Cruising over!

Several news items this morning caught my eye. They proclaimed that cruise ships had taken the virus round the world. Those of you who have been following this blog will remember that at Christmas I was away, visiting the Caribbean on a cruise ship. Cruising has been a wonderful way for me to see the world in my own old age. But I was not well on the last cruise. And several times people were taken off the ship, sometimes dramatically in the middle of the Atlantic by helicopter. It was not a cruise that I enjoyed and I came home saying that I wasn’t going to do it again. Now, looking back I think that I witnessed the very beginning of this horror. Twice I visited the medical rooms for a problem of my own and twice I witnessed a drama being played out around me as a patient was being prepared to be taken off to get to hospital. I came home saying I would not be cruising again. So far I maintain that position. Here at home through my windows I can see Falmouth. Usually at this stage of the year it a very busy port. Ships go in and out, every day. This week there have been no ships at all. The landing stages are empty. This pandemic continues...but when it is all over eventually it’s going to be a very different world. And it’s most unlikely that I will be leaving Cornwall any time soon.