Wistful

A common theme of my dreams for many years has been the slow crashing of cars, usually involving busy streets or car parks and a vehicle ever so slowly careering into or just missing another despite having untold amounts of time to stop it. Nowadays these dreams involve luggage and possessions being transported from A to B in a slow-moving car that crashes. Last night’s included a guest appearance from my sister who was assisting with putting bags in the car.

Voos internacionais suspensos. ‘International flights suspended,’ was the title of an email I received from a travel agency in Mozambique today. I’m settling in for the long haul in the UK and at this point if I arrive back there in August I’ll feel glad. Expectations are having to be managed.

Today was spent on a gruelling project proposal and budget. A minor interlude was discussing the forwarded ‘viral’ message Gugs received from her dad, containing obvious coronavirus inaccuracies. This one claimed ‘no vegetarian is effected [sic] by CORONA. Corona requires animal fat in body - WHO’. She had to pause before responding so as not to launch into a tirade. I am positive vegetarians feature within the death toll, and let us not forget that humans are animals whose bodies already contain ample fat.

I eventually escaped for a walk, which wasn’t my most scenic of routes. This little street is named Covent Garden, which always makes me chuckle, although here there are no street performers or artisanal soaps at ten quid a pop. For the walk I fuelled up with a Yorkie bar, which I think we were all supposed to boycott years ago after a sexist advertisement. However the chocolatey satisfaction speaks for itself.

As I neared the house, I walked past three teenage girls who were discussing the fact that one of their younger brothers might be gay. ‘He literally doesn’t hang out with any girls’. Another lad was referenced who ‘didn’t come out until he was about 15’. It brought me untold joy that in Cambridge, 15 could be seen as comparatively late to come out. I broke into a big smile at how quickly generational experiences have shifted on this topic. 2020 isn’t providing much cheer, but this is something to be happy about.