Monday was "Freedom Day" in England, as the country "lifted most remaining coronavirus restrictions after more than a year of lockdowns, mask mandates and other pandemic-related curbs on freedom," the Associated Press reported.
At the moment, Covid Delta variant rates are soaring. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak are both self-isolating for 10 days after contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has tested positive for Covid-19. The AP noted that Johnson's "decision to scrap the legal requirement for face masks in indoor public spaces--while recommending people keep them--has also sowed confusion."
Ah, freedom.
Not long ago, I saw an altered still from the opening sequence of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show. Instead of Mary tossing her hat into the air in downtown Minneapolis, she was throwing away her face mask. At last!
That was so last month. Thanks to the Delta variant and hordes of the Walking Unvaxxed amongst us, masks are in again, at least as a point of contention. And just as a new face mask debate variant emerges, I happen to be reading actor Ron Perlman's 2015 memoir Easy Street: The Hard Way (Da Capo Press), which I discovered a bit late after noticing a book signing he did in June at Next Chapter bookstore in Camana Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
A not insubstantial part of Perlman's acting career has been spent in roles that required high-end masking up (Quest for Fire, Cronos, Beauty and the Beast, Hellboy, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Name of the Rose, etc.). "I would say that the first 20 years of my career was spent behind masks, and these days that's the minority of my roles," he told the Guardian in 2013.
In his memoir, Perlman recalls: "The makeup for the characters I played in Quest for Fire and Name of the Rose both took about four or five hours to apply, depending on the weather. The Beast took the same. You got to be still, keep your face unflinching all that time. You can't just fall asleep; rather, you have to engage in the transformation. I guess that's the mindset I have when I get into the chair."
You do what it takes to get the job done. If face masks are to be with us for awhile (forever?), then Perlman's infinite patience in the makeup chair is my new inspiration.
Indie booksellers, as usual, are having to figure out and reconfigure all this on the fly, and England's Freedom Day isn't helping. The Booksellers Association just published an update, noting that "most BA members are cautious about the lifting of restrictions as regards mask-wearing and are keen to protect their staff and customers."
The Bookseller reported that indies "overwhelmingly said they intended to keep some sort of restriction in place ahead of the day, and so far are experiencing compliance and positive feedback from customers."
Jon Woolcott, publisher and bookseller at Little Toller Books, said they would proceed as if "nothing has changed.... As an industry, I think we're lucky--most readers seem to be considerate people keen to do the right thing. But we also believe that this last stage of opening up was premature in the face of rising case numbers."
Chrissy Ryan, owner and founder of BookBar in Islington, north London, is asking customers to wear masks while browsing, and to keep socially distanced. "The response we've had from our customers so far has been really encouraging.... I think that having clear messaging around safety is going to encourage people into the shop as they will see how seriously we are continuing to take the pandemic and our responsibility as a business to keep staff and customers safe.”
Richard Drake of Drake--The Bookshop in Stockton-on-Tees, said that Freedom Day had been "really no different to any other for the past 16 months and masks have been on as people have entered the shop and people who want it are still seeking out sanitizer, which is all good. We won't be policing things formally, because we haven't had need to."
Sue Lake, director of White Rose Books Cafe in Thirsk, agreed: "It felt like business as usual as customers came in with their masks on. We didn't have to ask anyone to wear one. The general feeling, I'm picking up on, regarding Freedom Day, is that it is 'too much too soon.' "
Moomintroll, star of Tove Jansson's Moomin series of children's books, was enlisted by the Little Apple Bookshop, York, to share the bookseller's concerns: "Please spare a thought for shop workers. We come into contact with thousands of people per week. With small shops/businesses, if we get pinged or ill, there's often no Plan B. We self-isolate. We close. (Or we get this guy to mind the fort, but he worries easily!!)."
If a little tough love is needed, we still have Ron Perlman's tweet from June 16, 2020 to fall back on: "Sure, wearing a mask is about 60% likely to protect you from contracting the virus but it's 100% certain to prevent you from being an a**hole."