I’ve been here before…..

August 08, 2021

“I’ve been here before” - it’s a line from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as he stood up in the graveyard about to face Lord Voldemort. I reckon it’s how we in Victoria are starting to feel, except Lord Voldemort is replaced by the dreaded phrases “mystery cases” and “not in isolation during their infectious period”. This time we only came out of Lockdown for 7 days. Yesterday we were, yet again, told we were not permitted to work at the racetrack. It becomes a little soul destroying after awhile. And it was made worse because our counterparts in NSW were allowed to work at Royal Randwick, despite the severity of the outbreak in Greater Sydney. It kind of rubbed salt into a wound that just won’t heal. And as much as we try to remain optimistic it is difficult not to spiral down into the pit of despair at times.

I often worry about how it feels for those who have contracted the virus, which largely isn’t their fault. They wouldn’t have known they were being exposed to it, and then are suddenly treated like diseased pariahs. I hate that intensely and worry it increases the stigma of the disease. We refer to them as “the infected” person, rather than the person who is unwell with COVID. What’s the solution - get a bloody vaccine.

Speaking of vaccines, we will receive our 2nd dose of Astra Zeneca on Wednesday, thank goodness. We had been proactive, done the right thing by not buggerising about and being fussy and saying “but I want that one” like a spoilt and petulant child, and went ahead with our 1st dose back in May while it was still the vaccine we were eligible for, only to have them make us eligible for Pfizer less than 4 weeks later. The only reason that irked me about not getting Pfizer was because if we’d been able to get Pfizer we would already be fully vaccinated, but honestly, they are both excellent vaccines and it annoys the heck out of me when people try to say the AZ is no good, because it clearly is, and no matter, by Wednesday we are both fully vaccinated and that’s a terrific thing.

Incidentally, the comedian Jimmy Rees (who I previously had thought only did ‘Giggle and Hoot’) does a terrific running comedy video series “Meanwhile in Brighton” which is a very funny little series of videos about stuck up snobs rushing around trying to get Pffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzer instead of A-Zeeeeee. Watch it, I know you’ll love it. It’s really only bettered by his ‘Meanwhile in Australia’ series, sadly now up to number 28 or 29, as we lurch from one lockdown to another with state borders shuttered.

And in the meantime I’m managing wry smiles at the brilliant work of cartoonists like Matt Golding and Cathy Wilcox who are doing such a brilliant work documenting the pandemic with wonderful and compassion and wit.

My trip to the Hunter Valley for Stallion Parade Weekend has been cancelled, as have all the parades. I’m still determined to get to my NSW stallions in September though, and thank all the studs who support me and are willing to wait (humm - what was that I said earlier “I’ve been here before????”). I promise you that the photos will be worth waiting for. It’s all guesswork as to whether the Victorian Parades can still proceed. I really hope they can and I’m looking forward to seeing some new foals too. After all, I can’t spend all of my time photographing my cats and the birds in the backyard!