Everyone gets their shots
20 June 2021
After six months of almost normal activities and the vaccination campaign gathering momentum, we start to think maybe we are on the way out of the pandemic. There are some backward steps however.
For my 50th birthday last year Jay had planned a surprise weekend in Sydney. It was cancelled because of COVID so we replicated it this year. Most of the activities were still a surprise for me. We stayed near Circular Quay. For Saturday lunch we took a water taxi to Rose Bay and then a light plane to the Hawkesbury River for a degustation lunch. Saturday night we had dinner at Quay with a great view of the bridge.
On Sunday we had lunch with Beau. It was great to see him after the long period of not being able to travel due the pandemic. Sunday night we went to the outdoor staging of the opera La Traviata. I made an album of photos from the weekend online.
Travel was still quite risky because of the on-going series of outbreaks and local lock-downs. For the Easter break we went to Sorrento. We were very lucky with Summery weather which was unusual for so far into Autumn.
My cousin Amanda was there at the same time so we had the opportunity to wish her a happy Easter and drink coffee together at the new Portsea Life Saving Club.
The rowing club had worked hard to get people involved again after the long enforced layoff due to COVID. As well as regular social rowing, we went to the bowls day when the club competed against the Spikers volleyball team.
Even more of a contrast from the lockdown was our first time in a crowded club in more than a year when we went to Brown Alley for Think n Juicy. The venue was at 50% capacity but it still felt more like a return to “normal” than anything else in the last months.
The plum trees behind my parents’ house had been completely stripped by possums again this year. We aren’t allowed to harm them as they are a protected species. I have been trying to discourage them from climbing into the plum trees at night and have now decided to give up on any further work after the video camera set up to see what happens at night showed a possum ignoring the lights and climbing astride the spikes.
Derek had bought us two experiences for Christmas. The first of these was a bee-keeping tour. It was surprising how productive the hives were: the frames filled with honey were several kilos each.
As the days became shorter and cooler the national anaesthesia conference was held in Melbourne. Because of COVID it was held online, so despite many of the speakers being local, I didn’t even get to travel as far as the MCEC conference centre. In any case, the MCEC was being used as a vaccination centre.
By the end of April, all our immediate family had received at least one COVID vaccination. We visited Sorrento again at the start of May. It was a little cold for much swimming, but we spent time at the beach taking video using the drone Jay had bought for my birthday. We did some circuits from Sphinx Rock and also at Montfort’s Beach. The beaches were close to deserted, so we didn’t have to worry about the requirement not to fly the drone over people.
Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival and the Pride march were moved later than their usual January dates. We participated in the Pride march with the rowing club in May. It was surprising that there was still a good crowd of spectators despite the late Autumn date and the official discouragement from gatherings in the street. The parade participants were all registered for contact-tracing in case there were COVID cases.
During the Autumn, changes were made to our street to make it function as a pedestrian precinct, especially on the weekends. The street has been painted and furniture and plants added. The changes end at the edge of our garage, so our use of the street is not much impeded.
By mid-May I was feeling very burnt-out at work and realised I had worked every week but two over the last 16 months. Typically I have five weeks off each year so it wasn’t surprising that I was struggling. We booked a week off in mid-June and planned to visit Lord Howe Island, knowing that any travel plans would be subject to a lot of uncertainty.
Soon after there was another small outbreak in Melbourne. The accompanying restrictions lasted long enough to make the trip to Lord Howe Island impossible, so we will try to reschedule it for later in the year. We still took the week off work. There was a small benefit from the outbreak for me: the requirement for wearing masks meant that the reaction to Efudix the dermatologist had prescribed for my lip and nose was concealed.
Now we are crossing our fingers for the West Australian border to reopen to Victorians before our scheduled trip there in late July. If not, we might try for Lord Howe Island again if the NSW border is open or failing that another trip to Sorrento.
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For my 50th birthday last year Jay had planned a surprise weekend in Sydney. It was cancelled because of COVID so we replicated it this year. Most of the activities were still a surprise for me. We stayed near Circular Quay. For Saturday lunch we took a water taxi to Rose Bay and then a light plane to the Hawkesbury River for a degustation lunch. Saturday night we had dinner at Quay with a great view of the bridge.
On Sunday we had lunch with Beau. It was great to see him after the long period of not being able to travel due the pandemic. Sunday night we went to the outdoor staging of the opera La Traviata. I made an album of photos from the weekend online.
Travel was still quite risky because of the on-going series of outbreaks and local lock-downs. For the Easter break we went to Sorrento. We were very lucky with Summery weather which was unusual for so far into Autumn.
My cousin Amanda was there at the same time so we had the opportunity to wish her a happy Easter and drink coffee together at the new Portsea Life Saving Club.
The rowing club had worked hard to get people involved again after the long enforced layoff due to COVID. As well as regular social rowing, we went to the bowls day when the club competed against the Spikers volleyball team.
Even more of a contrast from the lockdown was our first time in a crowded club in more than a year when we went to Brown Alley for Think n Juicy. The venue was at 50% capacity but it still felt more like a return to “normal” than anything else in the last months.
The plum trees behind my parents’ house had been completely stripped by possums again this year. We aren’t allowed to harm them as they are a protected species. I have been trying to discourage them from climbing into the plum trees at night and have now decided to give up on any further work after the video camera set up to see what happens at night showed a possum ignoring the lights and climbing astride the spikes.
Derek had bought us two experiences for Christmas. The first of these was a bee-keeping tour. It was surprising how productive the hives were: the frames filled with honey were several kilos each.
As the days became shorter and cooler the national anaesthesia conference was held in Melbourne. Because of COVID it was held online, so despite many of the speakers being local, I didn’t even get to travel as far as the MCEC conference centre. In any case, the MCEC was being used as a vaccination centre.
By the end of April, all our immediate family had received at least one COVID vaccination. We visited Sorrento again at the start of May. It was a little cold for much swimming, but we spent time at the beach taking video using the drone Jay had bought for my birthday. We did some circuits from Sphinx Rock and also at Montfort’s Beach. The beaches were close to deserted, so we didn’t have to worry about the requirement not to fly the drone over people.
Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival and the Pride march were moved later than their usual January dates. We participated in the Pride march with the rowing club in May. It was surprising that there was still a good crowd of spectators despite the late Autumn date and the official discouragement from gatherings in the street. The parade participants were all registered for contact-tracing in case there were COVID cases.
During the Autumn, changes were made to our street to make it function as a pedestrian precinct, especially on the weekends. The street has been painted and furniture and plants added. The changes end at the edge of our garage, so our use of the street is not much impeded.
By mid-May I was feeling very burnt-out at work and realised I had worked every week but two over the last 16 months. Typically I have five weeks off each year so it wasn’t surprising that I was struggling. We booked a week off in mid-June and planned to visit Lord Howe Island, knowing that any travel plans would be subject to a lot of uncertainty.
Soon after there was another small outbreak in Melbourne. The accompanying restrictions lasted long enough to make the trip to Lord Howe Island impossible, so we will try to reschedule it for later in the year. We still took the week off work. There was a small benefit from the outbreak for me: the requirement for wearing masks meant that the reaction to Efudix the dermatologist had prescribed for my lip and nose was concealed.
Now we are crossing our fingers for the West Australian border to reopen to Victorians before our scheduled trip there in late July. If not, we might try for Lord Howe Island again if the NSW border is open or failing that another trip to Sorrento.
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