Accentuate the positive- Surviving isolation

IN A bid to distance myself from ever-more-alarming COVID-19 news, I went in search of a vintage music channel and found Montreal’s ABC 50’s on the Internet. The first song I heard played was a massively popular number dating back to 1944 called ‘Accentuate the Positive’. So I took on board its core message – ‘You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative’– and started a list of things that have brought some measure of pleasure into my tiny quarantined world over the past week.

Top of the shortlist was the disappearance of a bloody great box that was partially blocking the entrance to our apartment. I’d accepted it on behalf of the concierge of our apartment block because he was away. After I notified Julio of the delivery, he said he’d collect it within a couple of days. Due to matters beyond his control, he was unable to do so. The eyesore languished in our hallway for two weeks.

Second on my list was a delivery I received of three very large bottles of vaping liquid. I’d ordered the stuff from a local online store on March 14, but it failed to arrive. When I discovered Vape Bros has a Facebook presence, I messaged them and demanded to know why my order hadn’t come. They promptly answered, pointing out that, in placing the order, I’d ticked a box saying I’d collect it from their Benidorm outlet. Feeling very foolish indeed, I asked whether their store was open. No, came the reply. But they promised to deliver the order the next day. And they did. My joy knew no bounds, as I was down to my last teaspoonful.

Third on my list was Brexit. Wow, I thought, something has finally come along to stifle the incessant noise about the UK’s departure from the EU. This pleased me so much that I posted a message on a Facebook page called Brexpats In Spain saying ‘One good thing about Covid-19. No-one’s talking about Brexit anymore … until yesterday.’

That referred to a ‘Business Insider’ report that said ‘The UK logistics sector has demanded that Prime Minister Boris Johnson extends the Brexit transition period, due to end in December, warning that the “once in a lifetime” Coronavirus pandemic must be dealt with first.’ With luck, Brexit won’t ‘be done’ by the end of the year as Bojo promised.

Fourth is work. For more than 20 years, being self-employed, I have worked from home. So being confined, and having to work eight or more hours a day means that I’m not lumbered with long, tedious hours of doing nothing.

Fifth is cash. I’m not spending money on anything but essentials, so I’m better off to the tune of about €200. And as I’m not a great one for boozing at home, my alcohol intake has dropped by about 90 per cent, and I’ve managed to shed a few surplus kilos.

And if I were to abide by a COVID-19 directive issued on March 31 by the Mayor of Benidorm to avoid lifts and only use the stairs, I’ll be down many more kilos as I live on the 31st floor!