What a strange time to be alive. We all knew that a global pandemic at some point in our lives was a possibility, history tells us that but many struggled to believe it could happen. Even when the Coronavirus arrived in the UK we carried on as normal. Until something affects us directly it’s difficult to believe it’s a problem. There was perhaps an element of pretending it wasn’t happening too.
Many have blamed the Cheltenham Festival going ahead for the spread of the virus in our country. It’s true it didn’t help matters but it was far from the only event that went ahead at that time which in hindsight shouldn’t have. The going ahead of Cheltenham just represented society’s general view of the virus at the time. That it wasn’t as serious as we now know. Thinking back to the start of the festival, there was little panic, very few reported cases of the virus causing death and the government were advising carrying on as normal for ‘herd immunity’.
By the Thursday and the Friday, views were changing and you could argue that Gold Cup Day should have been cancelled but with everything all in place and the majority of the festival already taken place you can see why it was completed. Looking backwards at a time when we all now need to dig in and do our bit to help matters going forward is not all that helpful either.
There’ll be plenty of time to analyse what worked well and what didn’t when we finally see the back of the virus. There is no perfect way to operate during unprecedented times like these but it is strange that our government didn’t seem to have a plan in place for a pandemic such as this, especially when you see videos of president Obama talking about the risk some years ago.
The surreal nature of the enforced lockdown feels even stranger for me. In the last year I have struggled with worry, stress, been through a breakdown and had an existential crisis. All very 1st world type problems you might say but it’s horrific to actually go through. When these experiences tie-in with a global pandemic you start to ponder more and ask more questions.
Is there a reason for this Pandemic? Is it man-made or could it be God’s plan? Is God angry and this is a punishment or is he perversely trying to help us solve over-population or pollution? Is it simply just bad luck and the worldwide spread reflects how connected we all are nowadays?
So many questions and conspiracies but we’re not likely to get any answers. Asking questions and overthinking is what I need to avoid too, to be honest. My own crisis began by thinking too much and it’s now something I am trying to manage. I’d always kept physically fit but it never occurred to me to think much about my mental health.
Your brain is just your brain and it is a constant is how I acted but I now see it’s just another muscle that needs to be exercised and given downtime. The Headspace app for meditation has been invaluable to me as has yoga sessions. Both things that I would have considered a bit airy fairy in the past but it’s not until you are in need of them that you really see how they help.
This site has not had much of my attention over the last year and some regular visitors prompted me to ask what the point of the site was and what plans I had to improve it. The passion I have for sports and betting was no longer as evident on the site and they had a right to ask that question.
Feeling mentally stronger, I am a little clearer in my intentions. This site consists of 4 of the things I love the most. Sports, Betting, Writing and Programming. I’ve put a lot of effort into this site and I’m not ready to let it go to waste. The dream of being my own boss and make regular profits from betting is still there and I intend to make it happen.
This site hasn’t been my only focus over the last year. We have had another child and we’ve set up a dog walking and pet sitting business. I’m hopeful that these extra focusses (and income) will enable me to bring renewed enthusiasm to this site and help bring the fun back into betting and trading.
I especially want to bring a personal touch back to the website and my writing as that is when I seem to enjoy the site the most and hopefully it will be more interesting to readers. Roll on the return to normality.