Unprecedented Times: Bards in Lockdown
Thoughts on the epidemic
My existence has been a consequence of some catastrophic events from the twentieth century.
My parents were from impoverished single parent families living in opposite corners of Europe.
There is no chance they would have met but for the Second World War, or if our side hadn’t won it.
My grandmother’s first husband died in 1919 during the Spanish flu epidemic.
Her second husband, my grandfather, died a few years later, leaving her with six kids and no money.
The War brought challenges to both my parents. For my father, it was kill or be killed. For my mother, survive a famine in which many thousands died.
The virus has been a reminder of how precarious life often was in earlier times.
Being as I am a consequence of the Spanish flu epidemic, there would be a kind of symmetry if I died from the current epidemic. I’d very much prefer to stay alive, though.
Ring a friend with covid.
Don’t shake hands like Boris did.
Health issues, health issues,
We’re all locked down.
Ring a friend with covid.
Don’t shake hands like Boris did.
No tissues, no tissues,
We’re all locked down.
My existence has been a consequence of some catastrophic events from the twentieth century.
My parents were from impoverished single parent families living in opposite corners of Europe.
There is no chance they would have met but for the Second World War, or if our side hadn’t won it.
My grandmother’s first husband died in 1919 during the Spanish flu epidemic.
Her second husband, my grandfather, died a few years later, leaving her with six kids and no money.
The War brought challenges to both my parents. For my father, it was kill or be killed. For my mother, survive a famine in which many thousands died.
The virus has been a reminder of how precarious life often was in earlier times.
Being as I am a consequence of the Spanish flu epidemic, there would be a kind of symmetry if I died from the current epidemic. I’d very much prefer to stay alive, though.
Ring a friend with covid.
Don’t shake hands like Boris did.
Health issues, health issues,
We’re all locked down.
Ring a friend with covid.
Don’t shake hands like Boris did.
No tissues, no tissues,
We’re all locked down.
Phil Chippendale – 4th Bard of Stony Stratford