Day 9

Todays schedule is to

- Visit Luton Airport
- Go to an International Women's Day event at the University of Bedfordshire Careers and Employability Service
- Go to yoga at Futures House in Marsh Farm

A smart (smarter than my anorak) coat for a serious day.

To be honest I wasn’t looking forward to my trip to Luton airport. I put it off, didn’t want to go. I’ve got to go, I said to myself. I’ll go for just a short bit. 

But on the way I’ll buy some antibacterial hand gel from the shops.

I head to Boots - sold out. Superdrug? The shelves are empty. I pick up some plasters and go pay at the till. The man behind me in the queue asks about hand gel. They have some behind the counter - I guess they’re rationing stock. I buy some and leave.

I get the train, and I’m thinking about coronavirus. I feel confused. I know there is joy to be found at the airport - mainly at the arrivals. I’ve seen many incredible touching scenes in the past - you don’t know the people but you suddenly get a window into their love. I know this is to be found here, but I’m just not thinking of it today.

I arrive and go to get a coffee in Pret. I think about all the people working at the airport who have to face this day in day out - particularly those working with constant physical proximity to customers. I think of how unfair this is to the people that have to come here day in and out when perhaps they are worried about it too. I have to only be here for an hour, but I’m already struggling with that.

Its not a relaxing scene in Pret.

Two police men with huge guns sit casually on comfy seats with their small glasses of water 

Their guns propped up on their legs. 

Some guy looking at pictures of sailing boats on facebook.

I finish my coffee and consider drawing a picture of the police men. Then get worried - maybe this isn't allowed?

I walk around.

A lot of bored looking people sitting in what feels like a huge waiting room.

A lot of bags 

Small wheely bags.

People wearing masks

Smell of hand gel in the air.

I go to arrivals - and catch one couple.

‘I’ve missed you so much’ and a intimate embrace. That’s nice.

I don’t stay too long and decide to get back on the bus.

I listen too some Orbital on my headphones. A mix of euphoria and intensity, I enjoy this heightened sense of focus on my journey back to the station

Don’t touch the yellow handrail. 

The bus assistant and driver seem friendly. I think about asking them about how they feel about coming to work every day in such a public place of international travel when coronavirus is on the rise worldwide, with many recent cases being travellers who have returned from Italy likely by air travel.

But I realise I don’t know how to say coronavirus - I've never said it out loud before.

I practice saying it a bit in my head.

Start to feel sick on the roundabouts 

Everyone gets off the bus. I linger. The bus driver says ‘are you alright?’ I say ‘I just want to ask a quick question’ Ok… he says. ‘How do you feel working at the airport everyday with coronavirus?’ He’s very relaxed. Brings up TB. We could also catch TB you know. Can We??! He says he’s not worried. Theres loads of stuff you can catch. He tells me about a study done on the touch screens in McDonald's where you order food. Apparently there are all sorts of things you can catch on there, and faeces he says. Ok. I remember to always bring my hand gel with me everywhere.

He’s not worried. Ok cool. Maybe I'm too paranoid. Then I think he’s behind a screen in his bus driver chair. Maybe thats why he’s not worried?

I head back to Luton town feeling like I have done this trip a slight disservice, a cloud of paranoia and fear discoloured the trip. I think about how how this fear is created. Is it justified? Is it hysteria? I have definitely become trapped by it today. Checking the news. Watching the numbers of confirmed cases rise over the past week. I think this distorts experience in public spaces and I think about the potentially damaging effect this has for peoples sense of being in public space with each other. I think about the disturbing levels of anti-asian racism that have increased recently since the coronavirus outbreak, and friends who have been effected by this. I think about what will happen in the coming weeks if there is a pandemic - what will workers on zero hour contacts do? I think about my own job security as a tutor. I could be going without pay for some time. There is a lot to think about on my way home and I'm sure more thoughts will arise over the following weeks in relation to this.

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The rest of the day is a bit of a washout and I mess up by going to the wrong venue for yoga. I'm really sad in particular to miss this one as I like doing yoga and I was looking forward to going to Futures Farm - a community centre in Marsh Farm. Hoping to go another week.