life
SENIORS AT LOCKDOWN
We’ve all been ‘imprisoned’ (so to speak) in one way or another, but our senior citizens have endured the unfortunate ‘ball and chain’ condition for longer. Whilst no longer ones for passionate socialising and clubbing the night away the older boys and girls do enjoy a walk, coffee and a chat in the outdoor fresh air... For six or seven weeks it’s been near impossible!
BY RICHARD CARTWRIGHT
I
know one such octogenarian who loves his morning coffee, a pleasant stroll and a lot of chat! Gibraltar Senior Citizens Association President and spokesman, Manolo (or Manny) Ruiz is the one I directed my attention to as I, and he - in the much-used parlance during this Covid crisis – set about to ‘work from home’. “...I jumped at the idea when I was invited to be interviewed,” Manolo declared, “At long last something to keep my mind active for a couple of hours or so.” And so Manolo proceeded to express his views on the whole affair and how he managed to keep sane during the insane virus period. Logic, I think, always prevails for someone like Manolo who went on to say that, despite the boredom with not a lot to do and so many daylight hours to fill, leaving the safety of his home was a definite no-no! Better to stay indoors than move out to an area where the dreaded virus lurks ready to pounce and emit 32
"I can say I’m one of the lucky ones" untold harm. And I’m sure advised many other seniors to do likewise: stay home and not risk venturing outdoors where the risks and outcome can be so tragic. “And of course, sticking to staying safe at home has meant my missing the pleasure of talking to friends, peers, and others, some of whom I’ve never met before!” Yes, restricted like many others during this period, to chatting to family members, some friends and exchanging comments via email, Manolo tells me, with those seeking advice or information on some item or other and sadly not being on the street listening to our seniors’ individuals concerns, visiting government departments and even attending to appointments with ministers and others regarding the Association’s concerns and problems,
must’ve created a big vacuum in Manolo’s day-to-day doings... not to mention the recently introduced and now running quite successfully ‘Seniors’ Tea for Two’ sessions held once monthly: “That’s right, it runs every second Tuesday and we do that together with Sophie Clifton-Tucker and Jason Harper, and I’m really looking forward to the end of the pandemic for that one.” Manolo claims with great expectation. On the necessary issue of keeping well-stocked with food and beverages, Manny says there’s been no problem there. “I can say I’m one of the lucky ones as my family and a couple of neighbours, who have been kind beyond words, have been doing the fetching for me and my wife. Right from the start I’ve been asked if we’ve needed something from the shops and it was also great to hear there were many volunteers willing and very eager to help where necessary, like collecting prescriptions from pharmacies etc. Also, supermarkets and other establishments have been offering GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JULY 2020
