Firstly, the wine!

Sometimes, you dig into the collection and see what you find. Found this. 2005 Lake's Folly red from the Hunter Valley. Certainly worth venturing into the bottom of the cupboard and worth the wait. If you have a bottle then indulge if and when you can!

Did you know that as a result of Wimbledon being cancelled this year, the All England Tennis Club will suffer $500,000 in lost sales of strawberries and cream??? (Source: GlobalData - COVID-19 Executive Briefing; 6th April 2020)

Like everyone, COVID-19 has entered almost every facet of my life and as I was doing some research for work, I found this fact which astounded me. The more you think about it, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise as this is one of the quintessential experiences one is expected to have when going to Wimbledon but still...that is a lot of strawberries and cream...and money!

It doesn't require me to reiterate (but I will) that the effects of this global pandemic are far, far greater than the lost revenue from food at a tennis tournament. Loss of life, loss of livelihood, loss of choice are the immediate ones that come to mind as we experience a period that very few of us would have expected to go through in our lives. But here we are.

As I write this, I don't really know what I wanted to achieve from this. I figured that I wanted to express some of what I have been seeing, experiencing - going down the path that shared experience will help others including myself. Where you start though is the question? (This post could well be a true definition of the term "rambling").

Thankfully, health wise all is ok and that is a big thing as I know of others who have been effected and have had family who unfortunately have lost their lives from the virus. There have been some adjustments that have had to be made due to some flow on effects of the restrictions but we're working through those. The speed at how things have changed, how lives have been changed is something that I can't fully comprehend. That and the high degree of uncertainty of what is to come is another factor that I can't quite get my head around yet.

There are days where staying positive is a goal that is doable. There are days when that seems a big ask. Sometimes replace days with hours. I know I am not alone in this but it is very easy to feel that way. Like a ye olde prospector, the challenge is to keep panning to find those gold nuggets of positivity. That sounds very cheesy I know. However, that is the best that I can do at the moment.

They are there though; these positives that are around us. It is hard to see them when you are in the midst of it all but they are there. And to be honest, the ones that stick in my mind aren't the ones that come into my social media timelines.

It's the energetic 'hellos' that people give each other when they are going for a walk as part of their government approved exercise regimens. It's the understanding looks you get as you walk around the supermarkets knowing that as hard as you try, you may not exactly be a trolleys length away from each other as you work through your list for the day. It's the gratitude you get when you buy take away from a restaurant, meat from the local butcher or a case from the local bottle-o.

And I know that this isn't everywhere and I know that there have been examples of the exact and extreme opposite. But when you do find these positive gems, you have to hang on to them.

There have also been some funny moments. Like the wardrobe changes between video calls for work - the degree of casualness of attire dependent on who you are meeting with. Feeling like a newsreader wearing a business shirt and shorts and finding out that wearing pants of some description isn't always the case with everyone you have a meeting with (yes, you know who you are...and mazel tov to you!)

And looking through your photos on your phone and thinking that you never, ever thought you would have taken numerous photos to chronicle the rise and fall of supplies of toilet paper.

I think we are now at a stage that most of us understand that we will be living with restrictions to reduce the potential for infections increasing for a few months to come. It isn't going to be weeks as we had hoped but months. It will bring new challenges. It potentially will make things worse before they get better. Fact is no one can give anyone an iron clad guarantee concerning anything at the moment. Saying all that though, there is one belief that I try and hang my hat/cap on.

We have and will adapt. We have and will deal with what is put in front of us and we have and will do what we can to come out the other side of this. And while TV networks have created cringeworthy ads made up of TV personalities recording messages on their iPhones (which individually are well meaning), it will require us to look out for each other. And for the most part, that is something I have confidence in happening.

Happy Easter!