Day 144 – The great staycation debate

It’s bad news for me.

 

This shouldn’t really be a thing, but I have a feeling that this could be a thing.

It was Stuart Maconie who (rightfully*) felt the need to correct those who contacted his weekend breakfast show on 6 Music claiming they were “on a staycation” because they were “staying” in Britain, rather than going abroad for their “vacation”.

“Hang on though,” said Stuart. “You’re erroneously conflating the word ‘staycation’ with the term  ‘domestic tourism’.”

Damn straight. It’s not hard.
Domestic tourism is when you stay in your own country for a holiday.
A staycation is where you stay in your own house for a holiday.

And given the current situation, both are going to be a whole lot more popular this year.

Check out wikipedia, which is always right:

A staycation (a portmanteau of “stay” and “vacation”) is a period in which an individual or family stays home and participates in leisure activities within day trip distance of their home and does not require overnight accommodation. Common activities of a staycation include use of a backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals and amusement parks. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.

Ha. I think that solves everything. So shall we m… I’m sorry… look at what?
The next sentence?

…in British English the term became associated with taking a holiday in one’s own country as opposed to travelling abroad (domestic tourism).

Well, ok. But this is from wikipedia and that’s not always right.

Let’s have a look at the Oxford English Dictionary, which will confirm that they are wrong and Stuart Maconie and I are correct, as expected.

A holiday spent in one’s home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.

Oh.

So it seems that we are right.
But so are they. Bugger.

So this is one where I have to admit defeat. This is not a hill (in my own garden or even in my own country) that I am willing to die on.

They were right. And I was wrong.
And Stuart Maconie was also wrong, which has shaken me a little, I’ll admit. I might send him this post, just so he knows not to keep on at this one again this coming weekend, because actually, he’s not right.

Maybe one to just sweep quietly under the carpet.

 

 

* or so we all thought

Day 143, part 2 – Just say no

Spotted online.
And relevant, given the upcoming move to Level 2 and the precautions people should still be taking.

Just say no… but how?

 

 

I’m certainly not happy to share indoor spaces (here’s why), and so far, I’ve always alternated between “direct” and “too indirect”, but “I’m not setting foot in your haunted plague box” might just be my new goto line from now on.

Day 143 – Don’t forget…

As SA celebrates a move to Level 2 Lockdown from Tuesday morning, including a welcome return of alcohol and tobacco sales, I’m mindful of a couple of points that I feel shouldn’t be overlooked.

Firstly, please don’t let the joy of having your creature comforts back make you forget that the SA government response to coronavirus has generally been shoddy, unnecessarily opaque, often illogical and completely riddled with corruption.

And secondly, please don’t let the the joy of having your creature comforts back make you forget that the virus is still very much around, and that similar policies of opening up economies have resulted in spikes in Covid-19 cases and returns to heavier lockdowns all over the world.

We have the power to control this to a certain extent: continuing to wear masks, regularly washing our hands, socially distancing and not sharing indoor spaces are all simple things the public can do to limit the spread of the virus, and are even more important now that we are generally going to be out and about more.

Things might seem like they’re getting back to normal, but they’re actually not normal at all.

Please don’t forget that.

Day 142, part 2 – Those “Tokyo fireworks”

We’ve surely all seen it shared by muppets on social media:

The fireworks were prepared by Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games this year. The Olympics cannot be opened because of the epidemic, but these fireworks cannot be stored until 2021, so the Olympic fireworks are displayed at this time. Please enjoy the Olympic fireworks under the beautiful Mount Fuji.

And then the fireworks, which look entirely different from any other fireworks you’ve ever seen and are set to music about legendary Japanese hero William Tell, by legendary Japanese composer Gioachino Rossini.

Right up the old national pride street for Japan.

Strangely, the official Olympic Organising Committee didn’t share the link, and even more strangely, given that they the display was just a couple of days ago, here it is in its computer-generated entirety posted back in December 2015:

Almost 5 years ago!
No wonder they couldn’t store the pixels fireworks any longer.

…with the description:

As with the previous work, the background was based on the delusion that “a large-scale fireworks display was held in winter at Lake Kawaguchi in cooperation with the Lake Kawaguchi Fisheries Cooperative in commemoration of Mt. Fuji’s registration as a World Cultural Heritage site.”

Well, your video has gone way beyond that minor “delusion” now, mate.

This is one of those useful tools to sort out who are those less useful tools on your timelines. Obviously, there may already have been signs (football club allegiances etc.) in which case, this can act simply as a helpful confirmation.

I’m happy to assist.

Day 142 – Cyril leaves it late

Here’s confirmation that cyril is leaving it pretty much as late as he can before address that lapsing National State of Disaster.

Just to be clear, if the National State of Disaster does lapse, it doesn’t mean that the nation won’t be a disaster.

That’s going to to take quite a shift in direction and an awfully long time to sort out. Not 4 hours.