There was a decision made from the top to leave the elderly in the Care Homes and not take them into hospital.
I can see why it was made. Many of the people in Care Homes were extremely frail and unlikely to survive. Many were made to sign Do Not Resuscitate orders. The government were expecting a huge surge in Covid-19 cases with a shortage of ventilators, beds and medical staff. They were reserving the beds for those who might survive.
The result was that the elderly died in droves. Their Carers were neither trained nor equipped to deal with this scourge. They were thrown to the wolves.
It was as if once that decision was made they just put the Care Homes to one side and forgot about them.
Some of those carers died. They were exposing themselves and their families to the virus
Why weren’t the places properly isolated? They knew the experiences of Italy and Spain.
Why were the staff not properly trained and equipped?
Still feeling tired and lethargic following covid. Liz has added sore throat and cold symptoms. It’s not so much Long Covid as Lingering covid. We both feel off and muzzy. It’ll pass. Our brains are probably still a bit inflamed.
Beautifully sunny and warm but with a cool breeze. I took a walk up my hill. My red kite was flying low over the field. I was expecting the songbirds to be out in force filling the air with song but I did not hear a great deal. I did hear shooting though. Is it shooting season? Up here they shoot anything that moves – even if it gives itself up. They’re worse than Putin.
I’ve been doing some reading (Jasper Fforde), writing a poem or two and sorting with one of my mates to do a podcast. We are going into the studio to natter. Not quite sure what we will call this podcast yet – probably something like ‘Oph and Mike talk about Rock and stuff’. It’s going to be primarily music-based as Mike doesn’t like upsetting people whereas I like to speak my mind. We’ll see. Any suggestions for a name for our weekly podcast??
I’m off shortly to pick up one of the grandchildren. He’s won the lucky golden ticket and gets to stay with us for the next couple of days!!
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland war has worked wonders for our resident clown. Lies, Partygate, Sleaze, Russian donors – all forgiven. His ratings have zoomed up 10 points!! What is wrong with people??? What has he done?? Do they like the costumes?
Don’t they mind that Russia has been calling the shots?? Beyond me! The peasants doff their caps to the Eton boys!!
Meanwhile, Ukraine is being pounded into rubble with hospitals, schools and ambulances targeted and Russian troops are being massacred.
Priti Patel has set up a centre in the Artic to process rapid visa entry for traumatised Ukrainian refugees! She asked them to bring their own wheelbarrows to transport the necessary forms.
Operation Big Dog is working.
In the pandemic that has now morphed into operation Save Big Dog (turd) everybody is pretending that there is no pandemic. It’s over!! Freedom day!! But today the numbers went up to 84,401 new cases with another 142 deaths. Hospital cases are rising as antivaxxers fall ill. Kiss your ventilators dudes!!
I’m fine and don’t have to worry. Not only are we triple vaxxed but we’ve got over a dose!! “We’re immune for a few months!!
Stay safe!! We might be threatened with a nuclear holocaust but our clown is there to defend us. He’ll come up with a world-beating soundbite to send the missiles back to their silos and show us what a tramp looks like in a Haz-Chem suit!!
Here we are, over two years later, with a jumbo of a day!! 747 days!! All in economy class!!
Today was really warm and sunny. I actually had to go out and mow!! Whatever next!!
I’ve spent the day reading Jasper Fforde, listening to Leonard Cohen and monitoring what is going on in the world as we stumble from one crisis to the next!
This coronavirus has left us really washed out. I’ve been knackered all day and Liz is feeling crap too! The effects seem to go on and on. Fatigue and listlessness, slight sore throat, slight muzzy head, nothing that screams at you. It just taps you on the shoulder to let you know it’s still there!
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland, our dozy clown has as much of a grip on events as a dodo had of flying away to safety.
Priti Patel displays all the callous features that the Tory Party is renowned for. She’s moved away from pushing hapless Syrian mothers and children back into the sea, kicking out anyone she can with her hostile environment, and is now trying to create as many obstacles as possible to prevent those evil Ukrainian traumatised mothers and children from getting into the holy of holy’s – Tory paradise!! Unless you’ve a few million to bung into Tory funds, or a bung or two as a backhander, you are not welcome here!! Indeed, most of the population that lives here is not welcome. If they didn’t need someone to exploit and rip-off we would have all been kicked out.
What a bunch of totally obnoxious self-servers!!
I believe that in times of crisis our wartime leader Churchill addressed the nation. Our leader through crisis after crisis (at least one of which was self-made) prefers to repeat soundbites (like a parrot with tourettes), hide in fridges and dress up.
Every time I see the twat dressed up in some Hi-Vis uniform posing in a plane or whatever, spouting some stupid soundbite and looking like an obese scarecrow, it makes me feel physically sick. Their response to this crisis has made me feel thoroughly ashamed.
Johnson has gleefully thrown himself into posing. All mention of the MET report or Sue Gray conveniently forgotten.
The carpet is now so lumpy that it must be impossible to walk on.
If it wasn’t for the war fever we might be making even more fuss about the Russian connection. Not only is the Tory Party awash with Russian money but they invited them in to launder their dirty money and provided a safe haven for them so that we could take a share of their ill-gotten gains. It stinks. Now they are shouting loudly about hitting the oligarchs while hardly naming any and giving them ample time to get all their dirty money out!
I notice Abramovich and other oligarchs are stealthily moving assets away. Their superyachts are quietly gliding out of harbours.
No wonder they don’t want to focus on the Report on Russian interference with elections. It was the Russians that got Brexit done, the Russians that got Trump elected and the Russians who are responsible for 12 years of Tory rule and austerity.
They are already lifting up the carpet and sweeping like mad!! How much more corruption and sleaze can they get under there??
How about that knighthood for the useless cretin Gavin Williamson??? There’s another travesty!! Fuck up your job as badly as you can. Show yourself to be a useless, incompetent fool. As long as you know stuff about the Tories and Johnson and can tell people about the levels of sleaze and corruption you can become a peer!!
So, as Russia continues to flatten hospitals, schools and civilian areas in order to free the Ukrainians from neo-Nazi tyranny while denying there is any war and disseminating lies and misinformation, we watch. Will it escalate into a nuclear conflagration or resolve itself into a compromise? Will the Russians use Ukrainian nuclear power stations as a bargaining chip or use chemical warfare? Will this grind down into a long war of attrition with them pounding cities into dust and terrorising civilians as a warning? Is the West happy for this to go on and on, for them to arm the Ukrainians and fight a proxy war, for the Russian economy to collapse! Isn’t that pretty much what they did with the USSR? Putin’s war chest is finite. I don’t know if a desperate Putin will hit out and start a third world war! Anything’s possible. My money’s on a face-saving exercise!
Save the Big Dog is well underway (Did the Tories ask Putin to invade Ukraine??). We no longer have a pandemic. As predicted by all the sacked scientists the virus is taking off again. We had 68,378 new cases yesterday with 123 more deaths and rising hospital cases.
Johnson and the Tories have at last found a strategy!! They will remove covid tests so nobody can test positive. Stop announcing the statistics so nobody knows how much it’s all going up by. Ignore the whole thing and sweep the deaths under that carper along with the peerages for cash, second salary scandal, illegal lobbying, lying to the house and Queen, lying about Brexit, the 180,000 deaths that are already there, cash for meetings, PPE tendering, Partygate and all the other inept bungling and law-breaking. If you ignore it then it will all go away.
Red Meat for the gullible!! We’re levelling up!! Oh, that flying pig just shat on Johnson – not that it notices!
Stay Safe!! We could be living in a totalitarian state where protest is illegal …….. hang on…..
I noticed today that I’m really not fully recovered from Covid. The effects linger. Talking on the phone I found myself croaky. We went for a walk this morning, which was a big effort that made me feel weak and I’ve been completely washed out all afternoon. I am continuing to sleep really deeply. Weird. I wonder how long this is going to last?
I also wonder what this would have been like if we hadn’t been fully vaccinated. I dread to think!
Today it was sunny so we decided to nip to the coast and take a walk by the sea. Scudding clouds, big waves and a keen south-easterly wind. We were going to get some fish and chips but the place was shut so we went home.
I’ve been working on publishing my 25th book of poetry – I’ve called it Toxic Times. These are indeed Toxic Times. They seem to get more and more toxic by the second! I have to write this quickly before we receive a nuclear strike!!
When not sorting my book out I have been listening to some early Donovan and reading another Jasper Fforde book.
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland, I despair that our stupid electorate are backing Johnson. His popularity is rising. What is up with people? Are they completely gullible? Do any of them really think this clown is doing a good job?? What has happened to the MET report?? What has happened to the Sue Gray report? What about the Russian money propping up the Tory Party? What about the Russian Peerages for cash? What about the appalling lying and treatment of the Ukrainian refugees???
It seems that for a lot of people none of this matters. We see Zelensky leading his people and showing us what a leader looks and sounds like. He mimics Churchill and sounds like a statesman. Our clown is obese and slouches around like Churchill, pretends to be Churchill and looks and sounds like a clown.
The nastiness of the Tory Party seems to have gone mainstream. People seem OK with it. It is as if Brexit has unleashed a right-wing selfishness.
As for the war in Ukraine it goes from bad to worse. The Russians pound civilian areas with artillery and missiles. They even destroyed a hospital today. They can’t beat the Ukrainians on the ground so they have gone for the inhumane tactics they deployed in Syria and Chechnia.
There is something extremely flawed in human nature. We have the capacity for violence, for cruelty and heartlessness.
Johnson says there is a surge to process the thousands of Ukrainians in need of help and shelter. They sent a table, three guys, a box of crisps and a box of kit-kats. That’s Johnson’s idea of a surge!! Poland takes in a million and we manage 50!! It stinks!!
Is this what Brexit looks like?? The racist element in our country wanted to kick out all the foreigners, all the Eastern Europeans, who came over here to pick fruit and veg, to drive lorries and work in shops, restaurants, as carers and in hospitals. It started up that vicious hostile environment.
Is that the mean-minded Britain we want to live in? Not for me!! I hate this small-mindedness! I hate this racism. I really hate this racism! I hate this closed-off little Britain.
I really do not like what Britain has become!! They deserve these Tories!!
Putin threatens us with a nuclear war and our clown quakes!! No planes!!
So where are we with this pandemic that no longer exists?? My sister’s husband went down with it today. He’s feeling very rough. There were another 62,407 new cases with 213 deaths. It’s not going away is it? It’s getting worse! Ignoring it has not solved the problem. So what are the long-term plans?? What is the strategy? If we had a leader perhaps we’d know??
I’m not sure I should be writing these anymore. I’m no longer in isolation, though I do still wear a mask when going into shops. While the pandemic is far from over we have moved into a new phase that is similar to normality.
Today the sun was shining in Yorkshire. The sky was vivid blue and sang of warm days to come – but it sang in a frigid voice. It’s still bloody cold!!
I appear to have completely recovered from covid – though obviously, my brain has shrunk considerably (that’s my excuse). Maybe that has really what has happened to Putin’s brain?
Today I’ve been writing a few poems, listening to Captain Beefheart, finishing my Jasper Fforde book and going for a walk up my hill. The snowdrops are nearing their end, daffodils are out and bluebells are shooting up. My kestrel flew across the road, a beautiful male pheasant had been squashed and I borrowed a few plumes to brighten my hat. Despite the bright sunshine, it was misty in the distance. I couldn’t see the sea and a south-easterly wind was biting. The sound of gunfire had started up. We’re in the shooting season. Anything that breathes is shot!! Death is part of rural living. Nature has to be destroyed.
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland, our lying clown of a nasty Prime Minister tells us of how we are welcoming all those poor refugees from Ukraine. Sure he is. Priti Patel and him cooked up that Hostile Environment policy between them. The one that kicked out all those nurses, doctors, HGV drivers and veggie pickers. Great thinking!! Put a lot of prices up!! Created endless problems. She was the one who had the plan for the Windrush people – doesn’t matter if they’ve lived here all their lives – kick down their doors and boot them out.
They think they have a mandate because half the country voted Brexit. They can be nasty, racist and vicious!
Well the NASTY Party hasn’t changed. They’re doing the same with the Ukrainians. They are welcome here. You just have to jump through an endless chain of hoops. Miraculously 500 have managed it!! Let me see!! 1.5 million terrified traumatised women and children fleeing war – we manage 500. Proud to be British!!
Lying Johnson said they are doing their best. They have carried out a big surge to process the poor victims! His big surge turned out to be 3 bureaucrats, hidden away in an office in Calais, almost impossible to find, directing people to go to Paris and giving them a kit-kat!
Proud to be British!!
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is bogging down. Russian death squads are roaming Kyiv looking to kill their President Zelitski. Just imagine if we sent death squads to Russia to kill Putin??? Another General has been killed. The Ukrainians are fighting madly. The 40-mile column is under attack and getting nowhere. The body count rises as Russian artillery and missile blow Ukrainian cities to rubble!!
Thousands are arrested in Russia for protesting. 1000s of body bags are going back to Russia. Captured troops tell of being told misinformation about the invasion. The Russian propaganda machine is in full swing. It’s not a war; it’s a military campaign to free the Ukrainian people from neo-Nazis.
Straight out of 1984. Black is white.
The neo-Nazi war criminal is Putin. He’s deploying his Nazi police against his own people. Time they rose up again and kicked him out.
The threat of nuclear war looms. Jets were flying overhead as I took my walk. They are preparing. Shades of the Cuban Missile Crisis!!
Human beings are nasty, cruel and totally insane.
Meanwhile, out in the pandemic that no longer exists (in order to save Big Dog Turd) the numbers seem to be shooting up – 126,000 new cases with 140 more deaths.
Now it may well be the case that we have to live with this now and it’s a price worth paying for normality. If I was leader I would have explained it to the nation. I would have consulted the experts first and said something like this:
The vaccine programme delivered by our valiant NHS has now given us the opportunity to come out of this crisis. The Omicron variant is now dominant and not proving as lethal as earlier strains. Most people are not getting very ill at all. It is looking as if we will never actually achieve herd immunity because of the short-lived nature of the immune response and the fact that even vaccinated and asymptomatic people can pass on the disease. That means that the virus is always going to be with us. However, regularly vaccination of the most vulnerable coupled with new medicines mean that the hospitalisation and death rates have come right down. We feel they are now at a level that we are going to have to live with. The risks to individuals’ health, both physical and mental, from the restrictions we have had to impose now outweigh the risks from Covid-19. For that reason we are removing all restrictions and getting the country back to normal.
The pandemic is not over, and, in all likelihood, will never be over. We must learn to live with it and take necessary precautions. I would urge you to continue to wash hands, distance and wear masks indoors to slow the spread of the disease, but – we are finally able to get back to normal.
Thank you for all your sterling efforts over the last two years of this terrible pandemic.
If only we had a leader who could lead, who wasn’t hiding in fridges or wearing silly costumes, who would appear on TV, be knowledgeable and statesman-like.
