Health

The sun shone brightly so we decided to go for a klong walk today. That meant a three hour walk around to the next village and back. The trees were in full plumage, though many were already bare, little white clouds scudded across a blue sky.

It felt cool but refreshing!

Back home I’ve been playing some Mothers Of Invention and writing. All is good.

Over in Coronaland it looks pretty dire. We head into full lockdown again the day after tomorrow. It’s initially for four weeks – but we will see. If they had done what the scientists had pressed for – a two week circuit-break a few weeks back. We would be OK now! We could have closed everything – including schools for two weeks. They were on half term and would only have missed five days of school – but the Covid levels would have come down.

So many jobs and businesses are going to go. It’ll cost us all a fortune. (Brexit still to come!!)

Late as usual. Too busy dithering!! Bunch of Eton, Bullingdon morons!!

We’ve zoomed up to 18,950 new cases and 136 deaths!! We’re doing worse than Brazil!! (8,501 new cases and 179 deaths).

I wonder how many deaths and how many billions this clown has cost us??

I notice the USA is surging again – up to 93,581 new cases with 540 new deaths. I reckon all those stupid undistanced Trump rallies are going to kill a lot of people and put a lot of businesses out of business. Utter fools.

Perhaps today we can dump Trump and get back to some sanity – less hate and division, more science and more sense.

Vote the obnoxious snake-oil salesman out America!! He’s toxic!!

In New Zealand they’ve had a big surge – up to 5 new cases!!! (0deaths though).

In Vietnam it’s even worse – 12 new cases (0 deaths)

When this is all over perhaps we should line up Trump, Johnson and Bolsonaro, put them in the stocks and throw rotten fruit at them – show them what we think about their lies and incompetence.

Meanwhile, there is some good news:

The fast tests are here!! We can test for Corona really quickly – test results in 30 mins. That means we can get people to isolate and we do not have to rely on useless SERCO and Dido Harding with their ineffective Test and Trace. Hopefully they’ll go local now – like they should have done from the beginning!!

A bit of research shows that our immune T-cells are still effective six months later. That indicates that a vaccine should work.

Perhaps we are at a new dawn??? The end of Trump, fast tests and a vaccine around the corner.

We can but hope!!!

Stay safe!!

Today we met up with my eldest son, his wife and children for a socially distanced walk. We went to Goathland and the waterfall at Malham Spout. The sun shone, the trees were wearing an iridescent coat of many colours. The river rushed, the waterfall crashed. The mud slipped and slid, sploshed and slopped.

We had a great time but it is hard not giving hugs!!

Back home I’ve been playing some Willie Dixon. What a great Blues guy he was.

It was like a holiday from Coronaland. This week we slide into lockdown – too late as usual. Our lamentable PM – Mr Invisible – dithers around, ignores the scientific advice and does everything too late. Never mind it’ll only kill off another 40,000 and make the lockdown last a few weeks longer.

I look back over some of the stupidities – the cosmetic nonsense – like the 10.00 pm curfews – the daft encouraging people to go back to the office, the stupid ‘eat out to help out’ scheme. They obviously should have encouraged people to stay outside and not go inside. Local councils could have passed byelaws to open up pavements. It was Summer. We could, with a half decent Test and Trace scheme, have completely got on top of the virus.

Lockdown without shutting down schools??? A bit of madness. The kids will just be taking the virus back home!!

Too stupid and inept for that. Too much corruption – giving out contracts to ‘friends’ and untried fools, instead of using existing services and augmenting them with extra cash (far cheaper) – using the professionals with proven experience. Instead there is no tendering and lots of jobs for the boys!! How many billions have they wasted???

Now we have a full lockdown again. Now we have another 23,254 new cases (we’re now worse than the diabolical Brazil!!) with 326 deaths yesterday!!

That’s pathetic!! That’s appalling!! That is death due to incompetence!!

In the USA there were 84,285 new cases (liberty kills – I hope they think their stupidity in not distancing or wearing masks is worth it??) with another 846 deaths. That means there are 846 people, 846 more families who might be ruing that they did not do what the scientists have been saying for them to do.

The only good thing is that it might mean that we all get rid of Trump. Many people have woken up to how bad he actually is!!

In Brazil it was 18,947 new cases with 407 more deaths.

In Vietnam it is no new cases and no deaths. Thhat needs checking. If true then they are doing something right!

Stay safe.

I was rained on as I walked up my hill today. The wind was blustery and I hoped it might dry me off but the driving rain had other ideas. Still, there’s nothing a few days of drying off won’t put right!

Yesterday, on my walk, I rescued a hen! I was walking past the egg farm. The hens were all out. One had got out and was wandering up the lane looking a bit lost. I knew that its chances weren’t good if it was out over night. A fox would have it. I eyed it and it eyed me. I certainly didn’t fancy chasing it around. I knew how hard they can be to catch. I called to it and amazingly it came to me. I picked it up and threw it back over the high fence. My good deed for today (yesterday).

Meanwhile, in Coronaland, the pandemic rolls on and our inept leaders fluster, bluster and mess up.

Johnson is finally considering another lockdown (too late again). If he had done a two week lockdown a few weeks back we would have got on top of it. Now we’ll probably have a four or five week of lockdown.

The virus is multiplying at a fast rate. It’s far worse now than three weeks ago!!

With 24,405 new cases yesterday and 274 deaths it is already long overdue!!

We’ve basically wasted the summer!! Instead of the stupid Eat Out to Help Out and driving people back to the offices and out of working at home they stoked the fires. If they had only got the track and trace working properly we could have been on top of it.

At least we don’t live in the States – Trump is overseeing a huge surge – 98,859 new cases yesterday and 971 deaths. That’s incompetence for you. He’s been encouraging irresponsible behaviour. Fool.

In Brazil its another 22,282 new cases and 508 deaths. I wonder if Bolsonaro regrets saying it was a ‘small flu’. Fool.

Vietnam – 0 new cases and 0 deaths.

Is anybody asking?

We’re heading into winter – into another mess – no strategy – more cheerleading!

Let’s hope this vaccine materialises soon!!

All the best – stay safe.

What a lovely day! What a day to play at living! The sun shone. I walked up my hill and we’re having fish and chips in a minute! Can’t be bad.

Except that, maybe, in Coronaland, it is pretty bad. We’re all heading for zone 579! Isolated lockdown on the moon!

Yesterday, officially there were 23,065 new cases and 280 deaths. But the scientists are estimating that there were actually 560,000 new cases last week! It is really running at over twice the official figure – around 52,000 a day!!

Not looking good.

Of course, the government (Tory liars) tell us that it is nothing to do with their ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme or ‘Get Your Arse Back To The Office’ scheme. Or ‘Use Public Transport It’s Safe’ scheme. Neither is the loss of public confidence in the government or anything they say in any part due to Dominic Cummings and Barnard Castle.

In the USA it’s even worse. They have record levels of 90,728 new cases and 1004 more deaths. Trump’s trying to exceed the death count of all wars put together. He’ll achieve it too! Keep drinking the bleach guys!!

In Brazil it was another 26,106 new cases and 513 deaths.

In Vietnam it was 0 new cases and 0 deaths.

Hang on a minute – 0 new cases and 0 deaths.

Don’t you think that it is about time that the UK, USA and Brazil started asking what China, S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam are doing right?????

What would our life be like if there were no new cases???? No deaths???

According to the WHO it is because the government was clear and direct. People are distancing, wearing masks and washing. They are taking it seriously. Borders are closed. Health checks are made. All symptoms are tested quickly, isolated and followed up quickly.

It’s not bloody rocket science.

There’s none of this bloody ‘Just flu’, ‘It’ll go away’, ‘masks are ineffective’, ‘social distancing is a socialist plot’ bullshit. There’s none of this ‘Travel five hundred miles to be tested’ or ‘Your test results will be back in a week’ bullshit. They are highly organised and effective.

This is just poor government!! It’s pathetic! They are killing people!!

We’re on our own – no time for tears – stay safe!!

We went out for a walk today, meeting up with friends and heading down an old railway track near Market Weighton. The sun shone for a while even though it remained cold. That makes 219 consecutive 10,000 steps plus! I’m getting covid fit.

I just enjoy getting out into nature. A buzzard flew overhead, probably waiting for one of us to drop dead. We had lunch on a poets seat. There were wrens, chaffinches and great tits who came to watch us. They flitted really close. Fab.

Back home I played some Tinariwen and did some writing. I’m a bit knackered!!

We’re looking forward to Christmas on zoom! Seems only fair. The virus messed up Eid so why not Christmas?? As long as I’m alright for my summer solstice frolics!! I like to dance naked through the streets, up on to the hills and all around. It’s a pagan fertility rite that I’m partial to, that certainly, unfortunately, drives all the females away! So much for fertility rites eh?

The turkeys are delighted about the Christmas arrangements! (all except the ones on short rations – only small ones are required when you’re eating on your own! But at least the homeless are likely to get fed!

Looks like new lockdowns in Germany and France. Over here we don’t do lockdowns, we do tiers, firebreaks and circuit breaks. They are so old-fashioned over there!

Now we’re in tiers I don’t know what the hell we’re meant to be doing and I don’t really care. I just do what I know, as a biologist, is pretty safe. We have to taqke some risks. That’s life! But, being aware of others and keeping yourself safe seem to me to be what is important.

Back in the war the Luftwaffe were targeting my mother-in-law. They bombed her out of three houses. Now the virus is targeting me. I know it. It’s the North East and East Riding that are zooming up.

Here in the UK we had another 22,885 new cases yesterday. Hospital admissions are up to a 1000 a day and deaths are zooming up again – 367 yesterday.

The trouble is that we are not in a good situation compared to other countries. The Tories have been running down the NHS for a decade. In Germany they have 800 beds per 100,000, in France it’s 591, in the UK it’s 246. Alongside that you have the doctors and nursing staff shortages. We start from a low base.

In the USA there were another 74,410 new cases with 983 deaths. That takes it up to around 230,000 deaths. That’s more than American soldiers killed in World War 1 (116,516), Korea (36,574), Vietnam (58,220), Gulf war (2586) and Iraq 94,418) all together! Good job Trump!

In fact the only good thing to come out of this is that we’ll likely get rid of that moron.

In Brazil the new cases went up to 29,787 with 549 deaths. It would be good to get rid of that insane forest burner too!

In Vietnam – 3 new cases and 0 deaths.

Time we asked what Vietnam has got right!

Stay safe everybody!!