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You would think that with everyone gone from the studio that I would have been able to optimise my output be that what it may. That's not been the case thus far. I do miss the "Paul!" from the other side of the wall, the pressure of getting ready to film an intro for the next series and then just the day to day passing, nodding, waving, hellos and such from everyone that punctuate my day. I am not complaining, safety comes first. I am just saying that I miss face-to-face moments and skype is not quite the same.

The other day we needed a vital piece for the filming series that we just completed before everyone went to work from home. Will and Natalie always take care of this work filming so for the first time they had to walk me through it from their now home edit office. That was fun. So many things to go wrong and try to imagine filming something for a few minutes only to find the camera quit or the sound wasn't on. But we got there and the video worked the second take.

Outside now I see only runners and walkers taking their exercise. The milkman delivers my groceries with the milk. It reminded me of the Eyam Plague back in the 17c when the Bubonic plague arrived in the tiny village of Eyam in Derbyshire. Though Eyam was 150 north of London, a bolt of cloth ordered by the local tailor arrived in damp condition and inside the folds fleas carrying the plague thrived

As many people became infected and died, the pastor of the village church, William Mompesson, and his predecessor Thomas Stanley, suggested to the local villagers that the only way to prevent the disease from spreading out to the other villages around was to cut off face to face contact with those outside the village completely. Neighbouring communities brought food and supplies to a meeting point just outside the village where a stone well carved from a solid rock was placed. The well was filled with vinegar so that villagers from inside the village could pay for the food they needed. Vinegar was the only known disinfectant at the time but the disease was stemmed through the self-sacrifice of the people of Eyam. My visiting the village 57 years ago impressed on me then the sacrifice that the villagers made as a whole not to allow the spread of the Bubonic plague to the northern climes. A third of the village died but then two-thirds survived and the plague was stayed and never went further north to the big cities.

Today I am back on track knowing that my friends around the world are striving to do what they can to stop the spread of COVID-19. In an hour or two I will have another children's project completed for families to make. To say that these are interesting times would trivialise the tragedy that's taking place in the loss of life. Hopefully, we can keep encouraging our friends and loved ones, colleagues and everyone else in this time of need. If we each do our part and support those who might be overwhelmed in despondency, depression, anxiety or whatever, COVID-19 will hopefully be behind us.