I’ve been writing a diary for the Waterford News & Star for the past three weeks. Titled ‘Diary From A Social Distance’, arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, at the time of posting I am 22 entries and 25,892 words in.
At a minimum, I have 22 further entries to go given the semi-quarantine that the Irish Government has requested of its citizens. Alas, something tells me the halfway mark I reached in posting my April 13th entry is nothing more than provisional.
From the kitchen table that now also doubles as a workstation, I’ve been devoting anything from 70 to 100 minutes daily to this diary. In my 21 years in journalism, no single assignment has taken up so much time each day for such a sustained period.
Given the two-kilometre radius that we’re currently permitted to circulate within, one might think that this would pose a problem for me when it comes to subject matter.
Thankfully, as of yet, that hasn’t provided me with any space-filling issues, with my shortest entry to date coming at 874 words while my lengthiest effort yet accounting for 1,436 words. What’s also worth bearing in mind is that, given my brief, I can proceed beyond that 2K circle from my home. However, I’ve not abused this privilege, having only ventured outside that radius once - on Sunday last - to compile a report on how the lockdown was being adhered to across East Waterford, from the foothills of the Comeragh Mountains to the Estuary in Dunmore East.
For a nation associated with a “yerra lookit” shoulder shrugging level of indifference when it comes to rules and regulations, everything I’ve seen myself in recent weeks suggests that we are taking our civic responsibilities very seriously.
As both a citizen and a reporter, this first hand news came as a relief, something which resonated with readers after I posted my copy on Sunday night last, all the more so given the uncorroborated commentary offered on social media.
Bearing that in mind, keeping a diary such as this will, in time, be something I’ll be glad my editor pitched to me almost a month ago.
“People who have psychotherapy always talk about the value of keeping lists and a record as a valuable thing to do,” said Michael Palin, my favourite diarist. “It can reveal our state of mind.”
It’s not my intent to dwell too long on my own mindset in my newspaper diary. There are people and matters I spend a great deal of time thinking about on a daily basis which, I feel, would serve no benefit in sharing with a wider audience. So I'll not be going down the Freudian avenue.
Now there have been times when I’ve drifted into some childhood reminisces, many involving loved ones no longer with us, because such prominent figures in my life have been on my mind more than usual of late. I suspect I am not alone in that regard these past few weeks.
“I kept a diary because I was interested in observing what was around me,” said Palin. “I’ve always been the same, even at school. Instead of listening in the classroom about algebra I was more interested in what was happening outside the window: what the weather was like, what was happening in the building opposite. I always had a deep curiosity in people, what they were doing and how they looked.”
I’ve consciously not written a great deal about Covid-19 in the diary. It may well be the biggest news story on the planet right now and is of course the reason I’m devoting at least 10 hours a week to this diary. But why write about all that much in diary form when it’s been covered so comprehensively by my own title and everyone else for that matter? I’ve tried to make it different and distinctive and I’ll go on doing that for however long this situation demands it of me. It’s a task I’ve warmed to and it’s a task I remain enthused about each and every day.
“The most important thing in a diary is to be yourself,” said Michael Palin. That’s what I’m striving for every night, sitting at my laptop as the night closes in, the dogs settle down and the kettle boils one more time.
You can read my diary at https://waterford-news.ie/views/diary-from-a-social-distance/#.XpZLWchKg2w and you can read my report, titled ‘East Waterford Under Quarantine’ at https://waterford-news.ie/2020/04/12/east-waterford-under-quarantine/#.XpZLd8hKg2w
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