Anything above zero is potentially a personal tragedy for someone.
There was a very moving article in the Guardian a few days ago about an otherwise fit 53-year old man, who contracted Covid-19 in August 2020 after taking advantage of Mr Sunak's *Eat Out To Help Out* scheme. The man died some six weeks later, after his ventilator was switched off, whilst his 19-year old stepdaughter held his hand...
Just one tragic and unnecessary death among so many, many, thousands.
My elderly parents' next door neighbour, a fit man in his fifities, who was so supportive to my parents during shielding and when they were both very ill with covid, is now in hospital with the illness himself. (Again after about two weeks of managing at home whilst symptomatic.)
Even from 3,000 or so miles to the left of London, Pifflejohnson's "Freedom Day" sounds like something that might have made George Orwell give up writing. It belongs right up there with Tom Lehrer saying that "Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize".
Paul Scully, of the government, defending Johnson on the radio sees the deaths as reasonable to balance against the health of the economy, and wouldn't be shifted by repeated references to the families, the grieving and so on.
Paul Scully, of the government, defending Johnson on the radio sees the deaths as reasonable to balance against the health of the economy, and wouldn't be shifted by repeated references to the families, the grieving and so on.
Of course not. Religion has the remarkable ability to make otherwise normal people quite devoid of empathy if they believe they are doing What Is Right And Commanded By God.
Even from 3,000 or so miles to the left of London, Pifflejohnson's "Freedom Day" sounds like something that might have made George Orwell give up writing. It belongs right up there with Tom Lehrer saying that "Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize".
I would love to hear a song about Johnson and Freedom Day by Tom Lehrer...
🙇♂️
It still saddens me, even as a mathematician myself, that Tom Lehrer retired from comedy so early in life to pursue his academic career. There is still hope, however, as he is still going aged 93.
Paul Scully, of the government, defending Johnson on the radio sees the deaths as reasonable to balance against the health of the economy, and wouldn't be shifted by repeated references to the families, the grieving and so on.
I think a number of shipmates have pointed out previously that as a country, we are unwilling to do very much about seasonal flu deaths. Yeah - there's a crapshoot vaccine that people are offered, but nobody much was invested in not spreading the flu. So apparently, we consider 10,000 - 20,000 deaths of mostly elderly people from 'flu or related complications in a year as OK.
Paul Scully, of the government, defending Johnson on the radio sees the deaths as reasonable to balance against the health of the economy, and wouldn't be shifted by repeated references to the families, the grieving and so on.
I think a number of shipmates have pointed out previously that as a country, we are unwilling to do very much about seasonal flu deaths. Yeah - there's a crapshoot vaccine that people are offered, but nobody much was invested in not spreading the flu. So apparently, we consider 10,000 - 20,000 deaths of mostly elderly people from 'flu or related complications in a year as OK.
I think when something has "always" happened there is a great deal of inertia involved in fixing it. Even so that figure for flu deaths is around 10% of what we've endured from covid. Flu is generally less transmissible, so it might be that we can now have relatively minor mitigations that would better control it. The most effective, I suspect, would be sick leave on full pay for social care staff, so a care assistant's cold doesn't turn into their client's pneumonia.
This morning's UK government e-mail says that full vaccination done in amber countries isn't recognised, but the same thing administered by the NHS is. This is quite beyond me. If I really have to get back then I'm still in it for 10 days house arrest and £170 for testing. Even in the USA the testing is still free.
The fact that the UK only recognises vaccinations administered by the NHS is beyond a lot of people. A lot of British expats are very annoyed. The whole thing's a shambles.
I need to take the car in for service today and the only place to wait the hour and a half while service is being done is a tiny waiting room with no windows. Not knowing who else will be there I am taking a book and folding chair and plan to sit up camp on the sidewalk outside.
I need to take the car in for service today and the only place to wait the hour and a half while service is being done is a tiny waiting room with no windows. Not knowing who else will be there I am taking a book and folding chair and plan to sit up camp on the sidewalk outside.
I am forming an opinion that we need a word other than "government". They are not doing anything I recognise as "governing", and I certainly do not feel "governed".I am making it up as I go along.
I do not have a proper access to health. There is no way to contact the GP.
The fact that the UK only recognises vaccinations administered by the NHS is beyond a lot of people. A lot of British expats are very annoyed. The whole thing's a shambles.
Perhaps it's a question of proof? The UK can, perhaps, trust its own records. If I were to visit the UK, and wave my little bit of card saying I've had the vaccine, does the UK have a way of verifying that, or are they trusting that I'm not lying about it?
It looks to me like another unintended consequence of Brexit. My vaccine passport is valid anywhere in the EU. I just present the paper I got when I had the second jab, or the QR code I subsequently scanned into my phone. However, since the UK is no longer in the EU, it hasn't participated in the scheme.
I am forming an opinion that we need a word other than "government". They are not doing anything I recognise as "governing", and I certainly do not feel "governed".I am making it up as I go along.
I do not have a proper access to health. There is no way to contact the GP.
*Shambles*describes it, or at least its actions/inactions/general complete lack of competence, but I can't offhand think of any other suitable word (well, one that isn't NSFW).
It looks to me like another unintended consequence of Brexit. My vaccine passport is valid anywhere in the EU. I just present the paper I got when I had the second jab, or the QR code I subsequently scanned into my phone. However, since the UK is no longer in the EU, it hasn't participated in the scheme.
That's a terribly parochial viewpoint. Most of the world isn't in the EU
To ask whether the EU is better, we'd have to ask whether the EU will trust a vaccination in the US, or India, or wherever.
I was involved in a study about having antibodies and had a little plastic kit into which I dripped a tiny drop of blood, added a little mystery liquid and waited a few moments, at which point a line revealed I had antibodies of a particular type. surely that sort of thing could validate foreign vaccination?
It looks to me like another unintended consequence of Brexit. My vaccine passport is valid anywhere in the EU. I just present the paper I got when I had the second jab, or the QR code I subsequently scanned into my phone. However, since the UK is no longer in the EU, it hasn't participated in the scheme.
That's a terribly parochial viewpoint. Most of the world isn't in the EU
Very true, but there is (or was) a lot of traffic between England and France, all now thrown into disarray. It has affected very many people, including my sister, who lives in France, but who I may not see again.
I am forming an opinion that we need a word other than "government". They are not doing anything I recognise as "governing", and I certainly do not feel "governed".I am making it up as I go along.
I do not have a proper access to health. There is no way to contact the GP.
Regime
[Old fashioned] the 2nd Johnson ministry
Administration
I am forming an opinion that we need a word other than "government". They are not doing anything I recognise as "governing", and I certainly do not feel "governed".I am making it up as I go along.
I do not have a proper access to health. There is no way to contact the GP.
Regime
[Old fashioned] the 2nd Johnson ministry
Administration
Regime, I think, as it has connotations (to me, anyway) of authoritarianism.
It looks to me like another unintended consequence of Brexit. My vaccine passport is valid anywhere in the EU. I just present the paper I got when I had the second jab, or the QR code I subsequently scanned into my phone. However, since the UK is no longer in the EU, it hasn't participated in the scheme.
And yet it applies just as much to non-european countries as to those in the EU. Hard to say a thing is only about one issue affecting a few countries when the thing affects many times as many other countries as well. Unless one is of the opinion that no country matters unless it is in the EU -- or used to be.
It looks to me like another unintended consequence of Brexit. My vaccine passport is valid anywhere in the EU. I just present the paper I got when I had the second jab, or the QR code I subsequently scanned into my phone. However, since the UK is no longer in the EU, it hasn't participated in the scheme.
That's a terribly parochial viewpoint. Most of the world isn't in the EU
To ask whether the EU is better, we'd have to ask whether the EU will trust a vaccination in the US, or India, or wherever.
That's one way of looking at it. But it seems a bit odd to me to describe the EU as parochial, when the UK doesn't recognise vaccines from a single other country in the world. The EU is also home to 2 million British nationals, who would have been able to visit their own country without inconvenience if the UK had participated in the integrated scheme.
We're due to go out tonight, to an outdoor theatre production of The Tempest (!) Now, the weather probably won't be any worse than drizzly, but it's struck me that rather than being desperate to go out to anything at all, we are actually quite reluctant to abandon our Saturday night curry and wine and post-dinner TV. How utterly shameful to have turned into hermits so quickly *hangs head*
We're due to go out tonight, to an outdoor theatre production of The Tempest (!) Now, the weather probably won't be any worse than drizzly, but it's struck me that rather than being desperate to go out to anything at all, we are actually quite reluctant to abandon our Saturday night curry and wine and post-dinner TV. How utterly shameful to have turned into hermits so quickly *hangs head*
O I dunno. IME, outdoor theatre in England doesn't really work - it's usually too cold/wet/windy (delete as applicable), and often you can't hear the actors properly. Your Saturday night curry-and-wine sounds much the best option.
Mind you, according to the forecast, this evening's weather might well call for prayers!
I used to go to the theatre, and live concerts, quite a lot - not so much pre-Plague as before mobility problems occurred some years ago. I don't think I'd want to be in a crowded theatre, or even a pub or restaurant, nowadays, even if the opportunity were to arise...
I once went to see The Tempest outdoors, in Regents Park I think, and it bucketed down in a rather appropriate way. Very atmospheric but we couldn’t hear a thing.
Well, I hope it goes well @The Intrepid Mrs S , and that any rain and/or gales (should they occur) affect only the actors!
Regarding being a hermit, I suspect that many, many people are finding it easier and safer to stay at home, rather than run the risks of a restriction-free (but probably not Plague-free) environment.
I hear that some night-clubs, for instance, despite all the nonsense from Boris about *Freedom Day*, are hardly finding it worthwhile to open...
The virus is on the rise in our area, mostly 20 and 30-year-olds. 19 new cases yesterday. It is making it hard to meet my new neighbors as no one including myself wants to sign up for any offered activity. Bingo in an enclosed room with doors and windows closed, no thank you. Go out for monthly birthday lunches, at a local restaurant, no one signed up. I am feeling a bit discouraged after thinking the vaccine was going to allow us some freedom again, now I feel like a shelter in place is what I will be doing now that Mr. Image is under medical treatment as cases increase and he needs to be kept safe from illness.
Here in Canada restrictions are being lifted and things are opening up, even as case counts rise dramatically in some areas. Today I got verbally harassed for taking more precautions than strictly required, even though the precaution affected no one other than myself! I was wearing a mask in a store and declined to ride in the elevator with someone unmasked. I waited for the next one, didn't ask her to wait. I'm not sure why she got so angry with me for something that only inconvenienced me. ?? I believe I was polite.
Here in Canada restrictions are being lifted and things are opening up, even as case counts rise dramatically in some areas. Today I got verbally harassed for taking more precautions than strictly required, even though the precaution affected no one other than myself! I was wearing a mask in a store and declined to ride in the elevator with someone unmasked. I waited for the next one, didn't ask her to wait. I'm not sure why she got so angry with me for something that only inconvenienced me. ?? I believe I was polite.
Sigh. This is going to be a long process.
Pity you didn't remove your mask also, saying, "I'm so glad you don't mind my COVID germs." (though I suppose that might have caused other issues). Bet you would have gotten the elevator to yourself right away!
To be clear, Lowly_Worm is describing what the regime is in her/his province, not in all...since masks are still required, for example, in Ontario.
Ah, true. I did not specify the exact changes, but it does seem like various restrictions are being removed across Canada, just different ones in different provinces.
I once went to see The Tempest outdoors, in Regents Park I think, and it bucketed down in a rather appropriate way. Very atmospheric but we couldn’t hear a thing.
Well, we chickened out. At the point of decision it was chucking it down, so we poured a glass of appropriate aperitif and stayed home. Naturally between 7 pm and 9 pm it was fine
Sorry you missed out on the performance @The Intrepid Mrs S , but I hope you enjoyed your evening. I relate to becoming a bit of a hermit - a friend asked me about doing the theatre on a Saturday, to which I said no as it would take a lot for me to give up my evening with Mr Nen of stir fry, red wine and TV.
The friend and I did, however, go to an open air performance of an original work last week; it was the evening of one of those very hot days so sitting under the shade of some trees sipping a glass of rosé was quite delightful.
We are unexpectedly free this morning as our usual family zoom and coffee have both been cancelled and for the first time since before Lockdown#1 I'm finding it strange not to be going to a church service. I still have mixed feelings about them, as Our Place has increased the capacity of the room, but we do still have to book and wear masks.
Round here, thankfully, people are still pretty much wearing masks in shops and to move around in cafés and restaurants and there's quite a lot of physical distancing. We sit outside as much as we can in social settings as well. Having said that, when we met friends for lunch on Friday it was quite chilly and very windy so we sat indoors in a reasonably busy restaurant with no windows open. I found myself breathing more shallowly, presumably trying to limit the amount of potential virus in the air entering my system. We didn't hug the friends on meeting or saying goodbye either, and we normally would have. I say "normally" meaning pre-covid. I'm sure there's a new normal and who knows how long that's going to last?
There were a few throw away remarks concerning masks last time I set foot in a supermarket. Decided to just stare at their eyebrows and feign deafness.
Discovered that I have no spare emotional capacity for nonsense and in all probability will turn into / have turned into a grumpy old git.
I've noticed a slight reduction in the number of masks being worn on public transport here in Edinburgh, but I'm far too much of a wimp to attempt anything but the merest sniff of a Paddington Hard Stare in the direction of the miscreants.
I'd love to have the nerve to say, "this is Scotland - if you don't want to wear a mask, go to England", but I don't.
The announcers on the PA systems regularly point out that masks are still mandatory, but some people will always take no notice.
I've noticed a slight reduction in the number of masks being worn on public transport here in Edinburgh, but I'm far too much of a wimp to attempt anything but the merest sniff of a Paddington Hard Stare in the direction of the miscreants.
Virtually no-one on the trains around here. Although a quarter-hourly timetable is being maintained on our line, there may be a dozen people on an 8 carriage train designed to carry around 900.
The present lockdown rules mean that cafés and restaurants are takeaway only. The only other shops open are pharmacies, butchers, greengrocers supermarkets and the news-agencies. The local florist and bookshop are half-open - you can go to the front door, ask for something and you'll be served. No entry to browse or even to buy. Masks are compulsory outside your own home or car. Travel is very limited. In our part of Sydney, we can travel up to 10 km circle, but there are also limits on travelling outside our own local government area. Even were St Sanity open, we could not go there; it's just within the 10 km circle, but its local government area is one subject to even more restrictions than ours.
I don't know about other areas, but there is a very high level of compliance around here.
Comments
There was a very moving article in the Guardian a few days ago about an otherwise fit 53-year old man, who contracted Covid-19 in August 2020 after taking advantage of Mr Sunak's *Eat Out To Help Out* scheme. The man died some six weeks later, after his ventilator was switched off, whilst his 19-year old stepdaughter held his hand...
Just one tragic and unnecessary death among so many, many, thousands.
*Freedom Day* is likely to turn into a disastrous autumn/winter, according to those working within the NHS.
Of course not. Religion has the remarkable ability to make otherwise normal people quite devoid of empathy if they believe they are doing What Is Right And Commanded By God.
The Tory god is the economy.
I would love to hear a song about Johnson and Freedom Day by Tom Lehrer...
🙇♂️
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pvhYqeGp_Do
A song by him - not necessarily about Johnson, but about Ye Plague generally - would lift everyone's spirits...perhaps...
I think a number of shipmates have pointed out previously that as a country, we are unwilling to do very much about seasonal flu deaths. Yeah - there's a crapshoot vaccine that people are offered, but nobody much was invested in not spreading the flu. So apparently, we consider 10,000 - 20,000 deaths of mostly elderly people from 'flu or related complications in a year as OK.
I think when something has "always" happened there is a great deal of inertia involved in fixing it. Even so that figure for flu deaths is around 10% of what we've endured from covid. Flu is generally less transmissible, so it might be that we can now have relatively minor mitigations that would better control it. The most effective, I suspect, would be sick leave on full pay for social care staff, so a care assistant's cold doesn't turn into their client's pneumonia.
Leave it, if you are able, until such time as the English *government* has come to its senses...
I'm not sure if my life expectancy is that long.
Yes, I take the point. I very much doubt that I will ever see another sane *English government*, though I hope that you do...
Very sensible.
I do not have a proper access to health. There is no way to contact the GP.
Perhaps it's a question of proof? The UK can, perhaps, trust its own records. If I were to visit the UK, and wave my little bit of card saying I've had the vaccine, does the UK have a way of verifying that, or are they trusting that I'm not lying about it?
*Shambles* describes it, or at least its actions/inactions/general complete lack of competence, but I can't offhand think of any other suitable word (well, one that isn't NSFW).
That's a terribly parochial viewpoint. Most of the world isn't in the EU
To ask whether the EU is better, we'd have to ask whether the EU will trust a vaccination in the US, or India, or wherever.
Very true, but there is (or was) a lot of traffic between England and France, all now thrown into disarray. It has affected very many people, including my sister, who lives in France, but who I may not see again.
Regime
[Old fashioned] the 2nd Johnson ministry
Administration
Regime, I think, as it has connotations (to me, anyway) of authoritarianism.
And yet it applies just as much to non-european countries as to those in the EU. Hard to say a thing is only about one issue affecting a few countries when the thing affects many times as many other countries as well. Unless one is of the opinion that no country matters unless it is in the EU -- or used to be.
That's one way of looking at it. But it seems a bit odd to me to describe the EU as parochial, when the UK doesn't recognise vaccines from a single other country in the world. The EU is also home to 2 million British nationals, who would have been able to visit their own country without inconvenience if the UK had participated in the integrated scheme.
O I dunno. IME, outdoor theatre in England doesn't really work - it's usually too cold/wet/windy (delete as applicable), and often you can't hear the actors properly. Your Saturday night curry-and-wine sounds much the best option.
Mind you, according to the forecast, this evening's weather might well call for prayers!
I used to go to the theatre, and live concerts, quite a lot - not so much pre-Plague as before mobility problems occurred some years ago. I don't think I'd want to be in a crowded theatre, or even a pub or restaurant, nowadays, even if the opportunity were to arise...
Regarding being a hermit, I suspect that many, many people are finding it easier and safer to stay at home, rather than run the risks of a restriction-free (but probably not Plague-free) environment.
I hear that some night-clubs, for instance, despite all the nonsense from Boris about *Freedom Day*, are hardly finding it worthwhile to open...
Sigh. This is going to be a long process.
Thanks for that - takes me back 60 years.
Pity you didn't remove your mask also, saying, "I'm so glad you don't mind my COVID germs." (though I suppose that might have caused other issues). Bet you would have gotten the elevator to yourself right away!
Ah, true. I did not specify the exact changes, but it does seem like various restrictions are being removed across Canada, just different ones in different provinces.
@Lamb Chopped I shall tuck that away for next time.
Well, we chickened out. At the point of decision it was chucking it down, so we poured a glass of appropriate aperitif and stayed home. Naturally between 7 pm and 9 pm it was fine
And the dinner was the best part of the day...
The friend and I did, however, go to an open air performance of an original work last week; it was the evening of one of those very hot days so sitting under the shade of some trees sipping a glass of rosé was quite delightful.
We are unexpectedly free this morning as our usual family zoom and coffee have both been cancelled and for the first time since before Lockdown#1 I'm finding it strange not to be going to a church service. I still have mixed feelings about them, as Our Place has increased the capacity of the room, but we do still have to book and wear masks.
Round here, thankfully, people are still pretty much wearing masks in shops and to move around in cafés and restaurants and there's quite a lot of physical distancing. We sit outside as much as we can in social settings as well. Having said that, when we met friends for lunch on Friday it was quite chilly and very windy so we sat indoors in a reasonably busy restaurant with no windows open. I found myself breathing more shallowly, presumably trying to limit the amount of potential virus in the air entering my system. We didn't hug the friends on meeting or saying goodbye either, and we normally would have. I say "normally" meaning pre-covid. I'm sure there's a new normal and who knows how long that's going to last?
Discovered that I have no spare emotional capacity for nonsense and in all probability will turn into / have turned into a grumpy old git.
I, too, glare silently and malevolently at covidiots, which then becomes their problem, not mine.
I'd love to have the nerve to say, "this is Scotland - if you don't want to wear a mask, go to England", but I don't.
The announcers on the PA systems regularly point out that masks are still mandatory, but some people will always take no notice.
Virtually no-one on the trains around here. Although a quarter-hourly timetable is being maintained on our line, there may be a dozen people on an 8 carriage train designed to carry around 900.
The present lockdown rules mean that cafés and restaurants are takeaway only. The only other shops open are pharmacies, butchers, greengrocers supermarkets and the news-agencies. The local florist and bookshop are half-open - you can go to the front door, ask for something and you'll be served. No entry to browse or even to buy. Masks are compulsory outside your own home or car. Travel is very limited. In our part of Sydney, we can travel up to 10 km circle, but there are also limits on travelling outside our own local government area. Even were St Sanity open, we could not go there; it's just within the 10 km circle, but its local government area is one subject to even more restrictions than ours.
I don't know about other areas, but there is a very high level of compliance around here.