Cleanliness?

 

Doug writes:

 With the virus re-surging, I wonder what new protocols we need in our streets and pathways? We need to maintain social distance, so how do we do that? Every time I go to town or take a walk it becomes an issue. People just aren’t good at it; there are well-publicised cases of well-known people breaking the rules, but it can happen everywhere and anywhere.

Walking from the All Saints side of the town to the shops is a challenge in itself. The passages under Gascoyne Way are scarcely two metres wide. Pathways are not very wide either, so a lot of walking in the road is needed, which can, of course, be dangerous. In many shops there is little room, even with restricted numbers, and whether there or in a larger supermarket people generally try until they see something they want urgently which happens to be very near you or I.

I have begun to feel rather like the Priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan (yes, I know they are not good role models!) as I avoid people assiduously. Nothing personal, but we can’t be sure where the virus may be.

It goes against the grain to clearly and deliberately make a wide berth of anyone who approaches, but “Space” is the word from on high. In this new situation, I want to use the classic English “sorry” all the time as I make my little detours. It’s for your sake too!

Sometimes other people may be coming towards me and they beat me to it, avoiding me like the plague. I feel deeply insulted before realizing that it is indeed for the common good. So I seek to say thank you to them, hoping that calling out the words will not project droplets in their direction. Perhaps a little liturgical bow would be better, but they probably aren’t Anglicans. Unfortunately.

I do think that we can ensure that we use the sanitiser provided in so many places, a bit sticky for a while but very good for protection. And we need to keep using them, time and again, even if it means a heavy build-up. We should be thanking all who provide these facilities, it can’t be great for them. We don’t exactly love it in church, it’s an awkward distraction in our worship, but it’s essential for the time being. Thank you everyone who helps to keep us free from the transmission of the virus, and thank you to everyone who keeps the need for space and cleanliness at the forefront of their minds. Didn’t they used to say that “Cleanliness is next to godliness”?