Christmas is two months away as I write this. In his press moment yesterday, the Dutch Prime Minister declined to give advice about corona and Christmas – yet. Probably because it is a bit early still, and we have yet to have Halloween, St Martin and St Nicholas (31^st October, 11^th November and 6^th December (or the evening before), respectively).

The Outbreak Management Team, a group of scientists that advises the cabinet on the medical facts and statistics on corona, has already tabled their view that Christmas will need to be celebrated in small groups this year.

A prominent UK BBC broadcaster said in a recently published interview that she would have 7 people in her home for Christmas, even though the rule looks likely to be a maximum of 6 there. This week she apologised for her rash comments – no doubt under pressure from her bosses – and said that she would abide by whatever rule was in place when the time comes.

Imagine a driver saying they would drive on the correct side of the road most of the time, but on Sundays they would decide for themselves which side to drive on!

Actually, for some people, the restrictions on numbers will be a blessing in disguise. How many dread the annual invasion of in-laws and other estranged family members, I wonder! But I digress.

In Scotland, the First Minister had long promised that university students would be able to travel home for Christmas with their families, but in the meantime worries about so many students travelling on public transport at the same time have emerged.

Students living in halls of residence are at particular risk of picking up corona; students in general often congregate for parties and evenings of drinking. Funnel large groups of them through stations and trains on their way home for the holidays, trying to make sure they all wear masks and social distance, and I leave the rest to your imagination.

Traditional Christmases see several generations getting together for the big day. Grandparents – at high risk – meeting up with grandchildren, themselves at low risk but quite infectious.

Even if we have succeeded in coming down from the second wave by the end of December, I can guarantee there will be a noticeable spike in January. If it were ethical to do so, I would put money on it!

There is a small but vocal minority in various countries, fuelled by social media, claiming that corona is one big hoax. When enough of such followers ignore the rules, it literally undermines the efforts of the rest of us to drive corona back.

A local councillor in the UK was recently quoted as saying she didn’t believe corona was real because nobody she knew had died from it. She cited a friend of hers, a nurse at a Nightingale hospital, who had yet to see any patients at all! I should add that Nightingale hospitals are temporary hospitals set up in the UK during the first wave to provide overflow beds; these largely remained unused, partly because of insufficient staffing.

At a time when so much emphasis is given to ensuring everyone gets a good education, and when information from around the world is available to us at our fingertips, I cannot get my head around the fact that some people remain unconvinced about the very existence of corona, let alone the dangers.

Christmas for me will be spent at home with my lodger. Neither of us have immediate family that would have descended on us, and we do not anticipate any other guests. It will be the two of us. The place will have decorations and a tree, and there will be lights and candles. I am going to make a number of the traditional Christmas food items instead of buying them this year; now I am retired I have time to do that. We will exchange presents, watch the King’s speech (NL) and the Queen’s speech (UK) and make sure we have some games and films we can enjoy. There will be services in my local church, albeit with reduced numbers – at the moment pegged at 30. My seat there is guaranteed since I am the organist!

In other words, I am going to make the best of it, and if I can, so can the rest of us.