I’ve entitled this blog post with reference to Daniel Defoe’s novelization of an account of the 1665 plague epidemic in London. It seems appropriate to refer to this book, given that as in 1665, London ground to a halt as swingeing measures were taken to halt the advance of plague. In those far off days, the link between plague, fleas and rats was unknown so all kinds of quackery and mysticism were used as ways of warding off the plague. Vinegar was used as a medium for exchange, i.e. shoppers put their money in a bowl of vinegar to be extracted by the shopkeeper. There must have been some dim recollection that vinegar didn’t readily spoil, and was used as a way of preserving food, thus may be beneficial in stopping hands touching. Hands touching is also something we don’t do now to prevent to C19 virus from jumping hosts.
The plague year nearly brought economic ruin to London, much the same way as C19 has crashed stock exchanges and businesses in 2020. Ironically, Defoe was only four or five when the 1665 plague hit London so his book can be classed as an historical novel. I think there has been some debate over Bruce Chatwin’s travel literature where events might have been inserted from the imagination and not from reality.
Below is the interview I had with Talk Show host Al Cole on his show People of Distinction. I was totally unaware of Al Cole until I looked him up on-line. He is a great interviewer, just gently prodding you to tell your story without inserting himself in the conversation. We talked about already published ‘The Friends of Eddy Relish’, and the shortly forthcoming ‘He might still be on Mars’, my fifth novel. After the Mars book I am going to relax for a spell although I have a couple of WIPs, one started and 26,000 words jotted down and the other still just a gleam in my eye for which I’ve being research. I love writing but working on a technical document at work and on novels has tired me out a bit. Anyway, I hope folks like the new novel when finally released.