COVID 19 and What the World Needs Now!

Have you been in lockdown since 14th March like me? How are you coping? Are you beginning to get cabin fever? Or bored and looking for things to do?

What I can say is that being confined to my fourth floor flat is very much like sailing alone around the world. One is alone on board, and after essential work of setting sails, navigating, and doing minor repairs one is at liberty to sit and watch the world go by. Reading was the main activity for me. Now after essential work around the flat, cleaning and tidying up,  instead of reading I play computer games or chat on Social Media. I have regular contact to friends and family, not via radio schedules, but by Facetime or WhatsApp. The real major difference is that there is no motion (unless I've had one too many) and my bunk is not lying on its ear!



Petra as I indicated in my last blog is working hard to maintain her Patchwork Family and is very strict with us OAPs. She has her hands full with working from Home  and having to care for Vincent as the Kindergartens are closed. But she thinks ahead and orders for us online when she can, or receives the orders from the local Bio Bauer. (Farmer). Now though, we have felt safe enough to go and collect from her, saving just a little of her time.  As we have all been in Quarantine for the last four weeks, we were allowed to have a walk together on Easter Monday, wearing facemasks made by Sigrid and maintaining social distances!

I personally don't have a problem with being shut in my flat, as long as I can get out on my bike once per day I can cope. I've started to declutter my life. Going through old love letters and photos, takes time though and sometimes my mind will only cope with so much nostalgia. The size of the Paper Bin also determines how much I can shred at any one time. It is not as much as I would like, so I often have to wait a week to 10 days before I can resume. It means my flat is a bit untidy as I do not put it all away again, it sits there in various piles waiting for me to begin again with the trip down memory lane.

My main thoughts though are to the future and here I am fearful. I am fearful for the whole World, for it requires not a country by country solution, but a world solution. It is no good that China is on top of the problem now, when the USA and other countries are not. The only way we are going to get to defeat this pandemic is if we work together, sharing knowledge and resources.

Instead each country is competing for the limited resources of facemasks and other PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).

What the World needs now is a dynamic selfless leader to coordinate the effort to defeat the virus, and we don't have one. The Buffoon in the White House is not it. Boris and his BREXIT mentality is also not it, though perhaps if he changed his attitude he could apply his mind to it, but I doubt he will. Ursula von der Leyen is not it either, which is sad, nor is Angela Merkel, though she could be if she put her mind to it. It needs a super power to lead the way.

We do not need to look too far back in history to find examples of how it should be done.
When the EBOLA Virus spread out of the Guinea borders in 2014 President Obama activated the Emergency Operations Centre at the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta. The CDC was immediately deployed to West Africa to coordinate a response that included vector tracing, testing, education, logistics and communication.

President Obama worked with the UN and the World Health Organisation and rerouted all travellers heading from Africa to the USA to specific airports that were equipped to handle mass testing. In the USA more than 6500 people were trained through mock outbreaks of a pandemic, before a single case arrived on their shores.

Three months after Obama instigated this response a man travelled from West Africa to Dallas and slipped through the testing net. He was, however, immediately detected and isolated, but died a week later. The two nurses that cared for him contracted the disease, but thankfully recovered. All the protocols worked and Ebola was  contained.

Now before anyone knew about COVID 19 even in China, Trump disbanded the pandemic response team that Obama had put in place. He cut funding to the CDC and he cut the US contribution to the World Health Organisation. Trump fired the one person on the National Security Council in charge of stopping the spread of infectious diseases!

When the outbreak started in China, Trump assumed it was China's problem and sent no help of any kind. They were in a trade war, weren't they, so why should the egotist and isolationist (make America great again) help them.

I could go on listing the man's bluffing and blustering, but need not as the virus moves faster and now America and in particular New York is harder hit than anywhere else in the World.

The Spanish Flu pandemic lasted two full years from January 1918 to December 1920. It came more or less in three waves and finally died out in the summer of 1919.  More or less the same methods were tried then to control the spread, though not as successfully as now I would suggest. They didn't have the medicines to cope then, nor did they have a vaccine, just like now. 500 Million people were affected and 50 Million died world wide! This time we are or seem to be slowing its spread, but we have a long way to go before we can return to normal life. Consequently I feel the public need to be warned to dig in and not ease the lockdown or travel restrictions too soon. Countries will ease up because of economic pressures and history will show which countries were more successful than others at controlling the spread.

Stay safe, "for it's a jungle out there"!

Farewell America

It is our final day in America and we know that many of our followers are wondering what we have been doing since returning to Connecticut from Canada. Terry and Jürgen, sometimes called George by us, for example are just to mention two friends who are the first to enquire how we are when we have not written a blog for awhile! Neither is on Facebook so they miss out on much of what happens to us on a daily basis.  It is our intention therefore, to try and recap the most interesting things we have done while here in Connecticut, for our non Facebook followers. These events we now mention will not always be in chronological order, but more as they reoccur to us.

Even before going to Canada Brec and Sandy took us on a days sail and lunch on a 19th century Mystic Whaler. This vessel was a schooner and though it had an engine all the sails were handled by pulling on hemp rope by human muscle power. We were blessed with a beautiful and warm autumn day with just enough wind to make the boat move slowly through the water.

We got on the boat in New London and sailed out on to Long Island Sound. It was a great day out with good food, good friends, for Brec's brother John and his wife Barbara came too and good conversation.

One of the other things our BBF likes is shopping, and so Sandy and he did a fair bit of that. A new department store opened in the Connecticut Post Mall and the prices were crazy with 30-70% reductions on the normal price tag. Mind you Alan gets confused about the prices for he always forgets that the price tag does not include the 6.35% sales tax which gets put on at the checkout!! Even so a couple of days of retail therapy and shop till you drop were much enjoyed. He also justified it to himself that what he was really doing was early Christmas shopping.

Before going off to Canada he had already posted a parcel to himself, but now he discovered that paying for an extra suitcase would be cheaper than sending another parcel. Sandy kindly gave him one too. This he has now packed, and it was touch and go to see if it all went in.

Cooking is another of Alan's passions and Sandy and he had great fun planning meals and dinner parties. She is kind enough to let Alan have complete run of her kitchen and so he enjoyed cooking for us all.

Brec and Sandy held two very successful dinner parties for us and invited to the first sailing friends. One couple we had met last time we were here, Scott and Kitty. They had done two circumnavigations many years ago, one without children and one with. Scott has a wicked sense of humour and is always fun to have at a party.      Ginny was a lady who had once had her own boat and had done the Atlantic circuit in it. The other couple who came to this "sailors party" were Gwen and Scott B. They were not only sailors themselves, but had a son out there circumnavigating as we speak and had transited the Panama Canal with him. As you can imagine the talk was of sailing and how the Panama canal has changed over the years. Alan was required to talk about his Camino experiences as every one was interested and some are considering doing one. Well we all know humans like talking about themselves and their experiences, but we Bears also got a mention and so all enjoyed the evening. Scott and Kitty have since said, "let us know, when the man with the bears is in town again, so that we can have him round to dinner too!"

Another party to talk about the Camino was held this time with the Pastor Kristina and her wife Lesley. They had walked the Camino in April this year, but we were very impressed to hear that they had also hiked the whole of the Appalachian Trail. Stories of hiking were exchanged and Camino experiences shared. Alan had made a Torta de Santiago for both these dinners.

Other less formal dinners were held with other friends and Bill the tennant too, so there was never a dull moment to be had.

Alan took us to New York a couple of times. We went back to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This time we hoped to climb to the top of the statue, but sadly it was all booked up till December, however, we were able to book to get up to the top of the plynth.




It was another lovely day and the views on the ferry over were spectacular.

The Vikings were out hoisting sail, though as you can see these modern Vikings were not sailors as they hoisted the sail head to wind. Without the engine they would have been blown backwards!

But then we also saw a British aircraft carrier moored in the harbour. It has no aircraft, though that was, we thought the reason they were here - to get some!

The arm as seen from the inside.

Americans were given the statue by France and in these times with TRUMP as President they seem to have forgotten, that an American is either an Indigenous person, a relative of an immigrant or the relative of a slave! That the poor, homeless and persecuted of the world found a home in the USA and that they still seek to come here to escape persecution or poverty.

We moved on to the famous Ellis Island which was the reception station for  many of the immigrants. In the summer as you know we had been with Christopher in the emigration museum in Bremerhaven, which documented the many Europeans who had left those shores to find a better life in the Americas.

Now we saw where and how they had arrived in the USA.

We also saw that like now Americans had tried to deter immigrants from coming, as the cartoon shows they had attempted to pull away the bridge that had carried them and their fathers to these shores.



This cartoon showed in very graphic form what makes up an American. We particularly liked that his brain is made up of predominantly English and German folk!

Having had our fill of history and museums we returned to the shores of Manhattan and sought out a suitable hostilary for an early evening meal as we had missed lunch.





This monument is to the first Special Forces Soldiers that had been sent to Afghanistan immediately after the 9/11 attack to confront the Taliban. This has now been made into a film called 12 Strong.



We found a great Italian restaurant in the new World Trade Centre and had a seat which looked out onto the new One World Trade Centre Tower.



As the evening drew on Alan decided to take us for a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. It seemed that every one else had the same idea for it was crowded.






But the walk gave us great views of Manhattan. We returned then to Milford, where Brec collected us from the station.



On another day we drove the truck Hartford to visit  the house of Samuel Clemens Longhorne otherwise known as Mark Twain. This was another of Brec's excellent ideas, for we would not have known he had lived so close.






Samuel had married a rich woman and so the house he lived in was paid for by his father-in-law. Only guided tours are offered and sadly one is not permitted to take photos inside the house. We learnt though that Samuel was very fond of cats and always had them about him, going to the extent of hiring some while away from home!



Some light refreshment was in order after this tour and then we discovered that a neighbour of Samuel's was Harriet Beecher Stowe the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin! Now this was the first book that our BBF had read at aged 14 or 15 that had moved him to tears!



This tour allowed us to take photos in the house, but first we had to have an intellectual discussion about the power of the written word.











These bound books are a copy of a petition from English women sent by Queen Victoria to Harriet to abolish slavery.




Brec took us on a couple of short hikes, one was above West Haven so we had some fine views of Yale Campus and the harbour. On another walk we went to the West Woods  by Guilford and this time he took his grandson Lucas with us.

Alan then took us on a visit to Vincent's grandmother's cousin who lives up in Croton on Hudson in New York State. We had not met them before, but were given a very warm welcome coupled with very generous hospitality. By the end of our overnight stay we had increased our patchwork family by two lovely humans called Birgit and Jason.

On our way back to Milford we met Brec in Grand Central Terminal New York and he then took us to the New York Yacht Club. This is the New World's version of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes on the Isle of Wight and is the mecca of sailing on this side of the pond.





Note the windows to the left of the door look like the stern of a Sailing Ship. These are the windows to the famous model room.



This is the entrance to the model room in which we were not permitted to take photos!



They at least have a sense of humour as this is the door to the men's loo!



We were given keys to the library and spent some time looking at the many old books they had on sailing.

We then had tea in the Blue room of the Algonquin Hotel before returning to Milford.



Pumpkin carving was a big family event and Tyson and his son Lucas came to carve pumpkins.



Alan carved two, too!






A number of trick or treaters came, but most were tiny tots and looked too sweet to frighten anyone.



Another of Brec's great ideas for us was that we should go visit West Point Military Academy. Again we took the truck on a two hour drive North up the Hudson to West Point.

On crossing the Hudson we discovered a Fort so pulled off to visit it as we had lots of time.

The fort had an information centre which was closed, but when the head discovered we were British he opened it just for us and gave us a personal guided tour. Now to our surprise we learnt that the 57th Foot (Middlesex Regiment) fought here and took the fort. This Regiment was the one Alan was commissioned into!



Washington, after loosing Fort Montgomery and Clinton further down the Hudson, decided that the bend in the river at West Point offered a better place for defence and so started the military presence at West Point which has become the oldest military base in the USA which has been in continuous use.



One can only do a guided tour of the grounds of West Point and so we registered for the two hour one






West Point is also a university for the 47 month course turns out Officers with a Bachelor of Science degree. The very first officers trained here were Engineer Officers.



The largest chapel on the campus was a Lutheran one.



We visited the cemetery which has an old part too, which contained many famous graves.



Mickey Marcus was the Colonel who formed and started the Israeli Army.



This man was the Staff Officer who planned the D-Day landings! Just say his name and initial of his second name, how odd is that!!



Stormin Norman's father, also a graduate of West Point is buried nearby.



This was the General that planned and commanded the Berlin Airlift!



And the citizens of Berlin added their gratitude to his memorial.



George Washington Goethals, another graduate of West Point was the man charged with the administration and the supervision of the building of the Panama Canal.






At first Custer was buried at Little Bighorn, but his wife made such a fuss that his body was brought back to West Point.




At Trophy Point there are canons from some of the wars that formed the USA. The Revolutionary War (1775-1783), War of 1812 (1812-1815) when we Brits burnt down the White House! The Mexican War (1846-1848) and the American Civil War (1861-1865).



There are great views across the Hudson from here.



Constitution Island which is where there was also a fort and to where the great chain went which the Revolutionaries  put across the river to prevent the English from sailing up river.




One of those cannons, smile he said you are on Candid Camera!



Part of the great chain which went across the river.



After the tour we spent a good couple of hours in the West point museum, which was very interesting to those interested in Military History. In the basement they had weapon exhibits and here you see us by a mockup of "Fat Boy" the first Atomic Bomb!!






Before making the two hour journey back, as we had missed lunch we stopped for a burger and were served by a very pregnant lady in a Pooh Bear costume as it was Halloween. What is scary about Pooh Bear?

On one lovely autumn day Sandy took us to a place up in North Connecticut for a lunch. She had heard that Hopkins Inn was an Austrian Restaurant and that they served a Wiener Schnitzel, which is one of her favourites.

The drive gave us fine views of the foliage and the views from the restaurant which was on a hill were fabulous and made the hour and a half journey more than worth while.

The humans had a great lunch and then drove home again, this time on a slightly different route thanks to Google Earth, so enjoyed the ride back too.

Brec interrupted his hard work preparing for his Open Studios next weekend 10/11 November to take us to the Yale Museum of British Art.

Father time telling us we have little enough so we must carpe diem!

We first were in the main galleries and saw Turners and Constables as well as Hogarths but then Brec took us into the library where as he is an artist and a member of the American Society of Marine Artists asked to view some Turner 1775-1851 original sketches.

Now we felt very privileged as you can see we were able to look at 200 year old original sketches by a master without a screen of glass.

Tea and scones were consumed in a bookstore cafe next door before returning for the day.

One evening Sandy took us to the opening in the Connecticut Post Mall of a new Dave and Buster's Place. This is a cocktail and sports bar. We had some free drinks and eats and were able to play a number of games for free. Christopher would be interested to know that there was a Mario Rio 2016 game which he has played on the computer, there.

It was a noisy place, so not really a place to stay too long for our human who is hearing challenged. 

Just the other day we had another wonderful Autumn day so Alan went for a last walk along the beach which is only at the end of the road.

Being by water, particularly the sea has a calming effect on our human and so he enjoyed a calm moment before the hectic of the return journey.

It will be a wrench leaving here. From constantly being together with two people who are the closest humans we know, more like brother and sister, and suddenly being alone again, will be hard for our BBF. If you have ever seen the TV series "the Waltons", you may remember that at the end of the program they talk to each other while in bed, saying "good night John Boy" at the end. Well if Alan sneezes in his bedroom upstairs, Sandy says " Bless you" from down stairs. These wooden houses have just very thin internal walls. There will be no one now responding to sneezes!! But we know that there are plans for Sandy and Brec to come to Europe and to visit us early next Spring, so we will hold on to that. It has been a great time here in America and God willing, we will return.