cake with them, my sister and O.K. on the Sunday.
After much reading and discussing things with O.K. and my family, finally today the voice of reason has prevailed, and I have cancelled both events.

View from the German Literature Archive, Marbach, across the Neckar valley last Wednesday - probably the last time for a while that I have gone there for work.

View of Marbach as the train was carrying me back to Ludwigsburg.

Another view of Marbach and the river Neckar, as seen from the train. It was such a beautiful day!

Looking back at the past week, I guess a key moment for me was when I read that my home town has cancelled its historical Horse Market, an event that has been held for more than 250 years, and was cancelled only during the worst of the war years. Things must be REALLY serious when something as big as this won't take place, especially as the decision has already been made although the event is always in May, not in another week or two.

Mr. and Mrs. Stork preparing the nest for their little ones. They are not doing anything different because of corona!

We saw this during a walk on Sunday afternoon in O.K.'s area.

All around me, people have been withdrawing from face to face or physical contact with others; some have decided early on to work from home. Schools, libraries, museums, many hotels - all closed. Exhibitions, conferences - all cancelled. Trains are still running mostly on their usual schedule, buses have switched to the schedule usually in place during school holidays. Bus drivers open only the back doors and have stopped selling tickets; if you need a bus ticket now, you have to by it ahead of your trip, either online (most people nowadays use an app on their mobile phones for that anyway) or at a ticket machine.

Restaurants have to shut at 6:00 pm. That is the one measure I do not fully understand; what use will that be? Restaurants that can not guarantee a distance of 1.5 m between one guest and the next have to shut completely. 

Shops are still open, but I imagine it is a question of time until they will either decide on their own to close, or be ordered, unless they are supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries and so on.

Nobody is in danger of starving - there is PLENTY of everything in the shops, except for - you guessed it - flour and toilet paper. I still wonder why the rush for both; yes, I understand that people are preparing for maybe not leaving the house for a while, but will that increase their need for loo rolls that much? And do they seriously believe they will bake their own bread with all that flour? Apart from people who have already been doing that, I simply don't see the hoarders starting it now - especially since, as I have said, there is plenty of food available.

I want my Mum to crochet or knit loo rolls for me as a birthday present!

As of tomorrow, I am exclusively working from home. I am fortunate in that I've been WFH regularly already for years, so it is not a big change. My job can easily be done without personal presence; I can communicate with my clients via email and telephone. At the moment, it is impossible to say for how long; it is unlikely that I will return to any client's office before April.
My main reason for resorting to this is that I depend on public transport for the trips to and from work. My parents (especially my Dad) are in the high risk group, and are not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary (which it isn't right now). Therefore, they depend on my sister, who does all their shopping, and I want to be able to help when I can, without having to worry about carrying the virus to them after I've caught it on public transport or at the office.

We are all experiencing changes in our lives due to corona, some more, some less so. I am not worried about my own health and will not stop going for walks and the occasional run; fresh air and exercise won't do any harm. On one of the official government websites with information about corona I have read the sentence "Every personal contact less is helpful." 

Good job we can stay in touch with our loved ones - and our blogging friends! - without risking infection!

* After Bonnie's comment - see below - I was unsure about the spelling of "cancelled". As you know, English is not my native language. Therefore, I looked it up, and learned that my spelling is the British version, while Bonnie's is (hardly surprising!) the American one.