Wednesday 18 March: There are increasing numbers who are recovering from coronavirus and are keen to help out

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/03/18/lettersthere-increasing-numbers-recovering-coronavirus-keen/

1,053 thoughts on “Wednesday 18 March: There are increasing numbers who are recovering from coronavirus and are keen to help out”

  2. Good morrow, Gentlefolk, awaiting Office to wake up and today’s ‘funny’ will be on its way.

  4. As promised…

    This is something to think about when negative people are doing their best to rain on your parade…

    So remember this story the next time

    A woman was at her hairdresser’s getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband.
    She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded:
    “Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It’s crowded and dirty. You’re crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?”

    “We’re taking Continental,” was the reply. “We got a great rate!”

    “Continental?” exclaimed the hairdresser. “That’s a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they’re always late. So, where are you staying in Rome?”

    “We’ll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome’s Tiber River. It’s called Teste.”

    “Don’t go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it’s gonna be something special and exclusive, but it’s really a dump.”

    “We’re going to go to see the Vatican and maybe get to see the Pope.”

    “That’s rich,” laughed the hairdresser. “You and a million other people trying to see him. He’ll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You’re going to need it.”

    A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo.

    The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.
    “It was wonderful,” explained the woman, “not only were we on time in one of Continental’s brand-new planes, but it was overbooked, and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot. And the hotel was great! They’d just finished a $5 million remodelling job, and now it’s a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their owner’s suite at no extra charge!”

    “Well,” muttered the hairdresser, “that’s all well and good, but I know you didn’t get to see the Pope.”

    “Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors, and if I’d be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me.”

    “Oh, really! What’d he say?”

    He said: “Who fucked up your hair?”

          1. Unlikely Elsie unless your real surname at the time was Pipe and you’re now at least 95 years old.

    1. ‘Morning, Rik and thank you. Posted to Ar$ebook to try and cheer up a few on there.

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      1. Download and run, before closing down, CCleaner, Malwarebytes, Superantispyware and have avast running in background.

        Oh, and I use Avast’s VPN.

    3. The things Man’s best friend does to look for Man’s wife’s sewing needle!

      1. ‘Cause there’s no piccies to see Nanners !!
        Just a couple of screen grabs that amused me {:^))

          2. ‘Morning, Paul, glad to know that I’m not the only myopic on here.

            I might find some pictures of happy unicorns to cheer me up.

  7. Can you swim in the water in Venice?
    Simply, the water is dirty. The use of canals as a sewage disposal system in Venice surprises many visitors. You really should not bathe in the water. … It is also very dangerous to swim in the canals because of motorboats and gondolas circulating the canals constantly and at a rapid pace.4 Dec 2019

    In just three months, things have changed in Venice:

    https://www.dmarge.com/2020/03/venice-canals-water-quality.html

    By the time we get a vaccine for the new virus the world will have become a planet that Greta and David would be proud of.

  8. Coronavirus Bill: Emergency laws to give power to close borders

    The UK’s ports and airports could be closed and police given powers to detain people suspected of having coronavirus under emergency legislation.
    In new laws to be introduced to the House of Commons this week, the government is seeking widespread powers to tackle the public health crisis caused by COVID-19 – the prevalent strain of coronavirus.

    The legislation – which follows significant economic measures introduced by Chancellor RIshi Sunak – will be time-limited for two years and will cover areas such as the NHS, social care, schools, police, Border Force, local councils, funerals and courts.

  9. Four western nations vow to help Syria’s reconstruction until political process is underway. 2020-03-17.

    According to a joint statement released by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and therefore, a political settlement must be made to end the conflict.

    “We will not consider providing or supporting any reconstruction assistance until a credible, substantive, and genuine political process is irreversibly underway,” the four countries said in their joint statement that was posted by Asharq Al-Aswat.

    Well I have to admit that as a piece of bait the headline worked well. It should of course read: Four western nations vow not to help Syria’s reconstruction until political process is underway. This aside there is something particularly repellent in the statement itself. Three of the signatories to it have done everything within their power to bring down the Assad government and install a Jihadist regime that would have murdered thousands and caused a refugee crisis that would make the present difficulties look minor in comparison!

    https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/four-western-nations-vow-to-help-syrias-reconstruction-until-political-process-is-underway/

  10. Spiked

    The modern state increasingly deploys extra-democratic means of

    legitimacy, such as scientific or other expert justifications for

    policies. There is also a coincidence between this scientific or expert

    form of political legitimacy and the public-health response to a

    pandemic, which requires scientific advice. Scientists know things about

    a virus’s mechanism of transmission that most of us do not. Yet we are

    also aware that epidemiologists disagree. And in France, we are

    suspicious that scientists seemed to think that the municipal elections

    were strangely free of risk from contamination, while every other social

    gathering was a grave threat.

    Right now, people’s view of things seems to swing between panic and

    scepticism. They don’t know yet what the virus means or whether these

    measures are really necessary. The virus has not yet made itself felt

    among people in my village or anyone we know, and so the measures seem a

    bit surreal. Nevertheless, the measures make people feel like they are

    waiting for doomsday to hit, and so they panic. Shoppers’ expressions in

    the supermarkets have been drawn and urgent, grabbing items as if it

    was the last day before some terrible calamity.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/18/in-france-its-now-a-crime-to-talk-to-your-neighbour/

  12. Brendan O’Neil,how the doomsayers never let a problem go to waste
    “I want you to panic’, they say. But we don’t. And we shouldn’t.
    Apocalypticism is a luxury of the new elites for whom crises are often
    little more than opportunities for the expression of their decadent
    disdain for modern society. To the rest of us, apocalypticism is a
    profound problem. It threatens to spread fear in our communities, it
    causes us to lose our jobs, it mitigates against economic growth, and it
    harms democracy itself. Resisting the apocalypticism of the comfortable
    doom-mongers who rule over us is unquestionably the first step to
    challenging Covid-19 and preserving society for the decades after this
    illness has wreaked its disgraceful impact.”
    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/17/the-luxury-of-apocalypticism/

  14. They’re all virus this morning……….

    SIR – As increasing numbers, myself included, are emerging from periods of incapacitation or quarantine, I am curious that so little attention is paid to this newly immune cohort.

    While the civilised world is doing its best to minimise the effects of a surge on our health services, many more each day are in a position to carry on calmly as before. I look forward to this capacity being built on more constructively in the weeks ahead.

    Brent Osborn-Smith

    London SW1

    SIR – The Government should consider setting up a paid force of workers from the hospitality industry losing their jobs to help people confined to their homes with food deliveries and whatever is needed.

    Anthony Haslam

    Farnham, Surrey

    SIR – Since the appeal for community action to prevent the spread of Covid-19, other drivers appear to have become more courteous. Have others noticed benefits arising from the crisis?

    Dr Andy Ashworth

    Bo’ness, West Lothian

    –– ADVERTISEMENT ––

    SIR – By the end of this summer there should be an unusually large number of well-tended allotments.

    John Hudson

    London W4

    Woman Digging in an Orchard by Camille Pissarro (1882)

    Healthy, isolated exercise: Woman Digging in an Orchard by Camille Pissarro (1882) CREDIT: http://www.bridgemanimages.com

    SIR – Marcia MacLeod (Letters, March 16) is correct in asserting that lack of exercise could exacerbate physical problems in elderly people.

    At least a third of over-70s have osteoarthritis, for which aerobic physical activity and strengthening exercises are core elements of management. Three months’ inactivity will probably decrease muscle mass and strength to irrecoverable levels and increase the probability of falls. The eight million over 70 in Britain could – provided they are not in a high-risk group, and as best they are able – be encouraged to get outside for a walk and to maintain allotments, taking care to follow government guidance on “social distancing”.

    This would save the NHS treating more falls and worsening diabetes, while incidentally improving this group’s intake of vitamin D.

    Dr Anthony Leeds

    Senior Fellow

    Prof Henning Bliddal

    Director, Parker Arthritis Institute

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    SIR – We are a couple of over-70s who had our holiday cancelled at short notice. So we have a total absence of fresh food in the house. I have spent a fruitless hour trying to shop online. The earliest delivery I could obtain was April 4, nearly three weeks away. I assume that as well as panic-buying many people are buying in advance.

    How are we expected to survive in these circumstances?

    David Garnett

    Northwich, Cheshire

    SIR – Yesterday I received an online order placed eight days ago from Waitrose, with all fresh food unavailable. I am 80 years old and my husband 88, and in the coming weeks we will rely on online delivery. Surely technology should allow stores to allocate goods ordered in advance.

    Irene Harding

    London E14

    SIR – Jan Etherington (Features, March 17) has missed the point in saying that the over-70s should be allowed to choose what to do in this crisis.

    She may not be at a particularly high risk herself. The problem is that anyone of her age has an immune system that no longer works as well as it did. Because of this, if she should be infected she is more likely to need to be in a critical care unit. This would put further strain on the NHS critical care staff just when all their efforts will be most needed for younger people with underlying health issues.

    She should self isolate for the sake of others, not herself.

    Chris Pryor

    Ely, Cambridgeshire

    SIR – I work in a busy general practice and we are at breaking point. One of our full-time doctors has had to self-isolate for two weeks because their young son has a fever. The NHS will not test the doctor’s son for coronavirus, even though it is highly unlikely that he has it. But if he could be tested and proved negative, we could have that doctor back at work.

    NHS staff and their families must all be tested as soon as possible.

    Dr Christopher M Keast

    Pangbourne, Berkshire

    SIR – I was interested to read Dr Michael Fitzpatrick’s article (Health, March 16) on his problems in returning to practice, to help with the pandemic. It appears a long-winded procedure, given how urgently help is needed.

    As most general practitioners now work part-time, there must be a huge reserve of medical expertise available. Could these doctors be encouraged to increase their hours? Help could be given with their social and family commitments.

    Dr John R Cox

    South Wingfield, Derbyshire

    SIR – What is the point of preserving the NHS by crashing the economy and bankrupting the businesses that indirectly support it?

    I fear most businesses will find that their insurance does not cover interruption from this outbreak. Either the Government funds loans, and suspends VAT and rate bills, or we keep calm and carry on (trading).

    Alan Piper

    Proprietor, The Sun Hotel

    Coniston, Cumbria

    ​

    ​

    SIR – With long delays in home deliveries of groceries from supermarkets, perhaps restaurants and cafes that are facing disaster as people start to avoid them could increase deliveries to those of us told to stay indoors.

    Paul Hayes

    Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex

    SIR – I hope that the bars in the Houses of Parliament are closed, to set a good example.

    Chris Hutton

    Sandhurst, Kent

    SIR – Despite the pandemic, Essex County Council still requires my 86-year-old, frail and recently widowed mother to attend a Blue Badge medical assessment in a public library in a town 23 miles from the hamlet in which she has lived for 46 years and where she wishes to stay and remain independent. Because the computer says yes.

    Pamela Voice

    Pett Level, East Sussex

    SIR – Amid the understandable confusion surrounding the present pandemic, no mention has been made of help for thousands of small charities, whose volunteers keep the country going.

    We operate at local and national level, often in the medical and social care sectors. If we go under, the added burden on the NHS and allied areas could be catastrophic. Lottery money could help us, and some of the huge foreign aid budget must be used.

    David Mitchell

    Chairman, British Polio Fellowship

    Lincoln

    Empty shelves at a London supermarket on Tuesday

    Empty shelves at a London supermarket on Tuesday CREDIT: Anadolu Agency/Getty

    SIR – One positive step for the Government should surely be to pass immediate legislation to deal with the wave of panic buying and stockpiling. It is no more than legitimised looting and should be stopped as a matter of great urgency.

    David Garratt

    Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire

    SIR – Should parking be free during this pandemic?

    Many of the self-isolated vulnerable people will still have to travel – for essential shopping or for medical appointments. It is preferable that they self-isolate in their cars (if they have them) for most of the journey, rather than use their bus passes for free travel into town.

    Chris Barmby

    Tonbridge, Kent

    SIR – I’m a petrol-head, and I hate the idea of slowing down – but if the Government wants to take the pressure off the NHS, should it not consider a blanket lowering of speed limits during this period?

    Peter Wiltshire

    Binfield, Berkshire

    SIR – Would it be possible for credit card providers to lift the contactless payment limit to £50? If it reduces the need to touch Pin keypads, even slightly, it can only be good thing.

    Bernard Kerrison

    London SW4

    SIR – In 1982 I was incarcerated for 85 days on a ship in the South Atlantic with 12 Britons and 35 Chinese.

    The weather was abominable, with an added risk of being bombed and shot at. The thought of spending a similar period in my cosy, warm Isle of Wight home with all the modern amenities and facilities fills me with glee.

    George Mortimore

    Ryde, Isle of Wight

    SIR – I am just going inside and may be some time.

    Mike Gallagher

    Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

    SIR – For 80 years I have wanted to learn the piano. Now is my moment.

    Bobby Coleman

    Oswestry, Shropshire

    SIR – As we are all asked to avoid social gatherings, how about virtual dinner parties? Everyone stays at home but cooks the same meal, and switches on their webcam to share their meal and conversation.

    Barrie Bain

    Wadhurst, East Sussex

    SIR – I haven’t heard anything about provision for rough sleepers. What will happen if soup kitchens are unable to operate?

    Fiona Green

    Manchester

    SIR – Jeremy Vine’s lunchtime show is becoming more like Jeremy Kyle’s, verging on the hysterical in its treatment of this virus.

    W H Statt

    Snarestone, Leicestershire

    SIR – Once the over-70s are totally confined to barracks, presumably visits to the barber will be non licet.

    I look forward to my still hirsute friends re-emerging in four months’ time as resplendent as they were in their Rocker days.

    Nick Holdsworth

    Newton Abbot, Devon

    SIR – While Ambridge remains an oasis of tranquillity (Letters, March 16), I fear this is for not much longer.

    In view of the Government’s edict, unless the producers can record remotely, the “everyday tale of country folk” will come off-air for the first time since 1951. Most of the senior cast members clearly fall into the at-risk category, with “Peggy” now in her 101st year and “Jill” 89.

    Poor Lynda Snell, despite being 10 years younger, now also has other health issues with which to contend.

    Geoff Pringle

    Long Sutton, Somerset

    SIR – Having spent years trying to convince my son that online socialising comes a poor second to face-to-face friendships, I now have to admit that perhaps he is right after all.

    Linda Felsenstein

    Borehamwood, Hertfordshire

    1. Moan, moan, moan, what is the matter with people. It seems that the British spirit of ‘Get up and go’ got up and went.

      ‘Morning, Epi.

      2. You are right in general, NtN, but Chris Hutton and Mike Gallagher are the exceptions to the rule.

      3. We’ve had a long an illustrious tradition of whingeing pommism in Britain – never more so that when being stuck at home with a connected laptop. Now they’ve stopped us going to the pub, it’s the No.1 cultural attraction.

      4. You are right in general, NtN, but Chris Hutton and Mike Gallagher are the exceptions to the rule.

  15. UN to suspend refugee resettlement abroad due to coronavirus travel restrictions

    The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration will temporarily suspend sending refugees on to resettle in new permanent homes abroad because of travel disruptions caused by the coronavirus, the agency said Tuesday.

    The agency said the suspension would begin to take effect within a few days

    1. When the suspension is lifted expect an inflow of biblical proportions. They are definitely NOT giving up on their policy of destroying the West and its people.

  16. Lie detectors should be used to monitor sex offenders, UK study says. 18 March 2020.

    Mandatory testing with a polygraph, or lie-detector, should be introduced to monitor convicted sex offenders undergoing police supervision, according to university research commissioned by police chiefs.

    The study by psychologists at the University of Kent, published on Wednesday, argued that compulsory testing could reduce the risk to the public and target “all categories of risk effectively”.

    Typhoo has also offered their expertise in tasseography and Madame Zelda says she would only be too pleased to help for a small fee!

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/18/lie-detectors-should-be-used-to-monitor-sex-offenders-uk-study-says

    1. 317232+ up ticks,
      Morning AS,
      I posted many moons ago that every seat in the
      Hoc / Hol should be kitted out with one plus big screen
      televised.
      Instant verdict on screen ie, TRUTH / LIE.

    2. I always knew that Phrenology course was a good investment!!
      Jeez,you just despair sometimes,don’t you……………….
      Manners,Morning Minty

      1. Morning Rik. There’s no one too daft that they couldn’t become a psychologist!

  17. Plenty of experts being brought into the fray re ‘the virus’ and being listened to by the politicos. Here’s a prescient extract drawn from a scientific paper published in 2007 warning of the threat from South China that wasn’t heeded.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bf98d505b142a9b0a88fe5a14cde3bfd92b985067c034216848480599611d1d7.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9e172c108ee5b4fa768ef4684cace795dcac7ad5e174063eded1f72ad33ce128.png

      1. Good morning, Anne, one wondered when you’d be let out of bed. I trust everything is mending as it should.

        1. I’m pottering about, but since I’m no use to anybody, I’ve stayed upstairs out from under MB’s feet.
          Tomorrow I will descend to the servant’s quarters and make a bloody nuisance of myself. Or normality as it’s known in Allan Towers.

          1. Ah, I hadn’t realised that Colchester Hospital had chucked you out already.

            I thought that all hospitals needed all the medical staff they could get to counteract this rather nasty flu thingy that’s floating about.

            Get thee to a Health Department. {:¬))

          2. I was in The Oaks, Skiing (Spending Kids’ Inheritance).
            As soon as the GP mentioned the word ‘months’ I though ‘S0d that for a game of soldiers’.

  18. Bill sets five-year limit to prosecute UK armed forces who served abroad. 18 March 2020.

    A five-year time limit on bringing prosecutions against soldiers and veterans who have served abroad – except in “exceptional circumstances” – is to be imposed under legislation introduced by the government.

    Clauses in the overseas operations (service personnel and veterans) bill would protect serving and former military personnel from what the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, claimed was a “vexatious” cycle of claims and re-investigations.

    Who decides on the exceptional circumstances?

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/18/bill-sets-five-year-limit-to-sue-uk-military-veterans-who-served-abroad

    1. Bollocks,just bollocks

      “A new Overseas Operations Bill will be introduced today to protect veterans accused of wrongdoing on the battlefield abroad.

      But crucially the Bill will not apply to soldiers who served in Northern

      Ireland, nor will it apply retrospectively to Afghan and Iraq veterans.”

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8124337/New-bill-not-protect-Northern-Ireland-veterans-accusations-wrongdoing.html
      Gutless,useless politicians about as useful as a chockie fireguard

      1. ‘……as useful as a chockie fireguard,’

        Or an ashtray on a motorbike?

        Good morning, Rik.

    2. And we are right not to trust the people who decide what these circumstances are. Why not impose an immediate stop to these prosecutions?

  22. Good morning all.

    Last night I went to an open-mic music night at my local pub. It was probably a bad idea (especially as the host is in his 70’s!) but I wanted to have a last bit of fun and a chance to socialise. I also wanted to do my bit for struggling pubs like my local.

    On that note, I’ve been considering buying shares in Wetherspoons! I’m a regular patron myself, and I’ve seen the stirling Tim Martin speak at several Brexit rallies. It’s not just just for any financial gains I might make (perish the thought!) but I would be supporting an industry which sustains thousands of jobs. Once this whole thing blows over I’m sure everyone will want to have party to end all parties.

    Cheers!

    1. Morning Kuffar. The Cases per Million would suggest that CV would hardly be noticeable without the present kerfuffle!

    2. Even so. But why the high number of celebs being infected? The rate of infection of cells seems to be higher than 0.05%?

      1. It is the sociability, kissy-kissy, huggy-huggy effect every single time they meet up with one of their mates. It is the requirement of their constant need for an audience (see folks, everyone, how Continental and European we are!), a form of continual virtue signalling and bonding for those in their special club. The same reason in Italy except it is part of their main culture and they are not virtue signalling.

      2. London, restaurants, public transport etc. and all that kissy kissy stuff. The rate in London is far higher than the rest of the country.

    3. Even so. But why the high number of celebs being infected? The rate of infection of cells seems to be higher than 0.05%?

    4. Morning Kuffar. The Cases per Million would suggest that CV would hardly be noticeable without the present kerfuffle!

      1. Indeed. I do think we might have been better off just not knowing about the virus. If you look at the mortality stats, 91% of people recover. Surely, we should be focussing on the 9% at risk, most of whom will be elderly or unwell and leave the rest of us to get on with our lives? But no, we are going to crash the world economy, causing far more harm than this virus ever could. Madness.

        1. To break the back of capitalism and usher in some form of ‘soft’ communism to start with, a thin end of the wedge which will get ever thicker as time progresses, salami slice by salami slice?

          1. Quite possibly. Once we meekly accept that governments can take over our lives in this way, it may be the thin end of the wedge.

            Project Fear failed over Brexit, people are starting to question the climate change hoax, could this be the next front in the globalist war on our freedoms?

          2. Was speaking to a (young, in his 20s) neighbour this morning when I walked the dog (we did keep six feet apart when talking). He is of the opinion that it’s been going around since December and many people will already have had it. He thinks it’s over-hyped; like me he thinks either we’ll get it or we won’t, if we do get it either we’ll recover or we won’t. If we don’t recover we can’t worry. He also noticed that the fatalities had underlying medical conditions already and the recovery rate was in the nineties percentage-wise.

          3. Quite right. The vast majority of people will get it, have some minor symptoms or not even realise it and get on with their lives. It is only a tiny minority like my elderly parents who need to be isolated. But no, instead of taking a proportionate response we are going to crash the global economy and cause far more misery than the virus ever could. Madness.

      2. Even Italy, the bad case, only has 521 cases per million of population. That’s 0.05%.

    1. 317232+ up ticks,
      Morning KtK,
      Many of us for years have been supporting & voting for a party with a policy of controlled immigration, against those who have continued to support mass uncontrolled immigration parties.
      This is not a whinge post this is a fact.

      1. Another tweet reported that the ‘Border Force’ were bringing more ashore at Dover. Are these illegals quarantined or merely registered and then allowed to wander about without control?
        This Country’s ‘leaders’ have lost the plot when it comes to controlling immigration, legal or otherwise. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lagos and Karachi expresses aren’t still delivering.

    3. Colour me surprised.
      I wonder if the social worker will now conveniently ‘catch’ the most deadly form of the virus?

      1. The singer of the most ridiculous song ever written?

        It would be scarcely more believable if the lyrics included:

        There’ll be mammoths tramplin’,
        The streets of Northampton,
        Tomorrow, just you wait and see!

        1. Oh dear, Grizzly. Try getting back in bed, then getting out again but this time out of the right side.

          (Only joking, of course, my friend.)

          2. I have now, and I agree with you. Bluebirds are barmy in that song. I just assumed (mistakenly) that you were having a go at Vera Lynn.

          3. Bluebirds are barmy in that song.

            Morning Elsie. Once spent an afternoon trying to find them in the Observer Book of Birds!

          4. Morning, Minty. You should have either have looked under “Birds of Colour” or else in the fridge!

            :-))

          5. No, but I will change from oldest to newest and then back again. Will report back later.

        2. I knew which song you meant even before your edit.

          It is a particularly daft song lyric.

          2. With your diagnostic skills can you tell us whether a lifetime of doing his constabulary duties has given him dyspepsia or a severe case of misanthropy?

            I wonder if he has this engraved on a plaque and hung on the wall of his lavatory:

            I wish I loved the Human Race;
            I wish I loved its silly face;
            I wish I liked the way it walks;
            I wish I liked the way it talks;
            And when I’m introduced to one,
            I wish I thought “What Jolly Fun!”

            Sir Walter A Raleigh (1861-1922)

  28. If I see Idris Bloody Elba leaning forward as he does and shoving his face into another camera I shall go mad.

      1. You cannot buy ginger beer in France so I buy lots of it when I come to England as I love a ginger beer shandy at lunchtime.

    5. As a photographer of skill you will know more than others that the ubiquitous “selfie” is the most unflattering way to photograph oneself possible.

      To achieve a decent photographic portrait a camera lens with a focal length of between 85mm and 105mm is essential. No mobile phone possesses a lens that can replicate what a top quality SLR camera can achieve.

      1. True, but Idris Bloody Elba even manages to do the same thing on that TV avdert and everything else he’s on.

        Always leaning forward ‘persuasively’. Lenses are face magnets for him. He can’t pass one.

        1. Judging by the colour of his skin, one might think that he is a passed one.

          ‘Morning, Basset.

      2. I’ve spent the morning visiting friends wearing a large jacket with large pockets.
        Are you in ;-)))

        1. You’re welcome to the diamond tiara (on the hall stand), but I’m not giving you the key to the safe.

          1. I was helping my sister and B i L out last week, I pulled up on the drive and there was only one strange car on the drive. I got out of mine and rang the door bell and a lady I didn’t know answered.
            I told her who I was and she let me in, she was one of the cleaners. they were both up stairs.
            I had to go out side again to open the garage and I shouted up I’m off now but I’ve left you 50 quid each for your help. She shouted back, we already cleaned the safe out, but was down like a shot, we did have a laugh though.

  30. Latest News – No need to worry about the death rate for Covid 19, latest estimate for dying early from the aftermath of worldwide economic meltdown – 95%

    1. The cause of death is easily written on the certificate: ‘Death from Internet Hysteria’.

  34. Never look a gift horse……

    Last night a friend called to see if I was ok. and asked how I was coping with the
    ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.
    Although I objected to the elderly inference I told her I was down to my last bottle
    of sherry and could she pick up half a dozen at the local supermarket.

    1. Oddly enough, there was loads of sherry when I went shopping yesterday, but absolutely no port (which is what I went in for).

    1. Are we still rescuing all those poor Iranians fleeing France, and who are crossing the Channel, by any chance??

  37. Family’s tribute to UK’s youngest coronavirus victim

    Craig Ruston, from Kettering, died on Monday morning, six days after he became ill with a chest infection that was confirmed as COVID-19.

    The 45-year-old was among 14 further people to have died in England by Tuesday, bringing the UK’s total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 71.

    He had been writing a popular blog about his battle with MND, a degenerative and terminal neurological condition he was diagnosed with in 2018.

    The footwear designer’s wife Sally informed his followers and friends on Tuesday of his death, saying: “My amazing Craig passed away yesterday morning at 6.20am. We are truly heartbroken.”

    She said his “fight with MND was not ready to be over”, despite doctors giving him two years to live after his 2018 diagnosis.

    1. Well he was spared the terminal decline which drives some sufferers to seek the suicide way out.

  38. Good Morning Friends,

    Just to let you know that we are safe and well here in Wiltshire. I saw Citreon on Monday and he too is OK – living high on the hill away from all the bugs.

    We have set up a support group in the Village which will collect shopping and meds for anyone unable to get out but in the main not much has changed – except the traffic. I have never known so few cars on the road.

  39. It strikes me that if all this turns into a damp squib and fizzles out in a couple of months with countless people in penury, businesses bust, a few dead and the world in debt to itself for decades to come, then the governments around the world are well and truly in the clear.

    When they are accused of over-reacting to a disease that wasn’t the ‘deadly’ virus headlined in the press that was going to almost wipe us out, they’ll just say ‘Didn’t we do well? Our lockdowns worked perfectly’.

    Arses covered with Chobham armour.

  40. A BTL comment on a subscription site – and I don’t like some of this below:

    CremeDeMenthe
    13 minutes ago

    Great points Graham and I coincidentally posted a similar piece on Aviva board.

    Current global infection rate is 1 in 38,500

    It is utter insanity to spend $30 – $40 trillion dollars (my calculation) keeping ultimately 1% of the population alive while destroying the livelihoods of the other 99%.

    Far better in my view for the WHO / United Nations G20 or some other global body to take control and to insist on complete isolation for the retired and vulnerable groups while leaving everybody else to go about their lives building up herd resistance. There will be some increased mortality but not huge and the retired folk can be released once the epidemic had passed.

    It is inevitable if this continues for more than 4 weeks, the global economy will be crushed and tens of millions becoming unemployed globally, not to mention further rapid debasement of money and inflation as the world struggles to pay for this, plus the likelihood of a return of the virus later on.

    Trump is about as useful as a fart in a teacup but please Merkel, Macron, Johnson, lets have joined up thinking.

    https://app.stockopedia.com/content/small-cap-value-report-wed-18-march-2020-cv-19-estimates-sos-jdg-576553?order=createdAt&sort=desc&mode=threaded

  41. Pound-dollar MMP 1.19317

    Before you panic ( and the media have not yet screamed ” Pound Collapses ” ) this is what it was when it looked like we would leave the EU withoout a deal, in pre-Boris days.

        1. I am sure you are right. But why has the pound fallen from 1.20 € to the £ to 1.09 € to the pound in the last three weeks?

          2. I only follow the dollar rate because I have around $400 in my Paypal account and am tempted to sterlingize it.

          3. Our income – or what is left of it – is in sterling and our expenses are in euros.

          5. The £ is at a 10 year low against the $US and the Jap Yen as well as approaching the lowest € rate (now at €1.08) in 10 years of €1.06 last year.

          6. It’ll go up again when the speculators start to buy again when they think it’s reached the bottom.

          7. Carney’s last act of treachery, to drop interest rates. Absolutely no point al all.

  42. BBC to broadcast Question Time without an audience. 17 March 2020.

    The BBC will broadcast Question Time without an audience and ask viewers to send in questions remotely, in addition to streaminling large parts of its output as part of an effort to keep a core news service on air during the coronavirus outbreak.

    Morning everyone. Well that will simplify matters. Instead of having to find some likely stooge out of the applicants, the producer can write the questions herself!

    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/mar/17/bbc-to-broadcast-question-time-without-an-audience

    1. Morning Minty, it is a start, now if they could manage no panel and no Bruce………..

    4. ‘Morning, Minty.

      Some years ago yours truly was involved in an edition of R4’s Any Questions being broadcast from our church. Because we have a good sound system the BBC was content to take a feed from our sound desk to the outside broadcast truck parked in the front garden of the vicarage. After setting up and testing both ISDN lines (remember those?) during the afternoon we had some downtime, during which the Beeboid producer wandered over and asked if we had any questions for the panel. Not one to miss such an opportunity, I said “Yes please – would the panel like to comment on a recent German survey that approximately 75% of our rules and regulations emanate from the EU?” She gave me a look of thunder, waved her hand dismissively and said “Oh, I don’t think that can be right.” I offered to show her the article on our PC but she wasn’t having it. I primed a couple of friends in the audience to submit the same question when the audience was invited to write down their questions beforehand, but neither of them got through.

    1. You would have thought it shouldn’t be too difficult to ‘self-isolate’ a prison.

  44. Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will have no audience this weekend

    “Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead this weekend without a studio audience. Our priority is safeguarding the well-being of everyone involved,” a spokesperson told The Sun.

    “The show will be made with a reduced production crew and in accordance with the latest guidance from Public Health England.

  45. Early appearance today, that’s what happens when you are woken early by grandchildren. It is rare I am up and about before the days page is available.

      1. One has standards NTN, I don’t care if the world is grinding to a halt, that would be a step too far. 🤣

  46. Sitting in a huge empty office again today. I noticed that there is one other person working right across the other side of the building so I couldn’t resist wandering over for a chat. He’s Venezuelan so we had a nice talk about the failings of communism and shared our scepticism about Covid-19.

  47. The Continent’s response to coronavirus proves that European ‘solidarity’ has always been a sham. Con Coughlin. 18 March 2020.

    True to form, the European Union’s unconvincing response to the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated that, when it comes to dealing with a crisis of truly global proportions, Brussels is little more than a liability, especially when it comes to protecting the interests of its member states.

    Tan-ta-ra! This is it folks. I am almost ready to lay done my keyboard. Con Coughlin and I agree on something! If nothing else CV has revealed the EU to be a useless bureaucratic succubus on the Nation States of Europe. It takes and gives nothing! This has not prevented it during the last few days pretending that it has some authority, mostly by ghosting the pronouncements of the countries that subscribe to its PC policies. It’s even had to see the Schengen agreement being trashed while pretending that it’s a temporary measure. With any modicum of luck and natural justice this infections best victim will be this fascist organisation!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/18/continents-response-coronavirus-proves-european-solidarity-has/

    1. A microscopic thread of RNA has exposed the EU for the sham that many of us already suspected.

    2. No need for drastic action. Con’s next article will be off the scale of the Bizarrometer, as usual.

    3. ‘Morning, Minty, Schengen may prove problematic to suspend, since most border posts have been removed and gimmeegrunts and jihadis have no passports.

      Good thinking EU! By the way, how’s the €uro and the ECB doing?

      1. …since most border posts have been removed…

        Morning Nan.”We can rebuild them, better, higher, stronger.”

        2. The Greeks appear to have been pretty swift at building bigger barriers at theGreco-Turkish border, so I imagine other countries can manage the same within the EU if they wish to.

      2. Border posts have not been removed between France and Spain in south Catalonia – on the road from Cerbère (in France) to Port Bou (in Spain) the buildings are still there, locked and graffiti-covered.

      3. According to Elder Son and his Danish lady, the Danes had already re-installed the border controls between Germany and Denmark. I believe the same has happened on the Øresund Bridge.

      1. Hope it’s not that scratchy wool my nan used to make balaclavas with back in the day

      1. Ah! I did some work for my English Higher (aka A level) so I was ready. Shakespeare, Ingoldsby Legends, Rape of the Lock, and so forth.
        What was one of the questions? Interpret a knitting pattern.
        I think that was when the modern rot set in.

  49. Russia deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in West, EU document says. Reuters. MARCH 18, 2020

    Russian media have deployed a “significant disinformation campaign” against the West to worsen the impact of the coronavirus, generate panic and sow distrust, according to a European Union document seen by Reuters.

    The Russians own the Daily Mail? Who knew?

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-disinformation/russia-deploying-coronavirus-disinformation-to-sow-panic-in-west-eu-document-says-idUSKBN21518F

    2. I imagine the Russia is ordering sacks of Popcorn to sit back and enjoy the financial collapse of Western Europe.

  51. When the UK moved away from being an industrial country, nothing came into the economy to replace the lost industry. Far from it. What happened was that foreign companies and foreign sovereign states moved in to buy up much of what was left including utilities and services that could not be moved out of the UK, for example, electricity supply and airports.
    The full extent of this loss of strategic enterprise is now hitting home, as it would in any crisis. As the crisis is a medical one, realisation has dawned that almost all essential drugs are manufactured elsewhere.
    A defence crisis would point up that most of our armaments are supplied by foreign-owned and foreign based companies, often overseen by their Governments. (See Sidewinders and US government in Falkands War.)
    A food crisis would show up the extent of our imports from the EU (watch this space 3 months from now).
    We have been failed by those who run this country, and betrayed. Politicians over the last forty and more years have lined their pockets and those of their friends to the detriment of the nation. The present bunch now call upon us to make up for it all, by “pulling together” and similar claptrap.

          2. Might as well. No good keeping it for best at some undetermined future time…

          3. If I’m going to have to sit on a doorstep, the cheapest 1 litre bottle of Muscatel is surely the thing? I’ll need a paper bag to keep it in, to be discrete.

          4. Well, if you are going to be like that, you should maybe have a wee dog to keep you company?

    2. Ah yes, all that wonderful globalisation. I can’t think of why our nations, human races and means of production did not all join to gether sooner. Oh, hang on, there is someone shouting ‘bring out your dead’ outside.

      1. How does someone living alone and dying alone in self isolation bring out their dead? Public information video urgently required!

        1. Pre-planning. When the final moments arrive one puts a notice* around one’s neck and sits** on the front doorstep.

          *. “Please remove when no pulse found”.
          ** Sitting with lower regions in a black bin bag will be most hygienic. A cushion is permitted

          1. Wouldn’t you get arrested for doing that? The black bin bag is for landfill, surely it should go out for recycling?

    3. 317232+ up ticks,
      Afternoon HP,
      Could not agree more, aided & abetted going back months,years,decades, by those that followed the “must
      vote con keep out lab, must vote lab keep out con” & the very worst are those who vote for the best of the worst.

      ALL long term pro eu rubber stampers.

      We could not have got into this pitiful state as a nation
      without the continuing peoples support of the
      politico’s / parties that have got us into this pitiful state as a nation.

      1. Agreed, Alf and the sooner we start re-investing in the production capabilities of ships, aircraft, pharmaceuticals and the SMEs that support them, the better.

        There will be a war in the next twenty years and it won’t be about oil, food or chemicals. It will be all about water – we’d better build a bunch of reservoirs rather than hutches for gimmegrunts.

        1. We also need a register of National Interest industries that cannot be sold to foreign entities including utilities. Even if we have to buy 51% back into public ownership, and that is generally against my feelings. It should also include steel production and security industries, like Cobham who we allowed to be sold.
          Please feel free to add more industries on to the list. Alternatively the Golden Share.

        2. Don’t worry NtN. Looking at the last few years it appears that HMG are anxious to surrender to any foreign power who will have us.

    5. The UK is essentially a political mirage and its “leaders” are puppets manipulated by forces behind the scenes!.

    6. Fortunately someone in the Government was thinking ahead.

      On the 26th February they banned the export of Chloroquine.

  52. One of our children is now working from home, and has a dental appointment cancelled as well as a medical one (no reason given, but it’s obvious)
    Another daughter will have to cancel workshops which she had arranged and will lose income. Our third daughter started her dream theatre job at the beginning of the year. That’s gone.
    Their parents are now to be marooned in a wee village miles from the nearest shop. Our brother-in-law has had an essential operation cancelled for the second time. His first consultation was 2 years ago. One operation last year. It requires correction and it likely won’t take place before 20121 (NHS Scotland).
    And it all may be a fraud…

    1. “it likely won’t take place before 20121 (NHS Scotland)” That’s a heck of a waiting list, Horace! 🙂

  53. Special EU announcement:

    The EU is closing its borders to all non-EU citizens. The borders will, of course, REMAIN OPEN for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

    End of message/EU.

    2. My 77-year-old stepfather-in-law went to a branch of Sainsbury’s this morning at 08:00 which was supposedly reserved for elderly customers. He found that it was packed out, with a large number of people being much younger, especially mothers.

      2. SWMBO tells me the first slot starts tomorrow and it is ‘the first hour’, which, as Sainsbury’s usually opens at 7 am, is from 7am to 8am.
        And you have to be over 70 apparently, although how they are going to go about policing that is unclear.

          1. Me too. I don’t usually wake up (for the second time) until 8:ish. (I might wake up earlier, squint at the clock, and if it’s pre-8 am, go back to sleep)

          2. Husband gets up to make the tea about 8.00 and brings it back to drink in bed.

            Funnily enough – we had no problem getting up at 5.30am while we were away.

          4. I hardly ever shop at Tesco’s – my usual is Morrison’s in Nailsworth – similar distance but a smaller store and I know my way around. I usually go late afternoon on a Friday, being a creature of habit.

  55. Good morning, everyone. Last evening we dined with friends at our favourite Italian restaurant. This popular venue is normally very busy. Just four tables were occupied and the proprietor is worried about the future of his business.

  56. So Macron has killed the yellow vest protests but he’s still going ahead with municipal elections? Is that true?

    3. The link in your post has got me even more confused than normal, Plum-Tart. It says “404 not found”. I searched everywhere, including the fridge, but no joy. Is 404 perhaps a code for toilet rolls?

      :-))

      1. She’s somehow split the address of the picture.
        Click on the red bit, then copy & paste the “6d2.jpg” onto the end of it.

      2. It opened for me. All about the frogs threatening us about our fishing grounds.

        Morning everybody. Are you out and about today? Apparently the Italians want Britain to be punished because we’re not sufficiently draconian in response to the virus. See, that way they can fine us! Isn’t life marvellous!
        Sorry can’t find the link I think it’s in the DE.

  58. Rest assured: the human species will not be killed off by any pandemic virus or bacterial disease.

    It will not be annihilated by global thermonuclear war.

    It will not be removed from the planet by famine and drought.

    It will not meet its end by its own poisoning of the ecosystems and trashing of the environment.

    It will not perish by removing every other species of plant and animal life so necessary for biodiversity and its own selfish continuance.

    No.

    Mankind will disappear from the universe by virtue of its own ingrained stupidity. Being, essentially, the most stupid organism that ever evolved in the history of the universe, is more than enough to seal its stupid fate!

    Hopefully a massive asteroid strike will put us all out of our idiocy sooner rather than later.

    1. So you’re saying, Grizzly (© Cathy Newman) that you and I are both idiots.

      :-))

      1. It is ingrained in the DNA of every member of Homo sapiens, Elsie. There’s nowt you can do about it.

          1. Is he in league with BJ and the pair of them are offering the Nottler antithesis to the Chuckle Brothers – The Doomster Duo?

          2. Is he in league with BJ and the pair of them are offering the Nottler antithesis to the Chuckle Brothers – The Doomster Duo?

    2. Cheers.
      On the plus side, I’ve done my first exercises of the day. Will I survive long enough to do the second round?

      1. Good morning Fellow Heavy Metal Hipster,

        A good exercise bicycle worked wonders for me. Being a tad overweight (to be honest at least three tads) I found walking irksome to begin with and a hours pedalling a day was boring but effective in getting me comfortably back on my feet.

          3. My static exercise bike, which has handlebars that are reminiscent of the horns on longhorn cattle, is jokingly referred to as “the cow”.

            I don’t have a wife but I do live with a sambo. [Paul and Peddy will know what that means.]

      3. Good morning Fellow Heavy Metal Hipster,

        A good exercise bicycle worked wonders for me. Being a tad overweight (to be honest at least three tads) I found walking irksome to begin with and a hours pedalling a day was boring but effective in getting me comfortably back on my feet.

    1. ogga1 – if you go into self-isolation, will you continue posting all this unwanted crap, or will take a course in expressing yourself in normal English ?
      If I want Double-Dutch, I can still go to Amsterdam.

        1. Been there several times. Went there on honeymoon nearly fifty years ago. First time I evet saw a porn bookshop, with magazines with pictures of little naked kids in. Sickening.

  61. Now we are going back to rationing will our houses start smelling of boiled cabbage and gas?

    1. If I reduce my input of Baked Beans, would that help. Having an electric hob and cooker, I can make no further contribution. 🌪

  62. I’ve mentioned the excellent diary written daily by Charles Williams, owner of Caerhays Castle and Burncoose nurseries. We look at the fairy tale castle and its wonderful spring gardens, but yesterday’s entry reveals the reality of trying to manage a large estate like this:

    “The country enters lockdown and we all wonder how to carry on. £400-500k
    in tourist income probably down the drain with the group tours,
    weddings, holiday lets and The Vean. Do we keep the gardens open but
    stop the house tours? Do we put all the staff associated with tourism on
    temporary leave as the law allows in extreme circumstances or can some
    of them work from home for a bit doing something useful and productive?
    Those with children and elderly relatives at home are already voting
    with their feet and who can blame them. My busy March and April diary
    reduces to nothing. The garden staff, farm staff and keepers can and
    have to carry on. Lambing ewes cannot wait and the first pheasant egg
    was gathered yesterday. The mail order orders continue to flow at
    Burncoose at the moment so I suppose we carry on there if we have the
    staff and couriers to carry on? Two isolated and separate teams of
    packing shed staff perhaps? I see no reason why the building teams
    cannot carry on in rural areas at least. Panic in all directions but
    decisions have to be made on the basis of common sense
    and government guidelines. Trying to create a ‘policy’ requires thought
    and will evolve.”

    http://thediary.caerhays.co.uk/march/17th-March/

  63. – So was nobody listening to Attenborough a few months ago when he said drastic emergency action had to be taken now to save the planet?

    1. It’s all in UN Agenda 21 in UN speak – ‘the population must be brought down to sustainable levels’.

        1. Because probably most of it finds its way into their pockets, definitely not the people who need it.

    2. It’s all in UN Agenda 21 in UN speak – ‘the population must be brought down to sustainable levels’.

  64. In France, it’s now a crime to talk to your neighbour. Spiked 18 March 2020

    People do not trust the government or the reasoning behind its decisions. Some friends of mine boycotted the municipal elections on Sunday, saying that President Macron was employing double standards: he maintains the public events he approves of but cancels everything else. The president inexplicably claimed that the elections would be controllable and sanitised and therefore the virus would not transmit. Yet seeing the voters gathering outside the mairie on Sunday, and the queue to get in, this was clearly an absurdity.

    Macron is of course loving this. He can shut down every form of protest on the excuse of Social Hygiene! We have to watch for something similar here. The introduction of Suppressive Laws that will survive the present theatrical emergency and inhibit any form of criticism of the Westminster Cabal!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/18/in-france-its-now-a-crime-to-talk-to-your-neighbour/

    1. Social hygiene?

      They don’t need a pandemic to have problems with that over there, I’ve heard.

    2. 317232+ up ticks,
      AS,
      It is a racing certainty to happen here, house building will be put on hold making way for a very large prison building program.
      In the main it will be to incarcerate the elderly as in
      ” where is nan & granddad” ?
      been Tommy Robinsoned, political lifestyles MUST be protected at ALL cost’s.

      1. A possible 4 months of reduced buses, trains and planes with the knock on effect of difficulty importing food should ensure XR and the like gets short shrift.

      1. With his erratic spelling I don’t know if he means to close (i.e to shut down) or too close i.e. not far enough apart.

  66. Here’s some news to lift our spirits. The Eurovision Song Contest has been cancelled!
    :¬))

      2. She’s keeping her head down. The current situation is just a foretaste of what is likely to happen if the zero-carbon argument wins out, with firms closing down, people being put out of work and no-one travelling anywhere.

    4. Every chance the UK will not finish last then. Makes a change from normal results.

    5. Just s well. It wouldn’t be the same without a daft party with Chianti, Wyborova and mild ale. Not to mention chorizo and halumi. Did I say fancy dress? Well, of course.

        2. You will if tinned prunes are the only groceries left on the shelves after all this panic-buying.

    8. Yay! That was our reaction when we heard it. Mind you, it was on the Bbc, so perhaps it’s fake news 🙂

    1. Now …. about that EU defence force.
      Poland – your borders do not exist.
      Italy – your tanks will have a forward gear fitted.
      France – we will write your notes permitting dog walking.

  68. They didn’t close the mental asylums back in the day they just expanded the boundaries to our coastline

  69. After watching Sunday’s and Monday’s depressing BBC news, I had reservations about going out for a pint last night.

    I did go out and plonked myself in a quiet spot in a quiet pub – and got thinking.

    What we need is a wartime spirit. Not of the Dunkirk variety or the Bog-Roll kind but that of inventiveness which came of necessity during the war. Practical stuff which keeps the wheels turning and ideas from real people, not politicians.

    For me, today’s top letter – “There are increasing numbers who are recovering from coronavirus and are keen to help out” – is one such idea.

      1. Speaking of which, my kettle’s been doing overtime this morning and I’m starting to drown in my tepee.

    1. Saw video of migrants in Milan completely ignoring curfew by milling around outside and taking no notice of calls to go inside.

    1. He can’t actually call himself a doctor any more, since he de-registered.And of course, for most medics, ‘Dr’ is in any case a courtesy title only, he does not appear to have a PhD.

        1. So did a lot of other people.

          That’s why there is a nationwide shortage of Chloroquine.

        2. So did a lot of other people.

          That’s why there is a nationwide shortage of Chloroquine.

    1. The DM May be saying that, but I’m not sure Corbyn is. I read it that they’ll take advantage of the real virus outbreak, not that they caused it. I’ve read elsewhere that Gates and Sor0s tried to work out what would happen with a viral outbreak. I’m sure they really would like to full the global population. They could be the first volunteers….

  73. ibuprofen

    Misinformation about treating COVID-19 is apparently in abundance.
    After watching today’s BBC News at One it was not clear why I may have been misinformed about the use of ibuprofen.

    We are told not to trust any social media blog where the blogger knows a doctor who has said something.

    This BBC url is supposed to clarify the confusion so you can read it and make your own mind up.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/51929628

    However, to find out if I should take ibuprofen in the event of catching COVID-19 I consulted WebMD which gives some guidance of side effects which could make your condition worse.

    https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-151787/ibuprofen-pm-oral/details/list-sideeffects

    Top of the list of the second group of likely side effects from ibuprofen is an increase in the thickness of lung secretions.

    This is precisely the mechanism which is the cause of morbidity in COVID-19 patients and therefore in my view ibuprofen is not a drug that I should self administer.

    As far as you are concerned of course you should seek the advice of your GP bearing in mind the drugs that have already been prescribed for you.

    1. There is no clear evidence on Ibuprofen but at present the medical advice is to avoid it and use paracetamol

      1. As far as I am concerned the fact that this common side effect exists in Ibuprofen combined with the emerging reports of the ratio of deaths in Italy between those taking it and those not taking it is supportive evidence for contraindication in the use of the drug for treating COVID-19.

  74. Newport Bus service frequency hit by coronavirus outbreak

    NEWPORT Bus has announced that from Monday, March 23 it will be operating a Saturday service, which will mean less frequent buses.

    The decision has been taken as a result of reduced demand and limited staff availability in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

    The changes will affect all of its 43 routes from Monday until further notice, while normal weekend services will apply.

    Scott Pearson, Newport Bus’ Managing Director, said: “These are completely unprecedented times, but we will maintain bus services for our customers for as long as we are able to, while carefully following governmental guidelines.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e1193fd32678b7d815070e9f0deeff0877ae243bcf4447a5bfcef43e8784432b.jpg

  76. Cardiff bus Updates

    Since Monday’s government statement which recommended all non-essential travel should be avoided, we have seen a reduction in the number of people travelling.

    We know many of you will still need to travel to-and-from work, school, college or to the shops and rely on our buses to get you there. We’d like to reassure you that we’re still operating buses, but from Monday 23rd of March and until further notice we will follow Saturday timetables* on most routes during the week, with the exception of services 12, 15, 64, 65, 65A, 98 and Cardiff MET M1, M2, M3, M4 which will follow their normal Monday to Friday timetables.

    Service 95 – A special service will run between Wood Street in the city centre and Heath Hospital to connect customers who would normally catch the 95 service between the Vale of Glamorgan and Heath Hospital. These customers will need to change buses at Wood Street

  77. Coronavirus: Chelsea FC offers hotel to NHS staff

    NHS hospital staff are to be put up in a hotel owned by Chelsea football club, as part of efforts to help during the coronavirus crisis.

    The club said the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge will be made available to medics in north-west London.

    The NHS said it was “enormously grateful” to the club and was looking for similar offers of support.

    The initiative came from chairman Bruce Buck and owner Roman Abramovich, who will pay for the costs involved.

    “It was decided the best way Chelsea can assist the NHS is to provide accommodation for NHS staff,” the club said on its website.

    “Many of the medical staff will be working long shifts and may not be able to travel home or would otherwise have to make long commutes.

    North West London Clinical Commissioning Group (NWLCCG) said: “We really are enormously grateful to Chelsea Football Club and Mr Roman Abramovich for their offer to support our hard-working NHS staff during the Covid-19 emergency.”

    It added: “We’d very much welcome similar offers of support from other hotels. This really does help us keep services running at a time when the NHS is likely to be under enormous pressure.”

    The hotel accommodation will be used by health staff who do not have Covid-19 symptoms, and are working long hours or are unable to travel home.

    “It may also be used by staff who are not symptomatic but live with family members who have started to show symptoms,” a spokeswoman said.

    Football fans have reacted positively to Chelsea’s gesture:

    1. It’s a long way to travel, isn’t it ?

      Stamford Bridge is a village and civil parish on the River Derwent in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of York and 22 miles (35 km) west of Driffield. The village lies on the borders with the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire and with the City of York unitary authority.

      1. Harold Godwinson found it was a long ride from there down to Battle/Hastings in the autumn of 1066.

      2. I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.

    3. There is no clear evidence that your comment would stand up in a court of law.

  79. I’ve just had an email from our neighbours in partly living in France, they are now under movement restrictions, but her car is stuck in the car park at Stanstead. I doubt if they’ll be any allowances for the extra parking periods.

    1. How long had they planned on going for? Seems strange to park at an airport for anything longer than a couple of weeks.

    1. Barstards….

      Bad…..we need some fun and entertainment more than ever…we’re all in this togther FFS…

      1. ” we’re all in this togther”
        I was waiting for someone to dig up that one again. !!!!

    4. Hundreds of people at the BBC throwing themselves from the roof of Broadcasting House.

      So not a bad thing.

      1. It should be recorded and listed as…

        Answers on a £10 pound note to NTN, c/o NoTTLers Ltd.

      3. It seems that filming of a number of BBC dramas and soaps, most of which I have never heard of, has been stopped. Cue for even more repeats than now and what’s the betting that they are the most banal, moronic recordings they can find?

        1. They certainly would not repeat anything that would appeal to the likes of us, can you imagine their embarrassment when their viewing figures shoot up.

          2. I’m not sure who publishes what. I remember though only last week seeing a video report stating how the preceding program before the last of series 12 of Doctor Who had higher viewing figures than the actual Doctor Who episode as did the program that followed it.

          3. Excuse me VVOF for doing a Peddy in absentia but in the UK we talk about programmes and Germany talks about pograms.

          5. Thank you NTN, my only excuse is that I am from Norf Zummezet and we are multilingual LOL

    5. Good for the environment. Think of all the rubbish they leave behind, all those abandoned single-use tents, etc.

      1. I couldn’t believe the abandoned tents when I first saw them. Tents cost money. Our younger son left behind a bath towel (in his late teens) in New York because he couldn’t fit it into his luggage. Bath towels cost money. I was particularly sensitive to this because when I first started at the grammar school my mum couldn’t afford to buy the regulatory bath-sized towel (in fact we didn’t have bath towels at home) for swimming lessons at the local ‘baths’ as they were called then. A relative stepped up to the plate and provided the necessary one bath towel. I was incensed that he could casually leave behind a bath towel of ours because there simply ‘wasn’t enough room.’ As the Queen memorably said to Charles ‘dog leads cost money!’

      1. It’s the closing of the hotels. I tried camping once but found hotels more comfortable. 😃😃

      2. Set one foot on a beach in Spain at the minute and you’ll be carted off by the Guardia Civil. They are meant.

    2. I would alter it.

      Life is helll down here, all hotels and campsites are closing,

    3. I had to cancel my holiday too, Alf.

      I booked through Tripadvisor and between them and the Landlord i was able to move it, thus saving a £600 deposit, to September.

      1. As the Spanish are closing all hotels on 24 March BA must cancel the holiday I booked with them and we’ll have out money back.

  82. The Chairman has shut the fcking tennis club.
    …..it’s a lifeline for me and other members in similar circumstances.

    2. Gosh, many of us will be bereft now that you no longer will be grabbing those balls every week.

      PS. Looks like the Cricket Season will not start even before they have a chance to say “Rain Stopped Play”.

    3. I don’t understand that attitude Plum ..

      Surely if you are facing each other from one end of the court to the other there is no danger.. were they indoor or outdoor courts .

      Moh’s golf has been cut back .. lots of retirees and others ..

      1. I do Belle …..defeatist attitude. Where’s the bulldog spirit…?
        I will email when I’ve calmed down…never a good time to reply when angry!!!

        Tone of my email
        “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same…” etc…

        That is the inspirational quote from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If…” inscribed above the entrance to Wimbledon’s Centre Court,

        Sportsmanship my @rse…..

      2. No league matches here but I think the tennis club is still open but not the clubhouse.

  83. One benefit of the Covid-crisis – Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion have gone very quiet …. they may worry that extinction is one the way, but not the one they were banging on about.

    1. It has been pointed out how much cleaner the environment is now that so much activity has been stopped.
      I’m inclined to think the virus was caused by Greta, who will be able to say that it proves that she was right all the time.

      1. Extinction Rebellion Plots Suicide Stunt

        Go for it – what a good idea for so much of a waste of space.

      2. In my present mood, I would advise no ER-nutter to step in front of my path …

  84. Shoppers queue outside Asda at 6am and strip shelves bare by 7am while Sainsbury’s rations loo roll, soap and UHT milk to curb coronavirus panic buying
    This is front-page on the Mail. and the reason why people are panic-buying.
    They are effectively on the verge of provoking riots, and the Mail should be shut down immediately.
    I did some shopping yesterday and was able to get nearly everything I wanted from the local Aldi.
    And, unlike Sainsburys, busy as it was, the store was spotlessly clean.
    I missed out on toilet rolls because the last ones went just as I arrived. But that was about 11 a.m., and they had had plenty in.

    1. It’s not just the DM. All the MSM have behaved absolutely disgracefully.
      The danger of their self-indulgence is that they have given governments an excuse for controls of the press and broadcasters.

    2. One of the reasons I stopped using Sainsbury was because the store was never clean.

  85. Time for rationing
    Much has been made of the ability of at risk groups to shop online,my sister and BiL certainly are in that category and were pleased to have a Tesco slot for today booked about a week ago
    A modest shop, by most peoples standards £127 including some beer for me
    What arrived was £19.23,virtually no food but hey the dishwasher washing machine will be fed and the pledge wipes will make a fine breakfast………….
    They will hunker down with what they have but it wont last for ever

    Get a grip supermarkets and government

  86. Had hair cut short while ago and everybody’s conversation was about you know what. People phoned in to ask if they were still open, and there was hand gel on the counter.

  87. All Wetherspoon pubs will remain open, but customers will pay by card, avoid standing at the bar and sit at alternate tables, the company has announced.

  89. When I see the Leader of the Free School Dinners Party stand up in front of the assembled porkies on the Free Stuff benches at PMQ and then proceed to berate Boris Johnson and the Tories because we haven’t enough beds, respirators, and test kits, I reflect on the fact that the politicians don’t actually manage the NHS and that has been in the hands of some extremely highly paid managers …. I also reflect on the fact that Labour threw oodles of dosh at it between 1997 and 2010 and passed it on with the note “There’s no money left” …. (Not for everybody though; the consultants and doctors are often rich enough that extra work loses them money due to the high pensions contribution trap) …..Sticking with the no money theme, I also reflect on the fact that Corbyn and his top team on a day of “playing traitors” ib Brussels arrived at Brussels railway station and found that not one of their number had a Euro with which they could pay for a taxi ….

    1. Same happened to Ed Balls and his entourage when they went to the chippy (followed by a camera crew) in an attempt to make themselves seem like regular people and not the parasites they are.

      1. And Peter Mandelson when he went into a Hartlepool chippie (his constituency at the time) and asked for “some of that guacamole” on his fish and chips!

        The gormless mincing twat had never seen nor heard of mushy peas.

    2. Labour threw oodles of cash at the NHS, which mostly went on staff wages, and new PFI hospitals, whilst simultaneously reducing the number of beds overall.
      Anyone else remember Blair saying that patients much prefer recovering and being “treated” at home? Anyone else remember how patients were being sent home too quickly and then being readmitted a week or so later because of complications, infections, etc??

    2. The moment when you get on a bus and read the sign that says “These seats reserved for elderly” and you realise that you can use them without feeling guilty.

          1. Yep. In fairness, I’m in awe of the fact that most buses can ‘kneel down’ at bus stops, and all can accommodate wheelchair users. Shame they keep withdrawing services “in the interests of efficiency”…

  91. Afternoon, all. As you can see, I am having to fill the unforgiving minute, having had all my activities cancelled (including all the racing) and it being too wet and horrible to get out in the garden and thus am inflicting myself on you earlier and earlier. If this goes on, I may end up being the first poster!

    Just thought I’d share this with you:

    https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2020/03/18/treasury-asks-eu-to-scrap-state-aid-rules-to-fund-rates-cut/

    Pardon my naiveté, but we were supposed to have left the EU on Jan 31st, so why are we bothering with them at all, let alone informing them we’re going to do something?

    1. Because until the end of the year, under the A50 agreement, we still have to comply with all their rules.

    2. Transition period.
      EU and others trying to use the virus as an excuse to delay our final leaving date. Perhaps they hope the older Brexit voters will have died off so they can quietly shelve the whole thing without too much opposition.
      Expect calls for cancelling it altogether in the next few months…

      1. I think that has already begun. Time to wield a handbag and shout, “no, no, no!”

  92. Groan – another one. I’m getting fed up with emails from web-sites I’ve used saying “As the global situation around COVID-19 develops I want to personally reassure you, as a valued customer…”.

  94. More than a million Italians have been questioned by police and

    soldiers since the coronavirus lockdown was imposed a week ago, the

    interior ministry says.

    Under draconian rules, Italians are

    only meant to be out on the streets if they are off to work, heading to

    the shops to buy food or visiting a pharmacy for essential medicines.

    To ensure the rules are respected, tens of thousands of police and soldiers are conducting spot checks.

    Of the one million people checked, 43,000 were charged with having no valid reason for being out of their homes.

    The government has threatened to bring in more draconian measures if people continue to flout the lockdown regime..

    Currently the penalty is a 206 euro fine and, in extreme cases, three months in prison.

    Hmm seems many Euro Politicians are pining for earlier times……………………..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsO1KwF64Ow

  95. The B.B.C. is presently citing a figure of seventy one fatalities in the U.K. from the virus. The information is not given region by region as far as I can see at first glance. Even so, I expect it will be sometime in May before the figure for London equals the annual figure for victims of youths with issues around stabbing. By that time only thing about Corona still in mind will be the storming of the supermarkets in March 2020 – The Toilet Paper Crisis.

    A sense of proportion is not lacking. It was absent from the beginning of this media fuelled frenzy. I can appreciate why an industry that has been de-skilled so rapidly and has failed to find a viable financial footing dependent on advertising to specific demographics – people who are capable of reading in-depth articles that elaborate difficult and often complex arguments – thrashing about in panic for a future have seen lurid works best. This abject retreat is a lasting consequence for the mainstream media. Now and in the years to come online discussion and analysis will replace the print media, whose vast overheads and shrinking income streams can only be supported by the kind of business model once the sole property of The Fortean Times. From what I see today I can’t feel regretful. It began with Brexit and has ended in farce.

    1. The stabbing figures may greatly exceed the coronavirus figures in London. However, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has been able to use the coronavirus figures to lever himself into COBRA meetings. Not bad, eh?

      1. There are Cobra meetings and Cobra meetings. Just like when Corbyn became a privy counsellor.

      1. I find it strange that Hampshire tops the table. One would think it would be the inner city areas.

          1. I know you do, Sean.

            Perhaps it’s a case of people from Hampshire are more honest than the ghetto’s of South London.

    3. ‘Afternoon, Larkers, with the attitude of the remaniacs it’s hardly surprising that it’s ended in farce – they have been a farce from day one (23/6/16) and are unable (or unwilling) to get out of the rut they have dug themselves into.

      With a bit of luck it’ll dig so deep that they find themselves in a hell of their own making.

  96. After a long struggle to log in to this site with my PC, I managed to get back on line here. Almost as soon as I managed I can no longer open this page on my phone. It keeps telling me my email address is already being used ………well of course it is it’s my email address. I don’t have two separate accounts !!!
    WTF is wrong with this disqus site ?
    Has Boris announced the Complete London Lock down yet ?

    2. The Networks said that they could cope with millions working from home. Though we have seen the Network drop out in London and other cities. Maybe your problem is how they are dealing with the load.

      1. Phizz, using this is the nearest thing I have ever done as far as shirking from home is concerned.

    3. You are probably being singled out Eddy. Disqus is obviously being run down long term with the intention of eventually stopping it altogether. Hence the individual and collective problems that never get fixed!

    4. Odd. I’ve just tried to access the page from the phone, and had no problem. But Disqus is notoriously flaky. Also, today’s new page was late, as I couldn’t access the WordPress page which hosts the site. It worked eventually. KBO…

    1. Live animal markets, commonplace throughout Asia and Africa, feature crowded conditions and the intimate mixing of multiple species, including humans. This too plays a key role in how a killer pathogen could emerge and spread between species.

      Another risk: bushmeat hunting and butchering, which is particularly widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. These activities, as they threaten animal species and irrevocably change ecosystems, also bring people and wild animals together. Bushmeat hunting is a clear and primary path for zoonotic disease transmission.

      So is traditional Chinese medicine, which purports to provide remedies for a host of conditions like arthritis, epilepsy and erectile dysfunction. Although no scientific evidence exists to support most of the claims, Asia is an enormous consumer of traditional Chinese medicine products. Tigers, bears, rhinos, pangolins and other animal species are poached so their body parts can be mixed into these questionable medications. This, too, is a major contributor to increasing animal-human interactions. What’s more, demand is likely to go up, as online marketing soars along with Asia’s relentless economic growth.

      But i’m sure it’s all our fault somewhere along the line. All that foreign aid or something.
      I never see any on the Left criticising any of these societies for decimating their environment. They get a free pass. It’s not their fault, as if they’re innocent children who know no better.

    2. This one didn’t originate in Africa. They are two separate and very different continents.

  98. Schools to close on Friday in England. Special arrangements to be made for essential workers children

    1. Why? Children are nearly immune to this infection! What is the point of having them roaming around utilising the resources of adults?

      1. Plus parents will have to take time off work (if they aren’t already working from home) to deal with them. They won’t be able to rely on grandparents as they will be on lockdown.

        1. We childmind our grandchildren for both our daughters. We’ve had to ask them to arrange working from home as my wife is in the vulnerable group, with diabetes type 2 and heart problems.

      3. It seems school teachers are not coming in so it is getting to the point they dont have enough teachers to keep them open

        1. A friend of mine, who is head of a special needs school, emailed me that 25% of staff didn’t come to work on Monday.

    2. Cant all these spare children be put to use doing some work outside? They could be given bags and gloves and told to clear up litter for example.

  101. Shopping in w/rose, quite a few empty shelves now. Surprisingly I found tins of Fray Bentos steak & kidney pie, so I bought a couple – that takes me back a long way. Then to the bank & Turkish Barber – both quiet. The roads were quiet, not much traffic about.

    Heard on the car radio that “EastEnders” is being cut to the bone & the European Song Contest is off. 🙂 🙁

    1. Dead enders might have been complicit in spreading the virus ,*~) with all the over expressive heavy breathing the actors
      indulge in.

    2. Bought a FB chicken pie in a tin for Firstborn so he could see how shit the 1970s were.

      1. I shall look for a stock of those delicious Vesta dried meals. Do you think they’re still made.

        1. I hope not – they were diabolical.

          OTOH, if people buy those, they won’t be competing for more worthwhile goods. OK, Vesta dried meals are good!

    3. I bought one a few years ago for old time’s sake – revisting 1963/4 with the proper Dr Who on telly and me at my aunt’s for Saturday tea.

      They’ve replaced the chunks of meat & kidney with brown sludge.

        1. Was it supposed to? I always assumed it was like the box the cornflakes came in – it certainly had the texture and flavour of cardboard.

  102. Completely off the topic of viruses and covid-19, over on Gridwatch, renewable energy is currently providing a massive 24% of our total electricity needs.
    https://gridwatch.co.uk
    Wind is at a whopping 14%, solar a sizeable 1%, and biomass (burning imported wood pellets etc) is an impressive 7%.
    Clearly we can do without nuclear at a mere 11%, and definitely Ccgt (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) at a laughable 51%….

    1. There’s nothing impressive about destroying hundreds of square miles of wild American forests and the habitat that goes with them so that generators here can get fat on subsidies given through our bills by a gullible government.

        2. A species on the edge of UK extinction because of habitat destruction, but thankfully making small increases in population in recent years because of conservation efforts.

          Then some carpetbagger comes along to build some shoe-boxes to house people displaced by our recent surge in vibrancy and they get permission to destroy the habitat that is so scarce.

          Wrong, wrong, wrong.

  103. Happily self-isolated in the TinTent with ‘t missus until raging toothache made me scuttle home to the dentist who informed me that 60+ years of toffee and liquorice all-sorts abuse had final won the day and the only option was to extract the offending molar ( previous root canal btw) , so here I am back in the tintent nursing an aching pulpy socket cursing the evil cockwombling wuckfitted bast*rds who stripped the supermarket shelves of paracetamol and tonic water . I’m making do with shiraz.

      1. Sovereign advice C, I don’t carry any in the tin tent but I have some Tesco’s own brand whisky on board, I’ll give that a try later.

    5. I’m in a similar position. I have lost two molars on one side that had had £600 crowns and now i ‘m looking at implants of £2000 each. Enjoy your painkiller.

      1. Ditto. I had a front tooth out a few months ago. Went to have an implant fitted last month but the screw failed as the socket had become infected. Had the screw removed last week and the gums sutured together, which is very uncomfortable. And now I have to self-isolate as my OH is exhibiting CV symptoms and so I won’t be able to have the sutures removed next week. Fortunately, they are self-dissolving, but it can take a couple of months for them to dissolve. Sadly, I can’t drink alcohol as I am on Flagyl. To cap it all, my oncology nurse just phoned to advise me to stop taking my chemo drug as it suppresses the immune system and would make CV even worse.

        4. Ffs, AA. It never rains, eh? Lots of garlic needed, keep the virus & bugs away.

      2. I had ‘tooth trouble’ for years and years (a post war baby and an aunt with a sweetshop). I had 3 implants (I needed a bone graft first, this took about six months) back in 2006 and I have never looked back. It was the best thing ever. They have given me no trouble since.

      3. I know a chap with a baseball bat, would that help?

        };-O

        On a more serious note, good luck with it; toothache is one of nature’s less pleasant experiences.

        1. You have just hit the nail on the head as it were….Aged 11 i was positioned behind the batsman when he hit the softball rather than just drop the bat it flew out behind at head height and knocked out one of my front teeth. It is only now after many many interventions, a huge amount of pain, and experiencing a type of palsy where the right side of my face collapsed that i have got over it. Toothache doesn’t even come close.

          1. My brother, silly sod, jumped off a swing and turned around to admire the distance covered. His timing was perfect, heavy swing, straight across the gob, NO front teeth. Ooops.

      4. I was offered an implant. All that drilling and chiselling – absolutely no way at all. I prefer a gap, it’s less stressful.

          1. I have a few gaps, but all out of sight.. My former Chinese dentist (all appointments at tooth hurtee), was reluctant to fit bridges and damage perfectly good adjacent teeth.

          2. I have two; both molars.
            The greatest compliment I can pay them is that I don’t know they are there.

        2. Fair enough…but….if i don’t replace them in some way it will create too much strain on the other work i have had done and shorten the life of those teeth.

          I won’t bore you with the details but i have already spent a great deal of money.

      5. Might I suggest an excellent dentist in Marmaris – you could have a fortnight’s holiday in the sun in a 5 star hotel, have all your dental work done and still be very well ahead of the game in terms of money spent on dental fees in the UK.

        I4 years ago I had the following work done by Deniz Pehlivan the dentist:

        An extraction;
        a deep filling;
        Six crowns;
        & three bridges.

        Total cost 1,200 €

        All the work he did is still in place, has never given me a moment’s pain or trouble and looks so good that I seem to have a full head of healthy teeth.

        You will find him on Linkedin and Facebook with plenty of warm endorsements.

        1. Thanks Rastus. I will look into it.

          Do i get dinner on your yacht included?…. :o)

          2. I have a friend (hard to believe, I know) who had an implant done in Portugal. Can’t remember the numbers, but was a massive saving compared to UK prices, plus two cheap holidays…

          3. I’m sure you have at least one friend……maybe part time. :o)

            Thanks. I think i may well do that. I heard good things about Indian surgeons too.

    6. Unlikely that paracetamol would touch that kind of pain. I suggest a prescription of stronger painkillers from your GP.

      1. Thanks for the advice fortunately the discomfort is diminishing now and the paracetamol i’ve acquired seem to be taking the edge of what remains.

  104. Recipe Corner

    With all this isolation and inability to replenish supplies, I decided to have a massive ‘cook in’ use much of the fridge’s contents, cook and freeze the results Currently I have two on the go to use up 1 kg of chix tits and 500 g loin of pork.

    The Chix tits are currently cooking thus:

    Creamy Pork Loin Slices or Chicken with Spinach & Peppers

    Ingredients
    1 onion – chopped
    2 cloves garlic – chopped
    400 grams Sliced Pork loin or chicken pieces (breast/thigh)
    100 grams chorizo – skinned, sliced and chopped (optional)
    300 grams Steamed Spinach – buttered and peppered
    250 grams waxy potatoes (e.g., Charlotte) – optional
    300 millilitres Chicken Stock (a can of Baxter’s Cream of Chicken Soup may be substituted)
    100 grams Crème Fraiche
    100 grams Sliced Red or Green Peppers
    100 grams Sliced Mushrooms
    A pinch of Chilli Flakes
    Salt & Ground Black Pepper – to taste
    Olive Oil

    Method
    1. Heat the olive oil, and hot fry the pork/chicken until lightly browned on both sides. (If excess liquid is detected, remove the pork/chicken and drain the excess).
    2. Once browned, add the chorizo (if used).
    3. Add the onion and garlic.
    4. Reduce the heat and add the chicken stock (soup)
    5. Season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes
    6. Add the spinach and potatoes (if used)
    7. Bring it all to a fast simmer
    8. Add the peppers and mushroom, stir in the crème fraiche
    9. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and leave for at least 30 minutes
    10. Serve with carrots and mashed potato

    Now waiting for Best Beloved who has gone on a hunt for more mushrooms and at least one more pepper as I’m doing twice the amounts shewn which will provide at least 8 dinners (yes, George, those funny meals we civilised people eat in the evening). Ah, BB is back and woofer has been walked as well..

    More to follow with the loin of Pork.

    I hope this helps at least a couple of my NoTTLing friends.

    1. Pain in your head is very difficult to ignore – it’s too close. Easier if it’s your foot, further away.

  106. Latest News – To help out school leavers missing their exams Boris is ordering 5 million A* certificates to be given out to all pupils in September when the country comes out of deep freeze

    3. Those multiple A* certificates have always been worthless since Blair demeaned the education service and allowed comparative epsilon semi-morons to enter the ‘new’ universities on completely inflated grades.

  109. I just went out to make an appointment with my barber. I know he is now called a Gentleman’s Hairdresser, and is legally prohibited from refusing female custom, but he is still a barber. He has been cutting my hair for about fifteen years. It is still growing.
    Alas, he was not in. His wife and daughter have the virus symptoms, so he has to stay at home and watch.
    This is the first possible case in Leeds that I have heard about.
    The plus side is, ignoring the possibility of contamination, I have an appointment there tomorrow with Anna. She is young, attractive and has green fingernails. She can cut hair.
    Sadly, it looks as though the shop will close down at the end of the week.

    2. Close, or close down (permanently)?
      Either way, a bummer for the small business. To be repeated all over, I’m afraid.

  110. Sarcasm……………….The Best Medicine

    “It probably won’t come to that anyway, i.e., rounding up “infected persons,” “possibly infected persons,” and “disruptive” and “uncooperative persons,” and quarantining us in, like, “camps,” or wherever. All this state of emergency stuff, the suspension of our civil rights, the manipulation of facts and figures, the muzzling of dissent, the illegal surveillance, governments legislating by decree, the soldiers,

    the quarantines, and all the rest of it … all these measures are

    temporary, and are being taken for our own good, and purely out of an

    “abundance of caution.”

    I mean, it’s not like the global capitalist empire was right in the middle of a War on Populism (a war that it has been losing up to now) and wanted to take this opportunity to crank up some disaster capitalism,

    terrorize the global public into a frenzy of selfish and irrational

    panic, and just flex its muscles to remind everybody what could happen

    if we all keep screwing around by voting for “populists,” tearing up

    Paris, leaving the European Union, and otherwise interfering with the

    forward march of global capitalism.”

    No,

    it certainly isn’t like that. It is an actual plague that is probably

    going to kill you and your entire family if you don’t do exactly what

    you’re told. So, forget this little thought experiment, and prepare

    yourself for global lockdown. It probably won’t be so bad … unless they

    decide they need to run the part of exercise where it goes on too long,

    and people get squirrelly, and start rebelling, and looting, and

    otherwise not cooperating, and the military is eventually forced to

    deploy those Urban Unrest Suppression Vehicles, and those

    Anti-Domestic-Terror Forces

    https://www.unz.com/chopkins/covid-19-global-lockdown/

    1. Carousel begins. That used to be on our screens regularly at one time. It’s strangely absent now.

  112. 40 years an NHS oncologist and he’s got something to say:

    On Sunday morning I woke up with a jolt. The plan had shifted to cocoon over-70s in their homes for four months. At the same time, special powers would be introduced to allow the arrest of those who broke the quarantine rules. I imagined police cars chasing little old ladies with their shopping trolleys down the high street and helicopters zooming in on me walking my dog. Had the world gone crazy?

    I declare a conflict here – I am 71. I also work full-time and am reasonably fit. The thought of being locked up fills me with absolute horror. Until now our Government’s response on coronavirus has been laudable and I’ve been very supportive. Not the hysteria we’ve seen in the US and some other countries but measured, scientifically based and sensible. This new bombshell was simply not thought through at all.

    The rationale is straightforward. The death rate from Covid-19 is higher in infected older people. That’s clear from China, Korea and Italy. On their way to heaven they use up NHS resources: ventilators, ITU beds and nursing time, all in short supply. Locking people up for their own protection seems a logical policy to save resources.

    But it’s not age that really matters – it’s the state of health prior to infection. Many 50-year-olds are burdened with serious comorbidities – diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart failure. Lifestyle issues – obesity, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol abuse also threaten longevity.

    I’ve been a consultant oncologist in the NHS for 40 years. When I started, we had all sorts of age cut-offs, rigidly implemented. Renal dialysis stopped at 50, bone marrow transplants at 55, and even admission to coronary care units at 65. Patients over that age who had a heart attack were carted off to a very depressing Victorian geriatric hospital – fortunately now closed. There were no monitors, drugs or devices to normalise abnormal heart rhythms, and certainly no crash trolleys.

    Gradually, we came to realise it was not the absolute biological age that mattered but health and lifestyle status. The ageist policies were all discarded 20 years ago.

    This pandemic is no different. There are many factors that make an individual more prone to serious illness with this virus. We need to select individuals who should protect themselves as best as possible based on their general health, not age.

    Most healthy septuagenarians are fine to stay in society. And sequestering people will have profound psychological problems for many. My wife runs a lunch club once a month for 40 people at a local restaurant. At Christmas I provide wine and they get a little tipsy. It’s great to see them enjoying themselves. But today’s lunch is cancelled, leaving a new void in their already empty lives.

    OK, social gatherings are probably not on, but shutting older people away is not the answer. One minister suggested that taking the dog for a walk would be fine. If anyone wants to borrow my dog he’s always available. What kind of policymaking is this?

    There will be deaths and that is sad. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) predicted in January that there will be 620,000 deaths in the UK this year. The worst-case scenario for coronavirus-related deaths is 250,000. But this is double-counting – the majority of virus deaths are already in the ONS total. Many will die whether infected or not.

    But loneliness is a killer, too. Statistics clearly show the mortality rate is higher after the death of a partner. The psychological morbidity of isolation is profound. Lack of communication, boredom and social isolation can lead to deep depression, making people question the value of their lives. Such existential thoughts can lead to serious physiological problems, compounded by claustrophobia and suicidal ideation. There is only so much daytime TV and so many boxsets the mind can take without going mad.

    Fortunately, it seems that my isolation is no longer compulsory. I will change my work pattern a bit. I’ve planned Skype consultations instead of a clinic tomorrow. Life will change but it will go on. But policies that increase social exclusion of the elderly must be avoided at all costs.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/17/not-age-matters-healthy/

  113. Just took in weekly Waitrose delivery, slot two days later than usual. Now expecting a couple of cases of wine from Nethergate and meat delivery from Morgan’s Butchery, both ordered online.

    I am semi-retired and my main Shopfitting client MD has emailed to say all jobs have been put on hold or cancelled. The MD has gone fishing, as you do in a crisis.

    1. Need to go to the opticians (if I’m let out from house arrest) – I read shopfitting as shoplifting! 🙂

  114. Well, another 10 hours of rain/drizzle in Bournville. It’s now stopped just before the darkness sets in. I’d have borne it better, if 1. there had not been many dozens of similar days over the last six months, and 2. the world outside didn’t exhibit many characteristics of an approaching war combining rather empty streets with, mysteriously, vast swathes of empty shelves in the supermarket.

    BTW, I managed to get some Weetabix this afternoon.

      2. I’ve got oodles of bread flour. White, wholemeal, spelt and rye. (and lots of yeast)

        1. I’ve now ordered 6 packets from t’mill…

          The cottage round the corner – The Old Bakery – is now an Airbnb. Perhaps I’ll rent it, take my breadmaker there and feed the village…

  115. Good evening, folks. I would say “goodnight”, even at this time of day, but all hunting has been cancelled. I am off to cook something, slurp some wine and read a book.

      2. Strange, no matter how many times I’ve refreshed that Recipe for Pork Stroganoff doesn’t appear yet your comment does.

        Mods, have I been Islammed because of pork?

        2. Recipe Corner

          Well, I’ll just have to put it up again;

          Pork Fillet Stroganoff

          An old favorite here, Stroganoff, very popular over the years and just as popular in today’s modern world. A lovely pork fillet recipe, especially on those cold winter evenings.

          Serves 4

          Ingredients

          500 g Pork Tenderloin
          Salt and Black Pepper
          1 tsp Paprika
          4 tbsp Olive Oil
          1 Medium onion (finely sliced)
          2 cloves garlic
          8 Fresh Mushrooms Sliced
          1 tbsp Brandy (optional)
          160 ml Sour Cream
          Lemon Juice (1/2 Lemon)
          Fresh Parsley (chopped)

          Method

          1. Trim any fat from the meat and slice it in thin slices.
          2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika
          3. Heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium heat until the oil is hot.
          4. Add the onion and sauté until it is soft, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
          5. Add the garlic and mushrooms, increase the heat slightly and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid.
          6. Tip the contents of the pan onto a plate and set aside.
          7. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of oil to the pan and, when it is hot, sear the pork on both sides for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown.
          8. Return the onions, garlic and mushrooms to the pan
          9. Add the brandy and let it boil or flambé until almost reduced
          10. Lower the heat to medium, stir in the cream and heat to a gentle simmer.
          11. Season to taste with a little more salt and pepper, and a dash of lemon juice.
          12. Add parsley and serve either with boiled rice or tagliatelle, sprinkle with a little more paprika.

          Missing out the garlic is an oops – now rectum fried.

          2. I don’t like chorizo either.

            A friend of mine, who lives in St Ives, has been on a potato hunt for the last two days……

          3. I wanted to buy a tin of potatoes (very convenient) today, but there were none. Fortunately I already have a tin at home.

          4. The brandy is optional ??!!! Highly essential if you ask me!

            Thank you, I have c&p’d the recipe.

    1. Our army nurse in Kent with the Gurkha regiment is going to start work in a Kent hospital ward set up for coronavirus patients. She was already part timing there because the Gurkhas were too fit to need a full time nurse.

      1. I’m two miles from Aldershot. Thanks to Lumley, we’re all Gurkhas now. Lovely people,by the way, but North East Hants has changed beyond recognition.

  119. Some perspective. Acc to google, in 2019, 1870 people were killed on the roads in UK, and 27820 seriously injured.
    Thats 36 deaths a week.
    Country not in lockdown for that.

  122. What has happened to our axe-wielding contributor? You know, the one with the long-bow?

  124. Awkward

    A Swiss medical doctor provided the following information on the

    current situation in order to enable our readers to make a realistic

    risk assessment.

    According to the latest data

    of the Italian National Health Institute ISS, the average age of the

    positively-tested deceased in Italy is currently about 81 years. 10% of

    the deceased are over 90 years old. 90% of the deceased are over 70

    years old.

    80% of the deceased had suffered from two or more chronic diseases.

    50% of the deceased had suffered from three or more chronic diseases.

    The chronic diseases include in particular cardiovascular problems,

    diabetes, respiratory problems and cancer.

    Less than 1% of the deceased were healthy persons, i.e. persons without pre-existing chronic diseases.

    https://swprs.org/a-swiss-doctor-on-covid-19/
    We appear to be destroying our entire society and economy on very flimsy grounds,there are reports the troops are out……………..

    3. That was all in the Mail. How many of us have friends and relatives who fall into those categories? It is like Flanders Fields, the poem.

  125. An expert has determined that the optimum population of the planet would be around 100 million. That population could be well spread out and would also permit wild life to experience a huge resurgence in every biosphere. Jungles and rain forests would reclaim their natural areas.
    A population of 100m is large enough to sustain all of modern civilisations’ technical production and structure. So cars, planes and boats will continue as will film and theatre, the arts and literature. All Chinese, of course. As it happens the number of current members of the Chinese Communist Party is around 90m.
    Apparently the Chinese came across some old videos of Tomorrow’s World where the presenter, Raymond Baxter, said that technology and robotics would allow the population to live a life of leisure.
    Oh, and Covid-19 is just a dress rehearsal.

    1. “An expert has determined that the optimum population of the planet would be around 100 million.” Optimum for the planet would probably be less than that.

    2. I would trust that “expert” as far as I could vomit him/her.

      Who chooses the 100mn?
      My betting would be that the majority of their 100mn chosen would be SFA use in a real world.
      Level one with most privilges:
      Judges/bureacrats/politicians etc
      Level two

      Medics/mechanics/IT people/police/teachers etc etc.

      That doesn’t leave many for the sharp end and bottom end, farmers/dustbin people/children, the elderly.

      Let me guess; the experts will choose the lucky few.

    3. 100 million? About 35 million more than the population of our small island? Across Africa? Asia? Let’s forget about the Americas.

      Bizarre….

    5. I didn’t get as far as ” large enough to sustain all of modern civilisations’ technical production and structure.”, that’s cobblers. Fewer than 100,000,000 would be better for the planet.

    6. Does not sound to be much of n expert.A figure I saw suggested the maximum UK population should be around 55M

  126. “Facebook admits a bug caused it to mark coronavirus news as spam”
    Ironic, or what?

  128. Well that was certainly interesting!

    I’ve been kicked out of the hospital as they clear the decks for the next influx.

    Many thanks for your e-mails and good wishes.

      1. Only around the garden and too knackered to walk more than a few yards at a time. I’ll build up slowly and carefully, I most certainly do not want another bite at that particular cherry!

      1. 10/10 on that.

        After scaring the living daylights out of her, she’s been brilliant

    3. Good to see you back, old troop, Our Annie took her laptop into the hospibule and they kicked her out PDQ.

      I trust you suffered the intended procedure.

      1. As far as I can tell, yes thank you.
        The tests all came back within “acceptible range”, the pnuemonia was the last to get the all clear.

    10. Good to hear from you though! Hope you’re now getting better? They didn’t kick you out still poorly?

      1. No, I cannot praise them highly enough. They are working under very difficult circumstances.

        They are certainly clearing the wards/rooms asap.

      1. Thank you.
        “Normal” pneumonia.

        Ho ho.

        }:-((

        What was initially worrying the hospital people greatly was that I arrived with Covid symptoms and that was their first fear; but have had no contact with anyone from a high risk country or region.

        It appears that that would have made me a case zero, someone who had picked it up just from being out and about doing the food shopping so someone out there would be regarded as highly infectious asymptomatic, bad news indeed as to date no cases had been diagnosed here.

        1. Good news for your neighbours and contacts then. Glad to hear you are on the mend.
          Take care & get stronger each day.

    13. Good to see you back, old troop, Our Annie took her laptop into the hospibule and they kicked her out PDQ.

      I trust you suffered the intended procedure.

      1. Thanks,
        I was initially in the ICU and not in any state for that kind of thing. Fortunately HG was allowed to bring in books for the latter part of the stay, although at three pages an hour it makes even a chapter seem like War and Peace

        1. As we’ve said to Annie, Sos, just keep Buggering On – we’ll beat this with typical British phlegm.

          You’re doing a good job so far.

          1. Thanks.
            I’m still of the view that we are not being told the truth over this. The numbers jsut don’t equate, so either we are being lied to or there has been a gross over-reaction.

          2. I’ll go for the latter, Sos, we have all (mostly) on this forum lived through some ‘exciting’ times and we’re not given to over-reacting – are we?

          3. Or both. Much depends on how sceptic one is. Personally my view is that life is cheap for the CCP, and getting the rest of the world’s markets in turmoil suits them fine just now. Apparently China has had its first day without any new cases – after making sure that they kept schtum about it long enough for the world to get infected.

    14. You didn’t have the coronavirus…. did you…..?

      It is good to see you back, you have been missed.

      Edit – Ah… I have read further down now.

      1. Thank you.

        Much to the great relief of the local Health service it was “only” pneumonia.

        I would have been a “case zero”; bad news indeed for the hospital

        1. Really pleased you are ok and back with us, I had wondered if you had gone to Oz, I think you sometimes go at this time of the year? And you had a bad run-in with an influenza virus a couple of years ago if I recall correctly? Anyway good to see you back.

    15. Just picked up on the news of your illness, sos. So glad to hear that you’re well on the road to recovery after what must have been a real scare bearing in mind the current situation. Keep safe, as we’re trying to.

      1. Thank you
        I think it scared the hospital as much as it did me. I had all the symptoms and would have been a “case zero”, someone who caught it without coming into direct contact with someone else who had been in one of the danger areas, i.e., just from walking around.
        Luckily it turned out merely to be pnuemonia.

        It’s a strange old world where getting pneumonia is regarded as a not bad result! {:-O

    16. So glad you are back and well Sos!

      Many, many thanks to HG also for answering our concerned emails. It must have been a very worrying time for her.

      KBO

      1. Thank you.
        Indeed it was, particularly the period when I was in intensive care and visiting was forbidden.

    1. I’m £200,800 down and counting. If the FSTE drops below 4500 i’m ruined. Got any of that sherry left?

      1. Not sure why they just just don’t pull the plug on it until everyone goes back to work.

        1. Thinking about it if they stop trading worldwide the billionaire traders will soon put a stop to all this malarkey

          1. I have never enjoyed roller coasters but it looks like all the small investors are going to take the hit.

          2. A variation on: It’s the rich wot gets the pleasure and the poor what gets the pain?

        1. I wouldn’t consider myself rich. Admittedly i do have substantial investments. If you can call them that. £300,00 in my Pistachio bungalow and what was £400,000 in stocks and shares which have been halved.

          where does your quote come from?

          1. I simply thought that your own declarations about the loss of your own investments was an indication of your personal wealth.

            My own village property is worth about £650,000 and my assets more than that in cash. Yup. I worked hard and saved over fifty years and endeavour to maintain financing and effective use of my money when I die.

            Needless to say I have acquired countless historical objects, from books to items of glass and pottery down the years.

          2. Thanks for clarifying for me…I have been on a similar trajectory though not as worthy as yours but i now realise how cheap i sound… :o(

            Joking aside….. I hope you have photo’s and descriptions of these historical objects. Don’t post them here !!!

          3. I’d like to see some. I’m always amazed by what people like to collect. MOH and I have totally different views on what is ‘desirable’ to collect, hoard or invest in.

      3. I said it earlier but will say it again. Why is the £ getting hit worse than the US$ and the bloody €?

      4. Great buying opportunity. The entire UK population* will have been exposed to infection within 3 months. Those who are left will need to plan for the future, and the FTSE will recover.

        * excluding those beyond the back of beyond, eg our brave submariners under the icecap, Polar researchers, etc.

      5. My grandfather died about a fortnight before the oil crisis. By the time his will had gone through probate, the estate value was a fraction of the pre crisis value. But death duties had to be paid on the value when he died. It was extremely expensive for us. However his stocks were in good companies and over the years, they’ve climbed back And the dividends in particular recovered relatively quickly.

        1. My condolences to you and your family. I hope he lived a long and happy life. I ran out of Grandparents 30 years ago. Not trying to compete here… :o(

          It is normally a good thing to hold on to the stocks. They eventually recover.

          With all these punitive taxes it is no wonder that people try to protect their wealth.

          Also very telling that members of the EU are not subject to tax law or any law for that matter.

      6. I heard of someone (a trader) who lost substantially more than you over the last two weeks.

  130. When people realise this is all just another con there won’t ever be the need to wear a tin foil hat again

  132. “We might be in the same situation as France, Spain and Italy next week. We cant leave the house without filling in a form.”
    e-mail from daughter in London, currently working from from.home.
    What is going on is the most frightening thing of our long lives. It has passed being a joking matter.
    People are going to die, but not from the virus.
    The cure is worse than the disease.

      1. Phizzee, I think the knowledge that 99 percent of the trash in the media is rubbish had blinded you to the effects of self-isolation on the majority of normal people. Especially the very high number of sufferers from depression in the country.
        I am glad thet you are cheerful and coping well. Not everyone is.

        1. I have nominated myself as warden (after Garlands post to me) and put a note through the door of my elderly neighbours. Asking them if they require any help or assistance.

          Depression is something the individual has to deal with. I’m not qualified but i can do their shopping.

          3. Good evening MiLady. I took your lead. Possibly not a great deal i can do but most of them have allotments i can raid………………… (devil face)………………

          4. The local Nursery has struggled this year, the ground has been too wet
            for planting out, so a lot of stock remains unsold, [all plants are grown
            there from seed.]

        2. You don’t have to stay in the house, Tony. Get thee to a public house (while they’re still open).

          1. For how long ?. You can neither stand a round nor stand next to anyone.
            Mind you, there are two barmaids at our local, either of which can cure depression in a flash.

          4. You don’t have to stand next to anyone to have a friendly conversation, Tony. Just talk a wee bit louder.

  133. If you look at the Corona virus data the government lost control on about the 3rd March. This in my view was down to them implementing no real restrictions. You could see what was happening from China & Italy. WE are now seeing the numbers escalate fast and it will be about two weeks before the Lock down starts being the numbers down

    They need to pay particular attention to London which is by fat the largest UK hot spot. London can also be causing it to spread it to the rest of the South as it has a huge number of commuters

    1. If you criticise the Government so much, why not offer your services to Boris ? I know Carrie is good, but I’m sure he could use another knowledgeable advisor.

      1. I am not sure the government could afford my consultancy fee but you have to pay to get the best

  134. Evening all. Just back from a fortnight away from the news, visiting New York and various UK locations. Anything happened while I was away?

    4. Absolutely nothing. Except that we’re just about to enter total lock down, there is panic and pandemonium and fighting in the supermarkets over toilet rolls and a friend of mine cannot find potatoes anywhere in the small market town of St Ives (Cambs). Oh, and in France you may just need a slip of paper to leave your premises saying who you are and what is your mission abroad…. Apart from that absolutely nothing, zilch, niet, rien. All is well in the Realm.

      1. Already been stopped by plod in France. I had the form filled in with my legitimate reason for travel and they were more surprised than anything else.

    1. The UK always seems to play strictly by EU rules while other countries ignore them when it suits (e.g. France refusing British beef after the mad cow episode was over). Now that we are almost out, why bother?

      1. 317232+ up ticks,
        Evening A,
        Lets keep in mind we were “almost out” on the 24/6/2016.
        The way I see it and will continue to see it until we have total severance, is these Isles politico’s are in the main singing from the same musical score but for many it is difficult to ID the composer.
        In my book it is NOT either Elgar or Britten.

          1. Thanks for that. Cause and effect. The Met kicked him out for kissing girls, then had to close down!!

    4. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Is there some other news that is being ‘buried’?

  137. After very heavy criticism from the WHO and other world experts the NHS is now stepping up testing to 25,000 patients and NHS staff previously it was not testing NHS staff at all which was crazy

    Another problem is the lack of suitable PPE equipment for the NHS staff

  138. Went to a funeral service at 1400 of a friend’s wife. Afterwards most went to the burial, whereas five of us went to my local. The young landlord had an alcohol (gel) dispenser on the bar, and we were of an average age of about 68. A few regulars were already there. The regular barmaid has ‘self bloody isolated’ because her daughter’s friend at school had a cough. We all decided that we’d rather take our chances with contracting and defeating the virus than sitting at home staring at the missus as she stared back (apologies to all right thinking ladies). Quite a lot of us do have ‘underlying illnesses’, but how long do we have left? We know that young people will survive this ‘plague’, so that’s good.

          1. Though the arranged meet is off. We could go Colditz. Wouldn’t want to risk any of the troops but those game are game.

          4. HMG is issuing further emergency regs. tomorrow,
            I am waiting to see what these are before I change
            my usual Thursday activities.

      2. I know, I know, but it’s something you can say to ‘her indoors’. “I might be back a bit late, but my hands are virus free (probably).”

    2. Why didn’t the Landlord allow you to pull your own pints and chuck money in a glass from a yard away?

      1. Years ago I used to go to a pub on Sunday lunchtimes that was also the venue for a very good folk group; you needed to arrive early to get your first drink – to get another drink in the packed bar you used to pass the empty glass, your order and money via whoever was between you and the bar, and they passed it on. The drinks came back with your change (coins) in one of the glasses (with the booze, which hopefully disinfected it). No one cheated because they couldn’t move far!! Going to the loo was interesting!

      2. We’d have left billions of viruses on the pump handles. Catch up, we discussed all this in the pub.

    2. The BBC will have to find some more repeats and the have stopped filming Eastenders and CAsulaty

    3. It’s fact that people rarely notice anything that doesn’t change; BBC News has been pathetic for decades.

  140. I’ve just had an email from our neighbours in partly living in France, they are now under movement restrictions, but her car is stuck in the car park at Stanstead. I doubt if they’ll be any allowances for the now extra long parking periods.

      1. I’ve always found Manchester and Stansted the most user-friendly airports in England. Bristol comes third.

      1. I did but when I managed to log in a gain it was still on the top of the page seemingly unposted. I’m having a ‘night mare’ trying to log in on my phone. It’s gone from no good with the PC, which I sorted to the next day my phone, which was as one stage more reliable then the PC log in.
        Very frustrating.

        1. I can’t use my phone at all now as it died while we were away. The “new”battery I ordered was a dud – as the phone is over 5 years old now I will probably be forced to get a new one, even though it just needs a new battery. That’s “built in obsolescence” for you. My mother coined that phrase years ago and she’s been dead for over 30 years. Time this throw-away society had a rethink. My son said that any battery I get now will be an old one. I don’t use it enough to justify buying another or getting locked into a contract.
          I don’t shut my laptop down (I do occasionly reboot it) just close the lid and it’s all still there when I come back – so I hardly ever need to log in again.

      1. I landed there in the early seventies walked through the Terminal and wondered where the hell I was!

    5. We went on a long weekend trip to Iceland last month. Our return flight was cancelled and we were only able to fly back the following evening. I tried to claim back the increased cost in parking from Easyjet but was turned down. It was only a tenner but I was a bit miffed. It’s the principle of the thing. We’re still waiting to hear if they’ll pay compo for the cancelled flight,

      1. Our neighbours leave theirs in the long term for up to a month at a time, it’s cheaper than the taxi to and from. Probably not this time. But they have rellies that could go and collect it.

  142. Japanese flu drug ‘clearly effective’ in treating coronavirus, says China

    Howe much truth there is in this who knows

    Medical authorities in China have said a drug used in Japan to treat new strains of influenza appeared to be effective in coronavirus patients, Japanese media said on Wednesday.

    Zhang Xinmin, an official at China’s science and technology ministry, said favipiravir, developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, had produced encouraging outcomes in clinical trials in Wuhan and Shenzhen involving 340 patients.

    “It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment,” Zhang told reporters on Tuesday.

    1. You were wrong about the travel insurance. Even with a policy purchased before the changes made due to covid-19 one is not covered when it has been classed as a pandemic.

      Please don’t try to contradict me…I have first hand knowledge.

      1. If a UK police it should cover you. See below or some companies and the cut off dates

        Below are the COVID-19 coronavirus cut-off dates for a few of those insurers.

        When insurers cut off cover for coronavirus

        Brand Cut off cover to China Cut off cover worldwide
        Insure and Go 21 January 31 January
        Good2Go 24 January 24 January
        Travel Insurance Direct 23 January 31 January

        1. Do you have a problem with your hearing?

          My holiday was booked last August and the Pandemic Alert wipes it out regardless of when the booking was made.

          1. No it does not . You insurance company is trying to fob you off. Uf the company cannot fulfill the contract they have to give you a refund

            This assumes a UK issued policy and an EU airline

          4. I transferred the flights with an admin charge of £150, plus the flights were £100 per seat more expensive as it is laughingly still their holiday season prices. And the September dates for the apartment was £400 more for the 10 nights.

            Dear dear Billy is of the impression i go on package holidays covered by ABTA.

          5. That’s a steep extra charge – I suppose they have to make some money somehow now.

            John is looking at cancelling our train tickets to Sheffield next month – I wonder if they will change the dates.

          6. I cancelled my train tickets to London. They said there would be no problem but probably a £10 admin fee.

      2. I’m due to fly to Venice on 22nd April. I checked my travel insurance Coronavirus information and found that they will not pay up even if FCO advice is not to travel, and the trip gets cancelled by the tour company (SecretEscapes). I’ve just got to hope that SecretEscapes refund the cost.

        1. That is the health element of the policy. If the FCO says do not travel you can claim again the tour company ii a package or the airline if an EU airline of the flight departs from the UK

          If they are being difficult you can go to their ADR scheme or you can make a section 75 claim if paid by credit card

          1. That’s why I said “I’ve just got to hope that SecretEscapes refund the cost.”

          2. https://www.abta.com/help-and-complaints/frequently-asked-questions/foreign-and-commonwealth-office-advising-against

            The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is advising against travel to my destination, can I get a refund?
            In the event of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advising UK nationals not to travel to a given area, we expect all of our Members to offer clients who are due to travel imminently to that destination, e.g. within approximately 48 hours, the correct options. Members might be able to offer you an alternative holiday. If they can’t, or if the alternative means a significant change to your original holiday, they must offer you a full refund of all money paid.

            In the absence of FCO advice against travel, if you cancel your booking the travel company may well impose cancellation charges in accordance with their booking conditions.

  143. Is it really necessary to lock the country down?
    It is almost as if they have been given a program to carry and they are doing it no matter what.

    1. The problem is that we know very little about it at present. It appears at least in the UK is only really fatal to those with underlying significant health conditions. There appear to be about 2% that dont fall into that category . There is not much published data on those that get it and are badly affected by it but do not die

      1. You mean that 98% of this nation’s population have significant underlying health conditions?

    2. Yes, it is, isn’t it. Just a test run. The real value of it will be over the next two months. If we all do as we are told they will be happy. There will be no trouble next time. However, if they need to put troops on the streets to enforce these rules then they will reconsider what they have to do next time.

      1. 317232+up ticks,
        Evening HP,
        Submission is not an option really is it ? it wasn’t in 14/18 39/45.
        I would think the calibre of many leaders and the
        punishment meted out to some veterans would
        put the army on the side of the peoples.
        It has been building up to this for years requiring only a trigger.

      2. Reality check: there are over 1,100 towns in the UK with a population in excess of 500 and we have an Army of about 100,000 including Reservists. Take off medical staff who will be needed to augment the NHS, those deployed overseas and those who still have to administer, feed, pay and house the Army, and you would be lucky to get 25 squaddies per town. We have run down our Armed Forces, along with strategic industries and just about anything else of genuine value to the country.

    1. Terms of Contract need to be consulted. They will be in the 26 page document in minuscule print that you could have clicked on, but didn’t. Nobody does. You just click the box that says “I have read and understood, and agree to the Terms and Conditions”. You, and everybody else does that because you are not Philadelphia Lawyers, and because you know it makes no difference what the Terms say, as they will do as they please.
      I am sure that there will be a clause headed ” Force Majeure” that lets them off the hook. There always is.

      1. And watch out for what appears to be fancy edging on the contract.

        It may be a get-out clause written in Armenian,

      2. Difficult. You are buying a package of Sport . It would have to be very significant changes to what you get to be able to cancel . The odds would be stacked against you

          1. The problem today is that none of it is ‘sport’; they are all businesses, supported by fee paying mugs.

        2. I think that is my point, Bill. These big businesses don’t want people to cancel contracts or cease payment.

  145. The neo-fascism we never talk about. Spiked. Brendan O’Neill 18 March 2020.

    It isn’t only because of the non-stop media coverage of Covid-19 that yesterday’s conviction for one of the worst acts of extremist violence of modern times has not generated much discussion. It is also because that act of extremist violence was executed by an Islamist. And we just don’t like talking about the problem of Islamism. We certainly don’t try to galvanise people in opposition to it, as left-wingers do following far-right acts of violence. And nor do we dig down to try to uncover the ideologies and tensions that might have energised the violent outburst, as media outlets do whenever a white man shoots up a school. No, we move on. We say it was probably a rarity. We say, ‘Don’t look back in anger’.

    Brendan is using the “We” pronoun here in a collective but also semi ironical (or one hopes he is) manner. Muslim terrorism is a source of never ending anxiety to the elites because it confounds one of their most precious beliefs, which is that when exposed to the glories of Cultural Marxism all prejudice and hostility will vanish in a Mutual Brotherhood. It won’t of course and this particular asshole born and raised in the UK is the living embodiment of its fatuity.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/18/the-neo-fascism-we-never-talk-about/

    1. I think you are wrong.
      Muslim (or any other type) of terrorism acts like the Corona virus, in causing chaos and damage to dociety. This acts as camouflage and opportunity for a take-over by the “elites” to “save” society and restore order. At the same time, freedoms are removed to ensure “safety”.
      Like boiling a frog, by the time society realises, it’s too late.
      Thus, immigration is encouraged & facilitated, virus panic encouraged, all leading to draconian curtailment of freedom to protect society. Nearly there now – look at the discussion of London lockdown.
      Never waste a good crisis.
      [Edits to correct spellings]

      1. Well I didn’t say that they didn’t use it Oberst, only that it contravenes their belief system. All ideologies react when challenged and this usually takes the form of repression of some kind.

  148. I have just received an email from my dentist. Here is an extract:

    “Currently one of these measures is for patients in “Vulnerable groups” to reduce the amount of social contacts they make – for at least the next 3-4 months. Persons in this group include those aged over 70, those with an underlying heart condition, suffering with respiratory conditions such as Asthma or COPD, Diabetics or immune compromised persons (e.g. have recently had chemotherapy or are on systemic steroids). More detailed information can be found on the GOV.UK website. Scottish Government are requiring us, from today, to cancel all routine recall appointments for patients in this Vulnerable group. As we do not know how long these measures will be in place, we are asking you to take NO action at present. If you have a scheduled appointment with us, we will make contact with you to confirm it is cancelled. We are not rebooking these appointments at present but will keep a note of the matter and be in contact to rebook once the situation has passed. If you are in this group and have a problem please be assured, we are still able to provide help and simply phone to request an emergency appointment as per usual.

    Scottish Government is also requiring us to reduce, to a bare minimum, the amount of aerosol generating procedures we carry out until further notice. This means that we cannot continue with routine treatment appointments such as fillings, root canal treatments and crown preparations. We can still continue with dentures, provision of periotherapy (hand instrumentation), extractions and routine recall appointments for all patients NOT in the Vulnerable group.”

  149. 317232+ up ticks,
    May one ask, who is the governmental quartermaster in charge of supplies, where are the life support beds ?, where are the ventilators,?
    Why have every NI stamp payer within these Isles not got one apiece if ever needed ?

    Has the eu weekly wedge, wonga, got out as usual ?
    Has the overseas aid ( unnecessary in many cases) been topped up ?

  150. Now look at this
    Chinese Govt staged an epidemic drill in Wuhan on 18 September 2019. Further to

    that, this drill was held exactly 30 days before the key date of October 18th, 2019

    the same date when the Wuhan Military Games began and also the very same date

    when Event 201 (Big Pharma, Bill Gates, Chinas CDC, Americas CDC, etc.) was held

    in the USA which was also simulating a fictional scenario of how to handle a

    coronavirus epidemic.9.

    Further to that, this drill was held exactly 30 days before the key date of October 18th, 2019

    the same date when the Wuhan Military Games began and also the very same date

    when Event 201 (Big Pharma, Bill Gates, Chinas CDC, Americas CDC, etc.) was held

    in the USA which was also simulating a fictional scenario of how to handle a

    coronavirus epidemic.
    https://stillnessinthestorm.com/2020/02/false-flag-clue-chinese-government-foreknowledge-drill-for-coronavirus-30-days-before-wuhan-military-games/

    1. Very, very suspicious circumstantial evidence. There is no such thing as coincidence of that planned magnitude.

      1. Just as suspicious is the movement of the US dollar from 1.30 to the pound to 1.15 in less than a week and after cutting US interest rates to zero.

        What have the global financial markets stitched up? And how much would US money gain from buying up UK bankrupt stock with a strong dollar?

        1. I was in no way denying the possible truth of the matter, I am in total agreement with you. There is something very strange about all this.

          1. I understand what you said. I meant there is definitely something evil happening and any possibility of this has to be considered.

          2. Yes, I agree. Evil is the word.

            Merkel visited China mid-November, ostensibly in connection with Huawei. Data researchers have said that this virus started its rounds from end November. All very interesting..

    2. These billionaire arseholes seem to think that they are immune from our scrutiny. Bill Gates is a perfect example having made his billions from the most irritating software known to intelligent man. His world plan is to be remembered not for his crap software but his leadership of the fight against climate change. His climate change agenda involves the transfer of wealth from the successful economies to er… Bill Gates to do as he wishes.

      Others involved in the deception include Bloomberg and Soros masquerading as ever under other institutions that Soros funds.

      This situation is intolerable. We have all seen the influence Soros has on the EU, witness the sheer number of recorded meetings and those cosy conversational photographs of Soros and the likes of Ursula van der Layen (or whatever the German bitch is called).

      Trump is targeted for the reason that he is very close to exposing the Clintons and Obamas as some of the most corrupt politicians in American history. All of those missing, supposedly deleted, Hillary Clinton emails are stored on the servers of others and Trump knows it. Just need to find the laptops.

    3. http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/about

      “About the Event 201 exercise
      Event 201 was a 3.5-hour pandemic tabletop exercise that simulated a series of dramatic, scenario-based facilitated discussions, confronting difficult, true-to-life dilemmas associated with response to a hypothetical, but scientifically plausible, pandemic. 15 global business, government, and public health leaders were players in the simulation exercise that highlighted unresolved real-world policy and economic issues that could be solved with sufficient political will, financial investment, and attention now and in the future.”

      It certainly does make one wonder…

  151. HEAR HEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    But people will die, I hear you shout. We all die. We are not

    entitled to immortality. I’ll take my chances, as I’d rather die as a

    freeborn citizen doing the things that freeborn citizens do, than cower

    like a dog in a kennel because the Government has ordered me to do so. I

    won’t do it.

    As France goes into lockdown, they’ve stopped rebuilding Notre Dame –

    the magnificent cathedral that went up in flames last year. It’s a

    sign, I tell you, like the flames itself, it’s a sign. That cathedral

    was built by people of faith in the medieval times, times when a mouth

    ulcer could take you out. Today, they down tools over the flu.

    It is coming up to 80 years since the Blitz and I keep hearing the

    Blitz spirit is coming back. Is this really what the British public did

    in 1940 – squabble over toilet paper and stop going to the pub, when

    actual bombs were falling on their actual heads?

    Is this what British manhood did – say yes, Mr Prime Minister,

    whatever you say Mr Prime Minister, I’ll hide in my bedroom for 14 days

    because I have a cough? Or did they get on the boats and bring those

    soldiers back from Dunkirk?

    And they got on more boats a few years later and landed on the

    beaches in Normandy to be shot to pieces by German machine guns. What

    would that generation say now if they saw this – healthy adults locked

    in their houses on governmental say-so? It’s astonishing.

    https://conservativewoman.co.uk/liberty-shackled-and-the-future-blighted-rip-europe-312-2020-we-had-a-good-run/
    I’m off for a pub lunch tomorrow,I’ll take my chances

    1. Our grandfather’s generation were imbued with the Dunkirk spirit.

      The 1960s saw the rise of liberalism, the demise of stiff upper lips and the the curtailing of discipline.

      Three generations later we, as a people, are no longer fit for purpose.

      1. Actually, George, that was my Father – born in 1895, he volunteered in the Queen’s Westminster Rifles in 1914. He was commissioned in the field in August 1915. When that little disturbance was over, he farmed in Kent until the next hullabaloo when he got someone to get him the eyechart so that he could join up again – this time as a Provost Marshal. He died in 1955 when I was just 11 but I didn’t love him as he was a disciplinarian.

        I also despair for the current British population, not only for what he went through but the lack of recognition that we had a fighting spirit and have now just given up.

        1. Good Morning NTN,
          “but I didn’t love him as…” Are you sure? He fought and served in two world wars and assisted in baby production c1943, well before the Axis powers were defeated. Your dad sounds like a man and a half.

    2. Would your nearest and dearest not be worried at the possibility of you returning from the pub with an infection ?

      1. I live alone,the only person I would put at risk is me,I would not endanger collateral victims

    3. Yo Rik
      Then

      Everyone had blackout curtains
      Everyone (except the hoi polloi )was on rationing
      Limited transport
      etc

      What we are lacking, because it is classed as Hate Crime, is The British Spirit

      Over the years, we have absorbed folks of all races,creeds, religions etc

      Now you can be arrested, if you harm a kiddy fiddler, say that only women can have babies,
      infer that a certain ethnic group are child groomers, etc

      Mean while, in the real world, we are collapsing a dynasty because of of the way Main Stream
      and ‘Social’ Media control many lives

    4. Can’t agree with you, Rik. You take your chances if you want, but I think you are a bit naive if you think that following government advice is an assault on your freedom. If your GP told you that if you didn’t stop smoking you would die within the year would you ignore his advice on the grounds that “no-one tells me what to do!”? If you are happy to go off for a pub lunch tomorrow and take your chances, then I can only say “Good luck and goodbye – I shall miss your cat giffes/memes” now in case it is too late to say that later.

  152. Save lives (and the NHS) or save the economy? I’m glad I don’t have to make the choice.

    Now is the time for strong, implacable leadership

    TELEGRAPH VIEW

    As from the end of the week, schools across the land will close until further notice. The fact is they were going to shut for two weeks over Easter anyway but no families will have planned for such a lengthy vacation.

    The rationale for keeping the schools open was that parents would have to stay at home to look after the children, taking key workers off the front line. Alternatively, grandparents may be asked to care for them putting the most vulnerable in society at greater risk. But with a radical change of policy in recent days focusing more on testing and reducing personal contact to as little as possible, holding the line was becoming unsustainable, both practically and politically.

    Some schools and nurseries will remain available for the offspring of “key workers” who have yet to be defined specifically but will include emergency service staff, drivers and shop employees. Exams in May and June have been scrapped which will cause children deep concern over what that means for their futures. They need reassurance as soon as possible.

    At this time of crisis, constant carping at official policy does not help. Self-regarding parliamentary committees, for instance, would do better to let ministers get on with their jobs rather than drag them away from the office in order for MPs to grandstand.

    Criticism has contributed to a sense that UK policy is insufficiently robust and might even be behind the collapse in the value of sterling to its lowest levels since 1985. Everyone, including the Opposition, needs to row in the same direction. Perhaps a cross-party War Cabinet is required.

    But it is also important that the Government stays ahead of the curve and is not always seen to be catching up. When people are feeling so uneasy and alarmed, any sense of drift will merely add to their trepidation. We crave strong, implacable leadership.

    Recent announcements, including the school closure, have not entirely convinced. Rishi Sunak’s £300 billion loan facility to prop up industry and businesses was welcome as far as it went.

    But making this a credit line, however good the terms, is questionable because many companies do not want to take on more debt when they are making no money to pay it off. They may prefer to go out of business, defeating the point of the rescue package.

    It is crucial that cash is easily and speedily accessible to people whose perfectly viable businesses have been wrecked by a demand shock not of their making. Direct payments for people losing their jobs will be necessary if firms lay off employees. One way this could be avoided would be to tie help for companies to a condition that they will keep workers on the payroll.

    While mortgage lenders are helping borrowers with repayment holidays, this does not assist renters. The Government is now promising tenancy protection for them but must also ensure that landlords, who need the income, do not end up in hardship as a consequence.

    But perhaps a far bolder approach is needed, such as so-called “personal QE” or helicopter money, direct cash in hand for the duration of the crisis. This will add massively to Government debt but this is not the time for timidity. The long-term costs in redundancy, broken businesses and falling tax revenues will be far greater.

    During the last war, annual deficits of 20 per cent or more were run up for five years. This crisis will last nowhere near as long but could do even greater damage if something similar is not done. The wartime analogy is a real one. Instinctively, Boris Johnson believes in people making their own decisions, a commendable instinct, but in times like these there is no room for allowing selfish behaviour to continue by those who think it is fine to keep going to the pub or who bulk buy at the shops. Supermarkets have introduced their own rationing system but this should be backed by statutory authority to give clarity to the message.

    There are reports that emergency powers to be introduced shortly may see a tougher London lockdown. The capital has the highest number of cases but has also seen widespread resistance to the social distancing the Government has sought. This needs to stop. Everyone must play their part in this fight.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/03/18/now-time-strong-implacable-leadership/

    1. I’m not a Telegraph reader, but after reading that I don’t want to be. If I want to read that sort of stuff, the Guardian and the BBC are free.

      1. “At this time of crisis, constant carping at official policy does not help.” Sounds eminently reasonable to me, Tony.

        1. Upon my sole, that old trout, Nicola Sturgeon, does a lot of carping, which seems very fishy to me.

  153. How other places do it-

    “cell phone surveillance tools normally used to fight terrorism were starting to be used to track the mobile telephone location of coronavirus carriers. The technology would allow health officials to identify other cell phones near the virus carrier.
    By Wednesday evening the Ministry of Health announced it had
    contacted the first 400 people who had been found to be close enough to
    an infected person that they now had to be quarantined.

    “In the message sent to them was the date they were in an area near the infected person
    and thus they were obligated to immediately go into a home isolation,”
    the ministry statement said.”

  155. Two article titles in today’s Telegraph which caught my eye, neither of which I decided to open:

    Glastonbury’s demise is a national tragedy – the festival holds Britain together
    NEIL MCCORMICK

    Princess Beatrice forced to scale back wedding over Coronavirus fears

        1. Not really, It’s just that I think that at the moment that there are more important things in the world to worry about than whether some spoilt brat doesn’t get her ride in an open topped carriage alongside her billionaire husband.

    3. Glastonbury……tragic.

      This country’s gorn to the dogs…..oh’ hang on…..

  157. Government prepring to deploy troops

    covid defence force being increased to 10,000 in preparation for deployment

    1. Thank goodness. You almost sound like you are enjoying it. We will make sure you are our first port of call.

    1. Sorry, herd immunity only works if the virus fails to mutate successfully.
      But thanks for the optimism.

      1. from tomorrow sounds like a phased run down as London goes into lockdown A skeleton service will be maintained for key workers

        1. If this keeps up i’ll be out of work again. I can’t claim SSP. I don’t get holiday. I don’t get payslips and can’t prove my earnings.

    2. Have you considered offering help to people in need? A couple of hours off here would have quite an impact.

  162. Following Bill Jackson panic advice mode and tight bandwidth. Only posts that will appear on this thread are the ones that say i was right all along.

  163. I dashed off to Sainsbury, small local store 6 miles away.. to pick up a few bits and pieces . A lady , much older than me , was searching for dried soup, and she commented on the shortages and chaos , I was looking for Bovril and stock cubes, but we ended up having a quick chat anyway .
    Just wondering now, shop shelves are stripped to the bone, they are bare , shop staff are being abused , they just cannot keep up with the furore of the desperate shopper.
    Does no one have any regard for anyone anymore.. push and shove , grab what you can society .. care and share .. What is happenening ?

    1. People are beginning to panic, Belle. I suggest you send wannafight out to do the shopping.

      1. He would be exhausted.. people keep pushing their trollies into him.. he hates shopping.
        No sport on TV and limited golf .. and a few other issues are having a bad effect.

        1. You sound wonderful to me. As i’m sure he is to you. Why are you having such a trolley barging down in your neck of the woods?

          1. Because of the limited spread of supermarkets catering for a large spread out rural area .. lack of transport and a retired population!

      2. I’ll be panicking soon. Down to 1 bog roll and for last four days been unable to source any. Every shop and local supermarket sold out.

    2. I wonder how many of these panic buyers are still also going to pubs and generally socialising?

    1. So that is all of them. I expect the other 10,000 won’t have English as their first bullet.

  165. HAPPY HOUR ….or not!
    After a dull shopping trip (no panic buying) in fact there was little left to panic over, I enjoyed an hour browsing in the local bookshop.
    However I did buy a frozen pack of smoked haddock in Iceland, no shortage there, a bag of frozen spinach and a bone for the dog.
    Returning home I was ready for a large sherry, cheese and biscuits and a dish of olives.
    Looking through the post for my PBond £25 I opened a letter from….. Dignity with prepaid funeral plan….made my day!

      1. last plea to you before i employ an assassin. Have you considered what affect your posts have on normal people…not including you obviously.

  169. I see Harry and his missus are giving us the benefit of their wisdom and kind words on how to treat the coronavirus.

    ‘The royal couple branded the current situation regarding the health crisis ‘as a true testament there is to the human spirit.’ They went on to say that we need each other ‘for truth, for support, and to feel less alone during a time that can honestly feel quite scary.’

    Needless to say, they are getting a good kicking in the comments.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8126735/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-urge-public-support-amid-coronavirus-epidemic.html

    2. I hope they signed a load of bananas, otherwise the message might get a bit missed in the fact those extremely rich people with extremely rich relatives didn’t get their message.

  170. …and now, Good night, Gentlefolk, may God bless you and grant you a good night’s sleep.

    Until tomorrow (oh later today).

  172. Just been for a 15 min stroll around the village. Now I now what its like to live in North Korea. Awaiting more orders from Dear Leader in the morning on how we are to live our lives.

    1. Just conceal a dozen knives about your person and you will just get a slap on the wrist.

  173. Normally I’m a steady book reader, but these last 2/3 weeks I cannot seem to focus on anything longer than a chapter, fiction or nonfiction. Apart from NoTTL, I have, however, been an avid reader of ‘The Spectator’ and ‘The Telegraph’ (selected articles). I have also consumed more TV/Radio News than usual.

    I have watched the Democratic Primaries in the US with increasing horror and astonishment that they are settling on corrupt with signs-of-senility Biden. One thing which occurs to me is that unless they keep him in self-isolation for the next 8 months, Covid-19 might also settle on Joe Biden.

    1. Giving the nod to Biden is simply putting Trump in for a second term. God help USA. That man is a moron.

          1. If you say so, I’m sure you must also be gung-ho for Corbyn, then. Good luck with that.

          2. Oh yeah if you read back you’ll see I was Corbyn’s number 1 cheerleader. Prat!

            It is possible to dislike both options in a 2 horse race.

      2. “That man is a moron.”

        Obviously, you would be able to really humiliate him in any public debate.

      1. I think this will be where the real competition is ,,, somebody mentioned Michelle Obama, but I can’t claim to know anything …

  174. We went for a drive into the downs and came back via the coast roads, very quiet and it was a pleasant break. We had a duck lunch again with some white and red wine. Going to be par for the course. I think.

        1. Typo or not, but it is not the first time you have spoke irregularly to one of your betters.. Mind your tongue !

    2. A duck lunch, Johnny?

      I have to say that lunching on stale bread sounds a wee bit frugal, even in these uncertain times.

  175. I have just received an email from my dentist. Here is an extract:

    “Currently one of these measures is for patients in “Vulnerable groups” to reduce the amount of social contacts they make – for at least the next 3-4 months. Persons in this group include those aged over 70, those with an underlying heart condition, suffering with respiratory conditions such as Asthma or COPD, Diabetics or immune compromised persons (e.g. have recently had chemotherapy or are on systemic steroids). More detailed information can be found on the GOV.UK website. Scottish Government are requiring us, from today, to cancel all routine recall appointments for patients in this Vulnerable group. As we do not know how long these measures will be in place, we are asking you to take NO action at present. If you have a scheduled appointment with us, we will make contact with you to confirm it is cancelled. We are not rebooking these appointments at present but will keep a note of the matter and be in contact to rebook once the situation has passed. If you are in this group and have a problem please be assured, we are still able to provide help and simply phone to request an emergency appointment as per usual.

    Scottish Government is also requiring us to reduce, to a bare minimum, the amount of aerosol generating procedures we carry out until further notice. This means that we cannot continue with routine treatment appointments such as fillings, root canal treatments and crown preparations. We can still continue with dentures, provision of periotherapy (hand instrumentation), extractions and routine recall appointments for all patients NOT in the Vulnerable group.”

      1. Keep off the apples….. (I broke my tooth, lower incisor, below the gum line last year.)

  176. Kim Jong-un, the
    North Korean leader, has ordered the rapid construction of a hospital
    in the capital Pyongyang amid speculation that the secretive
    dictatorship is suffering from an epidemic of coronavirus.

    Reports
    in today’s state media made no direct mention of the virus, and
    officially North Korea claims not to have had a single case, despite
    having a long and inconsistently policed border with China. But they
    transmitted a sense of urgency on the part of Mr Kim about completing
    the hospital, and included unusually frank language about the
    shortcomings of the country’s health system.

    1. I expect the commissioner for public health will execute his duties to the best of his ability before being executed.

      1. I woke up with nightmares .. am now trying to relax, cup of tea etc .. cannot stop shaking , I don’t know why .

        And you… what are you doing?

        1. Going to the shower. It’s time to get up. Sunny & bright.
          Sorry you had nightmares, Belle. Can be terrifying.

          1. Morning OB. The birds are singing outside .. dull weather .

            Is all this really happening ..

            A perfect storm has been created , hasn’t it.

          2. I had other plans for this year – Second Son leaves school and is trying to get work, lots farmwork to be done, exterior of our house needs work, lots gardening… This virus crap has stopped or restricted it all. Even the week of celebrating the end of school is cancelled – there’s a sad pile of party boiler suit (don’t ask) in his room that he paid for but won’t get used. Once-in-a-lifetime event.
            :-((

          3. I had other plans for this year – Second Son leaves school and is trying to get work, lots farmwork to be done, exterior of our house needs work, lots gardening… This virus crap has stopped or restricted it all. Even the week of celebrating the end of school is cancelled – there’s a sad pile of party boiler suit (don’t ask) in his room that he paid for but won’t get used. Once-in-a-lifetime event.
            :-((

        2. In bed! In order to get home yesterday I had to drive a horrible rented car from Lille to Bergerac, nearly 500 miles. The roads were empty but I was knackered at the end of it.

          2. Just been down the garden – the first asparagus spears are poking through and some purple sprouting is ready to eat. Joy!

        3. Same here. I was awake at 3am, and ended up posting on the nearest Spectator article. This dread is universal. My sister-in-law in Adelaide reports a run on seedlings there. Money is going out of gold and out of pounds and into providing liquidity for Americans with their “safe haven” dollar that is anything but safe in orange-man’s fingers. Anything of lasting value is being bought up.

          The only ray of hope is in our hands and our hearts. We need to plan now for rebuilding when and if sanity returns. I have written to the musical director of one of my choirs, who is a prominent local politician, asking him that as soon as any of us are cleared as immune and non-carriers (a positive antibody test and no major symptoms for more than two weeks), we can form a scratch choir and start singing again.

        4. Yes, me too. I woke with a start from a strange dream. I was dreaming there was something in my bed moving about. I blearily looked and it was a Triffid growing. I threw the quilt over it and went to make tea. Then the fuses blew. Arrgghhhh.

          That’s the last time i’m going to the garden centre !

    1. Morning DB, morning has broken , birds are singing ..

      Spaniels had their trim yesterday , usual routine things.. yet .. well anyway ..

      Things are now not what they used to be.

      1. Just had an email from the Vet.

        Wait outside and phone us. We will come out and collect your pet or give you the medication through the car window.

        Excrement meet Fan time…..

        Good morning.

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