{"id":1403,"date":"2021-06-01T22:58:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T12:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/?p=1403"},"modified":"2023-09-04T22:52:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T12:52:55","slug":"reflections-life-music-quarantine-humorous-take-current-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/reflections-life-music-quarantine-humorous-take-current-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Life, Music, and Quarantine: A Humorous Take on Current Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY DORIAN MODE<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is normally the section of the magazine where I goad yawl into travelling around this gorgeous country of ours. I\u2019ve been penning this column \u2013 with Mrs Pictures \u2013 for some years now. It\u2019s been fun. However, with the travel ban, I assumed I\u2019d not be writing a column for this issue but here I is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you may know I have another career outside travel writing: a professional jazz pianist. So with CV affecting the economy, it\u2019s good to have a backup career I can rely on (groan). But it may surprise you to know that I\u2019m upbeat about it all. I believe both travel and live music will bounce back in a big way post CV. Here\u2019s my thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 6, 1642, by an act of Parliament, all theatres in England closed. Dour Puritans celebrated wildly in the streets when they put all the actors and musicians out of work at the start of the English Civil War. The parliamentary order cited the current \u201ctimes of humiliation\u201d and their incompatibility with \u201cpublic stage-plays\u201d, representative of \u201clascivious mirth and levity\u201d. In 1660, after the English Restoration returned King Charles II to the throne, the theatrical ban was rescinded. As a result, live theatre flourished. And an unknown playwright called William Shakespeare emerged. I believe the same will happen post CV. You see, when you take something away from people, they want it more. And satire notwithstanding, I even think cruise ships will bounce back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, did you know our very own Spike Milligan (well his folks emigrated to Woy Woy so we claim him, right?) opposed music being played in the background in shopping centres? Same idea. His feeling was that if you drown people in music they take it for granted. So let\u2019s enjoy the break from travel and live music and really celebrate its return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another observation about CV is that with all our technology \u2013 putting robots on Mars, cracking the gene code and stem-cell research \u2013 I find it extraordinary that the way we control plague in 2020 is exactly way we controlled plague in 583 BC: isolation. \u201cBring Out Your Dead\u201d was an exclamation used during the time of the Black Plague in the 14th century to let people know that the cart for dead bodies was passing. That and a repository for anyone who voted for Pauline Hanson in the senate. In fact the earliest reference to isolation is from the bible. Leviticus, written in the seventh century, describes separating suspect people to prevent the spread of plague under the Mosaic Law:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the shiny spot on the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may recall this text from the recent Ashley Martin advertising campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, it\u2019s the same observation about antiquity I made when stepping off a cruise-ship gig last year (thank god not now!) and noting that our veritable marine skyscraper was simply tied to the berth with three ropes. The same way they\u2019d have secured say the Mary Rose<\/em> to a jetty in Tudor England. I found this rather moving (pun intended). Speaking of cruise ships, no one has yet commented on the fact that in the past, ships suspected of plague were compelled to fly the \u2018yellow jack\u2019, (see below) to indicate yellow fever or some sort of contagion. Should we not bring this idea back for cruise ships? Perhaps the flag could be incorporated into the new Carnival Cruises logo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal flag \u201cLima\u201d, called the \u201cYellow Jack\u201d, which when flown in harbour means the ship is under quarantine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another positive to emerge from CV is people everywhere walking their dogs in their underwear \u2013 sorry gym wear. We walk our dog 7-days a week and have done for yonks. It stops Dougal becoming depressed. Yes, dogs become depressed. However, Dougal still won\u2019t adhere to social distancing rules. He\u2019s all over the hot blonde on the corner (Golden Retriever). And who knew just how many dogs were in our neighbourhood? With gyms closed, these neglected pooches have emerged from their gloomy hides like veritable canine Solzhenitsyns; blinking up at the sun in a bewildered state. Anyway, paws crossed owners keep exercising them post CV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you had the home haircut yet? One of the words\/phrases to emerge from 2020 will surely be \u2018social distancing\u2019 and \u2018flattening the curve\u2019. I find this applies in numerous ways. I do notice a \u2018flattening of the curve\u2019 with my home haircut as my wife\u2019s superfluidity of adjectives gradually flatten from \u201cbrilliant\u201d snip snip \u201camazing\u201d snip snip \u201cnot bad at all\u201d snip snip to\u2026\u201c it will grow back, eventually\u201d. I thought it looked okay. That is until my neighbour, Ray (83), said over the back fence \u201cwho cut your hair\u2026? The council?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard the NRL\u2019s proposal to transform Tangalooma Island Resort into a veritable Rugby League Island? This is to keep the public safe. I\u2019m all for it of course but only if they promise to make it \u2018in perpetuity\u2019. In other words, when they do find a vaccine for CV, we tell the NRL, \u201cin the interests of public safety, we\u2019ve decided to keep your players on the island forever\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nixon greeting Apollo astronauts in NASA\u2019s mobile quarantine caravan, should they inadvertently infect the human race with the \u2018moon virus\u2019. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of isolation, NASA recently marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 Mission \u2013 which has become known as \u201ca successful failure\u201d (exactly how I describe my career). With a global sigh of relief, 1970 saw the safe return of its space-jockeys to Mother Earth. But did you know the astronauts had to go in quarantine after being in what is essentially quarantine? (see pic above)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, I do hope you are handling the CV lockdown okay. For me it\u2019s easy. Being a musician and a writer, over the years I\u2019ve elevated self-isolation into a kind of martial art. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, seniors do you find young people are still crowding you in shops? I note that Peter (pic above) manages to keep fellow shoppers at a safe distance. Indeed, they go out of their way to avoid him. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BY DORIAN MODE This is normally the section of the magazine where I goad yawl into travelling around this gorgeous country of ours. I\u2019ve been penning this column \u2013 with…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[75,45],"series":[115],"class_list":["post-1403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-article","tag-dorian-mode","series-coffee-with-a-coastie"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/06\/pandemic-airport.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/feed\/podcast\/coffee-with-a-coastie","embedCode":"

Reflections on Life, Music, and Quarantine: A Humorous Take on Current Times<\/a><\/blockquote>