It’s only like the flu and you’re all young and fit – I could be sitting in the theatre seats at one of those upbeat management briefs, listening to one of my bosses cheerleading the entertainment staff. At the start of the on-board, coronavirus outbreak, that’s the kind of thing that was being said. I was there and so were the rest of the entertainment staff.
Within a month or two my own ship had lost at least 5 passengers and 1 crew member to covid-19 and I knew then that I was right. I’d been thinking -yeah but one or two of us will die – and I was right to think it. I was also thinking, that could be me as an older guy – and I was right to think that too. It was a real risk.
Add another month and I’m back home and effectively furloughed wondering if the cruises will ever be up and running again. Will I ever work as a musician on a cruise again? Probably. I like playing and I like earning a living and the industry wants to earn a profit.
As time passes further – looking at the pictures of a crowded Bournemouth beach in England in one of our weird heat waves (climate change is the new normal) I can see that the British public has now adopted the same complacency, rightly or wrongly. Some of them will now die as a result.
Anecdotally, I heard of another friend of a friend whose grandma passed away with covid-19 this week in spite of being in complete isolation. I want to ask people who want to go back to the pub and play music. Would you fancy that happening to your grandma?
So what next for us musicians?
In England the pubs are said to be reopening on July the 4th. Venues are not. Personally I don’t think that’s a good idea I just think it’s a popular idea. I don’t expect people to take the risk of a second wave of coronavirus any more seriously than the next wild winter of climate change coming. Not until it truly effects them personally.
So it’s happening, whatever our circumstances, whatever we choose to believe about facts and proven science, like climate change, and we will never be the same.
Footnote: have I got antibodies? Has any of us who had covid-19 and recovered got anti-bodies and how long do we have them before the virus mutates? I haven’t seen the answer to that question in any newspaper reports or TV interviews with scientists. All I know is my lungs are much better. I am singing in full flow again and when I run I can do the old sprint finish too. So I’m up and ready – I hope you are too. Stay safe, as they say.
The Music Workers Diary 