Well! That was a strange morning!
Yesterday as I tried to tidy up the boatyard every movement was a major effort. I struggled to lift things that I normally find easy and I ached in every muscle like I'd been trampolined by elephants. The day before I'd had a bit of a cough, and M had been coughing too.
I began to wonder if we had the virus.
This morning I woke up and reluctantly started to get ready for the day. I was supposed to be meeting a couple of young lads who have volunteered for online selling.
I really didn't feel well and normal simple tasks seemed a huge effort. I found climbing the stairs a little daunting, and it left me puffing slightly. That's not me!
M woke up, coughing. "It's the cold air" she said "Close the window". I closed the window but she was feeling rough and already thinking of postponing her day's tasks.
"Perhaps we should have a test" I suggested. I wasn't really that keen about it, and M was quite fearful. We started to discuss the pros and cons as we sat in bed drinking coffee.
Back in March we had felt much the same. We considered going for a test then but it seemed pointless. We were locked down and not seeing anyone so there wasn't much chance of spreading it.
M has M E (or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and I am coming off hormone treatment for prostate cancer. These things could explain how we felt. Another possibility is that we did have it back in March (or earlier, we felt ill around Christmas and they're finding evidence of cases back to December now). Many people suffer post Covid fatigue, perhaps it was that.
We discussed the implications of a positive test. Troublesome to say the least. However, though ignorance may be blissful, it doesn't stop you infecting other people, some of whom may be even more vulnerable than us. The clincher was the fact that yesterday I had been with someone who told me he was going to visit his mother next week for her 90th birthday. I really don't want the responsibility of causing an old lady's death. Some may say 'well, she's had a good innings', but it's only 23 years until I'm 90 and I'm pretty sure that if I get there I'll be hoping for another 23+ years. Let's look after our older folk, none of us is getting any younger.
M went online to find testing centres. The nearest one was Oldham. It had a 'phone number, but it didn't work! The other ones said you had to book, but had no contact details. I fired up my laptop and went a different route via Tameside Council. This led me to a long long online form, which I filled in for myself, then had to do it all again for M. They sent us a QR code to our phones and email addresses. My 'phone is a brick and doesn't do this clever stuff but I got a long series of numbers from the email and wrote them in a notebook.
We had elected to get tested at the Etihad. For foreigners who do not follow football this is the Manchester City stadium. Our choice of venue does not imply any allegiance to this particular team. Our appointment was at 10AM, so we had nearly an hour to get up, get dressed and drive 4 miles.
We arrived at the appropriate car park spot on 10. I had anticipated a queue of vehicles, but we were the only one. Signs told us to keep our windows closed. At the first checkpoint a man held up a notice asking for a QR code. I showed him the numbers in my notebook. He laughed and waved us on.
We followed a lane marked out with masses of traffic cones to another checkpoint. Not sure what the point of that one was as they just stopped us then waved us through. The lane of cones continued. Every now and then we passed someone in a yellow vest who waved us by and gave us a thumbs up. The lane curved into the main car park. A line of big tents was set up across the middle of it with lots of people in hi viz clothing standing about. I saw one other car driving into one of the tents. M remarked on the post apocalyptic nature of the scene.
The cones snaked around the edge of the car park and led to another tented checkpoint. Here our identities were checked, though we didn't need the passports we'd been told to bring, and we were asked if we'd like to take the swabs ourselves or have them taken for us. I wasn't bothered but M wanted them to do the swabbing. Her rationale was that if they did it it was more likely to be done properly.
Driving on, we came to another tent, on its own and separate from the line of tents in the middle of the car park. Here we were asked to wind down our windows. A cheerful nurse called Chris stuck a swab into the back of my throat, twice, then another to the back of my nose, which made me sneeze. His colleague then did the same for M. She didn't mind the nose swab but struggled with the throat one.
That was it. We each had a card bearing a barcode as a souvenir. We drove home to await the results.
I'm quite amazed that the testing facility is seeing so little use. It's not like the virus has gone away. Liberal though I am most of the time, if I ruled the world I'd have compusory testing for as many people as possible. The only way to tackle this virus is to stamp it out. If a single person remains infected then it can flare up again, like a single match lodged in a haystack.
The test wasn't traumatic (and our presence relieved the boredom a little for all those yellow jacketed attendants. If you're not sure, go and get a test.
