For a small village, Courtmacsherry has a big heart, as demonstrated by the local response to the current pandemic. Over the past five weeks, volunteers like Sheila Desmond, John Madden and Clemence Holland have mobilised to provide support to members of the community in the Courtmacsherry, Barryroe and Lislevane areas, who are isolated or self-isolating at home.

Semi-retired nurse and social worker Sheila Desmond is on the road every day picking up prescriptions and running errands for the 20 to 30 people over-70 cocooning in Courtmacsherry village. “We have about 40 more people helping out locally who are calling in on their neighbours and anyone else in need,” she explains. 

“A lot of people are very anxious about the virus but most seem to be coping well at home.” The Courtmacsherry, Lislevane, Barryroe Support group has distributed a flyer locally with helpline numbers and Community Support contact details. Anyone needing help can contact Sheila Desmond on 085 8531134, John Madden on 023 88 40123 or Clemence Holland on 087 4415272.

There has also been no shortage of volunteers helping to staff Courtmacsherry Community Shop. “We’ve had a few who had to drop out for age or health reasons but we’ve had many others step up to take their place,” says Sheila.

“I’m really proud of the way our local community has responded to this crisis. People are maintaining their social distance and helping out where they can.”

Courtmacsherry Community Shop remains open seven days a week, with deliveries of fresh fruit and vegetables times a week and delicious home baking supplied by local baker Brendan of Travara lodge.

Other local businesses have also stepped up with The Golden Pheasant providing a takeaway pizza service every Friday and Saturday evening (023 8846805) and gastro pub The Lifeboat Inn giving free cookery lessons through their facebook page and a takeaway dinner service every weekend ((023) 886 4656).

Barryroe Co-op is offering a free local delivery service, which is a lifeline for the elderly in the community (023 8840053).

De Barra’s Spoken Word will be going online on Wednesday 15^th April with a pre-recorded interview with well know poet, David Jackson. David started writing in 2004 after being diagnosed with Cancer, after which time he spent three years receiving chemotherapy. During this period he spent a lot of time in isolation where his only sanity tool was writing. To quote David, “I found most of my healing in what I wrote and I honestly believe I would not be here and healthy today without it. I now work with the “Power of Words” to help heal through my writing and spoken-word performances….” David believes that “…my greatest teachers are the face of this earth’s features”

Having forged his craft in the heady fires of rap battles and daunting hospital corridors, he no longer seeks to express or impress. Instead, he has dedicated himself to the casting of spells that will enable people to “shift entire structures of existence” if they so wish. He is looking at the sky, and beyond, through the lens of nature, always with one eye on the galactic expanses.

Having grown up in Ballinlough in Cork City, David has continued to move west before striking root amid the trees and forests of Glengariff; a wild part of the country that informs and inspires his writing. He issued a first collection of poems, Good Morning New World early in 2018 and has just published The Legend of Here and Now, a shamanic and mythological sci-fi journey that is partly told in strong lines of poetry. Simultaneously, he released the digital album Stay Sentient, a beguiling mix of spoken word, sound effects, and music, which can be found here:

https://genesis3.bandcamp.com/album/stay-sentient-vol-1

and on Spotify. His books can be bought at http://embodimensional.com/books/

Our first spoken word session will be a pre-recorded talk/reading by and interview with poet David, who was our guest in early 2018. The recording will be put on our Facebook page next week. It can subsequently be viewed on YouTube. During the first ‘broadcast’ on Wednesday the 15th of April at 4 PM , a link will be provided to a live Q & A session with David  which will be live streamed on Facebook immediately afterwards. He will be talking about his new book, The Legend of Here and Now, and other intergalactic matters.

Wednesday 15 April, 4 PM, Facebook page DeBarra’s Spoken Word.

The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI), the statutory body responsible for the regulation and management of the practise of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in the state, has issued a guidance note to veterinary professionals on the subject of COVID-19 and passive transfer to animals. Included is a protocol for veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses to assist their clients or pet owners who may be concerned for their animal’s welfare or suspect that their animal may have contracted the virus.

The Council acknowledges that recent reports of dogs, cats and even zoo tigers and lions testing positive for the virus should be taken seriously. However, the Council advises that there is currently no indication that pet animals such as cats and dogs are active transmitters of the infection to humans. This view is shared by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The Council provided the following Recommended protocol for veterinary professionals when advising their clients:

• If faced with questions from clients worried by news reports or stories found on social media, veterinary professionals should be aware that the general population understandably equates the detection of a pathogen in an animal with active and contagious infection.

• Veterinary professionals should be mindful when explaining the concept of ‘contaminated’ rather than ‘infected’ pets, there exists the possibility of the discovery of some hitherto undiscovered reservoir or intermediate animal host.

• Veterinary practices should advise their clients that while the situation may change, that at this point pets are not considered to be active transmitters of infections for humans.

• However, animals that have contact with confirmed or suspect human cases should be treated as high risk of having the virus either on their coats, or in their faeces, as well as in nasal and oral secretions. It would be advisable that such animals be quarantined and kept in isolation for 14 days as a precautionary measure.

• Where such animals have to be examined in a veterinary practice, the precautionary principle should be invoked. Barrier nursing protocols should be implemented, and a minimum of practice staff should be exposed to the risk. These processes should be explained to the client in advance in order to allay their fears and avoid unnecessary embarrassment.

• High risk COVID-19 patients should limit their contact with other animals.

• In keeping with other disease control measures, people should always wash their hands after playing with and handling their pets.

The Veterinary Council also acknowledged the veterinary professionals who are continuing to work and provide veterinary care during the current period.

Joe Moffitt, President of the Veterinary Council of Ireland, said “The Veterinary Council of Ireland would like to commend all registrants who continue to practise veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing to the highest professional standards while adhering to HSE, public health and Government guidelines and operating in a spirit of collegiality despite the obstacles posed by the current pandemic”.

The full guidance note from the Veterinary Council of Ireland can be accessed here

Units idle during pandemic may create risk later on

There are potential health risks associated with water-fed equipment that have been left idle during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Euro Refrigeration Limited, who also operate Ice Water, Ireland’s leading provider of premium filtered water. Such systems include ice making machines, filtered water systems and water refill stations. They are present in many locations across Ireland, including schools, pubs and hotels and due to the current widespread closures they are temporarily not in use.

If water-fed equipment has been idle for a period of fourteen days or more, the build-up of stagnated water has the high potential to create areas of health risk, including the growth of bacteria and viral infections, once they come back into use. Anyone who consumes water or ice from a contaminated machine can be at risk.

Euro Refrigeration Limited is advising users with water fed equipment at their locations that has not been used in the last twelve days, that they should be properly decommissioned, in line with health regulations.

The decommissioning process is relatively simple and involves all water being drained, followed by a complete sanitation of the system with a chlorine-based product. 

Peter Wynne, Managing Director of Euro Refrigeration Limited said: “With many businesses, schools and offices closed for the foreseeable future, it essential to decommission water fed equipment to avoid a build-up of bacteria and viruses during this period. As a preventative measure, our engineers will be carrying out decommissions in the coming weeks to avoid any potential health issues. We currently have hundreds of machines rented to various sectors and will of course be decommissioning all of this equipment at no cost to our customers.”

Peter Wynne added: “We would urge customers to arrange for all equipment to be decommissioned. Once this process is complete, the machines will be ready for immediate use once the restrictions have been lifted. We will also issue the appropriate certification that can be produced in the event of an inspection when businesses and other organisations return to normal.”

Clonakilty native Julie O’Brien, who owns a bar in midtown Manhattan, The Junction NYC, continues writing in a series of letters from New York, where there are glimmers of hope that social distancing is working even as Coronavirus deaths still climb. Julie is married to Stevie and they have a two-year-old daughter Izzy.

Our lives have come to be defined by a word – Apex. If you look it up in the dictionary you’ll find it means the point where you reach the top of something, the high point. It now has a darker undertone.
 
In today’s world, a world shaped by Covid-19, apex refers to the highest number of cases in a state or country, after which the rate of infection begins to slow. 

On a positive note, this means the virus is slowing down and hopefully will soon be managed. But forever more, millions of us will associate this word with death – the high point of our death toll during this awful pandemic. 

Today, April 8, 2020, there are more than 140,000 infected with 6,268 dead in New York State. 

We just suffered the highest single-day increase in our death toll in NYC and it has surpassed 9/11!

New York’s Governor Cuomo gave us some hope when he noted the three-day average of hospitalisations is down, indicating the state is “reaching a plateau in the total number of hospitalisations” and hopefully we will see the numbers flatten out.

A couple of evenings ago, following the nightly shouts and cheers and playing of instruments out of the windows in support of our wonderful brave doctors and nurses on the front line, the late Bill Withers’ ‘Lean on Me’ could be heard over the loudspeaker and it brought a tear to my eye, not really out of sadness, more out of awe and gratitude for these people who are leading the troops in the hospital battlefields. 

It’s hard for me to see the positivity to this ‘plateau’ spoken of now. I walk outside my door and am confronted with masked faces, terrified eyes staring out over homemade masks. I’m guilty of letting my scarf hang around my neck to get a break from the suffocating feeling the protection carries with it. Dagger-eyes from a passerby prompt me to pull it back up above my nose. 

The CDC (centre for disease control and prevention) has made a U-turn in their views on people wearing coverage on their faces here – everyone should now be wearing something, be it a scarf or a makeshift mask on their face. A week or two ago this was not the case, I think they were worried about the general population taking the limited supply of masks when our healthcare workers needed them so badly; but who can tell who is a silent carrier of virus and could be the cause of someone’s death just by taking a breath. Better to be safe.

I have gone into a store (supermarket) only once in the past four weeks, to get some groceries for the old lady who lives alone above The Junction. When I dropped them off, she handed me a bag of half a dozen masks. She knows I wear a scarf to cover my face on my trips outside of home. This is the same lady who has complained about the loud music in The Junction so many times that I cannot count it on two hands. We have become friends.

How many of these senior citizens will pass from the virus or from sadness, alone? Or perhaps this experience will help them to bond with a generation they do not understand. 

Today, as I left to walk up to check on The Junction, I noticed all the cherry blossoms outside my apartment. It’s funny how something so catastrophic can make you start appreciating the little things. I always loved nature growing up in West Cork but life just sped up too much, too fast, I think. My cousin in Ireland used to build these incredible tree houses, probably about the same size as my current apartment, I kid you not! We would spend all day in the outdoors – say a hurried goodbye after breakfast with shouts following us out the door of “Be back in time for your supper”. Our only worry was getting home in time for supper. These are the kind of things I have time to think about now.

I do hope kids can carry on being kids when this is all done. My two-and-a-half-year-old daughter looked at me yesterday and said, “I miss teacher”. I was speechless. She is in nursery school for only nine hours a week at The Epiphany in Manhattan and the teachers continue to send us some classroom songs and craft projects that we do in the mornings. The fact that my toddler realised some things are missing from her daily routine life amazed me. What about the bigger kids that are cooped up in their homes, not able to go outside for an hour, let alone go gallivanting around the neighbourhood for half the day. How are they really feeling and how will they be affected by all of this long-term? 

I’ve reached an Apex on several occasions in my life before: When I got my first job as a waitress in New York City having pounded the pavement searching for work and being down to my last dollar. When myself, John and Ivan got the doors to The Junction open for the first time. When I first kissed my husband Stevie after eyeing him from across the bar for years. When I found out I was pregnant with Izzy, which I thought would be never be a possibility. When I finished the NYC marathon after taking up running as a bet. When I touched the ground in Shannon, having not seen nor smelled the green of home for well over a decade. These are just a few…

I cannot wait until I get that feeling of great elation when the world turns right-way-up again.

Was it really ever right-way-up? I wonder if people will treat the world a bit better after this…other people, the oceans, the atmosphere, the land? Will this be a wake-up call?

We are already going to have to adapt our lives to change in one way or another after this. Why not incorporate some good habits into our daily routines while we’re at it. Recycle more, drive less. We can see now how the small things make the difference. In a city like New York, it takes its people to make a difference. We are tough, New York tough. It’s up to us what happens next. 

I’m still waiting for the rainbow, the day we take on a ‘new’ normal. The day I might reopen the bar, the day that we may all start building our lives again, setting new goals and reaching a new Apex.

#waitingfortherainbow

#wewillhaveadrinktogethersoon 

Julie has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to help her staff through this tough time. Only two of the 16 on the payroll have managed to file for unemployment. The phone lines are still jammed. If you can afford to donate the price of a pint or two to help out, follow the link below and be sure to stop by The Junction the next time you’re in New York where the welcome is always warm.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-junction-staff-support?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

John Shade writes from Finland on how ‘the world’s happiest country’ is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Spring is usually the time for Finns to come out of hibernation. This Spring we emerged, only to be ordered back into isolation. Measures here have followed a common pattern seen around the world: remote work, closed schools, inessential services and businesses shut down. 

Finland is one of the most sparsely populated countries on earth, with only 5.5 million people occupying roughly 300,000 square kilometres of predominantly trees and lakes. Finns love distance. If you think you are respecting someone’s personal space, take a step back and exaggerate the recommended proxemics. 

Text messages from the police outline restrictions on movement between the southern region and the rest of Finland. Many Finns are prohibited from travelling to their cottages and cabins, the summer residences that epitomise Finnish life. Paradoxically, these are habitats of privacy and isolation, but we want to contain the pathogen.

There are calls to shut down the state-owned alcohol stores. We are warned of a potential rise in domestic violence. We are told to practice ’physical’ distancing, but to connect with others over phone and video, find novel ways of being social. 

Finland is accustomed to being a peripheral nation, but the virus and the accompanying memes are global, the curve on everyone’s lips. The young government ministers who address us are a picture of health.

Our august President says that economies can recover; it is lives we must focus on. The public discourse is civil and respectful, displaying Finno-Scandinavian level-headedness.

But many are scared, the paranoia and disgust that we are wired to display in times of mass infection, are visible in the supermarkets. We cannot read the faces of masked citizens, only the eyes. 

The lockdown in Spain is taking its toll with many finding the strict isolation regulations difficult. Ruth Sancho Huerga shares some poetic thoughts on the daily routine.

It’s half past two in the morning and I’m still awake. We have kept very occupied during the first two weeks of lockdown…doing yoga, dancing, learning how to cook desserts, walking the dog, learning how to play the ukulele, walking in the house, teaching lessons online, singing songs, dancing, walking the dog again…trying to follow a routine.

I’m confused. We all are. Bored, and sad too, so many times. My friend called yesterday, crying, telling me that all her phantoms are visiting her mind. 

And I cannot sleep. It is impossible to be as I used to be. 

At least tomorrow morning the sun will rise again and, with its rays, it will warm our thoughts. And I will see the ocean from my rooftop. And it will be so quiet, calm, and huge, so beautifully flat, spreading, in its blue, a hopeful mirror shining in the horizon. 

Are the birds noticing our absence at all? Is the breeze whispering our lack of freedom? Is that green new branch of spring burgeoning our Renaissance?  

From my terrace nothing has changed but everything looks different. The echo of the claps at eight o’clock every night peal on the wall of the buildings, on the concrete, on the apathic streets full of empathy and void, on the Emergency Room of an overwhelmed hospital, on the flowers of cemeteries where no one prays. But a thankful voice of an entire country is still breathing together in the same effort, sighting the same despair, fighting with our hands, even if it is just to draw a thousand rainbows and green hearts to hold from the windows.

The silence rumbles and bells from the church chime. And again, the sunset will paint our solitude with watercolors on the flouting clouds, to let us know that “everything will pass”.

Waves of patience flood the cities while the news says the same; that we should stay at home in planet Earth.  

Tonight, the cats will lie on cars and benches and meow to the stars that are bright like eyes. Eyes of repentance, of comprehension, big as the moon: a porthole window to our soul through which we can talk to the ancestors. The ones who suffered hunger and lived war. The vulnerable ones who stood up for our rights and built this world. We are calling them again. Remembering their names, faces and truth. 

It’s four o’clock in the morning here in Spain and I cannot sleep. No schedule, no rush, we have forgotten the date.  Still another three weeks to go. It’s tiring and useless to complain.

It’s five. It’s twelve. It’s nine… We will survive this nonsense.

Today the National Dairy Council is launching a new TV campaign to be aired on prime times slots from this evening. Covid-19 has created huge uncertainty for us all but the one thing we can continue to rely on is fresh high quality Irish food, thanks to the hard working farmers of Ireland. 

The adverts showcase the stunning footage of Irish farms created for the NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk awards, which have been running since 2010. These high impact visuals tell the story of hard working farmers, caring for their land and their grass-fed cows. The ad closes with fresh milk being poured, paired with in-home consumption moment.

Well-known Irish broadcaster Doireann Garrihy narrates the powerful ads. As one of the nation’s most popular broadcasters with her prime time show (2FM Breakfast), her authenticity, likeability and recognisable voice adds an additional layer of advocacy to farmers.

Doireann said, “I am delighted to be fronting this campaign on behalf of the National Dairy Council who I have worked with over the last number of years. There are dairy farmers on both sides of my family; I feel very connected to and passionate about celebrating the amazing Irish farmers who produce quality food 365 days a year”.

The ad campaign also showcases the NDC Guarantee mark which was introduced in 2009, a packaging mark giving consumers in the Republic of Ireland the reassurance of knowing that if they buy milk or cream with the NDC Guarantee, it is both farmed and processed locally. The NDC Guarantee appears on 350 milk and cream products across the country, ranging from brand leaders to ‘private label’ or ‘own label’ products. This amounts to hundreds of pack types and sizes across many products.

Speaking about the campaign, Zoe Kavanagh, CEO of NDC commented; “This is an important time to celebrate excellence in dairy farming. Irish dairy has one of the lowest carbon footprints internationally, primarily due to the unique grass fed, family based Irish farming system, which is extremely efficient and involves less intensive farming. During challenging times people need to have trust in what they know. Irish dairy is recognised as a vital part of people’s diet and general health across the life stages, indispensable to Ireland’s social and economic well-being now more than ever!”

While the positive credentials of Irish dairy are longstanding and plentiful, the gap between food origin and consumer is growing. At the same time, consumers are demanding natural sustainably produced food – transparency, authenticity, taking responsibility for your health and your environmental impact. The National Dairy Council recognises the opportunity to reconnect consumers with natural food production and showcase that in Ireland our unique grass-based system coupled with our family farming system is what really sets Ireland apart.

Minister for Health Simon Harris TD has announced an initiative for patients who avail of a Ministerial licence for medicinal cannabis products to have the products delivered.

Speaking today, Minister Harris said: “I am aware that the limited number of patients who avail of a Ministerial licence for medicinal cannabis products issued under section 14 of the Misuse of Drugs Acts have been encountering difficulties with access owing to travel restrictions and people’s need to self-isolate.   

“I am very glad we have been able to make arrangements to have an emergency supply of their products collected for them in Holland, where the products are supplied, and to have the products delivered to the patients in Ireland. Patients and their clinicians are now being contacted by the Department in order that these arrangements may be put in place.” 

With restrictions on gatherings likely to remain for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19, West Cork Music has cancelled this year’s 25^th West Cork Chamber Music Festival, which was due to take place from June 26 – July 5.

West Cork Music said that the safety of artists, audiences and staff is the most important priority at this challenging time.

This decision will lead to the loss of essential income for the freelance musicians who are at the heart of the festival. They are already facing serious financial hardship with months of work cancelled. West Cork Music is paying a cancellation fee to all musicians who were booked for the 2020 West Cork Chamber Music Festival.

To soften the cancellation of the 2020 West Cork Chamber Music Festival, West Cork Music is simultaneously releasing Lyric’s recordings of the 2019 Festival. To celebrate these memories, a performance from last year’s Festival will be featured each week on the West Cork Music home page. As this is Beethoven year, this begins with his magisterial Archduke Trio played by Viviane Hagner, Johannes Moser and Barry Douglas.

West Cork Music would like to thank the Arts Council of Ireland, Crespo Foundation, Failte Ireland, Donors and Friends, staff and volunteers, all of whom will work to ensure that the West Cork Music will be able to present the Festival next year and into the future. 

The Leoni family moved from Clonakilty, West Cork to Gran Canaria last September. Mattia, Elena and their two sons Michele (12) and Sam (10) are now living under Europe’s hardest lockdown in a 600sqft apartment.

You’ve been following the news and the stats, so there’s no need to tell you that Spain is almost top of the Covid-19 league table… so what can we add? 

Let’s start by saying we are technically living in Spain but in reality quite far from it as geographically The Canary islands are in Africa.

What does that change? Well, a few things – all of which are interconnected.

From a safety point of view, there are far fewer cases here (380 in Gran Canaria, where about one million people live, which means, adjusting by population, around half the cases in Ireland) and the virus is not spreading much. Those numbers should be reassuring, but actually they’re a shame; it would have been very easy, from a technical point of view, to avoid any cases on this island, and in the whole archipelago. When the virus started spreading around the world, especially in Europe, there were just one or two here that were immediately isolated, so stopping all inbound air and marine traffic would have solved the issue. Of course, for a region living off tourism, and off its links with Mother Spain, that was unthinkable. Now that traffic has been reduced to a minimum and tourism is completely gone, you realise that tough initial tactics would have avoided all the current hard measures, which are indeed quite hard. It’s such a shame they were not averted by some smart forward thinking.

So, that’s the most annoying thing: we’ve got very few cases and we could have been kept completely safe but we are under Europe’s hardest lockdown, as the government is proud to reiterate.

Of course, social distancing and protective measures (washing, disinfecting, wearing gloves and masks…) are extremely important and some forms of quarantine are necessary (at least for some categories), but here we’re not talking about some restrictions, here it’s really tough, in ways that those not digging deep into the international news might not have realised. 

In Spain people are allowed to go outside for only three reasons: shopping for food, going to a pharmacy or for essential work.  That’s the same as in many other countries, so what’s the big deal?

The big deal is in the details: in most other countries, moderate exercise is allowed, or even encouraged – as long as you keep a distance, don’t stay out too long or go to far from home, you can go for a jog, family members can walk together or people can still meet in groups not bigger than two. Here, we can’t go out unless walking a dog (and we don’t have a pet).

You can’t even go to your foodstore of choice, only the nearest one, which is quite limiting if you’re not a mainstream foodshopper and want to buy local and organic, for example. 

Back to the dogs: if you consider that supermarkets and pharmacies don’t want to see children, they are in fact treated worse than animals, because they literally can’t go outside the door. Unless you let them sneak out for a rebel run to the rubbish bins, when the army is not in sight! 

The army? Yes, not only are beaches and playgrounds cordoned off, not only are the police patrolling the streets (and stopping individual cyclists going to the wrong shops “because people are dying”), but even soldiers are walking around to instil fear about daring to go against the rules.

The virus is killing people but our State of Emergency has killed our freedom of movement and will create serious physical, psychological and economical problems for a lot of people.

It is driving children mad!

And their parents too!

With small houses and no gardens, families are feeling the strain of all this. Not all schools are organised enough to involve children in online lessons for a long period of time, so children instead just receive work to be done at home through a time-wasting digital process where you have to keep checking emails, Google Drive, Google Classroom. You risk a fine (or jail) going out to somewhere that can print documents so the kids have to copy all of it into their copybooks, then you take pictures of sheets and projects and upload them. As a parent, now that I have time to go through the syllabus in more detail, I realise how little they’re actually learning and how much time they’re wasting, especially now that they’re given a lot of ‘time-filling’ activities and projects. 

Schools and sport teams are sending texts and videos of physical exercise to be done at home, which is nice, but active outdoorsy children still miss out a lot with regard to letting out stress by movement and, most of all, getting fresh air and sunlight. 

Sunshine…sorry for this, we know it’s a bit mean on our part, but when you live in probably the best climate on earth and so close to the beach and the sea (with warm water), staying indoors for weeks on end is extremely frustrating: you see the waves, you hear them, you were in them every day, now you can’t even get your feet wet! 

And it’s been like this from day one of the lockdown, with no intermediate steps: on a Thursday afternoon schools were closed and two days later we were stuck inside.

Too depressing an outlook? Well, it is sad, there’s no denying it and 18 days like this, at the time of writing, is a long time. It’s a feeling of being held captive. It’s not boredom (try to get bored when you are managing two young kids in 60sq metres), so all those articles about the amazing projects you can finally dedicate yourself to and all the books you can read are actually making you feel worse when you’re a busy parent. You’re told you can catch up on family time, but our life was already arranged so as to have that, we didn’t need a lockdown to bestow on us this wonderful opportunity to spend 14 hours a day bumping into each other and to reach such high levels of stress and relational friction that we’re happy there’s no one living in the flat below us – otherwise it would be embarrassing.

No day goes by without missing normal life and wondering when all this will end, but whenever that is, we’d like to get there mentally sane, so we’re doing a lot of special things to try and keep happy: we go to (read ‘watch’) the opera once a week, even dressing up for the occasion; we cook delicious dishes, including our daily sweet; we write a very short silly or motivational poem every day (rhyming with the lockdown day’s number); we run up and down the stairs; we climb up an iron ladder and over a low wall to the apartment complex roof for exercise and sunshine; we pray and play together more; we learn or at least recite poetry; we compose silly songs on the virus; we play and listen to more music than usual; we follow James’ lessons on famous paintings (James Waller is an artist based in Clonakilty) and draw and paint more than usual; we have our daily friend-or-relatives call; we tell our lockdown tales with more or less beautiful, interesting or funny pictures on Instagram… 

Let’s now finish with some external positives, too, meaning good things happening outside our mad cell.

The empty beach is more beautiful than ever and seeing birds re-claiming that space as theirs is quite a sight.

The best element, by far, is the daily community moment: in mainland Spain, at 8pm many people step out on their terraces, or show up at their windows, to clap in support of the health professionals working hard and with risks to help the sick. There are a few people in the neighbouring buildings that have embraced this idea, so every day at 7pm (due to the different time zone), we are on our balcony, not just to clap, but to see and exchange a few words with our fellow captives. As a family, we’ve decided to make this moment bigger and better; so every evening we offer a short, delicate musical piece, on the piano, the violin or with those instruments accompanying Mummy’s marvellous voice. The neighbours seem to like this, so they stay out after the clapping, they listen, smile, clap and thank us; some told us at times they’re moved to tears…It’s not the quality of the performances, which are way less than perfect: it’s the magic of music, it’s the sharing, the friendship being created, the empathy. 

Community Resources Network Ireland (CRNI) is the all-island representative body for community-based reuse, recycling and waste prevention organisations. VOICE is a member-based Irish environmental charity that empowers individuals and local communities to take positive action to conserve our natural resources. CRNI and VOICE have developed these tips for circular economy continuity during this time of uncertainty.

All of us are coming to terms with the new reality of social distancing and getting to grips with how best to avoid contamination of ourselves and those around us. While we need to be vigilant about COVID-19 (coronavirus), we also need to find a way to continue with our long-term collective goals of balancing community, safety and a healthy environment. 

We have made great progress in the past two years on the circular economy and climate awareness. Individuals are changing their consumption habits through increased reuse and reduced single-use plastic use, businesses are building sustainability plans, the Irish Government is implementing the Climate Action Plan and developing the Circular Economy Package and the EU is prioritising the Green New Deal.

“This time at home is an opportunity to take stock of how we manage our own resources — from electronics to clothing and food waste — and make small changes in our habits that can have a long-term impact. For example, knowing when to avoid unnecessary purchases, repairing things you would have thrown out or getting the most from your food can all help reduce demand for new goods and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Claire Downey Executive of Community Resources Network (CRNI).

“Daily, we are seeing reports of the petrochemical industry sowing fear into the minds of policy makers and consumers, lobbying for the delay or elimination of plastic bag bans in the US and the delay in the bag charge in the UK. While we understand the fear of spreading the COVID-19 virus and the uncertainty associated with how it spreads and how it lasts on different surfaces, we are concerned that the single-use packaging industry is using this opportunity to promote use of their products, thus setting back the reuse industry and reuse targets set out in the Single Use Plastic Directive and the EU Green New Deal’s Circular Economy Action Plan,” stated Mindy O’Brien, Coordinator of Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment (VOICE). 

Together, we can continue to do our part to contribute to the health of the environment even during this time of uncertainty. 

Understand the facts about reuse and COVID-19

Plastic wrapped does not mean disinfected

New or packaged items aren’t necessarily more sanitary than properly disinfected reusable or secondhand items. Just because something is wrapped in plastic does not mean the product is sterile nor that the packaging is clean since all goods are passed through many hands. Tests have found that COVID-19 survives up to a day on cardboard and up to three days on stainless steel and plastic. 

Read research and articles, including those on CRNI’s COVID-19 webpage (crni.ie/reuse-recycling-covid-19/), and continue to follow public health advice to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

What can you do while Safe at Home? 

Declutter to donate

Set aside preloved items after decluttering in the attic, shed, or corner of a room to donate to social enterprises, charities/nonprofits, and voluntary organisations when they reopen. These organisations have been severely impacted due to COVID-19 closures and they will need the support of donations to jump-start their operations once reopened.

Continue your personal sustainability journeys

Avoid single use plastic usage where possible. For example, when ordering takeaway be sure to say no to throwaways — such as cutlery, napkins, straws and sachets (salt, sauce, sugar). Be sure to continue to bring your own reusable bags when shopping. Learn how to get the most from your food to reduce food waste. See voiceireland.org/news/. 

Think before buying new and reuse and repair instead to reduce consumption of material goods and single-use plastics. Learn new reuse and repair skills online during this time from CRNI Members. See crni.ie/reuse-recycling-covid-19/. 

Continue to support waste reduction and the circular economy

Support Government action on reuse, the circular economy and single-use plastic reduction. This includes the introduction of new packaging levies and economic incentives to reduce unnecessary plastic packaging, green and social public procurement, greater development of the reuse market — which creates jobs in Ireland and shortens the supply chain — and incentives for new businesses, social enterprises, charities/non-profits and voluntary organisations that offer reuse and repair. CRNI’s key policy areas (crni.ie/key-policy-areas/), VOICE’s policy work (voiceireland.org/submissions.php) and VOICE’s recent letter to Minister Bruton outline key policy areas to continue progress.

As a country — in our organisations, our communities, our families — we are demonstrating strength and resilience in taking on this COVID-19 crisis by being Safe at Home. After this, we can come together and continue to create a more sustainable environment — our collective home — to keep it safe for generations to come.