Mark Power Monday’s extraordinary u-turn by Boris Johnson’s government, from the bizarre concept of ‘Herd immunity’, allowing the virus to naturally spread to enough people to eventually bring it to an end (u
(...) ntil it was discovered this could result in a quarter of a million deaths) to the other extreme of family self-isolation at the first sign of the virus and advice to no longer visit pubs, clubs, cinemas, etc., has meant that most of us in the UK are pretty confused as to what to do. Our 17-year old son, Milligan, is going stir-crazy already, after his college closed it’s doors yesterday until further notice; particularly problematic because he’s supposed to be taking his ‘A’ levels in June. We’ve banned him from going to the gym (an enormous sacrifice, which we continually have to acknowledge!) and our gentle suggestions to use the time to tidy his room have fallen on deaf ears. But at least he has his music, and for much of the day our house is filled with piano, drums and marimba. In this respect at least, we’re very lucky. Our 21-year old daughter Chilli (she of my Fuji ‘Home project) decided to come home from university at the weekend, and is now our leading crusader for self-isolation, virtually refusing to leave the house at all. The other pictures attached show the moment, this morning, when she received news that her degree show has been cancelled (not postponed, but cancelled altogether)... a bitter blow since she’s been preparing her installation for months. We feel deeply for her. Meanwhile, now that I’ve reached 60 and have an ‘underlying health condition’ (type 2 diabetes) I’m told I’m in the 'at-risk' category. Walking through virtually deserted streets with Kodak (my dog) yesterday, I had this strange feeling that it was all a dream and soon enough I’d be waking up. I’m still waiting. Brighton. GB. March 18, 2020. © Mark Power | Magnum Photos