March 2020
Monday 16th March 2020
The word coronavirus is on everyone’s lips at the moment. Coronaviruses are nothing new, we are told, but it’s just that the more specific name for this particular coronavirus - covid-19 - hasn’t quite fixed itself in our minds yet.
Seen through an electron microscope, a coronavirus looks like a crown or wreath, and indeed the word corona in Latin or Spanish or Italian means crown.
But of course the name corona suggests all sorts of other things too.
Seen through an electron microscope, a coronavirus looks like a crown or wreath, and indeed the word corona in Latin or Spanish or Italian means crown.
But of course the name corona suggests all sorts of other things too.
For example the crown-like ring which appears around a total solar eclipse.
It also makes me think of the Corona man. When I was growing up the Corona man came around to the house every Monday afternoon and delivered bottles of fizzy pop - lemonade, limeade, raspberryade and so on.
Apparently Corona lemonade continued as a brand until the late 1990s, when it fell victim to supermarket brands. If you look at the linked illustration, you'll also see a stylised crown as part of the Corona logo.
Corona lemonade.
It also makes me think of the Corona man. When I was growing up the Corona man came around to the house every Monday afternoon and delivered bottles of fizzy pop - lemonade, limeade, raspberryade and so on.
Apparently Corona lemonade continued as a brand until the late 1990s, when it fell victim to supermarket brands. If you look at the linked illustration, you'll also see a stylised crown as part of the Corona logo.
Corona lemonade.
Anyway, back for a moment to the viruses.
Corona viruses - one website tells me - are large: 125 nanometres in diameter. That actually seems fairly small to me, but they are certainly starting to have a large impact on life.
The first time that it really affected our daily routine was a few days ago. When I got on the bus that morning I noticed that front door of the bus was sealed off and the front two rows of seats were also cordoned off. The point of this was to protect the bus driver from picking up a virus from members of the public. Or maybe the other way around: it so happened that our bus driver that morning had a nasty cold and coughed at regular intervals all the way to the station. It would have been better, I thought to myself, if he had worked from home too.
Corona viruses - one website tells me - are large: 125 nanometres in diameter. That actually seems fairly small to me, but they are certainly starting to have a large impact on life.
The first time that it really affected our daily routine was a few days ago. When I got on the bus that morning I noticed that front door of the bus was sealed off and the front two rows of seats were also cordoned off. The point of this was to protect the bus driver from picking up a virus from members of the public. Or maybe the other way around: it so happened that our bus driver that morning had a nasty cold and coughed at regular intervals all the way to the station. It would have been better, I thought to myself, if he had worked from home too.
But today the effects of the corona crisis really struck home to me. We have now been told to stay at home unless we cannot work from home.
I did go out, though, to buy some vegetables at a local farm shop. As I cycled to the shop my telephone started pinging. One of my students after another were sending messages to cancel their lessons. All but four of my lessons in this week’s calendar have been greyed out.
I sat down on the bench in front of the farm shop. It was a beautiful day, but I couldn’t help feeling very uncertain about what the financial impact of this crisis would look like.
I did go out, though, to buy some vegetables at a local farm shop. As I cycled to the shop my telephone started pinging. One of my students after another were sending messages to cancel their lessons. All but four of my lessons in this week’s calendar have been greyed out.
I sat down on the bench in front of the farm shop. It was a beautiful day, but I couldn’t help feeling very uncertain about what the financial impact of this crisis would look like.
Monday 23rd March 2020
Last Wednesday I learned a new word: Zoom. Well, the word was not new to me, but the idea. Zoom is a way which allows hold meetings (including language lessons) on-line. All of a sudden my calendar for this week has filled up again with remote lessons.
It’s going to be a steep learning curve, finding out how to use Zoom and Teams efficiently for teaching purposes, but it looks as though this is not going to be so disastrous for me after all.
It’s going to be a steep learning curve, finding out how to use Zoom and Teams efficiently for teaching purposes, but it looks as though this is not going to be so disastrous for me after all.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Hands
Someone commented recently that their hands were getting dry and sore from being washed and disinfected so often and challenged us to send in pictures of our hands.
Here are mine (well, my right hand, at least). Since I’ve been working from home, I’ve found that I have more time to sit at the piano, without church services or choir practices to prepare for.
Here are mine (well, my right hand, at least). Since I’ve been working from home, I’ve found that I have more time to sit at the piano, without church services or choir practices to prepare for.
So I looked out some old piano music of mine and start relearning the basics of fingering technique, which I confess I had been neglecting.
I’m not yet ready to play a concert, but I am finding that my fingers are getting more flexible and the music is sounding more fluent.
I’m not yet ready to play a concert, but I am finding that my fingers are getting more flexible and the music is sounding more fluent.
Tuesday 31st March 2020
Volatility
Today I logged on to the online portal of my “wealth managers”.
Now, I've always found it rather amusing when I see my modest retirement savings described as “wealth”, but that is how the company describe themselves.
Recently the wealth management firm started posting the following message
“Due to current market volatility, some valuations may not currently reflect the latest unit price.”
Volatility. The word brings to mind the Latin word volare “to fly”. Calling the market volatile at the moment seems a bit optimistic.
Now, I've always found it rather amusing when I see my modest retirement savings described as “wealth”, but that is how the company describe themselves.
Recently the wealth management firm started posting the following message
“Due to current market volatility, some valuations may not currently reflect the latest unit price.”
Volatility. The word brings to mind the Latin word volare “to fly”. Calling the market volatile at the moment seems a bit optimistic.
The red line on this graph shows what has been happening to my retirement savings over the last few weeks. Is there a better word than volatile? Gravitational, maybe? (And, by the way, the blue line is the goal I’ve set myself to reach before I retire!)
(Ok, ok, I’m a language person and I know that words borrowed from Latin don’t mean the same as they did in ancient Rome, but take on their own meaning. The dictionary tells us that in modern English a volatile situation doesn’t mean one that flies, but one which “can suddenly change or become more dangerous” and gives as an example “a volatile stock market”. So my wealth managers are right after all.)
By the way, since this graph doesn’t have a scale and above all doesn’t show where zero is, I haven’t published any confidential information about myself.
(Ok, ok, I’m a language person and I know that words borrowed from Latin don’t mean the same as they did in ancient Rome, but take on their own meaning. The dictionary tells us that in modern English a volatile situation doesn’t mean one that flies, but one which “can suddenly change or become more dangerous” and gives as an example “a volatile stock market”. So my wealth managers are right after all.)
By the way, since this graph doesn’t have a scale and above all doesn’t show where zero is, I haven’t published any confidential information about myself.
We’ve been having amazing weather over the last few days. But this is the kind of picture which we may never be able to take again, because apart from the cloudless skies, the corona lockdown has brought an amazing side effect: this image, taken from my daughter’s balcony in Effretikon is looking pretty well in the direction of the airport. However, the number of passenger jets flying through our skies has fallen drastically and there are virtually no vapour trails to be seen. At the moment there are a lot of things we can’t do, but at least we can take time to enjoy the spectular show nature is putting on for us.
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Contact
If you’re interested in English lessons or translation and checking services, please feel free to contact me in the language of your choice - English, French, German or even Lingala!
Here are my details:
Here are my details:
Mobile
078 609 56 51
+41 78 609 56 51
+41 78 609 56 51
Location
Tödistrasse 9, 8634 Hombrechtikon
(New address from 24th March 2018)
(New address from 24th March 2018)
If you are travelling from Rüti / Wolfhausen, drive past the Hombrechtikon place-name sign for about 300 metres and turn right into Tödistrasse, just before the Tobel bus stop.
Approaching from Hombrechtikon
If you are approaching from the centre of Hombrechtikon, follow the signs to Rüti. At the Tobel junction (the Methodist Church is on the left) turn left. Tödistrasse is the next turning on the left, just past the Tobel bus stop.
The entrance to our new flat is about 100 metres from the junction with Rütistrasse, on the left-hand side of the road.
The house number is number 9 and we are on the first floor.
There are a few visitor’s parking bays a short distance beyond the entrance, on the left.
There are a few visitor’s parking bays a short distance beyond the entrance, on the left.
Arriving by bus
If you arrive by bus from Bubikon, get off the bus at Tobel and follow Tödiweg until you get to Tödistrasse. Our house is on the right.