I have been maintaining a radio silence because on Sunday morning I was feeling under the weather, so tested myself for COVID. I suppose because I had so far escaped it in spite of several close encounters and had recently been jabbed, I had ignored the perils of wandering freely round Frieze Masters and seeing lots of old friends. There are a small number of lessons which I should have paid attention to, most of all that the injections take at least a week to take effect.
I used to regard it as highly eccentric that Jonathan Scott, the late deputy chairman of the V&A and expert on Piranesi, refused ever to shake hands. But I am beginning to think it was possibly sensible.
It means that, very sadly, my two public appearances tomorrow, one at a two-day conference at the V&A on The Future of the Museum and the other at a lunch to discuss Vanbrugh’s tercentenary in 2026 will necessarily be on Zoom.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
Oh, how rotten. Ask your PHP to prescribe Paxlovid ASAP.
Dear Ivan, Thank you. I’m recovering. Hot lemon and whisky. Charles
Hope you feel better soon. My eldest son has just had COVID – he tested as he had a bit of a cold and didn’t want to infect any students he was teaching. Unfortunately this meant that he missed a long planned and saved for trip to a board game convention in Barcelona. He had COVID travel insurance, but as he couldn’t get a PCR test in Coventry where he lives, they won’t pay out. The system now is such that if you do the right thing and stay home you can end up being penalised. No wonder the virus is circulating so much.
Yes, it doesn’t feel as if many lessons have been learned as there is now little information or advice about what to do if you test positive. Charles