LONDON, U.K. -- Boris Johnson has gone from near death to new dad in three weeks. And he fooled us all.
I had just been reading about how Britons are in the doldrums鈥攚orried, frustrated and bored鈥攚hen up popped the news that Johnson鈥檚 fiancée, Carrie Symonds,
It was not a secret that she was pregnant. The surprise was the timing. Indeed, after we heard that Boris caught the virus, the country began to worry next about the health of mother and baby.
All is good. Downing Street announced the father was present for the birth.
So, now the prime minister has another reason to be thankful for Britain鈥檚 National Health Service, and might feel motivated to raise their budget. One NHS hospital team saved his life鈥攁nother delivered his child.
It happened with a certain level of intrigue. Downing Street announced that Boris would not be in the House of Commons this morning for Prime Minister鈥檚 Questions, the first since his near-death illness.
Notice that I keep flashing back to his brush with mortality? It adds a touch of drama to one鈥檚 normal lockdown monotony.
Anyway, Boris鈥 absence from the House lead to instant speculation that he鈥檇 suffered a COVID-19 relapse, and wasn鈥檛 well enough to attend.
It was a classic bait and switch. Or as a Guardian journalist sheepishly pointed out:
Okay, with that bit of happy excitement over, ? Ever so briefly.
Pepys worried about his mental health in the middle of the Great Plague, the way many in this country worry about theirs 355 years later. The parallels are remarkable.
Today, it鈥檚 anxiety and depression鈥攖hen, it was 鈥渕elancholy,鈥 brought on by an excess of black bile.
Pepys wrote of his efforts to stay cheerful, only to be dragged down by news of friends dying. His doctor, for example, which was not a hopeful turn of events.
鈥淚 put off the thoughts of sadness as much as I can,鈥 he confided to his diary, admitting to 鈥済reat apprehensions of melancholy.鈥
Before the pandemic hit, a poll here showed 50 per cent of people felt perfectly happy with life. That has now dropped to 26 per cent. I鈥檓 amazed it鈥檚 that high.
In the early days of the lockdown, as life slowed down, people were still feeling calm and hopeful. All those millions of us who vowed to take up jogging or learn a new skill. Or
What a difference six weeks of forced confinement makes.
鈥攁 modern day project inspired by Pepys鈥攔eveals confessions of worry, frustration and ennui. The novelty of baking bread has worn off.
Too bad the novelty hasn鈥檛 worn off with all the joggers crowding her majesty鈥檚 royal parks. And too bad they haven鈥檛 all learned to keep their distance.
That鈥檚 okay because we have Sammy the good dog to enforce the two-metre rule with his lead fully extended. He seems to understand his duty.
And if that doesn鈥檛 work, we have a newly acquired, and fearsome hockey stick, a P88, 40 Flex, with Mid-Kick Technology.
A great Canadian solution.
Made in China.
