politics.

Followed the same pattern as yesterday – dreary drizzly morning and brightened up at lunchtime. Quite cool at 10 degrees but OK.

I’ve been in all morning working on my Beefheart book and took my walk in the afternoon. Playing the Edgar Broughton along with the Beefheart seemed to work well.

It was gorgeous in the afternoon autumn sunshine. When I reached the top of the hill I noticed a dozen goldfinches all gathered sitting on the telegraph wire looking as if they were basking in the sunshine. The other side of the hill a flock of around a hundred starlings took off into the air, landing on the telegraph wires and twittering. It looked as if they were gathering to have a good natter before heading off to roost for the day.

Ain’t nature wonderful!!

Meanwhile, out in Coronaland, I was confronted with the headline in my paper saying ‘If Glasgow fails, then the whole thing fails’. Strewth – it’s come to this. The world teeters on the brink of catastrophe and who have we got leading us out of this mess?? Boris bloody Johnson! The incompetent nincompoop who has made a complete cock-up of everything he touches. The twit who is responsible for Nazarene Zaghari Ratcliffe still be locked up in Iran, for the disaster of Brexit, the devastation of Covid, the sleaze and corruption, the lies and inequality. This is the twerp who has sent the country spiralling into debt, who spent billions like pennies, who is stoking up division and inequality and hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing. This is the person we all now depend on – the saviour of the world.

If past record is anything to go by we might as well all slit our wrists now. The only hope is that some sane, responsible adult, like Jacinda Ardern, steps in to guide us. We can only hope.

So while our shambling wreck of a sham leader talks green with one side of his mouth he’s busy opening coal mines, cheapening flights, building motorways and HS2 and drilling for more oil and gas with the other. He doesn’t know how to tell the truth.

I suspect that greed will continue to rule. As Greta Thunberg says – it’s all Blah Blah Blah and no action. Until we’re all underwater or burnt to death nobody is going to change. The wealthy are so enormously selfish they don’t give a fuck.

So, yesterday there were another 37,667 new cases of covid with 74 deaths. That’s a bit lower – but it was the weekend and most schools go back today. We may be over the peak but I’ll reserve judgement until later in the week. Currently, there are thought to be 1.28 million people harbouring the virus. That’s a lot. Until I’ve had my booster and numbers come down I shall continue to wear a mask and socially distance – and I’m avoiding indoor venues as much as poss. There are 1 in 4 people not complying with isolation. They’re everywhere.

The world passed 5 million dead yesterday. I reckon that’s a big underestimate.

The government response is to open walk-in centres for people to get jabbed. The latest statistics show that unjabbed people are 32 times more likely to die of covid than jabbed people. I don’t know why so many are taken in by the phoney antivaxxer garbage on the internet. But then a lot of people voted for the likes of Trump, Johnson and Bolsonaro. There’s not a lot of intelligence out there!!

Stay safe!! The fate of the world will be decided in the next couple of weeks!! Chipperfields is in town!

I walked up my hill in the bright sunshine and a temperature of 20 degrees. Not bad for October. I could have been back in shorts. The sea was a bit hazy. A kestrel took off from the telegraph wire and took to hovering over the fields searching for lunch. There was the squawk of a pheasant and a warning call or two from the odd bird in the hedge. I’m not very good at bird sounds.

It’s Autumn. The land is dying back, many of the trees are just beginning to change colouir, the odd leaves are falling, our virginia creeper has turned red.

Back home I’ve been playing some Janis Joplin and writing my Beefheart book. I managed to get five pages written. Not bad. A long way to go.

Meanwhile, out in Coronaland, the Tory lies and pervading arrogant blathering continues, bouyed up by their position in the polls. Boris Johnson, the slathering, blathering clown, ruffles up his hair, talks bollocks, makes jokes and gabbles slogans and they all love him. They think the nasty conniving conman is wonderful. They don’t care that he’s an incompetent, lazy twat who is wrecking the country, robbing everyone and causing mass poverty; they think he’s a jolly loveable teddy bear.

Heaven help us. These Tories will have stripped the country bare before we get rid of them – if we ever get rid of them. The BBC will be a Tory propaganda machine along with every paper in the country. They’ll control hearts and minds, reorganise the borders, jettison Scotland and be impregnable. It will be a totalitarian state – no protest allowed, no opposition, and wall to wall lies.

What a prospect. Heaven help the poor. They are sheep to the slaughter begging to be shot through the head.

Brexit – we love it! Make Britain Great!! Global Britain!! Trade Deals the envy of the world! Prosperity for all!!

In your dreams. The reality is that we’re all screwed so that those twats can make money!!

Yesterday there was another 39730 new cases with 122 deaths. Seems we are quite happy with a 1000 deaths a week!!

The government likes to pretend everything is just great. They have opened up travel with the red list going down from 54 to 7 and an end to PCR tests. The previously inaccurate lateral flow tests have now miraculously improved!!

Everything in Britain is great!! We might be dying off at a 1000 a week, families might be freezing and starving, shelves might be empty and huge queues at petrol stations but hey, this is Global Britain!! The profiteers are running off to the Caymans with millions!! All is well!!

Chuck away your masks it’s back to normal!! Die for Boris!! It’s the only way to be”!!

Stay safe!! I’m wearing my mask!! These people are pillocks!!

It’s been a bit of a strange day here in Yorkshire. Not as hot as predicted with a cool breeze – but still quite good.

I’ve spent the day painting doors and editing. I suppose it has been really fitting: on Roy Harper’s 80th birthday I find myself checking my book on his music! The publisher just sent the proofs through. I have to check them all and OK so that it can come out in July! It’s a lot of work for the next few days!!

As I’ve had enough for a bit I’m going to go for a walk to recharge my concentration.

Completed my walk – five miles of contemplation. I think it’s good for me in a number of ways.

Neil Lock has sent me his Sci-fi book. I’ve got it next in line. I have to finish my Harper read-through and also finish reading Ishiguro’s Clara and the Sun – which I am greatly enjoying.

It’s going to be a hot day tomorrow. I shall spend it reading through the Harper book, watching the football and maybe getting a bit of Clara read. Who knows?

There’s not enough hours in these days!!

Meanwhile out in Coronaland the incompetence reigns. As stupid Johnson acts up at the G7 like an embarrassing twerp the Indian variant, that he stupidly let into the country, is causing havoc. It has taken over, highly contagious and putting young people in hospital!! The stupid fucking idiot is killing people again!! When will we be shot of this idiot???

Over 8000 new cases, hospital rates rising, deaths rising – the idiot PM is busy showing off at the G7 – telling them how great we are – while Brexit and Covid are laying the country to waste!! All his doing!!

I suppose the lying turd has thrown a ring of protection around us all!! Time to worry!! Meanwhile he’s telling the G7 that we have to learn from our mistakes! He hasn’t a clue!! He’s making the same mistakes he made at the beginning!!!

LIES!!! LIES!!! LIES!!! LIES!!!

I’m amazed by the ignorance of the press when describing the battle between us and the vaccine. Evolution is not conscious. The virus isn’t planning how to evade the vaccine or become more transmissible. All it does is mutate. Because there are trillions of the viruses it mutates quickly. The mutations are random. Some make changes that are useful to the virus; most are useless and die. There is nothing conscious about it. This isn’t a planned battle.

The more people who are infected the most viruses there are. The more viruses the more mutation. One of those mutations could change the virus so that it evades the vaccine. A mutation could make it more lethal. A mutation could make it more transmissible. Mutations are random.

The way to prevent variants is to have less viruses – ie. less infected people. The fewer viruses the fewer mutations, the fewer new variants. The only way to achieve that is to vaccinate the world.

No country is an island!! The sooner we vaccinate the world the sooner we will become safe!!

VACCINATE THE WORLD!!

Good to hear Biden donating half a billion jabs!! The rest of the world needs to get on board!!!

So now, as our clown pulls us back into lockdown due to his own incompetence, I’d say – look at the twerp! Sack him!! Sack Hancock!! Sack Gove!! Sack Dido!! Let’s get some competence and honesty into the place!!

Stay Safe!! The end is no ,longer nigh!!

I got up this morning to bright sunshine but this afternoon it has been pouring with rain. Fortunately I went for my walk in the morning. I walked up my hill. I’d noticed a single swallow yesterday. Today there were three. They appeared to be squabbling. I’d never seen swallows behaving that way before. I think it was two males vying for the attentions of one female. The hedges were alive with gold finches, chaffinches and great tits. I also spotted a long-tailed tit. Nesting is in full swing despite the cool weather. I came back and have been writing and playing some Roy Harper.

I needed an eye appointment. My glasses are not as effective as they were!! The optician claimed to be covid-friendly. Didn’t seem too hot to me. We were in there for over an hour and having someone peering in your eyes that close, even with a mask on, is not that brilliant. If I hadn’t had my second jab I would not have been too happy.

Out in Coronaland the pressure is still on sleazey Johnson. There was a good article in the I today talking about Starmer and Johnson and comparing the two:

Imagine you had a choice of two men to run your family finances, maybe also to fix your insurance policies and oversee your kids’ education. One of them has a smart suit, sober haircut and previously rose from an ordinary background to the top of his profession in public service.

Perhaps a bit bland, even a bit boring, but undoubtedly competent, decent and a safe pair of hands for your cash. The alternative could not be more different: a dishevelled upper-crust rogue with a messy private life who was dismissed from previous jobs for dishonesty, moans endlessly about being broke and always disappears when it is time to pay for his round in the pub. 

Boris Johnson poses as a man standing up for struggling families while living a life even he cannot afford (inews.co.uk)

I thought it was perhaps a bit too kind on Johnson – more of an overprivileged cynical chancer pretending to be affable. He whines about not being about to live on an income of £200,000 and spends £840 a roll on bloody wallpaper. A man of the ordinary people?? Suckers!!

Maybe people are beginning to wake up to how they’ve been taken for a ride? The Tories just dived in the polls! We can but hope!!

Here the vaccination program has brought deaths down to almost zero. Great news. They are looking to open up foreign travel but the only problem is the chance of bringing variants back into the country. I’m sure that can be circumvented with a good track and trace system – oops, silly me. Yep – we’d better not travel abroad.

A lot of people were opposed to the idea of lockdowns altogether. I wasn’t. Being a biologist I was well aware of the dangers of a pandemic. The scientific advice – socially distance, lockdown, facemasks, antiviral gels and washing hands – makes perfect sense to me.

You need a fair whack of virus to become infected. Either through long exposure (such as with NHS workers, carers, shop workers etc.) or close exposure with an infected person.

This virus travels mainly by aerosol. It is dispersed outside. Distance greatly reduces the spread.

Inside the virus hangs about in the air. It lands on surfaces. It’s exuded in sweat. Anything you touch. You need to ventilate and distance more.

Wearing a mask catches a percentage of the aerosol you breathe out – hence reducing infection.

Staying indoors and having no contact obviously stops transmission.

Using a gel kills the virus. Washing hands after touching anything from outside obviously kills the virus.

Maybe those people who were complaining about having to do this are now getting a glimpse of life where lockdown wasn’t introduced with the tragedy of Brazil, India and Trumpist USA. Look how the rates have come down with Biden and new rules.

India is a disaster because Modi encouraged huge religious gathering without distancing or masks.

Brazil is a disaster because Bolsonaro has refused to lockdown and has pooh-poohed masks and distancing.

The USA was a disaster because Trump made social distancing and masks political and didn’t enforce things.

The UK was a disaster because Johnson did not lockdown quickly enough, was too complacent and did not bring in masks.

People say – ‘But nobody knew’. But that isn’t true. The WHO advice was clear. Other countries, such as New Zealand, Vietnam and Singapore locked down quickly and deployed track and trace. It could have been done. It was arrogance that killed so many!!

Now I have had two jabs I am waiting for immunity to peak and I am back to normal. They will be opening up other countries (with good levels of covid and no variants) and I will be off travelling again! I will consider my risks to be back to normal!

Freedom beckons. Two weeks to go!

Stay safe!!

Another beautiful sunny day in Yorkshire (though there is still a nip in the air).

A bit of a strange day – I spent the morning shopping and on the phone to power companies and BT. It’s amazing how long they can keep you hanging on a phone!! Not much accomplished though hours wasted. This is supposed to be progress.

This afternoon I went for a walk up my hill. The may blossom was out. The flowers sparkly in the green grass, hedges bright with nascent leaves. Beautiful.

Out in Corona land the incompetent clown running the country has at last realised that there might be a risk from the Indian variant!! At last!! For heavens sake!! Isn’t it bloody obvious??

The Indian variant is running wild in India. It is more easily transmitted and evades the vaccines. Shouldn’t that be enough to take stringent measures?? In India there were 273,802 reported cases yesterday. It was up to 400,000!! Yet we have not had them on the red list!!! People have been coming into the country without proper quarantine!!! WHY DO THEY KEEP MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES!!!

Once again we are overconfident!!! The vaccinations are going great. Johnson is riding high in opinion polls. The numbers of infections are coming right down. Deaths are greatly reduced – just 10 yesterday!! Obviously time to get complacent!!

That’s precisely what they did in India and Brazil. In India the death count is now 1619 a day. In Brazil it is 1657. Why?? Because they opened everything up without restrictions!! In India they thought that the religious festivals were more important than health. A lot of those people who went to the Hindu temples are now dead!! That’s what happens when you put a religious populist in charge. In Brazil it’s a capitalist populist who wants to make more money!!

The more people infected the more virus. The more virus the more mutation the more variants – THE MORE RISK TO US ALL!! These populist idiots will kill hundreds of thousands!!!

So the UK has once again acted far too slowly. We have left the borders open and allowed the Indian variant in. It is now established in the UK. It threatens everything. If it evades the vaccine we are back to square one!!

WHY DID THEY LET IT IN????

According to government sources the outbreak is not related to international travel.

SO HOW THE HELL DO THEY THINK IT GOT IN??? Blew on a breeze?? Swam?? Jumped through a black hole??

For heavens sake they are treating us like morons.

JOHNSON – takle a leaf out of Vietnam and New Zealand – 5 new cases between them and no deaths for months!! THEY SHUT THEIR BLOODY BORDERS!!! QUARANTINED (and did not spend £37 billion on a stupid ineffective Track and Trace).

We get our second jab this week (In the 10 million)!! Yipeeee!!! If only they keep the Indian variant out Freedom beckons!!!

Stay Safe!!!