Post 266 A strange and sad day

There was a line of cloud over the Hills this morning. Perhaps an omen.

It has been an extraordinary day on many fronts. 

I had a wonderful 2 hour phone conversation with my friend Deirdre in Lismore, NSW. We have been friends since high school and remain on the same wavelength. There was a lot to catch up on and the time flew by. Somehow we get to the things that really matter.

By the time I got off the phone, South Australia's Premier had announced the end of our lockdown from midnight Saturday. The exercise and dog-walking restrictions have been lifted immediately. There were three more positive cases today and still more expected. What has changed is the admission by one of the original contacts, that he lied to contact tracers. Rather than buying a pizza from the transmission hub, he had in fact been working there as a chef. The contract tracing has been highly effective and swift, but the level of contagion from that hub was a major factor in the lockdown. While this gives contact tracers another whole set of data to collect, it is no longer the level of contagion feared.

This has, of course, caused both rejoicing and recrimination. From midnight on Saturday we go back to our previous level of restriction - 4 square metres of space in restaurants, 100 at religious gatherings, 10 in homes, etc etc. My Sunday morning book club is back on. 

I'm really grateful that our State government has been open and upfront about this. It is terrible that businesses and workers have lost money and been restricted, but good it has been curtailed in the light of this information. It's also good that our contact tracing has been so professional and thorough and based on the best available information. Presumably the lie was related to how legal the employment arrangements might have been - and that needs to be addressed in a number of ways. 

I haven't, to date, discussed Covid arrangements and the debates around them in this blog. This extraordinary development  dominated today to such an extent I couldn't ignore it.

Within, it seemed, minutes of the announcement of the lifting of the outdoor exercise ban, there were people walking and riding in the parks, beaches and streets - but keeping distance and mostly wearing masks. The traffic, however was very quiet for a Friday night.

While following the developments throughout the day I finished the Stag. I'm pleased with this piece. I tried it where it is to go on the chair, along with the Rabbits piece of the same size.

I have started on the Oak Apple Tree which is to go between these two pieces. Once this is done, and these pieces attached, I am only left with the two pieces ordered for the back of the chair- and any gap filling required.

This was where this post was going to end. There was, however, further unexpected, un-ignorable development. 

Jennifer's partner, Susan Monks, died unexpectedly this evening. She had been admitted to hospital earlier this afternoon and had a fatal heart attack tonight. Jennifer was with her. She is, understandably, distraught.  Susan was an extraordinarily intelligent and capable woman and educator. 

It has been the worst possible year for Jennifer. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.