Masks, Mandates and Mayhem

A sense of humour, a garden, two dogs, an extended family, a 'make do and mend' mentality, new freedom fighter friends and a deepening Christian faith enabled one family to weather the storm that was Covid. Media lies, police brutality, medical negligence and political bullying combined with technological surveillance to produce the biggest global evil in history. Laugh, learn and remember.

A sense of humour, a garden, two dogs, an extended family, a 'make do and mend' mentality, new freedom fighter friends and a deepening Christian faith enabled one family to weather the storm that was Covid. Pervasive and unrelenting fear produced a divide between those who received a 'safe and effective' vaccine and those who did not, a requirement to wear a mask to go to a swimming pool or visit a dentist, job losses, QR checks at playgrounds and the great toilet paper panic. The unvaccinated were separated from family and friends, forbidden to enter restaurants and other businesses, and threatened with quarantine camps. Meanwhile the climate hystericals were threatening to remove meat from the menu, energy from the home and holidays from the family calendar. 'Social distance' 'SADS (sudden adult death)syndrome', 'vaccidents', 'covidiocy', 'new normal', 'safe and effective', 'the science', 'essential services', are now unfortunately, terms in common usage Masks, Mandates and Mayhem invents an alternative laugh and learn vocabulary such as 'Dicky Ticker syndrome', a 'wedding of wallabies', the 'nsq (nutters per square inch) quotient' and 'fart facts' and services such as the 'crow and go' rooster drop off program and 'cinderella cleaning'. Media lies, police brutality, medical negligence and political bullying combined with technological surveillance to produce the biggest global evil in history. Laugh, learn and remember.

Gail loves pottering round her suburban garden, encouraging her plants as she aims the hose, discovering new veggie babies and staying one step ahead of the wildlife. She has exchanged the role of mental health social worker for that of writer and gardener. Having an answer to the tedious 'what do you do?' question is one of many positives of the writing life. Gail writes because she loves writing and combines it with maintaining an urban paradise in order to balance the budget. As she has managed to carve out a niche in life to provide time, energy and space to write, she is sometimes the recipient of envy and snide remarks. The dirty fingernails from garden grubbing, a preference for free camp sites or the artistic patches sewn on many clothes are not noticed. Her family refer to her as Her Right Royal Green Thumbs (HRRGT) when she is grubbing potatoes, the Head Gardener when directing the under-gardener, the matriarch when overseeing a family function or the Matron when managing a crisis. Her home has lots of books and an untidy garden for her four grand-daughters to enjoy. Gail's latest challenge is staying ahead of the latest crisis while maintaining a sense of humour. She still has a reading addiction, plays violin and dabbles in art. She lives in Hobart Tasmania.