The Corona Diaries – Day 728

Yesterday the virus turned my body into a giant snot factory. I felt muzzy all day with a headache caused by pressure in my sinuses. It felt as if my head was swelling like a balloon. Dispirin seemed to improve matters. Incredibly I slept quite well.

Today I have woken up in a better state. I’m still producing quantities of snot but the pressure has subsided and my headache has receded.

Last night I was sneezing a lot more and had a dry, tickly cough. Today I still have the sneezes, but to a lesser extent and my cough is less frequent and intense.

Does this mean that I am on the mend?? I’m not sure. This virus seems very up and down. Yesterday was about the worst I’ve been (so far).

I started feeling a bit unwell on Saturday, eight days ago, but did not test positive until Wednesday. I think Friday was the day that I was a little concerned. That was the day I had a sore mouth and throat and it felt as if my airways were constricting. I could imagine that getting worse so that breathing became more difficult. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Although I am of an age where the virus could have a major health problem I do not have too many underlying problems (obsesity, diabetes or asthma) – although overweight I am fit. I have been walking nearly every day for these last two years. Having been triple jabbed I knew that my risks were relatively slight. That did not stop me from being anxious. I could see how this could rapidly deteriorate into something serious

I am sure that those unvaccinated people, who are feeling that this is a disease of little concern, who are confident that they have the immunity to fight it off, who think they’ve already had it and have the T-cells poised to fight it, are in for a shock.

Having experienced this first-hand I can see that it isn’t like ordinary flu. While I have felt much much worse with flu I have never felt the potential for flu to progress into something lethal. Despite the fact that I have not been really ill with this, not sufficient to take to my bed, I have still tasted its potential. This is one nasty virus and I am very grateful that I have had the vaccine. I would not like to face this without.

Going down with Covid has presented me with a period of time to take it easy. We haven’t been able to go out, not even for our customary walks, and I have sent my Captain Beefheart book into the publishers. I have time on my hands with no urgent pressing needs. That means that I’ve had time to read – first time for a while. This week I’ve read three very different books and greatly enjoyed all three of them – Billy Summers – Stephen King, Lost In A Good Book – Jasper Fforde and First Person Singular – Haruki Murakami. It’s been a pleasure and I think that shows my level of sickness. I’ve lazed on the sofa with a rug and read for hours!!

Today in Yorkshire it is dreary and drizzly. The snow has gone and it still is a bit windy. I’m not too sorry I can’t go out for a walk.

All is quiet in Coronaland as our resident clown keeps his head down waiting for everything to blow over. The crisis feels to have passed but maybe it is merely in abeyance waiting for the MET police outcome and the full Sue Gray report. Rees-Mogg did his job of scaring the shit out the back-benchers by threatening an election. The polls have narrowed a bit. Starmer is proving not too clever an opposition, Ukraine has stolen the headlines as our publicity-seeking clown poses in cockpits and makes inane threats to Russia that has Putin trembling in his boots (from laughter). He’s pretending to be Churchill but he’s chosen the wrong parts of Churchill. He’s got the obesity, slouch, lousy posture and alcoholism to a tee. He’s got the blundering arrogance (as seen with the disaster of Gallipoli), the entitlement and privilege, the inherent racism, misogyny and harking back to empire. He’s got the superiority. What he lacks is the gravitas, oratory and ability to show any leadership. It’s like Wurzel Gummidge acting the part. When he stands on the world stage with his hair carefully disarranged, dressed like a tramp other world leaders laugh, shake their heads and wonder what the hell’s happened to Great Britain – we’ve become Little Britain but a lot less funny. It’s just like Trump and the USA. We’re electing narcissistic psychopaths who are masquerading as champions of the people and fooling us.

We’ll see what becomes of this debacle.

How the hell did we end up having such an incompetent twerp at a time when three major events were threatening us – Brexit, Covid and Ukraine. I can think of few people who I would want less to lead us through such times. The man is an arrogant clown who is blustering and blithering his way through and creating one hell of a mess. We’ll probably never recover!!

We could find ourselves at war next week! It’s not inconceivable with this chump. Just ask Nazarene Sagari Radcliffe.

So yesterday they say we had 34,377 new cases with 128 more deaths. I’m not sure I believe them. The rest of the world seems to have surging cases.

Where is the science? Where is the ‘Big Boy/Girl Debate’?? When are we going to have a roadmap to go forward?? All we’ve had this blithering idiot muttering about Plan B and making off the cuff pronouncement to get him off the hook.

Maybe it is time to lift restrictions?? But we do need a clear strategy. We have to accommodate he vulnerable. We have to sort a way through the short-lived immunity that prevents us from ever achieving herd immunity. We have to look at a logical, sustainable booster vaccination programme for the elderly and vulnerable. We have to prepare for variants.

If we had a real leader, who wasn’t just waving union jacks in cockpits, we might have a clearer picture with a better outcome.

Stay Safe!! The imbecile is giving us the thumbs up from a fighter jet!