Well 2020 turned out very differently to how I thought it would this time last year, albeit with that back of my mind worry about what happened if C19 did the same as SARS as it was starting to get out of hand in Wuhan. As we all know, C19 has done a lot more damage to the world and people's lives that SARS did. When the stories of C19 started emerging I did worry about it getting bad, given I learnt the hard way about the impacts of SARS due to a trip to Tibet that year that had to be cancelled. However, in the early days, I didn't expect C19 to cause the chaos that it did.
I've spent the last year, staying very local, only going to shops as the food runs low & doing my best to avoid people. On the upside, I've been lucky to be able to work from home & having a good reason not to commute has been a positive. Fortunately, there are enough good local Birding spots that I've been able to get out Birding this Autumn, albeit I missed the Spring this year as I stayed at home throughout the lockdown and beyond. I had four foreign Birding trips that I had planned to do this year. A couple have been cancelled (with no likely prospect of them being replanned when I can go) & the other two rebooked in the future. I should have been at sea between the Falklands & South Georgia as I write this Post, but hopefully I will finally get there & Antarctica in the future. But it would be nice if the floor was moving around at the moment.
King Penguins: I should have been catching up with these friends this Christmas, South Georgia (3 Apr 2018)
I'll leave you with this song that I think sums up 2020 for me. It was written & sung by Laura, who is the youngest daughter of very good and old friends of mine from the late 80s. Laura & her music partner have formed Colour Formation & in the 2020 way, they haven't been able to meet up in person yet. But the video is superbly edited and even more special to me as her parents Nita & Steve are in the video, along with a cameo appearance from one of their chickens. Just as importantly the words sum up Christmas 2020 for many people. Please take the time to listen to the song & enjoy the video. The song can be downloaded from Amazon if you want.
I'll wish all the readers of this Blog a Happy Quiet Christmas & a Good and Safe New Year