As Marcia Thorneycroft says in her “Covid-19 Memories” piece on the Club website, we are going through trying times with the Covid-19 pandemic, with no clear end in sight. In case anyone is interested, my take on the situation is as follows:
First, the  upside (at least for me):
a). There are no worries about how one looks. For example, I haven’t shaved for days at a time. (This comment is not meant to be a reflection on those Members who cherish their beards! I can think of quite a few.)
b). My diet has become more vegetarian than ever. We hardly have any meat, except for the few items of stuff in the freezer that we have had to use and exhausted. (Perhaps Brent J. will be pleased to hear that there is one more recruit to the band of herbivores.)
c). I am enjoying sleeping in! Most days I am up as early as 9 a.m.; sometimes, I must admit a little later. It all helps with the intermittent dieting I am on. At least that’s my excuse.
d). Washing my hands with soap and water for 20 secs. many, many times a day (20, 30 or more?) makes me feel very clean. I am glad though that my better half has had the good sense (I think she still does) to keep an adequate supply of liquid soap and moisturizing cream on hand.
e). She has pressed me into service in her single-minded mission to get rid of stuff that is no longer relevant, in my case such as papers recording bowling events that I have kept ever since I joined the Club in 2001, old bank statements and letters dating back to the 1970’s, etc. It’s amazing how much stuff one collects! Clearing all the clutter is quite liberating, I find.  

Now the downside:
1). ‘Cabin fever’, a common malady that I am sure most of us suffer from at this time. I contracted this less than a week into the shut-down of Club activities.
2). Staying at home, or ‘self isolation’, is not much fun. Nor is ‘physical distancing’ which leads to interminable queueing, even at the Municipal dump!
3). Needless to say, I miss the Club, period. I really do miss friends at the Club who share my passion for Short Mat, Darts, Scrabble and outdoor social and competitive bowling, coaching, umpiring and other things that involve the community at large, such as school visits.
4). No social gatherings at home, even with family members.
5). I have lost track of time and date – one day is the same as another.
6). I have my concerns about testing for the virus. I’d like to know whether I am immune, asymptomatic, or pre-symptomatic. Not sure what all these terms mean, but I would sure like to know. Are such tests available on request, and if so, how would I go about getting it done?

I do hope that we will be able to resume bowling in a couple of months. I realize that the Executive will not re-open the Club until the Provincial Medical Officer, Dr Bonnie Henry, gives the all-clear for the Province, or at least allows small gatherings to take place on the way to regaining normalcy, whenever that might be. I do hope that the Club will be able to resume bowling activities in some form towards the end of June, if not earlier. That would allow us to celebrate Canada Day on July 1st. Apart from being our National Day celebration, it is an occasion when we raise funds for the War Amps. We have raised in excess of $25,000 over the last 25 years or more for this charity, the only lawn bowling club in the country, I believe, to do so for a charitable cause. If the number of Members gathered together on Canada Day (or earlier) have to be limited, the RSVP system that worked so successfully for Short Mat social draws could perhaps provide an answer.

Finally, a warm ‘thank you’ to the President and the Executive for their behind-the-scenes hard work to keep Members updated and safe, as well as keeping the greens maintained sufficiently within the financial means of the Club.

Harnam