New Zealand may be about to move to the next level down, although that will make little difference to my routine, as public transport will still be heavily restricted as to the numbers carried (essentially about 43% of normal), so boarding a train this far out from Wellington will be a fool’s errand. They haven’t got double the numbers of buses waiting in some vehicular cache, so if I do go in it will be very early and by car. But a mighty effort has been made and I have remote access, which suffices for most things, and Zoom does a lot of the rest.
It is a bit odd to have a dead bus parked down our street. It’s been there a week, neatly parked at our nearest bus-stop (which must infuriate the drivers operating the service). It has an ad on the side that says “Nice to see you here again” – it’s one of those ads from an agency that runs ads for the sides of buses, trying to persuade you to advertise there – which seems appropriate, at least. (Perhaps it’s not really dead – I mean, it’s not lying on its back with its wheels in the air.)
Not perhaps the oddest thing about lockdown from our observation. We have an electrically operated garage door, with a remote device – press a button and the door opens or shuts, startling nearby cats and birds. My device stopped working about a year ago – first it wouldn’t work occasionally, then more frequently, then it only worked once every week or so, then once a month. I kept pointing it hopefully and getting nowhere.
Until lockdown level 4 when it started to work every time, ditto all through level 3 – but the day details of level 2 were announced it stopped dead again. I’m thinking of having it tested for coronavirus.
I have found a puzzle from July 2014 for today’s upload. I don’t have a solution grid to hand but there’s link to the relevant fifteensquared blog. As for forthcoming puzzles, there’s a Pedro Quick Cryptic in The Times on Monday 11 June, after which it’s the usual Friday Independents only for a bit.
I have to say the image of a bus on its back, wheels up, is one that will linger and bring a smile. I suppose we should be grateful they don’t roll over and ask to be tickled on the underside, or play fetch!
Public transport here is still pretty much empty. How it will develop going forwards, if at all, remains to be seen I guess, like your remote, it may splutter and stop when the pressure is back on.