Yipeee!!! Today’s the Solstice!! The shortest day!! After today the days start drawing out! It’ll soon be Summer. We’ll soon have the vaccine. The sun will come out and it’ll be warm again. We’ll all meet up and share our dreams and thoughts!
It’s a rebirth.
Unfortunately, unlike yesterday, it is cold, wet, drizzling and miserable. There’s not a sign of the sun!!
My daily walk is postponed until this afternoon!
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland, things are changing for the worse! I’m stuck in a bubble made up of politicians’ froth!! Have you ever thought that they are not telling you the facts???
Something is going on.
We’ve just had this stringent lockdown with dire warnings. Chris Witty looked frightened. Something is going on. All these countries are putting a blockade on our transport and people. Nothing can get out.
What is this new variant?? Is it just that it is more contagious?? Will it still be controlled by the vaccine?? Why a blockade?? They did not do a blockade before! What’s new??
We are banned throughout the world. Why this panic? Britain has suddenly become Eyam.
It suddenly feels as if we are at the epicentre of a new development. I don’t like it. The only epicentre I want to be in is one where the vaccine creates full protection.
Time will tell. They are certainly not telling us anything, are they?
I’m a bit worried about Santa! Going in all those homes he could be spreading that virus far and wide! Once all those bloody elves get it they’ll be hell. It’s OK though. It seems I haven’t been a good boy again so I won’t be getting a visit.
Don’t you think it’s strange the way we peddle all these strange stories – Santa, elves, tooth-fairies, Easter bunnies, flying reindeer, angels, cherubs, ghouls, ghosts, vampires……………………. it’s like a whole fabricated industry that we’ve bought into.
Where’s reality in all this?
I’m a nature worshipper!! Gaia is not happy!!
So we stumble on with another 35,922 new cases and 326 deaths, a vaccine being slowly rolled out, more dithering and ineptitude, failing moonshots, failing T&T, failing lockdowns, failing tiers, and a clown pointing the way.
Could be worse, I suppose, we could have Trump! The USA with another 179,801 new cases with 1422 more deaths! Some leadership!!
I thought of buying biohaz suits for the family! I like the thought of nipping down to the supermarket in a biohaz suit! It could lead to shorter queues.
Anyway, Merry Solstice everyone – stay safe!!
Yay! 🙂
Elves in biohaz maybe?…Sounds good to me.
Lol – I can picture it!
Merry Solstice John.
I’ve just updated my “magic spreadsheets,” and the COVID picture is, to say the least, confused.
I think what may have triggered the panic is that the UK has just hit the 400 new cases per million per day mark. That’s twice the rate the WHO considers to be “endemic.” That said, it comes only sixth out of my 14 countries. Luxembourg, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland are all higher. All the countries except Ireland are above the 200 new cases per million per day mark.
Looking at my spaghetti graphs, the UK’s R-rate (virus reproduction rate) did “take off” very suddenly just at the end of November/beginning of December. It was still below 1 at that point, though. It’s also true that the UK’s R-rate tends to vary more wildly than other countries’ (the peak R-rate early in the epidemic was 4.32, 30% higher than any other country). Moreover, the UK hasn’t supplied any R-rate data since December 4th. Typical (and suspicious), that the data which people want to check most is being reported late, or not at all! Looking at weekly case growth, which is the best proxy for R-rate based on actual measured data, the UK is now at 50% growth in new cases per week. But it is only third, behind Ireland and Denmark. Spain and the Netherlands are also near 40% case growth per week. If there is a new, “more contagious” strain (and that certainly isn’t something I can judge on the data I have; I’ll have to wait for the R-rates) then I don’t think it is confined to the UK.
Oh, and the “expert” group that decided on this “more contagious” lark (NERVTAG) has the dreaded Neil Ferguson in it, along with at least eight other members of SAGE. This comes from the same stable that gave us the November national lockdown.
And yet, things may perhaps be even worse in Denmark. They haven’t reported any data at all (at all!) since December 14th. No R-rate since the 4th, like the UK; and not even any stringency data since November 30th. I am tempted to repeat the famous quote from Shakespeare’s Marcellus!
Oh and by the way, Happy Solstice.
What about this new strain Neil?? Have you heard anything about it??
No, Opher, I haven’t heard anything definite – but then, I haven’t gone looking for it. It may well be no more than a bunch of politicized “experts” seeking yet another excuse to scare people into unthinking obedience.
They looked frightened Neil – and I’ve not seen such an international reaction. We’ve been blockaded everywhere.
Tubularsock can see it now EVERYONE in biohaz suits. Here in California we can’t even get many to wear masks!
Have a safe and careful merry and a happy as well Opher and Tubularsock will see you on the flipside. Cheers.
You take care too!! Here in lockdown it’s crazy!! Merry Solstice!!