What did I write last year? About the slow march from March 13 to December 25. I was hopeful that we would have a sense of normalcy by Christmas 2021. Mid-way through November, I remained hopeful. It looked like we would get to England for a couple of weeks and come back for a family Christmas.
Omicron means “little O” compared to “great O” as in Omega. Well, Omicron has caused a big mess. I hope we never see an Omega variant. It promises a “greater” mess?
I cancelled our trip to England. The size of our holiday celebration has dwindled. We planned for 16 people and we are now down to five. Maybe this wild-fire COVID19 variant will burn out so that we make Paris at the end of February. I think any plans for Bordeaux are shot.
There is much material to write a diatribe about the lack of real political leadership which has caused this outbreak to be worse than needed. But, I have spent too much time being angry and frustrated. And, there will be time for that in the New Year.
Contribute to the charities of your choice and only then…
I don’t know about you, but I still feel guilty just crashing in front of the TV but I feel so good after “losing” an afternoon doing just that, so:
With apologies to the poets in the family:
It is to easy to be sad or mad
As Omicron has stolen all our fun
Lets make an effort to be glad
And enjoy Holiday Season 2021.
I know! I am going to sound like a grumpy old man. Maybe that is because I am. I have been scratching my head in wonderment at the Taylor Swift phenomena. Is she an Incredible song writer, composer, and performer? I really don’t know! A discussion for another time? But probably not. At my age […]
Don’t build it! At least, Not In My Back Yard ! I acted as an advisor in the sale of a beautifully natural, 14-acre urban waterfront estate. Existing zoning allowed for the development of 30 to 35 single-family homes, which after road dedication would leave very little green space. I did not think that was […]
We were visiting Glasgow (literally that Dear Green Place in Gaelic) to see where my father was born, grew up, and went to University. Fortunately for me, my cousin John from Australia had just visited and had met with historians, Bruce Downie and Norry Wilson. So, we too arranged to meet them in the Govanhill […]
Vienna on top again. This week both Monocle Magazine and The Economist unveiled their quality of life / most liveable city indexes. There are differences in the way each publication sets its index. So it is even more impressive that once again, Vienna tops both lists. I am a bit lazy today so rather than […]
Many Viennese went from hot bedding to superblocks overnight. Could they even imagine an apartment complex 1000 metres long built along two streets with even more massive landscaped courtyards? Could they conceive of 1400 apartment units built to house 5000 people on 56,000 square metres or 38 acres of land. Or a vertical build-out that […]
Vienna had been a poor city even before the First World War. “Normal” housing arrangements meant six to eight people sharing one room and a kitchen. Then, in early 1919, just after the Armistice, the cost of living tripled in two months. Bed lodgers could no longer afford their 8-hours a day in a shared […]