GR OnlineI arrived in Melbourne as great uncertainty, confusion and a sense of impending dread settled across the world. These were the moments before the first Australian lockdowns were announced, but whiffs of existentialism and nostalgia were already appearing around radical shifts in the look and feel of everyday life.

Reportage YANIS WATCHES ME intently as I talk – I am grateful. An attentive audience can never be anticipated in Athens, where interjections, animated debate, sarcasm and Socratic monologues are more typical. It’s the European summer of 2019, and I’m detailing an...