In writing this blog, I feel a bit like Samuel Pepys, jotting down observations about London society, all while the Plague tore through London or the Great Fire burned it down. Of course, the big difference is that there will be lots to read from this crazy period, unlike Pepys’ time, and I don’t have to write this in code.

Australia Closes its Borders and More Virus News: The government here has been a bit slow to react to the pandemic, although, in fairness, the virus has not quite yet begun its exponential march across the country. I think there is a real question whether closing the borders to non-Australians actually does any good (and it has wiped out the tourism industry). But the PM here is a sort of Trump-lite, so it probably figures that this is his first reaction. The Australian dollar is in free fall (good for us Americans here), probably due to worries that the government has not been aggressive enough to address the virus. The lockdown will come eventually, but the Aussie federal response has been to put it off as long as possible, which is probably bad policy. As in the US, the real leadership seems to be coming from the Premiers (Governors) of the various states. In the meantime, establishments with less than 100 people can stay open. In Manly, this means that most of the restaurants and pubs are open and surprisingly busy. I don’t know if this is because Manly has so many young people feeling invincible or because of it beach culture. I suspect that people realize that the end of the party is approaching and are getting in a few more rounds of beer or a nice night out before it all ends. Things are pretty deserted in the CBD and the Rocks. It is probably safer to go and eat there. We are supposed to visit our former nanny, Simone, and her kids for a barbecue tomorrow. I think we will probably go, but I’m guessing that our other social events in the next few days will be cancelled. We will probably end up sheltering in place in Manly for much of the rest of our time here.

Australian Wine: Since coming here, we have tried to drink only Australian wines, since the wine scene here is vibrant and most of the wines are not available in the US. Lots of Barossa Shiraz, Clare Valley Rieslings, Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blends, etc. A few observations: (1) We used to go to the Hunter Valley (about two hours north of Sydney) fairly often in the Amex Era. Unsurprisingly, it is much more commercial, with big, glitzy tasting rooms. (Our old favorite, Brokenwood, was gigantic and unrecognizable.) We hired a car with Kathy and Jim and took a tour that picked us up outside our apartment. Our guide took us to some good small wineries. Buena Vista, Tinkler and Scarborough, which I doubt you will ever seen in the US and Tulloch, which you might. (2) Hunter Valley Semillon is great, especially if it has some age on it. (There are good ones from other part of Oz too.) I don’t understand why it isn’t exported to the US more. (3) One of the big changes in the wine industry since the Amex Era is the proliferation of Italian and Spanish grape varietals that I don’t remember seeing back then. Sangiovese, Verdelho, Nebbiolo, etc. (4) Tasmania is now a major wine producer and probably the best place to grow Pinot Noir, since most of the rest of Oz is too hot. (5) A number of our favorite wines from the Amex Era have gone up in price to the point that they are now unaffordable. I suppose I could take this as a good reflection on my wine sense, but it has prevented some walks down oenological memory lanes, although we did spring for a Rockford Basket Press Shiraz when we went out to eat at the Lord Nelson. I could bore you (and ultimately myself) with stories of other bottles we have drunk (and we drank a bunch of good ones), but I won’t bother.

Skin Cancer and the Ozone Hole: I was taking the bus to Crow’s Nest last week and passed a huge skin cancer clinic. (See the photo below.) This reminded me of our experience during the Amex Era, when, as you may recall, there was great concern over a hole in the ozone over Australia. (The hole was technically over Antarctica, but there was huge spike in skin cancers here.) Everyone had white stuff on their noses and wore hats and slathered with sun screen. All kids at Alex’s Pre-School were required to wear hats with flaps off the back to cover the back of the neck. (Very cute.) They were popular with grown-ups too. Back around 1989, the world agreed on a treaty that banned CFCs and other things and the ozone problem has gradually gotten better. (It is actually an inspiration for what might be done to combat climate change.) Now you cannot find those hats with the flaps anywhere (Alex wants one) and few people have white stuff on their noses.

One More Ferry Story: When you take the ferry back late at night, flocks of sea gulls (or terns?) fly along next to the boat. It seems like they are drafting off the ferry and being carried along, but they don’t do it during the day. We talked to a member of the crew and she said that it happens every evening and her theory was that the ship stirred up the water in a way that made it easier to grab food out of the water. When the ferry slows down as we reach Manly, the flock disappears. I wonder if the same thing happens on the trip to Circular Quay. A video follows. (It may take a while to download.)

Getting Home: Though sheer dumb luck, we are on one of the few flights that has not been cancelled (United to San Francisco). Since no one is allowed to come into the country and Australians are discouraged from leaving, the only people flying out are people like us. I’m expecting it to be pretty strange, even if getting on the plane here is as easy as I hope it will be. It will be very odd entering a USA in lockdown and we’ll see how easy it will be to get from San Francisco to Newark. It will be nice to get home, when ever that happens.

I’ll be writing more. What else do I have to do, trapped here in our apartment?