Thank you for the news Annie, Helen, James, Edward, Ann, and Alan, It seems we are all most preoccupied with trying to work out what is correct behaviour - including how to negotiate our feelings towards the situation and each other. The details from all of you are fascinating and helpful.
More please :) And Annie, please can you put a time zone on your Distant Feelings events. Warmly Ruth On Mon, Mar 23, 2020 at 11:39 AM Annie Abrahams via NetBehaviour < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > In France we have been in confinement for about a week. I myself even > longer, because I am at risk. > In Holland they are slacker, which I thought to be "stupid" - there is > also very much attention to and interest in "the economy" that must go on. > France, although also trying to keep "it" up, seems a bit more social. At > least that is what I conclude when reading online journals from both > countries, the tone is different. > I thought the Dutch a bit selfish. But after this week I am not so sure > anymore they didn't take the right option. Dutch people still seem to be > optimistic, just going on, almost happy, while some French friends are > starting to show signs of depression - lack of contact, lack of being able > to use the body, too immersed in the screen, that also gives solace, so > even more immersed ... it is very difficult when you don't have a garden > .... > What seems to be important (part of a solution) is to use online > connexions, not just to talk, but to try to find ways to *do* something > together. Last Saturday I assisted in an improvised poetry reading. It was > energising. > > Stay safe all > Annie > > Ps > From this week we organise > weekly *Distant Feelings* (Friday 16h) and *Distant Movements* (Wednesday > 16h) sessions of 15 min. Open to all. > *intra/rupt/rompre* > https://aabrahams.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/invitation-intra-rupt-rompre/ > *intra/rompre/rupt* > https://aabrahams.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/intra-rompre-rupt/ > > > > On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 11:11 PM Helen Varley Jamieson < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> here's an update from aotearoa new zealand: >> >> we are officially at "level 2" alert, which means social distancing, no >> non-essential travel, all community spaces like libraries, swimming pools, >> etc are closed. schools are still open, but it is being hotly debated >> whether/when they should also be closed. so far all covid19 cases are still >> connected to overseas travel, but it's tracking up quickly & there must be >> community transmission even if it's not yet confirmed. >> >> from what i can observe here (in dunedin, small southern university >> town), people are being quite sensible. there's no panic buying in our >> local supermarket, & the streets are quiet but not empty. just now on the >> radio there is an interview with some university students who are offering >> to bring groceries etc for elderly & people in isolation. community in >> action :) my 86-year-old mother is reluctantly staying home - all her >> activities like U3A & exercise class have been cancelled anyway, & her >> beloved library bus won't be coming to her neighbourhood. she has an >> abundant vegie garden & bursting freezer so no need to go out for a while! >> >> unfortunately my partner & i have to travel tomorrow - we're flying up to >> another small town in the north island to empty out the house of an uncle >> who died in february. at the moment, non-essential travel is discouraged >> but not forbidden, so we are hoping that we can get this job done as it's >> been a huge planning exercise. it's not a creative project, but i really >> resonate with ruth about furtherfield's situation - all of the planning >> that goes into it & then all of the work to change / adapt in such a >> rapidly changing situation ... it's exhausting & depressing. our lives as >> artists are precarious all the time so we're used to existing in a state of >> adaptability anyway, but now we're being pushed even further :/ >> >> i am personally pretty relieved that i was already having a >> self-inflicted freelancer's sabbatical for the first 6-months of this year, >> so i haven't got any work lined up to get cancelled. however the trip home >> is certainly not turning out the way i expected! & i have no idea whether >> i'll get back to germany at the end of july ... at least that is still a >> long way away, & we are a lot better off on these distant islands than in >> the middle of the epicentre! munich is in total lockdown & our >> house-sitters sent video of civil defence vans driving through deserted >> streets broadcasting instructions to stay indoors. quite surreal! >> >> take care everyone, & if you need some socially distanced social >> interaction, come along to the Pandemic Party in UpStage this evening - 8am >> monday morning UK time. >> https://upstage.org.nz/?event=pandemic-party-and-open-walkthrough >> >> h : ) >> On 23.03.20 07:51, Edward Picot via NetBehaviour wrote: >> >> Hi Ruth and everyone, >> >> Actually work hasn't been so bad. We've gone from mainly face-to-face >> consultations to what they call 'total triage' - nobody gets to see the >> doctor without him telephoning them first - within the space of a week. The >> nurse is still seeing people: you can't do things like blood tests and >> dressings over the telephone. But she has to wear the protective gear - >> face mask, gown, gloves - and change it once every few patients; and we've >> cancelled all the non-urgent stuff, like diabetic checks and asthma checks, >> the aim being to only have one or two people in the surgery at a time, not >> counting the staff. >> >> The local chemist has gone into meltdown. Everybody is panic-ordering >> their medication all at once. I went past the chemist on Saturday morning >> and the queue of people trying to get prescriptions was out the door. Lots >> of people are jumping ship from the local chemist to online pharmacies like >> Pharmacy2U, because the online pharmacies are set up to do home deliveries; >> but the elderly, who are the ones who really need home deliveries because >> they're the ones who can least afford to catch the virus, are least likely >> to make this move because they're the least techno-savvy section of >> society. There are other people who can help them out, though - 'social >> prescribing', which is where we direct patients to 'helping hand' agencies, >> has suddenly gone from being a peripheral thing to a front-and-centre >> option. >> >> Two things we're trying to get up and running are video consultations and >> remote working. We were given a laptop about a year ago by the Health >> Authority, which works off a VPN link, and the idea is that if you're at >> home and stick your smart card in it, you can log into the clinical system >> at the surgery and see patient records and do electronic prescribing and >> stuff just as if you were there. This would be brilliant, especially if >> David (the doctor) has to self-isolate at some point but still feels well >> enough to work - but the VPN licence has run out. We contacted the IT >> department to get it renewed once the crisis started to get serious, about >> ten days ago now, but of course they've been overwhelmed, so they haven't >> sorted it out for us yet. >> >> As regards video consultations - which would be really useful for things >> like people with rashes - we've managed to get these working via mobile >> phones, but it's very glitchy because the WiFi at the surgery keeps going >> wrong. Either it doesn't work at all, or it works with no internet >> connection, which has been pretty much how it's been ever since we had WiFi >> put in. The other option is to do video consultations on a desktop or >> laptop computer: there's a startup tech company called Nye, based in >> Oxford, which offers this for free, and we got it up and running on David's >> desktop, which is equipped with a USB camera - but then the camera >> immediately went wrong. This is pretty much how things work in the NHS. If >> the technology was in place and reliable, we could do a whole lot more. >> >> The most frustrating thing for me and David, I think, is the sheer volume >> of updates we're being sent. If I see one more email titled 'Covid-19 - >> urgent - for immediate action' I'm going to do an act of violence. You >> physically cannot keep up with all this stuff when the phone is constantly >> ringing and you've got a million other things to deal with. And the lack of >> testing is frustrating too. We've got a nurse who's been off for a week >> with Coronavirus-style symptoms, but of course we don't know whether it >> really is the Coronavirus or not - so if she comes back to work and then >> gets another sore throat, she'll have to self-isolate for another week. >> >> On the other hand in some ways it's kind of exhilarating. Suddenly we've >> been given a licence to ignore all the bureaucratic crap we usually spend >> our time struggling with, and that's quite liberating; and the pace at >> which we've managed to reorganize our services, with a lot of cooperation >> from the patients, it has to be said, has been startling. >> >> On a personal level my main concern has been shopping. I go to bed >> worrying about whether I'm going to be able to get any food in the shops >> the next day. I've done all right so far, but I normally don't get up to >> the Co-Op, which is our local supermarket, until after three o'clock, and >> by that time there's virtually nothing on the shelves; so I've been having >> to dodge out of work and make special trips up there at about 9.30, once >> I've got somebody else to cover the front desk. The other thing is that my >> demented Mum is in a care home a few miles from here, and they've closed >> their doors to visitors, so instead of going to see her twice a week, all >> of a sudden I'm not seeing her at all, which is a big change to my routine. >> >> You do get very fed up with the stupidity of the public at times, >> especially where things like panic buying and panic ordering of >> prescriptions are concerned. You think to yourself 'This is what we're like >> now - people have been brainwashed to be consumers, not citizens - they >> don't know how to act responsibly towards one another any more'. Then you >> come across people who are being really unselfish and helpful towards one >> another, and you realize that things are a lot more nuanced than that. And >> when I do get up to the Co-Op, everybody's giving everybody else >> elbow-bumps and making jokes about the state of things, and you think to >> yourself 'Oh well, at least there's one good thing about Britain - we do >> have a sense of humour'. You find yourself chatting to strangers, and you >> feel closer to the people who you already know, because there's a sense of >> all being in it together. Then something really annoying happens, or you >> have to deal with somebody who's being completely self-centred and >> unreasonable, and you're back to wanting to throttle everyone again. >> >> Edward >> >> >> On 22/03/2020 15:14, Ruth Catlow via NetBehaviour wrote: >> >> Hello all, >> >> This last couple of weeks have been full of chaos and uncertainty for us >> in the UK - and much longer for others. >> >> The sudden shut down is clearly distributing immediate and extreme >> hardship very unevenly. >> >> I personally found the indefinite postponement of Furtherfield's 2020 >> 'Love Machines' programme last Monday (in the week we had planned to >> announce everything) incredibly hard to do, and to handle. I know we will >> adapt and find another way to make things work, but that doesn't stop it >> being incredibly disappointing, frustrating and disorientating. >> >> I'm now starting to adjust but I wanted to share this personal >> (non-life-threatening) experience with you because I would like to hear >> more from everyone about how the Corona virus is effecting them, so we can >> build a better picture, beyond the numbers and the public announcements, to >> understand how things are changing. And most of all it would just be good >> to know how everyone is doing (from regular contributors to all lurkers). >> >> Warmly >> Ruth >> >> >> -- >> Co-founder & Artistic director of Furtherfield & DECAL Decentralised Arts >> Lab >> +44 (0) 77370 02879 >> >> *Furtherfield *disrupts and democratises art and technology through >> exhibitions, >> labs & debate, for deep exploration, open tools & free thinking. >> furtherfield.org <http://www.furtherfield.org/> >> >> *DECAL* Decentralised Arts Lab is an arts, blockchain & web 3.0 >> technologies research hub >> >> for fairer, more dynamic & connected cultural ecologies & economies now. >> >> decal.is <http://www.decal.is> >> >> Furtherfield is a Not-for-Profit Company Limited by Guarantee >> >> Registered in England and Wales under the Company No.7005205. >> >> Registered business address: Carbon Accountancy, 80-83 Long Lane, London, >> EC1A 9ET. >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing >> [email protected]https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing >> [email protected]https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> >> -- >> >> helen varley jamieson >> >> [email protected] >> http://www.creative-catalyst.com >> http://www.upstage.org.nz >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > -- Co-founder & Artistic director of Furtherfield & DECAL Decentralised Arts Lab +44 (0) 77370 02879 *Furtherfield *disrupts and democratises art and technology through exhibitions, labs & debate, for deep exploration, open tools & free thinking. furtherfield.org <http://www.furtherfield.org/> *DECAL* Decentralised Arts Lab is an arts, blockchain & web 3.0 technologies research hub for fairer, more dynamic & connected cultural ecologies & economies now. decal.is <http://www.decal.is> Furtherfield is a Not-for-Profit Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England and Wales under the Company No.7005205. Registered business address: Carbon Accountancy, 80-83 Long Lane, London, EC1A 9ET.
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