Do you have a tablet?

It is a point of some irritation to me that Auntie Kittie, who does write the most extraordinary diary entries (as my Patreon members will know), struggles with technology. Living only a few houses away in Huckleberry Close, she is wrestling with the idea of social distancing.

“But what is it, Fiona,” she said down the phone this morning. “Why don’t I come over and you can explain it to me? I keep hearing about it on the wireless.”

Yes, that’s actually what she said, ‘the wireless’. I told her not to worry, but to listen to her gramophone rather than the news.

That really does sort of miss the point. I have to say that for each person failing to do use social distancing we can expect this to last just a little longer. So, there is a bit of an incentive to get it right. Also, if you have an elderly parent, and you want there to be a respirator for them should they get this thing, well, there’s your incentive right there. It works and reduces the loading on the healthcare system.

Auntie Kittie is a conundrum. While baffled by even the technology to operate a doorbell, she is the only person in my regular circle who understands how to use a Norwegian wine bottle opener I have. It’s an electric device, ergonomically designed and as far as I can make out, entirely unusable. You could die of thirst in a desert with this thing it’s so complicated, and yet she figured it out and had a bottle opened and poured before I’d finished explaining to her that no one knew how to use it.

For those of you who regularly do follow the events here in Huckleberry Close, you might already have guessed that Sylvester actually does have a hazmat suit. I sent him over earlier to get Auntie Kitties phone and bring it back here so Max could install Whatsapp on it. That didn’t go so well. I had no idea a phone this old could even connect to a wireless network. Frankly I should be grateful it didn’t have a wire and a rotary dial.

Eventually Max called her and asked if she had a tablet, to which she replied she would look in the medicine cabinet and I think the phone got cut off after that.

Some of my neighbours are looking concerned seeing Sylvester walking up and down Huckleberry close in a hazmat suit. I think I’d better put the kettle on and make tea. It’s going to be a trying day.

Now, I’m not going to give you medical advice or any more COVID19 news. There’s other sources for that. I would recommend middle of the road reporting such as Apnews.com, BBC , Axios and CBC . These are actual news sites and not entertainment sites. If you believe anything you see on Fox News you pretty well deserve everything you get, I’m sorry to say. That might be a case of Darwinian evolution in practice. All I can say is, don’t be a covidiot.

What I can suggest is that you occupy your time with Clothes Maketh The Man, or if you want something interactive our Whatsapp Group is having a wonderful time. This week we’ve have Toenail Tuesday lined up for our members of Whatsapp tomorrow. There’s always discussions about music, and cooking, whether or not Skye from Paw Patrol is hotter than Dr. Smith (in the new Lost In Space) and of course no end of crossdressing chat. You are never going to be bored if you join us on Whatsapp. It’s different every day.

I am often online at present on the website, and in the Whatsapp Group so feel free to stop by and say hi.

Stay dressed, stay isolated and stay safe.

Fiona