Quarantine Day 5
Stuff alternative version
So now beginning to come to grips with the serious business of sorting out what we take with us, and what really doesn’t belong in our lives any more.
Choosing a track, I realised that the ‘favourite things’ are almost all experiences and not ‘things’ at all. Whiskers on a kitten are a ‘thing’ in the sense that they have a physical existence but the lyrics refer, I think, the sheer pleasure that the cute whiskery face gives us (well, maybe quite a lot of us, anyway). So that will guide my choices. There are stones that bring back the memory of a particular beach, or day, so they can come. Same with clothes – I might not have worn them for a long time but something about the context seems precious. Things like electric carving knives and spare freezers don’t present quite the same challenge. eBay, Gumtree and Freecycle are all going to be working hard. I would sell on Amazon but I seem to have dropped off their seller list. Anyone want a 1986 edition of Understanding Rigs and Rigging?
Sean Leslie? It is part of my original sailing library. Very technical and I have to admit that it has never been of much practical use. Of course I don’t want to part with it. Who knows I might be a boat builder in another life…. Oh, now you see the problem! Also, I can weep in a library, frustrated by the pressure of all the ‘things’ I will never know. So I fear that a lot of books will be coming.
Why would anyone take broken crockery several thousand miles? 
W-e-l-l, because every fragment belongs to a something that had an identity, a place, a feeling attached. The original idea was to make a mosaic that would reflect our time here, and I might give that a go in Crete when we finally get settled.
Covid test news – we are actually in Day 6, since I have fallen a day behind with the blog. Our tests were posted on Day 2. Royal Mail’s website assured us that there would be a Sunday collection on Bank Holiday Monday, so even if they weren’t collected until Tuesday, the lab results should have been out by today. Glad we didn’t go for the early release option. At least we received the tests we paid for apparently many people didn’t. Another own goal for the private health care sector in the UK. How much are Tory pals trousering this time?