I thought I might dedicate a page to the current Covid situation, well that is if I can make head or tail of what is happening or what I believe is.
As of 4am today 15th August France has been added to the quarantine list. Thousands of people were trying to get back before the 4am deadline. What the difference it makes I do not know, surely if there is a need to impose a quarantine then it should happen immediately and not give people 3 days notice to return to the UK and spread germs from their Covid ridden bodies all over the place.
Spain and Portugal come under the “only essential travel” banner, yet holidays still appear to be being taken there. The red top papers are full of so called celebs ( I have never heard of any of them) flaunting their bronzed bodies, skimpy swim wear, not to mention their charmed lives, on beaches across Europe, but its ok as they have arrived by private jet. Well perhaps they have a point there. I wouldn’t mind a private jet to whisk me off to somewhere but it would need to be people and Covid free, so not a lot of use at present then.
Social distancing is a farce, we have just been down Marlow high street (Saturday afternoon) and its quite busy but no distancing or thought for other persons on the street. However I did manage myself to walk into 2 shops without a mask on. Ok when you are just going to the supermarket or B&Q it’s inbuilt in your mind to don the mask. Wandering from shop to shop down Marlow high street is quite a different matter though as I cant wear a mask for nay length of time so take it off when in the fresh air. Ian got shouted at by an assistant in Oxfam to sanitize his hands as he entered the shop. Having previously done it 3 times in the last 10 minutes I can quite see why he thought it unnecessary or just forgot, however she was not to know this, but she was rather frantic with her request, as though we would all drop down dead in the next 30 seconds if he did not comply.
Watching the cricket, well when its not poring with rain, is very strange. The players are now quite normal in their behaviour with each other on the pitch. They have all been in a bio bubble for months so can now hi 5, but no hugging. TV commentary is carried out at the specified social distance; it is very odd to see them standing so far apart. There is a virtual crowd and a low gentle crowd hum accompanies the play, not like that awful racket when the football is on. TV programmes are the same you can now see when the soaps have been filmed. On Emmerdale the other night it was so obvious that the actors were social distancing in real life but no mention of the pandemic is made at all in the script.
Apparently now I can have a facial, get eyebrows plucked, go to the theatre and gamble in a casino. Soft play areas are now allowed, skating and bowling alleys are reopening but I cant have more than 6 people from multiple households in my garden even if we social distance. However I can go to the pub or eat out at a restaurant (indoors too) with no restriction on numbers in the restaurant as long as everyone is at least 1m apart. It is conflicting and confusing. I would rather have 10 people in my garden than go to a restaurant with 20-30 people inside it.
We are now supposed to leave contact details with any pub or restaurant that we visit. I have been to a couple and this has been observed but friends have been and it is not happening. It all very well for the media to slam the government for things like track & trace failing but if people don’t abide by the rules then it is all destined to fail. There will be an outcry if we get locked down again and those crying the loudest will be the publicans if restaurants and pubs are closed.
Reading the news today it says that the virus is on the increase again and as more travel restrictions are imposed I have to wonder why further easing is going on. It is blatantly obvious that gatherings of people are causing the increase so why allow more places where lots of people gather to reopen??
Today the highest number of new cases a day for 2 weeks has been reported at 1012 cases. There are local lockdowns in the Midlands and Nottinghamshire is on the watch list. The R rate is uncertain reports SAGE but the South East is possibly the only area where it is below 1. Cases have increased by 65% over the last 2 weeks but some of that is put down to increased testing.
People that have had to return early from their holidays in France are now whinging that their summers have been ruined. Really heart-breaking (not) stories of how people have charted fishing boats to get them home and having to travel for 10 hours to make a ferry crossing in time to beat the 4am deadline fill the papers. This disease has been going on for months now. When you went on your holiday 1 or 2 weeks ago or perhaps if you were lucky even a bit longer. You knew what was happening all around the world and you also knew, unless you are extremely stupid that the likely hood of a lockdown or quarantine restriction were very high indeed, so please stop whining on. Enough said.
Rain was forecast for today but so far it has held off. As aforementioned we managed a stroll into town earlier so glad of a bit of fresh air. We did a strange walk yesterday not sure where it was going to lead us but we ended up at Handy Cross which meant we had to walk down a busy road to get back to the car. I was in a foul mood by the end of it as it very hard walking underfoot and cars and lorries hurtling past made me very uneasy. However it was another 4 miles under our belts, so there was an upside. Also saw that there are even more blackberries ripening now, so the plan is to go back tomorrow and pick some. We are going to have a go at making some Blackberry Vodka, will keep you updated on that one.
Ian is making Chicken curry for dinner, last night we had Spicy Lamb stuffed Aubergines. Today for lunch with some of the lamb I made some delicious flatbreads, which we had with salad.
The Stay in is closed today as the Griffins have friends from Otley staying nearby and they are meeting up in variouis hostelries. Also Jon has gone out somewhere on his own! Perhaps he has gone to a Casino, soft play area or ice-skating maybe even an eyebrow waxing ! cant wait to find out.
1 comment:
What did Ian buy in Oxfam?
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