Month: May 2020

The Numbers

215 new deaths taking the total to 38,378.

1,604 new cases.

The News

Finally, 11 weeks after M was advised to stay indoors, it has been announced that the “shielded” can begin to venture outdoors. People living with families can go out once a day with a member of their household. People living alone can meet up with one other person outside as long as they stay 2 metres apart.

As this is what we have been doing already, it won’t make any real difference to us but still a sign that things are slowly moving on.

All the scientists are still concerned though.

People are visibly beginning to relax, getting together already in larger groups in parks and gardens. Even people I know who have been extremely cautious and followed the rules religiously, are meeting up with friends and family outside. It’s laughable that the new guidance doesn’t even come into force until Monday. I really hope we won’t all live to regret this.

Terrible violence, looting and rioting in America rages on. Cars and buildings have been set alight, the police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to try and disperse the crowds. Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard. A curfew between 8pm and 5.30 am is in place across the city.

The New Way of Life

Another quiet day. I went for a walk but missed my bike ride today after our bucket of gin the day before! That said, I felt pretty good considering. I spent the day cooking and doing a little bit of cleaning and tidying.

I cooked our weekly curry tonight instead of Friday. This time I made Rick Stein’s Chicken Tikka Masala, Rice, Dal and Onion Pakora.

We watched our, now usual, Saturday shit TV but M’s new guilty pleasure, In for a Penny, wasn’t on! So we just had Ninja Warrior (and it was the last episode of that!) and Britain’s Got Talent. So, looks like we’ll have to change our routine next Saturday. Ha! Ha! Probably a good thing!

We watched Bad Boys For Life after dinner. The third in the truly awful trilogy that M loves so much. Thank god the kit for my new cross stitch has all arrived. I can tolerate these type of movies if I have something else to do while I watch them.

Last night, we could hear some people having a get together outside the back of our house. They were in the secure cark park for the apartment block next door. When we went to bed, I saw them from the window. A group of between 8-10 people sitting on garden chairs in a circle, enjoying a drink and each others company on a beautiful warm evening. They were not sitting 2 metres, or even 1 metre, apart, there were more than 6 people from more that 2 households and its not even the 1st of June, when the new advice comes into effect. I’m not judging or criticising. It’s just an example of how people are moving ahead and pushing the limits of the guidance all the time. As far as we know, they are all reasonable people who have been following the rules until now. If this is how they are interpreting the situation, what the hell are all the unreasonable people doing right now?

 

 

 

 

 

The Numbers

324 deaths taking the total to 38,161.

2,095 new cases. The number of cases does not seem to be going down. Interestingly, compared to other European countries who are also beginning to ease lockdown restrictions, our number of cases is high.  Spain, Italy, France and Germany had 658, 516, 597 and 567 respectively. Maybe, we are moving too quickly. That is what the scientific experts are saying. They fear a second wave and several “experts” have come out and said that the government has begun to ease lockdown for economic reasons and not scientific ones. We will see.

Sweden, who never really went into lockdown also have relatively high figures. They have had similar numbers to other countries but have not “wrecked” their economy in the same way. Maybe they did get it right after all? We have still to see the economic impact of the lockdown and it is predicted to be bad!

The News

The Dominic Cummings saga rumbles on.

The big news is not about Covid for a change. It’s all about an unarmed, 46 year old black man who died as a result of police brutality in Minneapolis. This came on the back of another incident in New York  where a white woman called the police and told them she was being attacked by a black man. This was not true. What actually happened was that the man, who was a bird watcher, and was “birding” in an area designated for the purpose where dogs were required to be on a leash, had altercation with her over the fact that her dog was running free and scaring the birds. The man had video evidence of the whole incident and posted this online. The woman has been sacked from her job for racist behaviour.

A few weeks ago another black man was shot and killed by two white men while he was jogging. They said they though he was a “burglar”, even though it has now emerged that he jogged the same route every day. Again the while event was filmed by another man. All three have been arrested and charged with his murder.

In the Minneapolis incident, a man called George Floyd was arrested on suspicion that he was in possession of counterfeit money. George had lost his job as a bouncer in a restaurant in Houston as result of Covid. He had moved to Minneapolis to try and find work. The police claimed that he resisted arrest but again, video evidence does not support this. What it does show is an officer kneeling on his neck as George pleads for him to stop saying “Please, I can’t breathe. The knee on my neck. I can’t breathe. They gonna kill me.” And they did.

The four officers involved have been sacked and the one who had his knee on George’s neck has been charged with murder.  The killing has triggered a wave of protests from the #blacklivesmatter movement. Many have resulted in violent clashes with the police all over America.

Totally unacceptable blatant racism. Heartbreaking tragedy.

The New Way of Life

Today was our youngest granddaughter’s 2nd birthday. So sad that we couldn’t celebrate it with her.

We did take her cake over in the morning and had a little driveway visit. She knew she couldn’t come close to us and was very good about it, but you could see the confusion and disappointment in her little face. We played hide and seek with her around the cars on the drive for a while. When we came to leave I asked her to blow me a kiss and, for a moment, she thought I meant a real kiss and her face lit up as she rushed forward. I had to step back and put my hand up to stop her. I know she doesn’t understand why we are all behaving in such a bewildering way! I long to have a huge kiss and cuddle with her. I don’t know when that will be.

M and I went for walk in a nearby park after that. M was quite nervous. It’s the first time he’s been anywhere except for his bike rides and our little sorties around our village.

It was another sweltering day. This is turning out to be the hottest May on record. So ironic that this has happened in the middle of a pandemic.

After our bike ride we took our beach chairs down to the village green again. This time I dug out an old drinks cooler from the garage and filled it with gin and tonic! A friend joined us and we sat 2 metres apart and whiled away the afternoon together. M went home to refill the cooler and I’m ashamed to say we polished off the best part of a bottle of gin over the next few hours! Oopsie! M really enjoyed it. We both did. It was such a lovely relaxing day.

We headed home for dinner around 7pm, more than a little the worse for wear. A combination of the sun, the gin and the food eventually defeated us and we were in bed not much after 9pm. I didn’t even write my blog. It’s 12 noon on Saturday as I write this post.

Thankfully, because we stopped drinking when we got home, we managed to re-hydrate a bit before we went to bed and slept through our hangovers!

 

The Numbers

We had 377 new deaths taking the total deaths to 37,837.

I think its worth looking at the numbers of new cases again now. There is a degree of testing going on and, now that we have entered Test Track and Trace, its going to be a relevant number.

Today we had 1,887 new cases. Yesterday there were 2,013.

One of the new cases was a resident in the building where my parents live. It’s a warden controlled residence block or privately owned apartments. Some of the residents have carers coming in every day. A dangerous environment full of very vulnerable people.

The News

It’s beginning to ease now. Bit by bit, step by step.

From Monday the 1st of June, people will be able to meet in socially distanced groups of up to 6 people outdoors, in parks or garden.

On the 8th of June, dentists can re-open.

On the 17th of June, Premier League Football will resume and will be shown on the BBC.

Dominic Cummings is still here – I think the government are hoping the crisis is over. I hope its not!

The New Way of Life

Busy day making a birthday cake for our 2 year old granddaughter. I’ve never made a proper birthday cake iced with fondant icing. I was very nervous. I’ve even been dreaming about it!

I was so tense, I messed up the first cake by forgetting to add the baking powder. I had to go to our little Tesco to get more eggs and I also bought some more white fondant icing there. I realised when I made the bed head and foot boards, that the packs of icing I had bought online were not very big. There was no way the white one was going to cover the cake. So, as I was there, and they had a big pack of white fondant, I bought it and breathed a big sigh of relief.

So, I used the white fondant I bought to cover the cake the other pack of white to make the pillows. I made a bedcover with the blue and added the brown head and foot boards that I made on Tuesday. They both fell apart a bit so I had to do a bit of ad hoc repair and improvisation, but I was happy with the outcome, especially for my first attempt. I’m not sure it’s me though, the baking and cake decorating thing. Far too precise and fiddley.  I’m much more of a throw it all in sort of cook.

I had a walk and a bike ride after the baking.

Later, we went down to the village green again with our little chairs and our books.

I miss-timed the grocery shopping this time and we have very little left in the fridge. Managed to rustle up a Tartiflette for tonight, and we’ve got a chilli in the freezer for tomorrow, but I’m going to have to get some stuff in our local Tesco before our main shop arrives on Wednesday. It seems that you have to book a couple of delivery slots in advance or the gap between them is too long. I’ve already booked another one for 10 days after the one that comes next week.

 

The Numbers

412 new deaths today taking the total to 37,460.

The News

We’re still talking about Dominic Cummings. Social Media is flooded with memes about him. Several people have recorded versions of The Proclaimers song, I would walk 500 miles, and replaced the words with I would drive 260 miles.

40 back bench MPs have called for his resignation and expressed their anger about his hypocritical and arrogant behaviour.

The PM has been in front of the Commons Liaison Committee, basically, getting a grilling about Dominic Cummings and the government handling of the outbreak.

Details are emerging of the next phase of the pandemic in the UK.

Test, Track and Trace is due to start on Thursday.

The idea of local lockdowns where schools and businesses would be closed and people required to stay at home, in a defined local area in the event of a flareup, have been proposed.

The EU have offered the UK a 2 year delay in implementing Brexit because of the pandemic.

Hairdressers are asking if they can open, insisting that they are an essential service. Really?

The first private space flight, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is due to launch today (weather permitting) taking two astronauts to the International Space Station. It is this spacecraft that will eventually take paying members of the public into space. I suppose I’m thinking that that money could be better spent in the current economical situation. We are hurtling towards a global economic crisis the likes of which has never been seen before and people are still spending a fortune blasting people into space. Discuss.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject, we’re still ploughing ahead with HS2 at a cost so large that the numbers become meaningless! Is that really a priority at the moment? It may well be that it has its own momentum now and that we have come to far to go back. It may be that it will create valuable jobs that could boost the economy. I’m no expert. It just seems a bit pointless right now.

The New Way of Life

The weather is fantastic again. We got up early and got our work done before lunch-time. M had a group coaching session with a Business Network that he is a member of. I did some editing of Chapter 5 of Wait for Me and then a Zoom meeting about the next chapter of my biography project.

For the rest of the afternoon, we read, sunbathed and I did a bit of my new cross-stitch project. We went for a bike ride around 4.

Big cake-making day tomorrow!

The Number

134 new deaths today, taking the total to 37,048. ONS estimates this to be 45,231.

The News

We’re still talking about bloody Dominic Cummings! Some Conservative MPs have started resigning in protest.

In the meantime, supercar makers McLaren have cut 1,200 jobs. It appears that no one is buying supercars at the moment. The New York Stock Exchange has re-opened and an antiviral drug that might aid recovery from the virus is available on the NHS.

Plans are being made to open non-essential shops from the 15th of June. Holiday destinations are announcing their plans to open up to tourists in the coming months.

The New Way of Life

Our neighbour decided to have a few beers on his balcony last night. He does it from time to time, usually when the weather is good and he’s been drinking all day. He gets loud and sings into the wee small hours. Last night it finished at 2am, which is quite early for him. I suspect he’s not the sort of person who would react well if we spoke to him about it so we just suffer in silence.

I’d lost 2lb this morning so day one of the “diet” went well. I hope it wasn’t a fluke! I’ve tried to be good today again and have had a walk and a bike ride.

I did my Biobank blood test this morning. It involved pricking my finger with a lance and squeezing 0.5 ml of blood into a little tube. No mean feat! It’s actually quite a lot of blood to get from a tiny prick! Anyway, posted it off.

I had my first foray into the world of fondant icing. I was very nervous! I rolled out the brown icing and cut out a headboard and footboard for the bed I’m going to make on Thursday. I’m quite scared about the next stage! The icing was a bit tricky to work with and the packet didn’t seem to go very far! I barely had enough to make both pieces. I ‘ve only got one packet of white to cover the bed (cake) and make the pillows. I’ve also got a packet of blue for the bedspread. I think I’m going to have to be very creative! I’m going to have to set the whole day aside to give myself plenty of time.

I know, they look a bit rough and ready!

Anyway, off to make Pasta Puttanescu for dinner!

 

 

 

 

The Numbers

121 new deaths taking the total to 36,914.

The News

Its all about Dominic Cummings for the third day in a row. Today he gave a press conference where he went through all the details of his illness and his experience.

So sick of hearing about it now. He broke the rules, end of!

A hospital in Somerset has declared a state of emergency and is closed to admissions after an influx of Covid-19 patients.

It’s been a blazing hot Bank Holiday and beaches and parks are rammed with people.

The New Way of Life

As we enter our 11th week in isolation, it’s another Bank Holiday today! Yet another one that has come and gone just like every other day in the Time of Covid.

Last night we went a bit mad! We started watching a new mini-series called Little Fires Everywhere. It was very good. We kept saying “Another one?”, “Oh go on then.” We ended up watching all 8 episodes and going to bed at 2am! I’ll repeat, it was very good!

We tried to make it a different kind of day. We did a little bit of work in the morning (finished a chapter of my biography project) and I had my usual walk. I took some gloves and a bin bag and picked up some litter as I walked. I was sick of looking at endless cans, bottles and fast food cartons, as well as other “paraphernalia”. I’ve no idea what the kids get up to down at our little nature reserve (well I do a bit). Lots of used balloons and little shiny cannisters. Some sort of drug but I don’t really know which one.

In the afternoon we went on a bike ride and then took our chairs and a rug down to the village green and shared a bottle of wine in the sunshine. It was lovely! Relaxing and far more entertaining than sitting in our back garden. Lots of people about to watch and chat to from a distance.

We had a BBQ when we got back then watched Killing Eve and SAS Celebrity Who Dares.

Our neighbours managed to lock themselves out so we had a little chat to them while they waited for a locksmith to arrive.

Lockdown  seems to be slowly coming to an end. Fizzling out. People are relaxing more and shops and bars seem to be preparing to open again. But anyone, who thought that when it was all over we would have a massive party as going to be dissapointed. Rather than it being on one day and off the next, its going to be a slow drizzle of easing lockdown measures over the next few months, maybe even years,  I fear. Some things like hugs and handshakes might never be resumed in the way that they were commonplace before. Some shops and businesses might never re-open. Concerts and sports events might never take place in the way they have before. Our world is likely to be changed forever.

It’s hard to think of new things to write about every day. Life has become very dull. Well, not dull. We’ve settled in to our Covid groove quite nicely now. We’re never bored. We feel strangely content and resigned. It’s just that our little routine of lying in till 9 or 10 every day, taking turns to make coffee which we drink in bed, doing a little bit of work/writing, a bit of reading, a little walk, a little bike ride, a few Face Times with friends and family, cooking, eating and watching TV, can’t be very interesting to read about.

Before Covid, we would go out at least once or twice a week to a pub or restaraunt, to the cinema or the theatre, to our writing and photography clubs, to meet friends and family for coffee or drinks. My daughter and granddaughter would pop round at least twice a week. We’d go shopping to buy clothes or things for the house. We’d take the train into Birmingham and mooch about.

At weekends we’d often travel to see friends or family (my parents and sister live in Harrogate), we’d sometimes travel further afield for sports events or just to visit places we haven’t been to before. We’d host family visits, Sunday lunches and parties. We’ve already cancelled a trip to Athens in March to see our granddaughter who is working there for a while, a trip to Marseille in May to watch the European Rugby Finals and discover the city, and a visit from our son who lives in Sweden. God knows when he’ll ever be able to visit us again. This summer we had tickets for the tennis and cricket in Edgbaston, music festivals in Mosely and Solihull. All cancelled.

We love our holidays. In January we went to Barbados, last year we went to the Outer Hebrides in April and drove to Sweden in June via The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The year before that we went to India. This year, we were planning a cycling holiday in September – no chance of that now. We’re still clinging to the hope that somehow we’ll make it to Barbados in September or October, and be able to stay there until the following spring.

This week it is our youngest granddaughters 2nd birthday – we won’t be going to her party. She’d not having one. We might drive over and wish her a happy birthday from the driveway when I deliver the cake.

So, if you’re reading this, some time in the future (I like to imagine my granddaughter reading this 20 years from now – by the way, I love you and miss you so much little one), we weren’t always like this. We had a life that was full of variety, and rich in adventures and new experiences. We have just adjusted to The New Way of Live. I don’t even feel particularly sad about it any more. It doesn’t strike me as strange any more, that the most exciting thing I did last week was carry a rug, two beach chairs and a bottle of wine down to our village green and drink it in the sunshine, watching others from a distance do the same.

 

The Numbers

118 new deaths, taking the total to 36,793 (and the rest). Our total is the highest numerically after the USA. Our rate per million is now equal to that of Italy. In Europe our rate is the highest after Belgium at 801 per million and Spain at 615 per million but we may still catch up and overtake them as our daily death rate is still higher than their’s at 74 and 43 respectively.

The News

All anyone is talking about is Dominic Cummings and whether he is going to resign or not. I can’t stand him! He was the architect of the Brexit campaign and conned loads of working class people into voting Tory. He’s an arrogant and selfish liar.

He’s been in No. 10 all day. Its 5pm and we’re waiting for today’s briefing by the Prime Minister.

PS. the PM is still supporting him.

I’ve coined a new phrase:

Stay Elite

Control the Masses

Save Yourselves

The New Way of Life

We’ve had a quiet day today again. I’ve been reading my book The End of the World Survivors Club. I’m in to the story now. It’s got better the further in I’ve got. The writing quality is inconsistent. In parts its clunky and overwritten. Sometimes I have to read the same section over and over again to understand what the author is trying to communicate. Some of the metaphors are just plain weird. Worst of all though, is that some elements are just not believable. A woman who had broken her leg and been in a coma for 12 weeks just wakes up and starts wandering about. Really?

But, the story is good and I want to know what happens to the characters. There are some flashes of lovely writing and some of the characters are authentic.

I’ve cooked a Beef Goulash with Caraway Dumplings for dinner.

M went on a bike ride and I went for a walk.

From tomorrow, I need to lose weight. It’s been slowly creeping up during lockdown and more so since I stopped cycling.

I’m going to eat less, drink less wine (probably only drink alcohol at weekends) and get the cycling going again. I take my last antibiotic tomorrow morning and my sinusitis feels much better now.

The Numbers

282 new deaths. Total 36,675.

The News

The big news is that Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s “adviser” broke lockdown when his wife had symptoms of the virus and should have been self-isolation. Instead, they drove 260 miles, with their children, from London to his parents house in the north of England. The reason they gave was that they were concerned about childcare if he also became unwell. They apparently self-isolated in another house on the property.

There are calls for his resignation. Whatever the reason, he flouted the rules, reinforcing the feeling that there is one rule for the rich and powerful and another for the rest of us.

The government have used the excuse of “safeguarding” as a valid reason for the action. Every person asking a question on today’s briefing has laid into the spokespeople over it. It is all that anyone wanted to talk about. He’ll be gone tomorrow …

The New Way of Life

I’ve been thinking about how our mood and emotions have stabilised now. We seemed to have settled into a place of acceptance. It’s amazing how we all have adapted to such an abnormal situation. It really has become our new “normal” now.

I have been sorting out all my various unfinished cross-stitch and knitting projects. A year or so ago I set myself the goal of finishing all my unfinished projects before starting anything new. Today I did that. I finished the last cross stitch I have been working on for the past year. I try to do projects that represent our various trips. This one was a Scottish mountain scene to celebrate our trip to The Outer Hebrides and St Kilda last year. The one before that was the Taj Mahal, to celebrate our trip to India for my 60th birthday the year before. I just need to wash and press them now before framing.

I’ve had difficulty finding something appropriate to do next. I’ve gone for a London skyline. Not that we’ve been there recently, but we’ve been there lots of times before and hopefully will do again when this is all over. Because of the virus, I couldn’t buy a kit, I could only buy the chart and have had to order the thread and fabric from different places.

We had a restful day today after Quiz Night last night. We won again. Read in bed for a bit in the morning. We ate yesterday’s leftovers so no cooking or washing up. I had a little walk in the afternoon and we’re going to have a  quiet rubbish Saturday night TV night tonight after M gets home from his bike ride.

Today is the first day my head has felt truly better since I broke my nose. My sinuses have been blocked and I’ve had a constant headache. My nose is still tender to touch and if I wrinkle it, but my black eye is slowly getting better. I still have another day or two of antibiotics so hopefully should be back to 100% soon. I’ve not been cycling since the accident but hopefully I can start again next week.

 

 

 

 

The Numbers

351new deaths, bringing the total to 36,393. 

The News

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary did the government briefing today. She really is awful, so insincere and cold. You just can’t believe anything that comes out of her mouth.

The main point of discussion was the introduction, from the 8th of June, of the 14 days quarantine for anyone entering the country. The view is that it will be the kiss of death for the travel and tourism industry, as very few people will be able to go on holiday for 2 weeks and then quarantine for 2 weeks when they get home.

They are planning to police it by requiring people to give a private address where they will isolating and will be carrying out spot checks to ensure compliance. The penalty for non-compliance will be a £1000 fine.

The New Way of Life

Another fairly quite day. Not much to report to be honest. Weather has changed again, very windy and cooler but no rain, which is great.

Last night I went for my permitted 1:1, socially distanced picnic with my daughter. It was lovely! So relaxing to sit and have a chat rather than talking on the doorstep.

M took me over to hers and we walked to a nearby park. I brought a rug which we placed between us to ensure we kept 2 metres apart. We sat on a couple of little beach chairs and had cheese, salami, salad and dips, washed down with some white wine. We cleaned everything with antiseptic wipes when we were finished. Crazy times.

It was a lovely evening, there were just enough people in the park to make us feel safe but not enough to make it crowded. It was mostly other couples and families taking their daily exercise in the evening sunshine.

Our friends who had the antibody tests all tested negative. While I think they are a little surprised and disappointed, they are pleased that they have clearly done a good job of protecting their daughter.

I’m still thinking of taking the test myself. I keep thinking back to the virus I had 10 days or so before lockdown. I’d love to know if I have had it.

I’ve been taking part for many years in a longitudinal, large scale cohort study that looks at the genetics of various diseases. It’s called the UK Biobank study.

This is how it describes itself on its website:

UK Biobank is a national and international health resource with unparalleled research opportunities, open to all bona fide health researchers. UK Biobank aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression and forms of dementia. It is following the health and well-being of 500,000 volunteer participants and provides health information, which does not identify them, to approved researchers in the UK and overseas, from academia and industry.

They contacted me to ask if I would take part in their Covid-19 sub-study and I was happy to agree. I have to do a finger-prick blood test once a month and send it back to them by post. I won’t ever know the results. That’s always been part of the conditions.

So, today my kit arrived and I have to do the first test on Tuesday the 26th of May.

Today, we had a slow start. We’re both quite tired after all our efforts over the past few days. I cleaned the kitchen and cooked our Friday night pre-quiz curry. Tonight we’re having paneer pakora, lamb and spinach curry, dal and mushroom pilau rice.

I cleaned the kitchen and went for a walk in the afternoon.

 

The Numbers

338 new deaths taking the total to 36,042.

ONS data still shows very high numbers of excess deaths but that this is slowly returning to normal.

The News

The government has done a U-turn on charging health and care workers to use the NHS. Previously, they were planning to continue to insist that migrant workers would still have to pay a surcharge to access NHS services. After a challenge on this by the new Labour Party Leader, Kier Starmer, the Prime Minister has overturned this decision. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that the nurses who cared for him when he was in hospital were both from overseas.

5 million people have now been infected with the virus worldwide. 328,000 people have died, as far as we know.

Schools in Scotland are not going to re-open until the 11th of August.

All the talk is about the Test Track and Trace programme. NHS “bosses” have warned of dire consequences if we don’t get this right.

The NHS has bought the new Roche antibody test and it will be used mostly for health and care workers to see whether they have had the virus. This is the one that my friend has had. I’m still thinking about it.

The New Way of Life

Busy day! Working on the finishing touches to our presentation in the morning. I had a quick walk at lunch-time before we started the workshop at 2.30.

One of the delegates has got his diary mixed up and had to leave at 4pm, an hour early, so it did throw a bit of a spanner in the works, but it did go well. We got some great feedback on how to make it even better.

We finished early, and after a short debrief, I got ready to go and meet my daughter in the park on our newly permitted 1:1 meeting, always keeping 2 metres apart of course!

So, a brief post today as I’m going OUT OUT!