Nomad Online

I’ve been to cities that never close down
From New York to Rio and Old London Town
But no matter how far or how wide I roam
I still call Australia home

I still call Australia home, Peter Allen

A couple of opera singers burst into song in Sydney last week. They were tenor Tomas Dalton and baritone Tom Hamilton.

These two men were stuck in their homes like the rest of Sydney. One warm summer evening they went out to their balcony, turned on a backing track and started singing I still call Australia home.

People from their apartment complex came out on their balconies to listen. Some joined in. Others cheered.

It was a beautiful, spontaneous moment captured for the world to see.

Billy Joel once said:

“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”

As this pandemic rages across the world, I find friends are sharing on social media music that encourage and comforts. Music that takes us out of our worries for just a moment.

A particular favourite that came up on my feed was this old Beatles classic. Two young boys were singing it on public transport as the country started to lockdown.

We are well and truly in our homes these days. I’m trying not to think about it too much, but the weather is challenging.

It is getting warmer. The days are getting longer. Normally parks and pubs would be full of people enjoying each other’s company.

It’s the perfect weather to explore London and this amazing country. But for now I am inside staring out of our window to the street below.

It’s a golden evening as I write this. My husband has Elton John blaring over the speakers downstairs as he cooks dinner. It almost feels like another ordinary Saturday night. But we all know that it isn’t.

I am desperate to head out to the nearest park to soak in the warm sunlight. But I mustn’t. I’ve already been out of the house once today. I must stay inside, because people are fighting a terrible battle in our hospitals.

684 people died today in the UK from COVID-19. It’s the worst death toll for the fourth day in a row. Amongst the dead are two nurses. Aimee O’Rourke and Areema Nasreen. They were both mothers aged in their thirties.

The illness has touched our friends in Australia and taken the life of a loved one from my husband’s extended family in the UK. It seems we can’t avoid this unsettling and awful time.

So let’s do what we can. Let’s stay at home, put on our favourite song, turn up the volume and dance away in our lounge rooms.

Let’s do our best to keep the heartache away.

Discover Prompt #3: Song