Gogglerocks

Just when I needed a little lift, she came back into my life once again.  Yes, Debbie Gibson was on this week's episode of Top of the Pops 1989 to remind me of my Electric Youth.  (A little quip for fellow Debsters there).     

It looks like we'll all be staring at screens more than normal over the next six months and, to be fair, there are more options around than I realised.

I mentioned in my last post that Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody was about to perform a live show on Instagram. And he did just that.

If you missed it and don't hate Snow Patrol, you can watch Part 1 here  and Part 2 here. 

I do like that boy. 

Since then, I've discovered what - to me at least - is a new phenomenon called Zoom.  (I appreciate that you probably knew about it long ago).  

It's that Skype type thing that people have been talking about which enables you to be in a "virtual pub" (as long as you have beer in).  

Last night we tried it with friends (the kids had Pepsi Max).

And much fun was had.  Other virtual pub trips are already in the planning. 

And Rock the Lockdown has just started on Facebook, "spreading the love though the joy of live music from amazing artists performing your very own front room festival."

It runs today and tomorrow and, if it's good, is bound to be repeated.

You can watch it here. I'm just about to.  

Snow Whites

Three days on from choosing to resurrect this guff as a means of chronicling events/relieving boredom, and my mood is already fluctuating.  This is hardly an original observation, but everything - literally everything - feels so surreal.

Charlotte was invested into Cubs on Monday evening (that's her second from the right).  She found Brownies a bit dull and sees Cubs as more challenging.  All good, apart from the fact that Monday's gathering was likely to be the last for goodness knows how long. 

You'll be aware that the school closures were announced today.  That has removed any chance of the kids' extra-curricular activities carrying on.  Right decision, but highlighting that we truly are heading to a bizarre place.

Glastonbury was cancelled today.  Yesterday it was the Grand National and also the North West 200, which I was due to travel back to Northern Ireland for until Flybe collapsed.  That happened two weeks ago which already seems like an age.

An increasing number of our friends and their families are now in self-isolation.  It is surely coming our way too although, having worked at home for more than five and a half years, I'll barely notice the difference other than the fact that the kids are around.

Work wise, I am still very busy and likely to remain so given the need for communications in times of crisis.  Many others have not been so fortunate and that breaks my heart.  Other than people avoiding illness, I hope the situation gets better much more swiftly than envisaged for their sake so they can get back on with their lives.

However, in the midst of all the doom and gloom, the day is drawing to close on a mini-high.  (Be assured that my ramblings over the coming months will always seek to be positive).

You may have heard that, earlier this week, Coldplay did a live gig on Instagram.  I have an Instagram account but have never used it.  I didn't know you could put live videos on there

Then this morning I heard that Gary Lightbody, lead singer of Snow Patrol and proud son of Ulster, will perform a live acoustic set on Instagram at 7pm tomorrow.

As well as knowing nothing about Instagram, I'm also a technophobe.  But tonight I had a dabble and, to cut a not particularly interesting story short, I worked out how to connect my laptop to the telly and we're good to go to watch tomorrow night's gig.  (Don't laugh, either because you obviously know how to do that or you hate Snow Patrol). 

I suspect lots of singers and bands will follow the new live Instagram show trend in the time ahead to lighten the mood as we all hunker down.  At least the Whites can now be part of it.

Aye, Corona

This is my generally well-stocked beer fridge.  You may note that it contains a lonely bottle of Corona, which I just can't bring myself to down.  I've had various thoughts about what to do with it. 

I could just drink it.  Glug, glug, job done.  (I might follow it down with a Guinness.  Currently 15 for a tenner at Morrisons, I have plenty in).   But then I thought that this might represent an opportunity wasted. 

I could keep it until this dreadful coronavirus mess is behind us, before cracking it open in celebration.  However, it has a sell-by date of June 2020 and it seems that the end will not be with us even then. 

I could just keep it as a reminder of what looks almost certain to be a particularly grim time for us all.

Or - my current favoured option - I might just carry it with me when braving the shops and use it to bash people who insist on filling up their teetering trolleys with stuff they don't need. 

To be fair to the good folk of Guiseley, there doesn't seem to be quite the level of selfish stupidity here compared to some other examples I've seen on social media. 

Needless to say, soap is not plentiful and you have as much chance of seeing an available bottle of hand sanitiser as you do of spotting Paul McCartney at the meat counter.  But most essentials are available and I'm yet to encounter a single scrap over a niche shade of bog roll.

The general mood in the town, as it was in Leeds and Bradford city centres when I was out and about in recent days, is definitely eerie, a little edgy but also good-humoured.

Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago if I felt scared about what may lie ahead.  I explained that I'm from Northern Ireland, nothing scares us and don't be so bloody stupid.

That's not to say that I dismiss how serious the situation is and could become.  Unlike many armchair "experts" who have felt the need to comment, I watched the entire 45-minute UK Government news conference on Thursday featuring a scarecrow (aka our Prime Minister) and two men who actually are experts. 

I've long been well aware that I know very little about even less and if there's someone, somewhere who seems qualified to offer a better informed opinion than mine, then I'm all in.  The nation's Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer clearly come into that category.  In contrast, Boris Johnson is and always will be an idiot but at least he's chosen to defer to greater minds on this occasion.  For the sake of the nation, let's hope he sticks to this approach.

When I stated this blog almost 12 years ago, it was intended to be a diary for the kids to look back on, as well as a channel for me to keep myself occupied between nappy changes. 

I've therefore decided to put a bit more time into it for the next few months.  My plan is to document how we Whites go about the challenges that lie ahead, whilst breaking my personal boredom in the likely absence of a social life.

I hope that's OK with you.