Second edition of the Coronavirus Courier
Well, this is the second edition of Coronavirus Courier and before writing the next blog I have to mention that over the past week we have been in total lock-down. A couple of weeks ago this was more a threat and now its reality. Now no-one is allowed out other than buying essential food, collecting prescriptions and daily exercise, a complete life change, and the picture looks grimmer by the day with numbers catching the virus and dying increasing exponentially.
Yet before all this became reality, it was almost like waiting for an accident to happen with life continuing blissfully normal. After the excitement of meeting the IDEC Sport’s skipper, Francis Joylon the week before, my usual games of tennis and rounds of golf followed, both now are banned until further notice. That week I also had a business lunch in Mayfair, as it turned out, the last in a while. Arrangements had been made to meet with Antonia who handles the PR for Toscano Resort Castelfalfi in Italy which boasts one of the clountry’s best golf course. we met in a packed Cecconi’s, a delightful and very Italian restaurant opposite Burlington Arcade. This was March 5th and we happily discussed a future visit in early summer. How things have changed
Monday 9th March was TravMedia’s big international travel conference held annually at the QE11 Conference Halls conveniently opposite Westminster Abbey at the same time as the Commonwealth Day held its celebrations at the Abbey attended by the Queen, various Royals, VIPs including the Prime Minister. Apart from having several meeting to attend, I, like many delegates attending the conference, were keen to watch the arrival of all these famous people from our lofty third floor perch. To say the least it was fascinating to observe the pecking order of arrival of Royals. Each royal car flanked by six Vis-jacketed policemen riding motorbikes and everyone was personally greeted by Archbishop Welby. First notable arrival was the Prime Minister Boris Johnson accompanied by his pregnant girlfriend followed a few minutes later by Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Harry and Megan were next and watched by a huge crowd on the third floor including several fascinated Americans. William and Kate followed closely behind Prince Charles and Camilla, and understandably the Queen was the last the arrive in her usual maroon coloured Rolls Royce proudly flying the Royal Standard.
It was the next day when the grim COVID-19 news started to hit headlines and I received the sad news that a much look forward to press trip to South Africa sponsored Qatar Airlines to play golf and visit game parks had been cancelled – very upsetting. Over the next few days several other golf press trips were cancelled all because of COVID-19 that was about to change mine and everyone’s life radically.
A long standing invitation to have supper with a girlfriend living in Kensington on Thursday 19th loomed and admittedly I was a little nervous whether to go or not but at her insistence jumped into my car and drove straight to her place. Driving through London streets that evening was grim reality, roads were eerily empty and even worse when I drove home around 10.30, there were more empty red buses on the roads than cars and that was five days before the Government’s decision to impose social distancing and self isolating which was announced the following Tuesday March 23rd!