I found a small window of time in the late afternoon sun yesterday, so I sat in the garden and did a rapid, spontaneous sketch of this special tiger. I usually map out drawings in pencil, but this one came straight from the heart in pen, leaving little room for mistakes.
You may well have heard of Nadia, the four-year-old Malayan tiger from The Bronx Zoo, New York, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the beginning of the week. Thankfully, on Good Friday it was reported that along with the other six big cats who were exhibiting symptoms of the virus in the same zoo, they're all recovering which is brilliant to learn https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/04/11/covid-19-tiger-bronx-zoo-vet-explains-how-they-tested-big-cat-nadia/5135232002/).
I had asked my daughter if she'd like to colour Nadia in, but just hearing the word 'coronavirus' makes her feel anxious, so much so that even when reports on the pandemic come through on the radio, she turns it off. Life is so different at the moment and, as it's all so unprecedented it's a little unnerving, particularly for children, so I advised her that maybe going off to play with her toys might be a better idea instead.
Along with this more upbeat story about Nadia and her stripy friends, Keith Watson, a pensioner from Worcestershire aged 101-years-old, has beaten coronavirus and was discharged from Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, on Thursday after having had a two-week stay fighting off the illness (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-52222315). He is the oldest British person to have survived it, and Cornelia Ras from Holland is thought to be the oldest survivor in the world by overcoming the virus at 107-years-old (https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/10/107-year-old-woman-oldest-survivor-coronavirus-12536607/). Amazing.
So, in amongst all of this, there is hope, not just for the animals but for humans too. Time for resurrection some may say, and on that note, wishing you all a very Happy Easter!
Comments