Times they are a-changing

Sure are! All kinds of odd things seem to be taking place, so that the current virus crisis is coming to seem almost normal. My wife and I decided to take advantage of today’s sunshine to take a country walk. We headed off in the car to the popular Shipley Glen. As we drove out of the village I was astonished to see an unfamiliar bird in a field beside the road. At first I thought it might be a heron, but realised immediately that it was too white and far too big.

When we got back home I dug out my reference books to check the possibilities. My conclusion is that it could only be a stork. To my readers in several other countries this will seem unexceptional. The book reckoned, however, that the stork is a “rare visitor to East Anglia” let alone to West Yorkshire. This is one of the first occasions on which the idea of climate change has really started to register with me in practical terms and not only as a theoretical notion. I was very doubtful about my identification until two friends on facebook tonight confirmed that they too had seen a stork in this part of Yorkshire.

My general detachment from the modern world has been brought home to me in a big way today. Two groups in which I normally participate have decided that during the current virus crisis they will attempt to hold virtual meetings on the internet. This I find a very deterring idea since I have absolutely no experience of programmes such as Skype. I have to decide whether to screw up my courage and enter this new universe or whether to stick to my old familiar world and hope that this temporary fad will fade in due course. Let’s face it: there is no proper substitute for face-to-face interaction. It is nice to be in touch with my readers, but it would be far better if we could meet in a restaurant with a meal and a bottle of wine.