Julian Roup – Playing ‘Chicken’ with Covid-19 Ep19

In Episode 19 of his new book, author Julian Roup observes his far flung family coping with Covid-19.

In case you missed Episode 18, click here.

Life in a Time of Plague

Sussex, 25th April 2020

By Julian Roup

The two miniature apple trees on the lawn are now in full bloom, and a mass of white and faint pink blossom stands out against the green of the grass, and the maroon of the Japanese Acer in wonderful contrast, a subject for Impressionism if ever I saw one. I planted these two small trees about four years ago, and now each autumn they produce a freight of small round red apples on one and larger red and green apples on the other. The grass is needing a trim again I notice.

Jan has been kind enough to wrestle with my car insurers this morning to get our breakdown service out to fix my car’s dead battery. Living out here in the sticks at a time like this one wants to have both cars in good working order. But no joy, I am not covered for home visits to fix dead batteries. Next she rings the bank, which promptly sends an AA man out.

The news this morning is led by an NHS plea to heart, stroke and cancer patients to seek help if they are having issues or need a regular check-up. The spokesman says the NHS is not overwhelmed as had been feared, and is there for everyone as usual. He says hospitals are coping. I heard yesterday that our local hospital at Pembury is now divided into two sections, one for Covid and one for everything else, with two separate entrances. I also hear that a broadcaster who went into hospital has died of Covid-19; it’s not clear if he picked it up there or went in with it. It is clear, however that people are terrified of going anywhere near a hospital at present.

Julian Roup’s brother Herman winning the 100 yard dash at Wynberg Boys School, Cape Town, in the late 1960s.

My younger brother, Herman, has always been braver than the average man. Now he is taking on a new and very dangerous opponent, the virus itself on behalf of his employer, a textile firm in LA. He has driven the 400 miles north from his home in Santa Barbara to San Francisco to seal a deal for personal protective clothing which he reckons could become a huge opportunity for himself and his employer and in the process get PPE to the medical front line instead of sitting in Chinese warehouses, hopefully saving lives in the process. He says what was going to be a quick two-day dash to San Francisco has turned into four days of trying to close the deal.

I tell him he is not being wise for putting his own life at risk, playing ‘Chicken’ with Covid-19’. It is one of the advantages of my being the eldest sibling and him the youngest, I feel free to tell him of my concerns. But he says he is being careful, staying in a hotel that has a skeleton staff – he does not see the irony. The hotel he adds does not feed you, or sanitise your room until you leave. Sounds dodgy as hell to me, but once Herman has the bit between his teeth, there is no stopping him.

In the midst of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, he drove hundreds of miles to get into New York for a business meeting when it was being flooded. Everyone else except for the rescue services, were staying indoors as the storm wreaked havoc on the city.

Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, inflicting nearly $70 billion in damage. Its storm surge hit New York City and flooded streets, tunnels and subway lines and cut the city’s power off. Herman powered through it all, and I love him for it, but he is too brave by half at times. It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who said: ‘Action is Character’ and in Herman’s case, his character often demands action that I and others would see as risky. But there is no arguing with him.

This is the reason I never flew with him in any aircraft he piloted in his youth. I did not trust him to bring me back in one piece. Years later, when he was no longer flying, he admitted to the odd occasion when he’d landed the small plane with just petrol fumes left in the tank. That said, he is a good chap to have in your corner when your back is to the wall and the chips are down. He has cojones to spare. I wish I had some more of that quality myself.

Yesterday I tried to resuscitate my Panasonic bread maker, unused for 18 years, but no joy. I’m not sure if it’s the machine or my inability to programme it that is at fault. I had to scrape out all the ingredients I put in its mixer to make a wholemeal loaf and instead do an old fashioned reliable hand knead and bake in the oven as usual. Surprisingly, it turned out very well: in fact I would say that it’s the best loaf I’ve made yet.

I have a long chatty email from my sister Jay in Cape Town. She and Guy seem to have things very much under control. She writes: “We seem to be managing reasonably well so far during the lockdown. In fact we have been very strict about going anywhere apart from Guy taking the cars for a quick run to keep the batteries going. Nikki has very kindly been doing a weekly shop for us and we have been using various online delivery services. We had intended to walk around the garden briskly for half an hour each day, but that very quickly fell by the wayside! Our exercise now consists of some exercises for the elderly which are supposed to help with balance! Walking up and down the stairs is also part of it, and my fitness levels being abysmal I am short of breath by the end……

‘Guy has his workspace in the studio upstairs. He beavers away diligently for eight hours a day, often more than that. There have been video conference calls and many sketches of pipes and fittings and other engineering mysteries rapidly executed. I am amazed at how often he wakes up in the morning having solved a design problem. On the weekends and public holidays, he goes at it like a battery bunny – seeing to the pool, painting and scraping, cutting back the garden and on and on. Sometimes the ceaseless toil makes me feel guilty, but I’m trying not to compare….

My contribution is mainly housework and cooking with a bit of gardening thrown in too. I baked my first loaf of bread this morning and it turned out surprisingly well! Anna is much missed. Her once a week stint cleaning for us has always given me more time to do my things and I appreciate her contribution greatly. She is on paid leave until it is safe for her, and us, to return. Her parents and two children are in Zimbabwe, and she misses them very much during this difficult time. I have taken time to bead every day and you are much in my thoughts as I sew away. It is such a pleasure and release for me and truly takes me to a different space. The news becomes addictive. I try not to watch too much as the figures and suffering are so great and some of the politicians utterly infuriating. Donald Trump is a monster and a frighteningly stupid one at that – what is wrong with the Americans?!”

My sister speaks for millions.

Dom and Steph on their boat in Brighton Marina say they are working hard on their navigation course. We have a good catch up and talk boats at length. Currently they have included an aluminium expedition boat designed by Ed Joy and built in Cape Town, that they like the look of. When I Google it, the boat impresses immediately. How strange it would be if they bought a South African boat!

I walk down the back hill to see Callum, who is near the gate of his paddock for once, swathed in his summer anti-fly rug and mask. I speak to him quietly about this strange time and say I hope he is enjoying his holiday. We will in time return to our old haunts on the forest I promise him, and promise too that we will take our time getting fit together again. He does not say much, but my impression is that he is easy with things as they are and in no rush to be having me on his back once more traipsing miles over Ashdown Forest. For him, life is pretty good. I give him the carrot he knows is concealed in my back pocket and after a head rub I leave him to his grass and go in search of lunch myself.

Click here for Episode 20

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