31st January 2021

 As I put the finishing touches to yet another novel, struggling with difficult literary concepts like how to  ‘show’ not ‘tell’, I think about my life.  For a year I’ve lived in a virtual world. When writing, I’m internalising a story. Listening to the radio, watching TV, reading the paper or ever-changing social media, my body’s static but the world’s viewed inside my head. Tonight we plan to play Trivial Pursuit with friends but, of course, on Zoom. Even following my favourite team, Aston Villa, on my radio’s sport channel, the ups and downs of winning and losing take place inside my head.  How to get out of this virtual world?  Is anything ‘real’ happening? Yes. On Tuesday we’re both getting our first covid jab in Bromsgrove, 5 miles away. Couldn’t wait any longer to hear from our GP but discovered I could actually book both 1st and 2nd jabs online. First outing for a year.  Hope the car starts ok. Will we get bad side effects? All of that looks ‘real’ at last.  Can I soon get back to proper, physical, life please?