Back to Work

I’m back to work tomorrow for at least a couple of days, then very likely in full time quite soon and while I have thoroughly enjoyed the lockdown, it will be something of a relief to return to gainful occupation. In addition, knowing that I will be playing a larger part than most in pushing new online, virtual ‘solutions’ means I will be one of the more important cogs in our little machine. New ways of working should make us more productive and allow expansion of income without having to try and cram ever more into our already crammed premises.

It will also be a relief to get away from the madness of Twitter and the media in general. So many people clamouring to be heard. So many people falling prey to the worst prognostications and then, by some curious online osmosis, making their own prophecies of doom in turn. So many clueless pontificators, each afflicted with their own special mix of gullibility, fear and devious sophistry; all of them putting together two and two and coming out with whatever number they first thought of.

People like Carole Cadwalladr see devious cadres plotting sinister world domination; the creeping tendrils of whichever organisation she believes she has exposed this month are everywhere. Your thoughts are being manipulated by shady capitalists who have the world’s politicians in their pocket. But why should Catlady have the monopoly on who are the good billionaires and who are the bad? Or are they ‘all in it together’. We need to be told! No, actually, we don’t. People are gullible enough without being fed such a rich diet of alarm.

The media has done its job and by repetition of the same questions over and over again, questions which are not really questions at all, has managed to push the credulous to doubt that the government has done anything right at any part of the pandemic. Naturally, there is a political divide, with those broadly backing government remaining calm and listening to the relaxation of lockdown advice. But, if you have a hard-on for Boris, as intellectually superior as you are, it seems you have an inordinately difficult time of grasping what ‘stay alert’ means. Odd, really, especially as just days ago you were all experts in epidemiology.

The new national pastime appears to be dreaming up further inanities to put to government. “I have a niche hobby. Why has the government not given specific advice as to whether it is safe to return to it?” Wags have managed to re-hash the same gag, with different accents, but all based on Vicky Pollard’s “Yeah, but no, but yeah, but…” shtick and suggesting that ordinary people can’t grasp whether they can go back to work or not, whether they can use public transport or not, whether they, blah, blah, blah.

But I have a suspicion that, like me, ordinary working people are perfectly capable of staying alert and staying safe. We’ve long lost interest in the statistics, the science, the conjecture and the blame game and we just want to gradually return to whatever employment remains. Let’s face it, without the private sector returning to being taxpayers, the public sector is going to run out of money. Again. So, you’ll excuse me, I’m sure, if I continue to not have an opinion on the government’s handling of things other than to assume that they know far more than I do. And you’ll excuse me, please, if I just get back to work and do my bit.