Hello again to you all. Since coming back from Bali at the beginning of February I have, as you know, added the Bali Travel journal (in POSTS under the HOME page) plus many photos from that trip (under TRAVEL WRITING- yes, I know, completely illogical placement but for a reason, the details of which I won’t bore you by repeating). The Corona virus was in its early stages when we left Australia for Bali at the end of January and it is astonishing to see and experience what has transpired since! Everyone’s life is altered in various ways and to various degrees and so there have been so many lives tragically lost. While I am very concerned about friends and family in Italy and USA, our Balinese family are forefront in my mind. Like so many in less developed countries, they live a pretty hand-to-mouth existence at the best of times and now there are no tourists and thus no business in the warung (restaurant). And that’s before taking health and medical services into consideration. Ever resourceful, they have experimented with various little enterprises to bring in a few dollars, most recently making takeaway pizzas for the locals who love them. But the path ahead is very uncertain. Thank goodness for WhatsApp so we can at least easily be in frequent communication.
I hope everyone who reads this is safe and well. Those of you in countries other than Australia, of which there are quite a few, have my special thoughts and best wishes because we are most fortunate here with measures taken early, few deaths (so far a total around 90) and the curve flattening nicely, even though lives are restricted and large numbers of people are out of work and all the implications that entails both now and into the future.
I have kept in touch with many people and have been writing something called Covid Times, sending it out more or less weekly via email, though I may not continue with this so regularly. I would LOVE to hear from those who have been reading it but haven’t been in touch with me, just to know you are OK. And if anyone would like to be added to the list to receive, should I continue it, please send me your name and email address.
Meanwhile I have been working on poems, some quite new, some written in recent years waiting patiently for me to re-visit and re-write to completion. So, seventeen new poems for you poetry buffs to discover. The new ones appear beneath the previously existing ones in each section. To SELECTED POEMS, I have added another eight; seven to THE NATURAL WORLD and two to PORTUGAL POEMS. Any thoughts/ comments welcome.
That’s it for now. Take care. Explore your new world.
Bonney
