Alice, an elderly Salford resident with asthma and heart problems, is already self-isolating and is not waiting for an ‘uncaring’ Government announcement for the over 70s.
‘Should I be prepared to die?’ she asks, as a decade of Government led austerity has deprived hospitals and doctors of funds for such crises…
I’m over seventy, have asthma and heart problems, so should I be prepared to die?
Have you, like me, watched the TV pictures of Italy, Spain and other neighbouring countries closing their borders, their schools and big gatherings, and wondered when we will start to get around to these containing methods, like the elderly will ‘soon’ be asked to stay at home for an extended period to protect themselves.
Yesterday, two things happened which got me thinking...One was a telephone call from Salford Royal Hospital telling me not to keep my appointment today at the Respiratory Department, but to stay at home and isolate myself as much as possible.
The other was a phone call from my son, who has been living in Greece for two years, informing me that his children’s school has been closed and the family can no longer leave their island. A Greek policy to contain the virus...
I decided not to ‘carry on as normal’ and wait to become infected, with the strongest people likely to get the treatment. I know there will not be enough equipment and beds for all the people who will become sick in the next few months. So those in the crisis group, like myself, will be at the end of the queue for these facilities. This means we will be left to die!
The cynic in me believes that this is the policy and a solution to the problem. Let the aged, the sick and the ‘social nuisances’ like rough sleepers, die. I can’t imagine the latter finding soap and hot water to keep washing their hands.
The austerity policy of the last ten years has deprived our public services, including our GPs and hospitals of the cash needed to keep them efficient and prepared for such crises. We are now reaping the results. The Government now cannot solve this problem. Well, I don’t think the Government cares about these vulnerable groups. After all, we are unprofitable.
I read the Salford Star pieces on coronavirus which mentioned how the Salford City Council pages, and even the Salford Clinical Commissioning Group had little information or reassurance on their sites. Did they want to keep us in ignorance? Strangely, after the Star articles, both now have information and brief guidance. Were they shamed into action? Did it take the Star to remind them of their public responsibility? I got my information from the British Heart Foundation pages –excellent. And Channel 4, of course.
So readers, I have my plan. I am now self-isolating. I have my new freezer to fill by ordering online, my books to read and my garden to get ready for its summer blooming. I can talk to friends and family on Messenger and Skype, and I will not be ‘phased out’ by an uncaring Government policy of herd immunity, or whatever it is called today...
A MESSAGE FROM ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND...
Star date: 21st March 2020
‘THE SALFORD KINDNESS OF STRANGERS AND HOW I KEPT LONELINESS AT BAY’
Last week, Alice, one of our elderly citizens, wrote an article for the Salford Star on how she wouldn’t wait for Boris Johnson to act and was going into self-isolation.
How is she getting on and how does she feel about the state of the country?
It’s just a week since I wrote to tell you that I was going to selfisolate and not ‘Just carry on’ and get caught up in Boris’s ‘herd immunity’ or die!
Since that time, there have been some radical changes. Many people have been plunged into anxiety and desperation, with the possible loss of jobs and consequent loss of income, being added to the existing fear of catching this strange virus.
Television pictures of Italy, so close and familiar to many, coping with its sudden increase in sickness and deaths, have been frightening. Whilst a couple of weeks ago some people were saying ‘It’s just a fuss about a cold!’. Now we have seen hysteria and panic-shopping, with many more elderly and vulnerable self- isolating.
The most important change has been that of the Government. It has suddenly caught up with the experts’ advice, adopting a policy of containment and spacing. Unfortunately, testing, which is such an important part of this policy, is still inadequate. Testing kits, like protective clothing, are in short supply, so statistics on infections can’t be monitored and many nurses are working unprotected. There is now a frantic rush to provide these essentials. I need not repeat the criticism of ten years of austerity. Earlier preparation was needed. China gave us an amazing model.
We are now surprised, in fact astounded, to see the Conservative Government acting like socialists. Yes! Money is suddenly ‘growing on trees’! I do want to say I am really glad to see these changes; glad that other political parties are working with the Government and also working with the TUC. What a civilised move. Combining brains and skills is the way to get the best solutions and the best support.
No more cynicism. Let me tell you the positive story of my week’s isolation. I am truly amazed! No day has gone by without a text or phone call offering help. ‘The kindness of strangers’ is very comforting.
My box at my front door has received unexpected gifts including books, a bunch of daffs, bags of tomatoes and, this Saturday, a copy of The Guardian! My sons ensured that I have plenty of healthy food, without denuding any super-market shelves.
How have I kept loneliness at bay? I have phoned or emailed friends in this country and abroad. As I have five grandchildren and four great grandchildren and many friends, this has kept me busy. I have not felt alone. I am now looking into my old phone directory and picking an old friend at random, and giving them a friendly ring.
I have drawn up a simple timetable covering things I should do. This includes walking around the garden with some simple exercises to stop myself getting stiff. Now I have my Big Project. I have ordered seeds and filled every yoghurt pot and plant pot with soil and started planting my future flower garden. When this ‘plague’ is over, I hope to have a beautiful display of flowers and shall invite my friends to a garden party...
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 2
Star date: 29th March 2020
ENJOYING A CEMETERY!
‘It’s now 15 days since I closed my front door and learnt to live alone...’
Alice has now been in self-isolation for over two weeks. Here she applauds technology which allows her to see grandchildren at the other end of the world, and the peaceful local Salford cemetery which allows contemplation of what life is all about.
‘…contemplate what really matters in life…’
I am a person who would be called very ‘tactile.’ That means I tend to touch, pat or hug my family and friends as part of my communication. No longer able to do this means that part of my personality is being restricted. I am sure there are many others like this, who miss the comfort that comes from physical contact. So we must all get better at using kind words as an alternative.
How I love communication technology. Apart from talking to the plants, I talk every day on the phone or computer. When I was a child my family didn’t even have phone; one ran to the red box at the end of the road if it was urgent. Now we can speak to, and see, a person on the other side of the world.
This week I have chatted with a friend in Maui, Hawaii, had a fun chat with 11yearold grandson in Kythera, Greece, and received videos of grandchildren from Queensland, Australia. I am so grateful for this technology. Where there is an elderly person who has not made the effort to learn to use the computer that is so sad and regrettable.
I have learnt so many useful things this way. My American friend tells me that the one shortage of things in her country is guns. I wonder if these people think they can kill the virus with a bullet! Very important was a YouTube video I received that reminded me to wipe down everything that comes through my door. Groceries can be contaminated, and even eggs and fruit should be put under the tap. I now wipe down everything, including books, to be on the safe side. I worry this isn’t being done by everyone.
Being alone has also given me time to think. Having money, a big car, an exotic cruise or even fame does not protect one. The Prime Minister, the Chief Scientific Officer and even a member of the Royal Family are now contaminated. I wonder if the first two have had some regrets about the slow preparation in the planning and buying of equipment, so desperately needed now by our NHS. Leadership should involve advanced planning.
Finally, let me tell you of my perfect venue for my daily exercise walk. I live opposite a church, with its 2,050year old cemetery. This has hundreds and hundreds of graves, all remembering a person who has made a contribution to life. It is silent here, no chattering, no cars, no polluted air, empty of the living but full of birds enjoying the peace. I don’t even have to measure out my two metres spacing.
It is the perfect place to contemplate what really matters in life and, honestly, to come to terms with its inevitable ending...
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 3
Star date: 5th April 2020
22 DAYS IN ISOLATION BRINGS THE BLUES
‘I was so mad that I cried and wanted to shout my despair...’
Alice, our elderly Salford resident in isolation, has been behind closed doors for over three weeks now – and it’s starting to get to her, after an optimistic start. Now, even though the garden is starting to bloom, and that wartime cookery book is being dusted off, the blues have set in. What’s angsting Alice?
I have just completed 22 days living in isolation and, last week, I experienced what I will call ‘Isolation Blues’. This was a change in my mood, which, so far, has been positive and determined to be a survivor. I have listened to the daily bulletins, ever hopeful that there would be announcements to give me hope. What happened to so radically change my mood?
Well! I thought about the NHS and its underfunding over the last ten years (I know I keep reminding everyone of this), and I thought about the nurses and the doctors who have just died from tackling this silent killer. I thought about the parents of the young lad, who could not hold their son as he left this life. I thought of my son’s GP partner, working each day under stress, who returns home to strip off all at the door and decontaminate before she sits for a needed de-stress time.
With building anger, I listened to a long-standing friend who has worked on A&E for thirty years and was due to retire at Easter. She was Wonder Woman to me but, she said that she was feeling afraid of going back to work the next day. Then my anger overflowed for her and the other medics who are working without the safety clothing and the tests which could save anxiety. Of course they are feeling afraid. I was then so mad that I cried and wanted to shout my despair.
Sorry folks, to throw this at you. I think some of you will empathise with my sentiments. However, I know I should also share some positive behaviour with you, so I will now share good times from this week.
...One of these times was when friends came to the end of my drive and did a dance and left me apples, yoghurt and chocolate. Another precious time was when my son, released from his school teacher supervising, brought my food and blew me a precious kiss. Finally, but so, so beautiful was the bursting into colour of my tulips. Buried in the cold soil of November they erupted into beauty during this time of human darkness.
I have done some basic cooking this week. I looked at the pages of a Ministry of Food booklet printed in 1940; a previous time of distress and anxiety. It talked of dried eggs and not being extravagant. It gave tips, like scraping off the remaining bits from the butter paper; 2ozs a week rationing per person, needed careful use. I used the illustrated guidance for mashed potatoes and enjoyed this simple comfort food.
It brought me hope as I remembered we had managed bad times before, have cried, been angry and have come through...
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 4
Star date: 12th April 2020
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Had this dangerous virus coincidently reintroduced something we all need?
Elderly Salford resident, Alice, has been in isolation for almost a month, and after last week's depression at the state of things she now has reason to be optimistic as spring has sprung and there are 'so many generous acts'.
Thinking of the Positives. An Optimistic Viewpoint
It’s now my 29th day of isolation and I am becoming an expert at living with myself and finding things to do and to think about. Last week’s chat with you exposed my angry feelings and disappointment for those struggling, whether the NHS personnel or those grieving
This week has found me looking for things to feel positive about, to counteract depression. It wasn’t difficult. There are creative folk making face screens on 3D copiers in their front rooms, and generous restaurant owners making and packing free lunches for the NHS workers. Oh, so many other generous acts! These positives set my mind on a more hopeful path.
I admit I did have some help from the glorious sun. Its gentle warmth certainly boosted my mood. I sat in my garden and admired my tulips opening up in amazing glory. Within a couple of days, delicate blossom appeared on my cherry tree. There appeared to be more birds and I felt an urge to feed them. There were even a few bees and, to my childish delight, I noticed my little pond had frog spawn. It was spring.
I know this arrives every year but now I noticed it more than ever. What was so startling was the quiet. My road, usually busy and noisy with bad pollution, had reverted to a peaceful lane. I could breathe easier. It was healthier and pleasant.
I felt a change.
Had this dangerous virus coincidently reintroduced something we all need?...a cleaner, quieter, kinder world; one in which we value family and friends; one in which things are less important than health, peace and friendship; a very different world. Maybe this experience is the answer to Climate Change.
With this optimistic attitude I could open my window and look out and forward...
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 5
Star date: 18th April 2020
REASONS TO BE IRRITATED
Elderly Salford resident, Alice, has been in isolation for over a month now, and after last week’s reasons to be cheerful she now has reason to be irritated about tracing and testing for the virus.
But add a spoonful of The Beatles, and even a note from her doctor stating she needs another twelve weeks of isolation can’t stop her imagining...
Now we have a belated rush to test
Time goes on. 35 days. That’s five weeks of isolation and today I received a personal letter from my doctor to say another twelve weeks! Trying, but here’s my grumble for the week...
The news topic this week has been testing. We all understand testing. Tests dominate our lives. Gosh we even test our pre-schoolers to see if they know their colours. We stress with our children facing SATS, their GCSEs and maybe A levels. Then comes the driving test and on and on go tests.
We are experts at tests and we understand what they are for. We know they are necessary for understanding the state of things and to help with progress. South Korea used tests and rigorous contact tracing in its plan to control the virus and it is now the success story of the world.
So why, oh why, did our Government have difficulty setting up a national testing system, to follow the path of the world’s most lethal virus? Gosh even the WHO, or World Health Organisation, advised TEST! TEST! TEST! on March 16th!
It was 12th March when the Government stopped tracing where the virus came from. This was the day before I went into isolation. I thought then ‘Why don’t we need to know where the virus came from?’ To my thinking, testing and then tracing should go together and should have been early steps in the plan. Lives could have been saved this way.
Now we have a belated rush to test, and the prediction is that the UK will have the highest number of deaths in Europe. A daily briefing on the number of deaths is not comforting, and when we hear of the late testing of our health workers we regret, with sadness, that this could have been earlier.
Just to change the sad topic to an optimistic one. Whist I have been chuntering to myself about this, I have also done things to distract myself from the irritation. The answer has been music. I have searched through my old CDs and even antique audio tapes and alighted on some favourites. Top, of course, were from the 60s.
You can’t beat John Lennon Imagine and the Beatles All You Need Is Love, and even Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. ‘Sentimental’. you may think, but listen to the words and be serious and not cynical. Maybe I will play them loud through my window on Thursday evening, instead of bashing away with my wooden spoon on a saucepan.
My final thought this week was to remember Mandela and his 27 years, most in isolation. Then he left to run a country. Why am I moaning?
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 6
Star date: 26th April 2020
A TIME TO THINK
Elderly Salford resident, Alice, has now been in self-isolation for six weeks and this week has been pondering climate change in the hot weather, plus trying out some exotic cooking and banging pans for the NHS...
‘…Anti boredom’ tactics’
It’s six more weeks living with myself, my garden and the world wide web. What would I do without this technology to open up my life and take me around the world? Ever conscious of my mental health I have been thinking with a positive slant this week.
Perhaps my most profound observation has been that, as well as coping with the stresses of this scary virus, we have been experiencing, what seems like, a taste of climate change. Remember the April showers that we learnt about in primary school? These frequent showers and chilly days were the norm. We could rely on this feature and put fluffy clouds and big blobs of rain in our infant drawings. But now we have blue, blue skies and hot days.
It is 25 degrees today [Saturday], normally the temperature of a good summer. We have been able to enjoy our daily exercise walks without an umbrella and benefitted from a good dose of Vitamin D. We are eating our lunch in the garden or on our balcony or outside patch. We shout across the road to other walkers, ‘Lovely day again!’...We usually add, ‘The garden needs some rain!’
We seem to have forgotten that a few months ago houses were flooded, gardens turned into lakes and roads into rivers. That was Climate Change! Today’s quieter roads and empty skies have added to this surreal world. The experts say it is an ‘Anti Cyclone Block’...I guess they are correct but it seems like a welcome climate change to me.
I am brought back to grim reality every day at 5 o’clock when ‘our leaders’ perform the ‘ritual of numbers.’ I get no pleasure from hearing this death toll. My empathy goes to those old persons trapped in care homes, without the security of testing and with poorly paid care staff working without protective clothing. They have been let down, in spite of maybe paying exorbitant fees. Not being part of the NHS has left them vulnerable to abuse and neglect. This must be fixed.
Back to my positive ‘anti boredom’ tactics...I have had a go at creative cooking; making different things and remembering to be healthy. Not always successful but I haven’t got guests so I can eat my experiments without feeling shame. Greek cooking, with peppers stuffed with feta cheese, tomatoes and pesto graced my solo tray this week, with upside-down peach sponge. Sounds exotic but very simple and very tasty.
Finally, each Thursday, I feel good as I leave my house and stand on the edge of my road, with my pan and wooden spoon and enthusiastically raise a noisy ‘THANK YOU’ to the NHS and all the front line workers. This week my friend joined me with her trumpet, which was so incredible and doubled my pride in these amazing people working to save lives...So many things to think about this week!
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 7
Star date: 2nd May 2020
ON MAY DAY, PPE AND SALFORD’S TEXTILE HISTORY
On week seven, of Alice’s self-isolation, she reflects on May Day, PPE imports and Salford’s textile history...“Our skyline was crowded with mill chimneys...which have been replaced now by high-rise unaffordable apartments” she writes, while enjoying the company of teenagers and sampling some unexpected cake.
‘They were inspiring in their enthusiasm for life. They truly added real joy this week, to my lone lockdown state...’
Gosh, it has been a week of serious thinking for me. So much to reflect on, get angry about, be pleased with and grateful for. My mind has worked overtime and I have spent a lot of time on social media. I am pleased also to have you to chat to...
Just to get me on track, I will remind you that it was 1st May on Friday. That’s International Workers Day. We have all been clapping each Thursday for all our special workers. We need to remember them all year round. I did put up my little red flag…just a limp reflection of my inner strong feelings on that day.
Workers all over the world are struggling, as we are; many with fewer opportunities and far poorer. So, why are we buying PPE kits from China, from Turkey and even from Myanmar! Have we forgotten that these countries need this equipment for their own people? Is it the same old story that, ‘If you have the money you can get what you want, without thought for justice!’
Once, and within the lifetime of many of us, the North West was the centre of the world textile industry. We made all the overalls and aprons ever needed. Friedrich Engels, famed for his book The Condition of the Working Class in England, worked in his father’s textile mill in Weaste. Our skyline was crowded with mill chimneys...which have been replaced now by high-rise unaffordable apartments. We have given away our skills again to the profit ‘god.’
Once again I have gratefully received gifts, including an enormous cake, which I was able to slice up and pass on; also bananas; good potassium there! Top was a discussion I had with two teenagers who sat on my bench as I leaned from my window.
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 8
Star date: 9th May 2020
OF ALL TIMES TO DROP A MOBILE PHONE DOWN THE TOILET!
When in isolation, the first rule is not to drop your phone down the toilet...oops!
Now eight weeks in isolation, elderly Salford resident, Alice, tells her story of care home trauma, VE Day trauma...and mobile phone down the khazi trauma...
‘…The final excitement was the delivery of my groceries by my son, always full of surprises’
Hello again. The weeks go by, the sun is still shining and, like you, I am still hoping for better news.
I obediently listen to the Downing Street Bulletin at 5 o’clock. Although the theme this week has been on testing and tracing, I have been distressed by the increasing number of deaths of elderly residents, trapped in care homes without adequate preventive care.
Over eighty percent of care homes are privately owned. This private care service has been a growing sector since the 1980s, as local authorities lost funding. Not being part of the NHS they seem to have been forgotten. They should have been targeted for attention early in the spread of the infection.
As they were centres of vulnerable elderly people, it would have been easy to test all staff and visitors and then trace all infections. They were even left off the list for PPE. This plan would have reduced deaths. The residents were literally ‘sitting targets’. The ‘Powers’ say they don’t understand!
Many elderly residents were children during the 2nd World War, suffering deprivation, fear and often family loss. Now, when we are being told to celebrate VE Day, these elderly sit in fear again: lonely, sick and helpless. The ‘Powers’ produce charts and wonder at the statistics!
My support system continues. Yesterday, I received photos of happy Australian great grand-children. Today a granddaughter visited with flowers and cake. We drank tea and ate cake and chatted across our two metres spacing. The final excitement was the delivery of my groceries by my son, always full of surprises. Finally, a laugh for you but a shock for me - my mobile phone fell down the toilet! You can laugh. I put my head in my hands and moaned!
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK 9
Star date: 17th May 2020
HOME OR SCHOOL? AND WHAT ABOUT THE BREAD?
Elderly Salford resident and retired teacher, Alice, has now been in isolation for nine weeks. Here she ponders whether parents should send their kids to school yet or not, arguing that parents should have more confidence in their home schooling abilities.
There are also some gifts of home-made bread and a virtual trip around her son’s garden.
What a worrying week for parents and teachers. I feel for them because the issue of ‘stay at home’ or ‘back to school’ is very complex and worrying. I have been listening to this debate all week. I believe the Government’s interest is all to do with business and getting parents back to work. Don’t kid yourself that it is about the children’s education!
What are the concerns? Back to school will put children, parents and teachers at risk, since there is more infection around now than when we first went into lockdown. In fact, the R figure is creeping up again. Take the teachers’ viewpoint. They are against reopening until safety can be guaranteed. It will be difficult for children to carry out spacing and totally impossible, and wrong for reception children to do this. Yet we have been told to do this with our children when out in public, for the last six weeks. Also what about all the hand washing and the corridor passing?
I suspect that the Government is relying on the rumour that children do not get infected…Parents are understandably anxious about their children’s safety.
Parents may feel their home schooling efforts are inadequate. I would like to remind them that, when their child was born it had no experience but it had the potential to grow into an amazing adult. They were responsible for the child’s development before school when it learnt to walk, talk, feed itself, dress itself, count and even hold a conversation. In fact, some real life education occurs with the parent, before the child even goes to school.
Parents should be more confident about their ability. Then there are numerous educational offerings on BBC or Google to boost home lessons. Would staying at home for June and July, just 40 days, be so educationally damaging. What about giving parents a choice? Is that too democratic?
Apart from pondering on this debate I have been having a go at writing children’s stories, under a simple title, ‘When I was a little girl we didn’t have...’ So easy and just a reminiscence for us older folk.
To my delight, I received two You Tube videos from my son and his partner. One took me on a walk over the Yorkshire hills and the other took me on, ‘A tour of their garden with bee hives.’ Another son and partner showed off their bread making skills and encouraged me to try. I reflected, with parental pride, that these initiatives had their origins in ‘home schooling’
Finally, thank you friends for the gifts of a pear, tulips, the Guardian and a luxury box of chocs. I am sending you a picture of my amazing flowering bush as a virtual gift from nature.
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK
Star date: 24th May 2020
SHOULD WE FOLLOW OUR LEADERS?
Elderly Salford resident, Alice, has been in isolation now for ten weeks shielding from coronavirus. Today she considers whether we should 'follow our leaders when they think they are 'above the law'.
She also thinks aloud about overseas NHS staff, quarantine for inward travellers and private schools like Eaton not going back until September…
FREE! Drive anywhere you want mask. Simply cut it out and wear it!
‘We do have the power to change things. Together, with right on our side…’
Hello again. Gosh we have had a variety of weather this week. From being scorched to being blown away, all in three days. We are becoming used to variations in our weather, as with our life nowadays. Gets one thinking!
What has disturbed me most this week is the hypocrisy of our ‘leaders’. We believed, as a child, that a leader was a person you could admire and was an example to follow. Well, our leaders haven’t ‘practised what they preach’, so they caught the Virus, from going around shaking hands and getting up close and matey. What about the rule, ‘Don’t travel far from home’? It has been ignored by Boris’s best mate who tootled off across the country, for childcare. Boris also went off to the ‘second’ home…the PM ‘Chequers’ luxury pad, whilst we have stayed obediently on our doorsteps. They really do think they are ABOVE THE LAW.
The most anger provoking issue this week has been around our NHS staff who originated from abroad. On arrival, each person has to pay an NHS surcharge of £450, [for each member of the family!] They are already paying Tax and National Insurance which would cover any medical care. This unjust charge flew around social media. The public could see how unjust it was to double charge the very nursing staff who are caring for us, especially at this very dangerous time. An angry public revolt scared the ‘Powers’. Justice has now prevailed and the surcharge is to be removed. Success! This reminds me of Shelley’s words, in The Masque of Anarchy, written after the Manchester Peterloo Massacre. He said, “We are many. They are few!” Yes, indeed. We do have the power to change things. Together, with right on our side
Another strange announcement this week is that immigrants arriving from next week will be tested and must self-isolate for two weeks. Yet, since lockdown, nine weeks ago, 12,500 planes have arrived, many of them from China, Italy and New York, all places with high infection rates. BUT no testing and no isolating of these immigrants! No wonder the infection has spread and countries like Greece, with only 150 deaths in total, compared with our thousands, laugh and wonder at our fumbling approach. Finally, if you’re still unsure about sending your children to school on 1st June this fact may interest you. The two top private schools: Eton [Boris’s ex school] and Harrow are not taking children back till September!
Sorry I haven’t got any pleasant activities to share with you this week. I did have a telephone appointment with my doctor who set me up with a ‘twice a day blood pressure taking procedure’ for a week. Not very exciting but good old NHS keeping its eye on me. Then a nice friendly Donna from Salford Volunteers phoned offering help. With these contacts and great friends and family, I only have our leaders to moan and groan about. That keeps my mind active!
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK
Star date: 31st May 2020
LOCKED AWAY FOR EIGHTY DAYS – ‘A SAD WASTE OF MY LIFE...’
Elderly Salford resident, Alice, has now been self-isolating for over eleven weeks which she calls ‘a sad waste of my life’. But today she muses over other sad spectacles, including the Prime Minister, the Test and Trace programme, and the Isle of Wight.
Meanwhile, Alice urges anyone over 70 to get creative to win a £1,000 lockdown King Lear Prize.
I check my diary this morning. It tells me I have been locked away for eighty days! I feel the sad waste of my life, as we all do. As we get older every minute of life is precious. Every hug we miss and every child’s smile we don’t see, are lost gems.
This last week, we have been reeling from the audacity and arrogance of a ‘Special Advisor’ and a weak Prime Minister who have both destroyed our trust and insulted our intelligence. We have concluded that our Prime Minister can’t actually cope without his nasty, but clever advisor. Can we forgive this? Will those who have denied themselves contact with dying relatives forgive this? Will the 40,000 people who have received fines of up to £100 for breaking the coronavirus rules be understanding? Will this be remembered when we come to make a really important decision, like an election?
We are told to ‘crack on’ and support the Test and Trace programme. Whoops: forgot; it is now the Test, Track and TRUST programme! Will people discovered to have been in contact with an infected person be prepared to lock themselves away again?
The success of this programme, which ought to have been continued from 12th March and which helped other countries reduce their infections, depends on TRUST. The App, designed to assist with this, seems to have got lost on the Isle of Wight. Maybe it fell into the Solent!
I once lived for three years on the IOW and I know it is suspicious of ‘Overners’* so maybe it has decided ‘not to bother!’ Impatient and capable councils, like
Manchester, are getting their own Test and Trace programme underway. So we now have an independent programme.
I am, at this very moment, listening to the Saturday 1pm News and hear that respected scientists are warning that it is ‘too soon’ to drop the lockdown because the infection rate is still too high. This is the latest news which we should listen to before we send our children back to school.
There have been some pleasant events in my life this last week. A friend cycled across Manchester just to see me through my window and have an intelligent discussion and some happy laughs. She really appreciated the emptier roads!
Also I am grateful to other friends who have given me time to come for a chat across my three metre spacing. These friendships and family protection are keeping me sane. My son sent me a video of his bees swarming. So noisy and scary but they obediently returned to follow their Queen and get on with their business of collecting honey.
Finally, I want to share with you a simple beautiful event. As I went to bed on Thursday night my poppy plant had some tight little green buds. I woke on Friday morning to find four glorious pink flowers had appeared overnight. I am forever amazed at nature’s ability to produce such magic.
Finally, a suggestion. Are you over seventy years? Are you creative, whether a knitter, a writer, a poet or artist? Well, have a go for a £1,000 prize. Research via the KING LEAR website. Closing date 19th June.
*Overners. People born on the mainland not the Isle of Wight.
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK
12
Star date: 7th June 2020
BACK TO HERD IMMUNITY?
Elderly Salford resident, Alice, has now been in self-isolation for three months – but she’s making face masks for that day of freedom. She’s also confused by all the conflicting messages coming out of Government... ‘Who or what do we trust?’ she asks.
Do you trust this Government with your life?
It’s just three months since Salford Royal Hospital advised me to stay at home, and just one day before the Government decided to drop the ‘trace and track’ programme and start its ‘herd Immunity’. In fact, it was the start of the ‘downward drift’ to this country getting the highest number of infections in Europe. Now we have more deaths in this country than we had in the 1941 Blitz. Do you trust this Government with your life? I am wasting my life again!
This week has been really confusing. Should we send our precious children to school, go out again, meet more friends, shop and pop to the seaside, when we have been told that the R figure is increasing and the North West has the highest rating? Who or what do we trust?
This can bring us back to ‘herd immunity’. However, at last, we have the ‘world beating’ Test and Tract programme. Has it come your way yet? Make sure you do the tracking and send back the result or go back into isolation. It could reduce numbers…better late than never!
Also, to make life difficult, the ‘cloud of racism’ has drifted over from America and reminded us that it started here. Yes, we started slavery! We have the guilt to eradicate. Also don’t forget that, as we shout for justice, the virus is still looking around for its victims...
One really exciting announcement has just been made by our Transport Minister. It’s ‘Get on Your Bike.’ Wow! That’s positive. We are being encouraged to get fit, reduce carbon, noise and accidents, with financial help along the way.
Unfortunately, car showrooms are reopened. I have made my face masks…easy peasy…from a table napkin and the sleeve of a T shirt. I can’t go out yet but I am ready to save others, when the time comes. Best of luck to you all. Hope you get through the current confusion...
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND WEEK
Star date: 14th June 2020
FREEDOM FOR SHIELDERS!
“Although I should be celebrating and running out with waving arms and a cheer on my lips, I am scared...”
After almost three months in self-isolation, elderly Salford resident, Alice, can now finally come out of her home back into the big new normal world. But, along with her mistrust of the authorities, she’s scared. Very scared indeed…
‘I have enjoyed the quieter roads and the empty and clean skies…’
After almost 100 days - just over three months - I am being offered freedom! Yes, the solitary ‘sheltering’ folk can now brave the big, big world with its very scary virus. I must be honest and tell you that, although I should be celebrating and running out with waving arms and a cheer on my lips, I am scared; in fact, quite anxious about leaving my familiar four walls. The North West had an R rate over 1 and there are signs that a second spike is on the horizon...
Before I take that plunge and say my goodbyes to you, I need to have another rant at ‘our leaders,’ who have ‘stumbled’ their way through the last four months, ignoring advice from the wise and learned. I won’t repeat my previous criticisms, you can always look back, but I need to share my latest annoyance.
The current news is all about the ‘world beating’ testing and tracing. I don’t expect you know that this lucrative service was handed out to Serco, G4S, Capita and, wait for it…Amazon! So, instead of utilizing the established NHS system of GP Health Clinics with their trained staff and records of patients, backed up by the local authorities, which also have detailed records of their populations, this programme was handed out to private call centres and bodies without information.
The CEO of Serco, a private corporation, is recorded as saying, “This will go a long way in cementing the position of the private sector companies in the public sector supply chain”. So this move is another private bite at the NHS cherry, and accounts for the delays and car park test centres.
My son and his GP partner had to travel thirty miles to get tested. They were handed an instruction sheet and a bag of equipment and told to do the test themselves. This could have gone to the health centre where she works. There would have been an experienced person to conduct this, send off and collect results. The ‘leaders’ have given away these jobs to medically unskilled private companies, ignoring the experienced public services. So this was definitely a political decision.
My final gripe this week concerns children and their education. How confused this has been. After being instructed that 1st June was the date for the return of some primary children it was suddenly changed. In fact, local councils and parents must now decide. Also what happened to the free computers? It seems that 700,000 children read the internet from their phones! Inefficient and costly and these are the poorest children.
I need to point out that I am not the only person with criticisms. There are now demands for an enquiry by 27 national experts. Thousands died through initial poor and ignorant mishandling; maybe your relative. With another spike we could face this again. Congratulations New Zealand for coming out from the pandemic. We need to learn from you.
Well, do I go out? I think I’ll avoid the shops, the buses and even a ‘bubble’ of family or friends. Not sure yet. I don’t trust those in charge. So isolation for a bit longer will be my decision, with lone walks.
Finally, I need to mention good consequences. I have enjoyed the quieter roads and the empty and clean skies. These are improvements we should keep. We really need a greener healthier world. On that positive note I must say ‘Cheerio for now.’ I may come back with some thoughts. I wish you all good luck. Be careful, think and stay well.
Alice, in friendship.
AN ELDERLY SALFORDIAN REFLECTS ON VACCINE FREEDOM
Star date: 12th December 2020
ALICE TO BE FREED FROM ISOLATIONLAND
Since March, elderly Salfordian, Alice Searle, has been more or less shielding, but now she sees freedom in sight with the vaccine. Here, she reflects on those lonely months and urges fellow citizens to get the jab... “I can see a silver lining and feel optimistic” she says...
‘I am managing; please don’t worry’. We all know how untrue those brave words were…’
Ten months ago I started to share my experiences and feelings about the impact of COVID-19 on my life, in the series Alice in Salford Isolationland. These experiences were, like yours, frustrating, miserable and depressing. What a dreadful time we have had.
We all tried to dispel our misery by being creative, or using the media to talk to others and cheer ourselves up. In my weekly writing, I relieved my impatience by speaking of my irritation and disappointment with those who had the power to change things. I was critical of their mistakes to sort out issues.
Meanwhile, in praise of the NHS staff, having to wear uncomfortable PPE as they faced the risk of death every day, I banged on a pan with a wooden spoon, every Thursday. This community action was an expression of our appreciation but also of our inability to really do anything positive.
So I am writing again because I want to share my thoughts now, as I see a light at the end of this dark, sad tunnel. We have all been longing for an escape. We have been lonely and missed physical contact. Living by myself I waited eagerly for Sunday, when my son delivered my groceries and we had a short chat about our empty lives.
My skin missed the touch of caring fingers and I swallowed hard and said, ‘I am managing; please don’t worry’. We all know how untrue those brave words were. Actually we were weeping inside and needed a hug from our sons, our daughters, grandchildren or friends.
Many people, who could not manage without company, ignored the safety rules. Although we understood, we were angry with this selfish behaviour. When our children were sent back to school, we had mixed feelings. This released parents to resume work but left them anxious about the risk to their children, especially as they heard of whole year groups being sent home. The teachers were vulnerable too and, as two of my close family are teachers, I felt anxious for them.
We read with optimism of scientists working to develop a vaccine which would open up a pathway to the world we once knew, and on 2nd December we heard of the successful development of this; the result of cooperative research between two research companies Pfizer and BioNTech, plus the input of generous funds.
I cheered and may have cried. I recognised that cooperation rather than competition had led to this successful result. Now we would need managers with logistical skills
to be able to organise a system of allocation which would be efficient and above all fair.
Because of the particular nature of this virus it has to be usually administered from hospitals and, again, the pressure this will put on tired staff. We clapped when the first ‘over eighty-year-old’ left a hospital having received an injection. She had passed into ‘the sunlight’ of a new world. She literally received ‘a shot in the arm!’.
As I wait patiently for my letter or telephone call with an appointment, I reflect on what I have learnt from this year of stress. I remember how wonderful it was to have fewer cars on the roads and a cleaner and quieter environment. Damaging carbon dioxide has been reduced from the sky and this all has a good effect on our other big problem, climate change.
I felt good about the kindness of people who went out of their way to help those being shielded or without food - but I have many criticisms of the Government, which failed to recognise the skills of public services and by-passed them in favour of unskilled, inexperienced private companies which has led to a loss of public funds.
The public call for an increase in pay for health workers has been ignored. This is a disappointment. Public money, from our taxes, needs to be used to support the areas and the people who make life better for us all.
Finally, I want to encourage all of you to go for the vaccine. COVID-19 is still there and waiting to attack you. We must get rid of it and the vaccine is the way to do this. Think of the illnesses which have been defeated by scientific research and vaccines. Diphtheria, smallpox, measles and polio vaccines are some you will have experienced. During our grandparents’ time, people died from these illnesses. It was vaccines which saved our generation.
Please do get the injection when it is offered to you. A little pin prick is nothing and can save your life and, if we all have the vaccine, we will eventually rid the world of COVID-19 and save many lives.
Best wishes, stay safe and thanks to all those working to improve our world...
Alice Searle
Alice Searle has been a force of nature within the Salford community, igniting the Friends of Kersal Moor to run annual events and talks related to the historic green protected space.
Alice was also a director of the Salford Star, and a force behind the creation of a monument to the miners at Agecroft Colliery, plus another to the thousands of Chartists who met on the Moor at the birth of democracy to demand the vote. She has written two sold-out books on the area and worked with the Bury New Road Project to produce an interactive map of Kersal Moor, encouraging people to enjoy the footsteps of the original Artisan Naturalists of Prestwich, pioneers of working class botany.
A massive advocate for feminism, socialism, environmentalism and humanity, Alice initiated the Pin Project to help the children of AIDS victims in South Africa, and has taught all over the Pacific, from Fiji to Tuvalu.
After a non-Covid illness, Alice now resides at the Gorsey Clough Nursing Home in Tottington.
ALICE IN SALFORD ISOLATIONLAND
A true life coronavirus adventure into the unknown for the fifth anniversary of lockdown…
‘I closed my front door and learnt to live alone...’
Produced by Mary Burns Community Group with the Salford Star and the Bury New Road Project. 2025.
