Now Wash Your Hands

I did a gig last night. Yep, an actual real life, in front of people, at a private function real gig. It was a bit weird as the last gig we did was back in March 2020 a few days before the first lockdown.

Since then Mustard have swapped out two band members, pretty much all of our set and I may have gained a lockdown pound or two. So it wasn’t just a case of getting back on the horse, it was almost a totally different animal entirely.

There had been times since March 2020 when I did think that doing the band thing may no longer be something I did. Replacing band members, especially when you can’t audition or rehearse with them is tricky and there has been much of the process that has been a bit of a slog, but, we did it, we got to gigging and it was enjoyable without any major incidents or cock ups.

Look at all this normality I am enjoying. I’ll be going to work in an office soon if I’m not careful! Well, let’s not be too hasty on that ok? All in good time.

My highlight of the evening was when going for a wee. In the loos were oodles of sanitisers and soaps along with lots of signs about COVID etc. The three gents in there with me were chatting whilst doing what they had to do, and as I washed and started to dry my hands, imagine my delight as they all put “Fido back in the kennel” and walked out with bothering the sink in any way. As a race I fear we are doomed. I didn’t touch anything I didn’t own for the rest of the evening.

Despite the welcome normality of doing a hobby, the world continues to be pretty much on fire wherever you look. Cases here are going down, however that is being counted or managed, whilst hospitals fill up a bit. The US seem to be in a bit of a meltdown with parts of Florida declaring a state of emergency mainly as MAGAs who sulk because nobody gives Trump credit for getting the vaccine done so quickly, won’t take that vaccine as it is plot by Democrats and software billionaires to track their every move. Yep, that makes sense.

Masks are back at WDW indoors and all in all the worldwide eternal shit show continues. So I continue to sit and look at my plan, regarding it as an abstract thing, with no real basis in reality to speak of. My “will we go or not” optimism meter, today is low, but it changes, often by the hour so don’t worry about that if you are more optimistic than I.

Whilst October is a while away, with the US seemingly getting worse on most fronts across the board I have my doubts that Biden will move to allow tourists in by then. It seems incredible that all this time after all this started we still can’t go and still have no clue when we might. There are bigger fish I guess, but none quite as smelly to me and many who read this.

That previous statement makes it nailed on that within minutes of publishing this post there will be an official statement from the US that borders are opening, such is my track record on these things.

Florida is out there pretty much on its own in the “shit show” Olympics. Vaccination rates are below 60% and cases are up something incredible like 700%. I’m not sure how I acquired them but I have a couple of yeehaw MAGAs on my Facebook. I suspect they are Disney folks who somehow befriended me thinking I was the other Craig Williams who runs The Dis! Anyway, seeing their deranged, anti-science stupidity out there in public for the world to see is depressing both for the continuation of humanity as these people breed and for the prospects of holidays returning. You can have an opinion but one of them cannot be that science isn’t correct. That’s not how it works.

I was encouraged to see Disney enforcing vaccinations for its cast members and the US military doing the same. Of course some people cannot get the jab for valid medical reasons, but everyone else has to get it to protect those very people who will continue to be vulnerable for the very reasons they cannot get the jab. This isn’t hard.

So we journey on, with little certainty or hope that any of our trips will happen any time soon. Whilst it doesn’t keep me awake at night, it’s a rumbling groan in my subconscious. Having preached for years that you should go to WDW whenever the opportunity arises and never “wait till the kids are old enough to enjoy it”, missing these trips with Freddie is hurting a bit. Kids are only ever that age once and whilst he has no clue of course, in my own first world problem bubble, it upsets me that we’ve missed so much.

I’m sure we are getting somewhere close to the ADR window. I haven’t checked for a bit, there seems little point. That in itself is sad.

So I shall retire from the keyboard and this incessant whinging now and go and do not a lot for the rest of the day.

Till the next time……