Blog Day 631 - Friday 31 December 2021 - Day 62 of Covid Nearly Normal

New Year's Eve

New year's eve and heading for 38 degrees outdoors.

As seems to be the custom at the end of the year I will review the happenings of the year, the funny, the sad and the ridiculous.

This is the end of our second year of the corona virus and similar to 2020 we have undergone the usual rang of lockdowns, curfews, border closures - both international and national, interruptions to sporting & cultural events, business closures, school closures and severe restrictions on individual movement in metropolitan Melbourne and the state.

This year was a little different as we patiently waited to get our first virus vaccination and then our second and then our third.  The vaccinations were to be the game changer that we have all been waiting for.  The jury is still out on whether this has been the case or not.

Nationally we have achieved a double vaccination rate of 90.3% of the eligible population and this high vaccination rate has allowed the states to move from an covid elimination model to a covid suppression model.  The suppression model allows infection rates to increase but depends on a vaccinated population to limit the number of covid related hospital admissions and covid related deaths to remain static or even decreasing.  

The beauty of the suppression model is that it allows retail premises, businesses, schools, hospitality venues, sporting events and household gatherings to open up to near to pre covid normality so lets hope this continues to be the case.

Of course through the year we had some serious, for Melbourne anyway, riots with various anti everything groups combining to protest about whatever their particular beef was under the "anti vax - covid is a conspiracy banner".  These riots included a particularly nasty event on the steps of Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, when the police had to use pepper ball shot, flash bangs and other weapons of mass destruction to break up the rioters.  Not a good look for either side.

On a personal level I was lucky to be able to attend some trips and functions between lockdowns.  In April I managed to fit in a road trip to the Hunter Valley to meet up with some friends from interstate for a few days of wine tasting, drinking and eating, whilst nervously looking over my shoulder waiting for the borders to close again.  

In May I managed to fit in a few days camping at Lake Eildon.  This was my usual annual camping trip that normally takes place in March, a bit colder under canvas in May than March, but it was good to get away, have a few drinks and tell a few war stories around the camp fire.

We managed to celebrate a 40th birthday in March (not mine) with a group of friends at an air BnB on the Mornington Peninsula with a few other special occasions slipped in through the year.

The big interruptions to daily life, for me anyway, were the closures of the Shrine, the closure of U3A and the cancellation of various VMH&H events.  Although I must admit all of these organisations did their best to keep in touch with their members via emails and Zoom meetings where available and suitable.

I must make a special mention here of the education staff at the Shrine.  Apart from a short period of time in February this year the volunteers have not attended the Shrine for nearly two years.  During this time the ed staff have made a magnificent effort to keep the volunteers informed and connected, this has included newsletters, emails, weekly zoom meetings and in the midst of all this they still managed to arrange sit down volunteer christmas lunches in both 2020 and 2021.  Well done those folk!  (As some of you would know I don't hand out "well dones" lightly.

Of course living in lockdowns and curfews etc does not prevent the normal life cycle events happening and unfortunately through the year a very good friend of mine passed away after battling cancer for more than 12 months.  This occurred in the midst of one of the lockdowns and unfortunately only ten mourners were able to attend the funeral.  Once again technology stepped into the breach and at least the funeral was able to be web cast to those unable to attend.

I will steer clear of any commentary as to the performance of the various levels of government during the last twelve months.  I am sure that the responses by the federal and state governments, with one exception, were well intentioned if not always as successful as they could have been.  Of course I don't include the Andrew's Victorian State Labor government in this, as most things they touched were cocked up and then covered up at much expense to the people of Victoria.

I think that a few Victorian Labor ministers found that trying to run a state was a bit more difficult than being a lackey in a politician's electoral office or a state secretary of some two bit union or the assistant secretary of a neighbourhood house.  

Anyway enough of the past, what do we have to look forward in 2022.  Let's hope no more lockdowns or curfews.  We have a federal election to look forward to and I predict an overwhelming victory to Sco Mo and the Liberal/National parties.  There will also be a state election later in the year and as much as I would like to see Dan and his merry men & women ousted I doubt that this will happen.

I daresay some international borders will open up in the next twelve months but given the state of the world, virus wise, I don't think that I will be travelling far.

I predict that the Australian cricket team will win the 2020 - 2021 Ashes series against the Poms.

I won't focus to much on figures today but given the new infection numbers for the last 24 hours in Victoria 5,919 and NSW 21,151, I desperately hope that the good folk that did the modelling for all of this have got it right, if not we will really be in the poo.

So, to my gentle readers, my many contributors, my erudite and constructive critics I wish you all a happy, prosperous, healthy and covid free new year.