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In the Offing
Nov. 14th, 2020 09:27 amWe're halfway through Second Lockdown here, and everyone is warning of a very difficult winter ahead, but this week I've been thinking about Spring.
My business, such as it is, is online; I am lucky enough to live as a lily of the field on the monthly shower from Patreon and the sunshine of generosity which has given me a low-rent palace. When the pandemic hit, I thought I was more or less lockdown-proof, at least until the economic impacts hit my patrons. What I realised when doing my taxes, though, is that my teaching, which I had thought of as a top-up, actually makes up almost half of my income. I had been teaching in March when Denmark locked down; luckily I managed to finish the class online, but it was difficult both for the students and me, and I realised how untenable this arrangement would be if things continued thus. Last October I was teaching in Switzerland and was supposed to have gone back again this year, but with both countries continually fluctuating on entry/exit/quarantine restrictions, we decided over the summer that making any plans was unwise. As we headed into the 2020/21 academic year, Europe once again became a global COVID epicentre. Things were not looking good for hands-on face-to-face craft tutelage.
This has recently turned around. The Swiss school where I should have been in October has asked me to mentor some of this year's class as they put together their 2D portfolios. And the Danish school emailed to ask if I would like to come back in March. I am ever a pessimist so I don't expect we'll be out of the woods by then, even with a vaccine, but the controls Denmark has in place for entry are very sensible,* and the school has further sensible policies on top of those, so on the assumption they will squash their mink problem in the next four months, I will probably be safer in Denmark than here. And, contrary to expectations, air travel is not a huge risk for transmission. It's just a question of getting onto the plane safely ...
These plans come as my parents are getting confident about their visit in May – they were supposed to have been here last May, but we all know how that went. I have been vocally critical of this confidence, especially given that the two countries involved in this plan are among the worst in the world for COVID response, so my blitheness about flitting off to Denmark two months prior whiffs of hypocrisy. However, the realities are worth considering: On one hand, travelling around some of the worst parts of a very badly affected country, staying in successive accommodations, eating out, seeing sights; on the other, travelling to a very well-managed country, staying in one tightly controlled place, with a limited number of contacts, under strict bubbling protocols. Viborg has been the butt of many animators' jokes for being the most boring place in the world, but the fact it rolls up the sidewalks at 4pm is definitely a point in its favour this time around.
Of course, the big disclaimer hanging over all this, as it has for the last year, is 'subject to cancellation.' The mentoring I will be doing from home so that's fine; if push comes to shove I know I can teach the animation class online, but would rather jump through the hoops to do it onsite. I hope it isn't cancelled outright, as the class is always a highlight of my year.
My main misgiving is that I was planning to start some seeds for the garden in March, and if I'm out of town I won't be able to keep them watered on the sunny windowsill. We may just have to see what headstart I can still give them in April, which will be warmer at least ... While the authorities are warning of a difficult winter pandemic-wise, Nature seems to be warning of difficulty in the more classic sense. We had an extremely fruitful autumn, especially in acorns, which supposedly foretells a hard winter. More notably, a number of spring flowers came around for a second go in October, and the last time this happened was 2011; winter 2011-12 was the hardest in living memory. I love winter and am looking forward to a snowy one in the countryside, but I also live in a draughty uninsulated 500-year-old house, so if it's much below freezing for any extended time, that extra teaching income is going to go right up the chimney ...
*Proof of negative test no more than 72h before arrival, required for entry; quarantine on arrival and test 4 days after; on receiving negative results, cleared to move about freely
My business, such as it is, is online; I am lucky enough to live as a lily of the field on the monthly shower from Patreon and the sunshine of generosity which has given me a low-rent palace. When the pandemic hit, I thought I was more or less lockdown-proof, at least until the economic impacts hit my patrons. What I realised when doing my taxes, though, is that my teaching, which I had thought of as a top-up, actually makes up almost half of my income. I had been teaching in March when Denmark locked down; luckily I managed to finish the class online, but it was difficult both for the students and me, and I realised how untenable this arrangement would be if things continued thus. Last October I was teaching in Switzerland and was supposed to have gone back again this year, but with both countries continually fluctuating on entry/exit/quarantine restrictions, we decided over the summer that making any plans was unwise. As we headed into the 2020/21 academic year, Europe once again became a global COVID epicentre. Things were not looking good for hands-on face-to-face craft tutelage.
This has recently turned around. The Swiss school where I should have been in October has asked me to mentor some of this year's class as they put together their 2D portfolios. And the Danish school emailed to ask if I would like to come back in March. I am ever a pessimist so I don't expect we'll be out of the woods by then, even with a vaccine, but the controls Denmark has in place for entry are very sensible,* and the school has further sensible policies on top of those, so on the assumption they will squash their mink problem in the next four months, I will probably be safer in Denmark than here. And, contrary to expectations, air travel is not a huge risk for transmission. It's just a question of getting onto the plane safely ...
These plans come as my parents are getting confident about their visit in May – they were supposed to have been here last May, but we all know how that went. I have been vocally critical of this confidence, especially given that the two countries involved in this plan are among the worst in the world for COVID response, so my blitheness about flitting off to Denmark two months prior whiffs of hypocrisy. However, the realities are worth considering: On one hand, travelling around some of the worst parts of a very badly affected country, staying in successive accommodations, eating out, seeing sights; on the other, travelling to a very well-managed country, staying in one tightly controlled place, with a limited number of contacts, under strict bubbling protocols. Viborg has been the butt of many animators' jokes for being the most boring place in the world, but the fact it rolls up the sidewalks at 4pm is definitely a point in its favour this time around.
Of course, the big disclaimer hanging over all this, as it has for the last year, is 'subject to cancellation.' The mentoring I will be doing from home so that's fine; if push comes to shove I know I can teach the animation class online, but would rather jump through the hoops to do it onsite. I hope it isn't cancelled outright, as the class is always a highlight of my year.
My main misgiving is that I was planning to start some seeds for the garden in March, and if I'm out of town I won't be able to keep them watered on the sunny windowsill. We may just have to see what headstart I can still give them in April, which will be warmer at least ... While the authorities are warning of a difficult winter pandemic-wise, Nature seems to be warning of difficulty in the more classic sense. We had an extremely fruitful autumn, especially in acorns, which supposedly foretells a hard winter. More notably, a number of spring flowers came around for a second go in October, and the last time this happened was 2011; winter 2011-12 was the hardest in living memory. I love winter and am looking forward to a snowy one in the countryside, but I also live in a draughty uninsulated 500-year-old house, so if it's much below freezing for any extended time, that extra teaching income is going to go right up the chimney ...
*Proof of negative test no more than 72h before arrival, required for entry; quarantine on arrival and test 4 days after; on receiving negative results, cleared to move about freely
