2020 ANNUS HORRIBILIS OR NOT?

The phrase annus horribilis was used in 1891 in an Anglican publication to describe 1870, the year in which the Roman Catholic church defined the dogma of papal infallibility. The expression was brought to modern prominence by Queen Elizabeth II, in a speech at Guildhall on 24 November 1992, marking her Ruby Jubilee on the throne, where she said:

That year, she had to endure the  collapse of three of her children’s marriages; including Prince Charles’ to Princess Diana and the fire that severely damaged her Windsor Castle home.

Arguably, 2020 could be her annus horribilis 2. What, with her husband getting a police warning for his involvement in a car crash, her grandson’s Prince William and Harry publicly falling out and her second son Prince Andrew getting ever more entangled in the furor over his links to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Similarly, has 2020 been our nation’s collective annus horribilis as described by HRH Queen Elizabeth? Many would say, yes! This year, which is about to finish, has been one to forget. Life has been intolerable with the Covid pandemic resulting in many premature deaths and changes to lifestyle. As a consequence of lock down restrictions, we’ve not been able to go on holiday abroad, go the gym, get a hair cut or God forbid, go the pub! What a crying shame I’d say, has it really been that tough….!?

Whilst we’ve seen the good, there has been the bad and the damn right ugly!

The good……

Acts of charity, community support for the vulnerable and elderly have been prevalent. People have taken to walking and cycling, improving their health. The global response to the pandemic has driven the biggest fall in CO2 emissions since World War Two.

The bad…..

Sections of society ignoring the rules aimed to reduce the rate of transmission amongst the population. With many ignoring simple measures like the wearing of face masks and social distancing, to illegal mass gatherings such as parties where social distancing is impossible.

And the ugly……

No one will forget the panic buying and selfish hoarding that followed the start of the pandemic. There were even instances of people fighting over toilet rolls for Christ’s sake. I appreciate people might have been anxious about the food supply chain but a run on bog roll! Feck me……Perhaps the worst doomsday scenario is this: being stuck on the toilet and finding you’re down to the last sheet. God forbid….

So what have we learned?

Prior to this pandemic, so many of us believed that we are supreme masters of the world around us. But, with Covid-19, we have been confronted with the true uncertainty of human existence and the vulnerability of human life. I even think now, people will begin to take global warming seriously in a way they might not have otherwise done before the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the value of freedom like never before seen by this generation . The freedom to move, travel afar, to be with those we love, for ourselves and for those around us. A freedom, taken for granted in our “free” western societies. The freedom hard won through two world wars, often forgotten about by this cosseted generation.

The Corona virus has shown us how many of us waste our lives, embroiled in endless battles for wealth, status and power. How we do not recognise the value in the people around us. Not just our family, friends and colleagues, but our fellow citizens.

We are not just individuals, but a community and a wider society within a natural world. We should be in pursuit of a fair and safe community, with global goals, articulated through our national and cultural aspirations.

We are all interdependent and one individual cannot succeed without the cooperation of others at a local, regional and national level. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the danger of ignoring our interdependence and the importance of global cooperation.We are all in the same boat. It certainly puts a different spin on the pursuit of independence from the EU with Brexit for me. Particularly as prior to this episode, I was a pro-leave thinker!

We do need to look beyond, at what has changed for the better and what has been achieved, which previously would have been inconceivable. Taking it and letting it shape our future relationships, ways of working, ambitions and aspirations for the better. A simple example would be the development of the Pfizer vaccine in less than a year. A process which arguably would have take up to 10 years pre-pandemic!

My own take on it all

Yes, many have lost loved ones, there are many financially worse off, particularly those in hospitality, with many having lost their jobs.

Personally, I haven’t lost anyone close because of Covid and I hope that remains the same going forward. As a public employee, I haven’t experienced the financial hardship experienced by many, so from a personal perspective, you could say ‘I’m alright Jack!’ And I’m not the only one.

I know that sounds flippant and I understand would anger many of those reading that have suffered in ways I’ve described. True hardship is difficult to endure and I don’t belittle it, but hopefully society with it’s many charitable organisations and the state through the various schemes introduced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak will help those less fortunate than myself.

In many ways, for me it’s been the opposite, an “annus miribilis“. Not because of not losing anyone or suffering financially, but because of all the important decisions I’ve made to change my lifestyle, including my retirement, which is the catalyst for all that is to follow. My mind was made up before Covid, but it has made me realise that everything I have decided to do is the right path for me. More so, now than ever before. Life is short and unless you change and evolve you will flounder. And that is the point I’m trying to make.

Many businesses and individuals have suffered and continue to do so. But for those that can, many have chosen to adapt and change in order to survive, in a way they would not have considered before. A year so uncomfortable, painful and scary that finally awakened everyone from their ignorant slumber and finally accept the need for change. The simplest example is the move to working from home and virtual meetings on Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

2020 could become the year when the importance of adaptation and change is finally realised. So that, perhaps in the future, when this situation happens again and I’m pretty sure it will, we as individuals, as a society and a nation will be ready to respond, adapt and change to meet the challenges thrown our way.

Which brings to mind one of my favourite resilience quotes from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. His original line “was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker”, from the “Maxims and Arrows” section of Nietzsche’s book, Twilight of the the Idols (1888), translated into English is “what does not kill me makes me stronger.”

Whilst best known for this quote, there are many others I have connected with. Look him up on this link https://www.fearlessmotivation.com/2017/06/18/friedrich-nietzsche-quotes/. Some of his quotes ring so true. Two of my favourites are below.

In essence, the above quote says, safety is the biggest illusion in life. Sold by people who never lived it in the first place. You need to take risks and get out of your shell to live an extraordinary life. Meet new people, travel to new places, try new and bizarre ideas in your work, relationships, and play because it’s an absolute pleasure to create something entirely new.

The other is:-

My take on this is, there is no golden way to succeed. Something may work for your friend, but not for you. You need to learn from your mistakes and trust your gut, to create your own path. This is one of the greatest Friedrich Nietzsche quotes as it shows that there is no secret ingredient to success. But your recipe, cooked well is all you need!

2021 Annus Miribilis?

Well if 2020 wasn’t an annus miribilis for you, as it was for me, what about 2021. Will we as individuals and society need the world to learn from our collective experience of this Covid Pandemic? And what of Brexit and the new deal relationship?? Certainly travel will be less fluid for Brits, that’s unless you have an Irish passport of course, as I now do 🙂 !

Clearly the Royal Family headed up by our HRH Elizabeth could do with a break!

“God save the Queen” , you might say!

“God Save the Queen” (alternatively “God Save the King“, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch) is the royal anthem in a number of Commonwealth realms, their territories and the British Crown dependencies.^[1][2] The author of the tune is unknown.

“God Save the Queen” is also a song by the British punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band’s second single and was later included on their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. The song released during Queen Elizabeth II‘s Silver Jubilee in 1977, and was regarded by many, as an assault on Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy. At the time, it was highly controversial for equating the queen with a “fascist regime” and for the lyric “there is no future in England’s dreaming”.

That said it’s a fecking great song and one of my all time favourite singles!

Punk’s annus mirabilis, 1977, by chance, coincided with the Queen’s silver jubilee, locking Johnny Rotten and the Queen together in a regular cycle of anniversaries until one of them dies. Do you remember the street parties that year!? A doubt we will ever see the likes of it again.

The Van Traveller

Programme of events 2021

January to March

The interior and exterior design needs to be decided and more importantly costed. The Van order has now been confirmed by Mercedes Benz with the build planned to commence early March. The build takes one week in Dusseldorf, with shipping taking a further two weeks. Hopefully, and delays are likely we should take delivery at the end of March or early April.

April

It will be my 55th birthday on Thursday 29th April and the countdown clock run down to zero. Retirement and my time as a clinician formally over. In the time I have been planning the retirement, I have been approached and have been offered other opportunities within the realms of medical healthcare related work. One of which is very attractive. Whilst I have my plan, I may do some “work” to support this offer, perhaps a couple of days a week if necessary. In part, to help a good friend who see’s value in my expertise and experience but also more importantly any additional income will be put into ensuring The Van is exactly how I want, in terms of the level of internal and external specification! A win win if there ever was one. It’s so exciting, I’m fit to burst.

May to July

The build slot is booked for early May and will take 6-12 weeks to build depending on the specifications decided upon. I have already detailed some initial details of both the internal and external look in my last post thevantraveller.com/it’s a midlife crisis but not as we know it! If all goes to plan, and I know that’s a big “if”, I should take delivery some time in July!

I do hope to take lots of pictures during the build phase which I will put together as a slow time lapse video as part of a later post next year.

August and beyond

Watch this space! Plenty is planned with Christina and the kids. The summer holidays will be the beginning of Phase 3, of this epic journey. I suspect this van will become a mobile man cave until I’m on the road full time.

It would not be beyond my comprehension, to think I might spend a substantial amount of time in it, even when it’s parked on the drive at home. Communication takes many forms these days, but for the purposes of being in close proximity and to take the advice of my brother in law Bram, the system below may well be employed!

The story so far….

Phase 1

I’ve decided to retire and record the journey through this website. Sorting the knee and tying up lost ends (more in the next post about that) is nearing completion. Phase 1 comes to a close with retirement in April with some overlap with the beginning of Phase 2 ; designing and building the van during January to March.

Phase 2

Is predominantly the design (Jan-April) and build (May- July) of the van. I will be detailing it with shorter regular posts, with plenty of photos as the design and build evolves. Perhaps, if for any reason I feel the need, interspersed with other content on life in general.

Phase 3

As I’ve eluded to August 2021 and beyond, is where it’s at and where it will take us, who knows? I have a provisional plan in mind detailed on the page The Plan, One thing I do know however, is that I will chronicle all that happens, the good, the bad and the downright ugly!

GOOD LUCK FOR 2021

LET’S HOPE IT’S YOUR ANNUS MIRIBILIS!

RETIREMENT COUNTDOWN