1st - 7th April 20
The 'lockdown' continues with even fewer people braving the streets of this town and those that do slink about in terror of anyone approaching them too closely. People dive across to the other side of the road when they see me coming in the opposite direction. Maybe they did that before in any case. Day of the Zombies springs to mind. Of these, more are wearing facemasks and plastic gloves which they believe will save them from the dreaded lurgy. They fool themselves. I saw one lady bemasked and gloved furtively shopping in our local grocery (still plenty of cat food there). She handled many items and then took off her mask to call someone on her mobile phone before replacing the mask. So, any bugs infesting her manky mask would be transferred to gloves and phone and anything else she touched including her face from the phone. They haven't a clue, and they are amongst us!
Our gallant PM Boris is still in intensive care as I write (but breathing normally we are told) and under the care of the 'topmost' lung doctor and his team. The Plague strikes 'indiscriminately' we are reminded (how bleedin' obvious can you get) but 'topmost' treatment is indeed rather discriminate. Good luck to him and I have every confidence that he will recover within the week....and let's see what political capital he then makes from his 'near death' experience to further terrify us. Oh dear, I am becoming ever more cynical I'm afraid.
I know of two people who have reportedly fully recovered from a mild case of this virus. Having said that they were never tested (as with 99.9% of the country) to see if they actually had it. It might have been ordinary flu or a heavy cold which would not be unusual for this time of year. Curiously we, or at least I, have not heard of anyone getting 'just' flu this year.
We are encouraged to go out at 8.00pm on Thursdays to applaud our heroic NHS front line staff. I am in no doubt that they do a great job...but 'heroes' I think is a bit OTT. After all it is their chosen job which they do admirably amongst many patients infected by horrid things even in normal times. If you choose to join the army, for example, in between all the amusing, peaceful and social times you can expect periods of serious discomfort and danger; to live in shit and get shot at or blown up. It's all part of the contract. Anyway, apart from the adulation they are receiving they are at least getting paid, which is more than can be said for many employees in organisations which have been forced to close down despite our generous Chancellor promising a hand-out by the end of June, if they are lucky and fulfil various stringent criteria. It is frightening to wonder how all this is going to be paid for.
Hey Ho! Lets find something more amusing to talk about. Lots of home DIY is now being done, if not by me. I gave that up long ago after trying to put up a smoke detector in a passageway. "So easy" said the man who sold it to me. After I had failed to get it put up using a hand drill (two small holes and a couple of screws was all it required), I had badly sliced my hand and index finger (5 stiches later at A&E), the ceiling looked as if someone had fired a machine-gun into it, plaster everywhere and blood down the wall and on the carpet. I had to get a plasterer in (he put up the smoke detector in 3 minutes), a painter to repaint the wall and a bit of new carpet. It cost me an arm and a leg and a lot of pain. I now stick firmly to the DDIY principle (Don't Do It Yourself....get an expert in). Anything I try to repair ends up worse than before I started, plus injury.
Anyway, back to the present day crisis. A friend of mine superglued his fingers together which caused much merriment, although it could have been worse if he had gone for a pee. Unaccustomed shared domestic duties have had their moments including another incarcerated friend to whom his wife delegated cooking responsibilities for a change. A small kitchen fire resulted, inedible food and painfully burnt hands. He has therefore been medically excused the hoovering, dusting and most other household chores. Another family I know (with 3 children) decided to have an impromptu 'entertainments evening' of quizzes and board games. The rows and arguments which ensued have caused them each to 'self-isolate' in their own rooms. Maybe things have calmed down by now.
My daily routine has not really changed from the previous episode. I have moved the tin of paint nearer to the fence I intend smarten up. I have checked that my lawnmower (a push-me job) works and I have ear-marked various areas of weeds in the garden to be dealt with. My 'Things To Do' (TTD) list is under permanent scrutiny and fine-tuning.
This report may well continue but I must dash now as I have the papers to read.
The 'lockdown' continues with even fewer people braving the streets of this town and those that do slink about in terror of anyone approaching them too closely. People dive across to the other side of the road when they see me coming in the opposite direction. Maybe they did that before in any case. Day of the Zombies springs to mind. Of these, more are wearing facemasks and plastic gloves which they believe will save them from the dreaded lurgy. They fool themselves. I saw one lady bemasked and gloved furtively shopping in our local grocery (still plenty of cat food there). She handled many items and then took off her mask to call someone on her mobile phone before replacing the mask. So, any bugs infesting her manky mask would be transferred to gloves and phone and anything else she touched including her face from the phone. They haven't a clue, and they are amongst us!
Our gallant PM Boris is still in intensive care as I write (but breathing normally we are told) and under the care of the 'topmost' lung doctor and his team. The Plague strikes 'indiscriminately' we are reminded (how bleedin' obvious can you get) but 'topmost' treatment is indeed rather discriminate. Good luck to him and I have every confidence that he will recover within the week....and let's see what political capital he then makes from his 'near death' experience to further terrify us. Oh dear, I am becoming ever more cynical I'm afraid.
I know of two people who have reportedly fully recovered from a mild case of this virus. Having said that they were never tested (as with 99.9% of the country) to see if they actually had it. It might have been ordinary flu or a heavy cold which would not be unusual for this time of year. Curiously we, or at least I, have not heard of anyone getting 'just' flu this year.
We are encouraged to go out at 8.00pm on Thursdays to applaud our heroic NHS front line staff. I am in no doubt that they do a great job...but 'heroes' I think is a bit OTT. After all it is their chosen job which they do admirably amongst many patients infected by horrid things even in normal times. If you choose to join the army, for example, in between all the amusing, peaceful and social times you can expect periods of serious discomfort and danger; to live in shit and get shot at or blown up. It's all part of the contract. Anyway, apart from the adulation they are receiving they are at least getting paid, which is more than can be said for many employees in organisations which have been forced to close down despite our generous Chancellor promising a hand-out by the end of June, if they are lucky and fulfil various stringent criteria. It is frightening to wonder how all this is going to be paid for.
Hey Ho! Lets find something more amusing to talk about. Lots of home DIY is now being done, if not by me. I gave that up long ago after trying to put up a smoke detector in a passageway. "So easy" said the man who sold it to me. After I had failed to get it put up using a hand drill (two small holes and a couple of screws was all it required), I had badly sliced my hand and index finger (5 stiches later at A&E), the ceiling looked as if someone had fired a machine-gun into it, plaster everywhere and blood down the wall and on the carpet. I had to get a plasterer in (he put up the smoke detector in 3 minutes), a painter to repaint the wall and a bit of new carpet. It cost me an arm and a leg and a lot of pain. I now stick firmly to the DDIY principle (Don't Do It Yourself....get an expert in). Anything I try to repair ends up worse than before I started, plus injury.
Anyway, back to the present day crisis. A friend of mine superglued his fingers together which caused much merriment, although it could have been worse if he had gone for a pee. Unaccustomed shared domestic duties have had their moments including another incarcerated friend to whom his wife delegated cooking responsibilities for a change. A small kitchen fire resulted, inedible food and painfully burnt hands. He has therefore been medically excused the hoovering, dusting and most other household chores. Another family I know (with 3 children) decided to have an impromptu 'entertainments evening' of quizzes and board games. The rows and arguments which ensued have caused them each to 'self-isolate' in their own rooms. Maybe things have calmed down by now.
My daily routine has not really changed from the previous episode. I have moved the tin of paint nearer to the fence I intend smarten up. I have checked that my lawnmower (a push-me job) works and I have ear-marked various areas of weeds in the garden to be dealt with. My 'Things To Do' (TTD) list is under permanent scrutiny and fine-tuning.
This report may well continue but I must dash now as I have the papers to read.
Back to your old blogging form. To avoid further personal injury not to mention environmental damage, shouldn't the TTD list be reclassified as TNTDM
ReplyDeleteYou are probably correct! Don't tell anyone but I painted my gardedn fence today. No damage. No injury. A first!
ReplyDelete