A Postcard From Spain
by Thomas Andopelo Here in Spain, a full seven weeks of house-arrest has now “relaxed” into a British version of lockdown, the primary concession being that people are now allowed out for a walk or to do something sporty. And what better way to stop the virus in its tracks than to insist that the under 70s exercise this right only between 6 am and 10 am or 8 pm and 11 pm - thus ensuring they are all out on the street together? Such evidently absurd stipulations have convinced me that, for the politicians at least, Covid-19 has targeted brains rather than lungs. Nevertheless, there is widespread approval, and the traditional Spanish attitude of treating laws more like suggestions is noticeably absent. The pervading attitude here appears to be that if we lock down for long enough the virus will eventually get bored. It is as if, metaphorically speaking, we have all climbed up a tree to escape from a tiger, which is now pacing around below. Given time, everybody expects that it will get fed up and wander off somewhere else, never to return. No-one wants reminding that at the foot of the tree is our food and water and after being stuck up the tree all day we are getting muscle cramps and feeling very thirsty. (Nor...
