Thursday 19 March: If this virus puts us on a war footing, come on Britain, don’t let’s be beastly in the supermarket

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its comments facility (now reinstated, but not as good as ours),
Intelligent, polite, good-humoured debate is welcome, whether on or off topic. Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated. Posts which – in the opinion of the moderators – make this a less than cordial environment, are likely to be removed, without prior warning.  Persistent offenders will be blacklisted.

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/03/19/lettersif-virus-puts-us-war-footing-come-britain-dont-beastly/

1,208 thoughts on “Thursday 19 March: If this virus puts us on a war footing, come on Britain, don’t let’s be beastly in the supermarket”

  1. Coronavirus is leading Great Britain towards economic Armageddon. 18 March 2020.

    The war against the coronavirus is primarily medical, but also increasingly economic. The UK is now in the midst of its worst recession in living memory: the collapse in output has been sharper than during the credit crunch, the ERM crisis, the recession of 1982 or the turmoil of the Seventies.

    GDP could fall by a tenth and perhaps by 15 per cent, if only temporarily. Millions are about to lose their jobs, and tens of thousands will have been laid off by the end of the week. Entire sectors of the economy are imploding, with their revenues collapsing by up to 100 per cent.

    Morning everyone. It looks as though the cure is going to be worse than the disease. In times of war the authorities are supposed to keep up morale and ensure that as much as possible keeps running, particularly the economy. Here the government is creating a wasteland that will make the 1930’s look like a mild dip in production.

    This of course is the bright side. In a few months the situation in the UK will look eerily similar to Pol Pot’s Year Zero where, …all culture and traditions within a society must be completely destroyed or discarded and a new revolutionary culture must replace it, starting from scratch.We do not as yet know what the new world will look like but one suspects it will build on the Cultural Marxist foundations that the Political Elites support.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/18/coronavirus-leading-great-britain-towards-economic-armageddon/

    1. GDP could fall by a tenth and perhaps by 15 per cent, if only temporarily – why do you think the pound is worth diddley-squat just now?

      1. Many of us who are self-employed and run our own businesses are going to lose almost 100% of our personal GDP.

        1. Indeed, and that’s hard to take. Especially as there are so many (disparaged) small businesses, the losses of revenue and jobs will be awful.

      1. Why are Y fronts considered so naff and if one must smoke in moderation a pipe is surely the answer

  3. SIR – Philip Johnston (Comment, March 18) is right that belief in the inevitability of progress has often been negated in the last century, by war or natural catastrophe.

    Science, however, on which such belief is sometimes based, is not a child of the Enlightenment but is deeply rooted in the Judaeo-Christian world-view of an ordered, predictable creation, and in the capacity of the human mind not only to understand it but to mitigate its ill-effects.

    The moderate Enlightenment itself owes much to believers like Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle and even John Locke. The radical Enlightenment, from which have sprung aggressive atheism and secularism, reached its climax in Robespierre’s massacres.

    Any prevention of the spread of the coronavirus will come from our capacity to understand the world and to help others. This task, as Mr Johnston says, has to be undertaken in humility.

    There should be gratitude, then, for what we are able to do, repentance for what’s gone wrong and awareness of our smallness, which should drive us back to church and not to blind panic.

    Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali
    London W1

    1. The Right Rev is the Archbishop of Canterbury we should have had.
      He comes from Pakistan and you need real courage and belief to be Christian in that country.

          1. So you’re saying, Annie (© Cathy Newman) that Justin Welby used to be one of the Beach Boys?

            :-))

  4. SIR – My daughter lives in a small village in Italy where quarantine is strictly enforced.

    Not to be denied a birthday last week, they all stood on their own doorsteps with a glass of their own wine in their hands and celebrated – of necessity at the top of their voices.

    Doreen Tamplin
    Birchington-on-Sea, Kent

    Could this be a solution for any constraints on a gathering of NoTTLers?

    1. A small number of NoTTLers had planned to meet up later this year to celebrate a meeting of like minds and get to know each other better. Sadly, all such plans have now had to be cancelled. Or, hopefully at least, to be postponed for a year.

  5. BTL@DTletters

    Max Bonamy
    19 Mar 2020 2:54AM
    The answer to the leader letter is that in many places and neighbourhoods culture has changed almost beyond recognition. Some is homegrown, some imported.

    We have a massive CULTURAL underclass – not necessarily one that is materially deprived (and often isn’t) – that is gobby, moronic and self-absorbed.

    Nonetheless, this group can recite its ‘rights’ (without any concept of reciprocal responsibilities) like the Lord’s Prayer.

    It doesn’t give a flying fig beyond self-gratification, or possess any facility to comprehend the consequences of its actions.

    This extends to middle and upper-class types who think it kool to feed the drug trade and constantly goad or koch-a-snook at authority and/or democracy (trustafarian SJWs and the like).

    It has been a disastrous social, educational and policing failure by successive permissive governments.

    1. Because the globalist plan is probably eerily similar to Pol Pot’s Year Zero where, …all culture and traditions within a society must be completely destroyed or discarded and a new revolutionary culture must replace it, starting from scratch.

    2. What an excellent BTL comment. Fortunately I would like to think that these types are a small minority. (Hope I’m right.)

      ‘Morning, Citroen, and thanks for posting.

      1. I think you are right.
        Looking at politicians, I would trust Priti Patel and Rishi Sunak to show what are considered to be traditional British characteristics more than Jeremy Corbyn and Rebecca Long-Bailey. (Although it could be argued that Jezza is of a type that would appear on KoKo’s little list.)

      1. Boris has the good sense to let the scientists front the campaign.
        A Prime Minister is not the expert in the minutiae of life. He or she is an enabler, a delegator; a PM needs to pick good generals.
        The misrule of Theresa May showed us the danger of micromanaging a country.

  7. BrewDog begins making hand sanitiser amid shortages in UK. 19 March 2020.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1941628b18d1650d0636ab15f39f16378a09c219bd499fa6ea15af128ef8bc8b.jpg

    The independent brewer BrewDog has begun making hand sanitiser at its distillery in Aberdeenshire amid shortages driven by coronavirus fears.
    The firm said it would be giving away the “punk sanitiser” for free to those that need it.

    A hair of the dog eh?

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/18/brewdog-begins-making-hand-sanitiser-shortages-uk

  8. Good morning folks,

    grey and gloomy outside, the climate is not responding to the drastic measures yet

  9. We hear a lot about what is happening to aviation closing down, but what about shipping? we hear nothing about that, most of our food and goods must come in and out that way

  10. Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
    As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
    Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
    O’er the grave where our hero was buried.
    We buried him darkly at dead of night,
    The sods with our bayonets turning,
    By the struggling moonbeam’s misty light
    And the lantern dimly burning.
    No useless coffin enclosed his breast,
    Not in sheet or in shroud we wound him;
    But he lay like a warrior taking his rest
    With his martial cloak around him.
    Few and short were the prayers we said,
    And we spoke not a word of sorrow;
    But we steadfastly gazed on the face that was dead,
    And we bitterly thought of the morrow.
    We thought, as we hollowed his narrow bed
    And smoothed down his lonely pillow,
    That the foe and the stranger would tread o’er his head,
    And we far away on the billow!
    Lightly they’ll talk of the spirit that’s gone,
    And o’er his cold ashes upbraid him —
    But little he’ll reck, if they let him sleep on
    In the grave where a Briton has laid him.
    But half of our heavy task was done
    When the clock struck the hour for retiring;
    And we heard the distant and random gun
    That the foe was sullenly firing.
    Slowly and sadly we laid him down,
    From the field of his fame fresh and gory;
    We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,
    But we left him alone with his glory!”

      1. Me too, although after all this time I have had to cheat and look it up (The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna, by Charles Wolfe). Thanks, HP.

    2. Charles Woolfe on Sir John Moore, after Corunna.

      It was a poem often read to me as a child but until I was an adult I had thought it was a descriptive poem rather than a reflection on a real event.

  11. Teacher banned from schools after describing Islam as a ‘vile religion’. 19 March 2020.

    Mr Turner took up his post at the school in 2010 as a newly qualified teacher.

    However, posts, some shared and others his own comments, appeared on his Facebook page and were reported by parents in September 2018.

    They included references to British girls being “raped by men who have no right to be in this country…” Another one referred to Islam as a “vile vile vile religion” and a third to Islam being “the cancer of the world.”

    No comments allowed needless to say!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/18/teacher-banned-schools-describing-islam-vile-religion/

    1. But he also said “all Mexicans were criminals or bad”. Clearly someone who has ‘issues’ – should someone like that be teaching children?

      1. Yes, the “all” Mexicans was wrong; “lots of” would have been closer to the mark (judging by phenomenal murder rates in Mexico).

    2. ‘Morning, Minty, sacked for speaking the truth. That’s the state of play in Common Purpose schools.

      Where is the backlash?

      Sue for wrongful dismissal and let’s see what the Bench’s attitude is.

      1. If a Muslim school teacher said that Christianity was a vile religion and that Christians should leave Britain to Muslims of course nothing would be said or done by our pathetic educators or politicians.

        It is the unequal treatment that really infuriates us and is a prime factor in generating anti Muslim feeling. We can all remember the teacher’s pet at school and how the rest of us hated him or her! Treating Muslims more favourably does not help us love them.

  12. Anyway, it appears antiviral Remdesivir fixes Chinese Flu so stock up in stocks in Gilead while stocks last.

  13. Morning to all in these bizarre times. Here are some of the virus letters.

    SIR – A friend of mine, trying to find fresh vegetables, went to a large supermarket. The stock was low and the shelves fairly empty, but there were plenty of fresh vegetables. When she got to the till, she smiled and said: “Hello, how are you?”

    The cashier replied: “Oh, that’s so nice of you to ask – I try to avoid eye contact with people, as all I get is abuse.”

    How sad. If the public cannot decide for themselves to be considerate to others then it is time supermarkets, or the Government, put restrictions on what, and how much, one can buy. It is not the cashier or supermarket workers who are at fault if there is no lavatory paper on the shelves.

    Come on, Britain: where is the pioneering spirit and kindness to others that was notable during two world wars? Divided we fall, united we stand.

    Pamela Orsborn

    Crondall, Hampshire

    SIR – I am elderly and live on my own. So far I have been offered support from two neighbours, two members of my church’s congregation and the postman. The community spirit in this area is excellent.

    Althea Leonard

    Strood, Kent

    SIR – I am 80 years old and have had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for some years.

    My wife of nearly 60 years died on February 27. Her funeral has been arranged for March 25 at our local crematorium.

    Advertisement

    The “wake” after the cremation has been postponed. However, her relatives and many friends she made (as a home carer and member of our local bowls club) have indicated their intention to attend her funeral. The majority of these friends are of my generation.

    What are my family and I to do?

    Stuart L Jennings

    Flitwick, Bedfordshire

    SIR – The elderly especially are going to suffer from loneliness in the next few months. I urge them to get a friend to set them up with Skype, or something similar.

    The telephone helps the lonely, but to see the person you are talking to makes a huge difference. My daughter is in New Zealand, but I see and talk with her and the grandchildren every week. The extraordinary thing is that this costs me nothing.

    Anthony Appleby

    Exeter, Devon

    SIR – My daughter has arranged a virtual Mother’s Day lunch with all the family (three children, spouses and six grandchildren) via Zoom, which she uses for business meetings. Perfect.

    Vicki Redpath

    Chittlehampton, Devon

    SIR – Panic-buying is not the only reason supermarkets are stretched. Millions of British adults have been asked to make a dramatic shift in behaviour, taking them from the workplace to home.

    Consequently many millions of meals, snacks, cups of coffee and – yes – ablutions that were previously taking place in cafés, restaurants, pubs and canteens during the working week are now taking place at home. Retailers and their suppliers will cope with this, but we must allow them some time and consideration as they adjust.

    William Crawshay

    Tasburgh, Norfolk

    SIR – Donations to food banks will suffer in the crisis. Supermarkets could give online shoppers the option of adding an item from a list of most-beneeded items as a donation.

    Jackie Riley

    Wivenhoe, Essex

    SIR – We are used to “buy one, get one free” offers at supermarkets. The saving is automatically calculated at the till.

    Perhaps, in order to reduce panic-buying, supermarkets could make it: “Buy more than two, the price doubles.”

    Andy Bebbington

    Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire

    SIR – We, too, arrived back home from travelling on Tuesday with no food in the house (Letters, March 18) and strict instructions from our family not to venture out.

    I was told that our local farm shop was now doing home deliveries. I phoned in an order for vegetables, meat and milk and it was delivered within four hours. Wonderful service.

    Virginia Paget

    Devizes, Wiltshire

    SIR – Now is the time to sign up to have your milk delivered. Our local supplier has slots available for this week, and of course they deliver more than just dairy products.

    I also suggest everyone invest in a touchscreen pen, still available to order online, and you never need touch a dirty screen or keypad again.

    Susan Whitehead

    Bath, Somerset

    SIR – As the Government is now moving to a war footing to fight the coronavirus, might I suggest that it considers issuing Coronavirus Bonds as a way of raising some of the billions of pounds required.

    Pensioners like me might have cash savings that are attracting next to nothing in interest and would be only too happy to do their bit by investing in such a bond.

    Instead of sponsoring a Spitfire, as happened in the Second World War, we could perhaps sponsor an intensive-care bed or ventilator.

    David Stevens

    Sevenoaks, Kent

    SIR – Keeping total deaths from Covid-19 beneath 20,000 (report, March 18) would indeed be a good outcome, considering that the number of deaths associated with influenza in those aged 65 or over in England (excluding Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) in the winter of 2017-18 was more than 22,000.

    Professor Rudolf Hanka

    Wolfson College, Cambridge

    SIR – You have set out clearly the projected health and mortality consequences of possible approaches to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there needs also to be an estimate of the economic consequences of each.

    All sides in UK politics agree that spending less on health and social care costs lives, and if we destroy our economy there will be less money available in the future. This will translate into more lives lost or fewer saved in the years after the pandemic.

    Tim Beechey-Newman

    Oxford

    SIR – On the BBC news, an NHS nurse with a sore throat was interviewed at home. She was lamenting her situation, not because she might have coronavirus but because there was no test available and she would have to wait 14 days before she could go back to work, whether or not such precautions were necessary.

    The Government should direct kits to the testing of NHS staff.

    Jane Newton

    South Stoke, Berkshire

    1. I like your suggestion, Andy Bebbington. Alternatively, if there are BOGOF offers still running then the ‘free’ item could be donated to your local food bank, where items are increasingly in short supply. I learned yesterday that supermarkets here have ceased donating fruit and vegetables because of the risk of contamination. In the case of loose fruit I can perhaps understand that, but since most vegetables are cooked before consumption I would have thought this would be sufficient.

      Edit: ‘Morning, Epi (manners).

  14. SIR – Donald Trump is criticised for calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus”. The 1918 pandemic was called Spanish flu. Did the Spanish object to its name?

    Ken Turrell

    Norwich

    SIR – The Government advises us to avoid getting together in groups and to keep at least two metres from each other. This advice is ignored during its daily press conferences.

    Andrew Blake

    Marlborough, Wiltshire

    SIR – In this period of national crisis, I am sure the nation and Commonwealth would value an address by the Queen.

    Her quiet reassurance would go a long way to give support and cheer during the darkest days since the Second World War.

    Sarah Saunders-Davies

    Romsey, Hampshire

    1. We had an address by HM Kong Harald a few days ago. He’s a good man – calm, we–written and presented, Took some of the stress out of the situation by stressing community and helping the weaker and older folk, and keeping a sense of proportion.
      HM Queen Elizabeth would be able to do the same, and she should.

    2. We had an address by HM Kong Harald a few days ago. He’s a good man – calm, we–written and presented, Took some of the stress out of the situation by stressing community and helping the weaker and older folk, and keeping a sense of proportion.
      HM Queen Elizabeth would be able to do the same, and she should.

    3. Yes, Andrew Blake, this is deliberate as it is designed to wipe out some of the media motormouths. (Perferably all of them.)

      Edited for typo.

  15. Are we all in our kennels now?

    How would our population have coped with the bombs falling in 1940-45?

    How would they have coped with the news that 1300 lives had been lost in one night when a ship was torpedoed at Scapa Flow?

    We are doing this to protect the NHS. Right, we’ll have an NHS, but no blinking economy.

    Talk about the tail wagging the dog – this is it.

    Really, this cradle-to-grave stuff has infantilised the entire population.

    1. This is the pussy generation.

      The stiff-upper-lip bulldog spirit of 1939–45 has been bred out of the population by successive generations of increasingly execrable parenting and exponentially appalling teaching standards.

      2. 317248+ up ticks,
        G,
        Via the ballot booth, especially these last four decades, getting worse GE to GE.

    3. Laziness has done it, alongside the erosion and eradication of our culture.

      We no longer have ‘Britons’ living here, but people who do not share our values or integrity.

  17. Twitter (which I don’t have on this PC, so can’t post links) shows the most anti-social behaviour (buying all the bog rolls, assaulting a Sikh who tried to buy a 6-pack of bogrolls from Iceland, and more) is carried out by well suntanned guys with beards and wearing some kind of monochrome pyjamas. Clearly their idea of society is very limited to themselves and their own. Good luck when the chips really are down – guess who will have taken the last of them?

    1. Why would the pyjama people want bog rolls? I thought they had other arrangements approved by Mo himself.

      2. I think a lot of the toilet rolls will end up on sale in corner shops at 10 times the usual price. Along with a lot of other goods that we can no longer get hold of in supermarkets. Of course, it appears that it’s all members of society that are showing the most disgusting behaviour regarding loading their trolleys with stuff they could never use in 5 years of isolation. I’m just glad my parents aren’t alive now, to see the country they fought so hard to protect reduced to this.

        1. Don’t look at WWII Blighty through rosy specs.
          In wartime, there are plenty of chancers who take advantage of the social breakdown.
          It might be cannibals during the Siege of Leningrad or ‘Private Walker’ in Warmington-on-Sea. Nym, Bardolph and Pistol at Agincourt were a familiar stereotype.
          “Under the counter” flourished throughout the war. Even the most upright of people were glad of that extra packet of Farley’s Rusks or bars of chocolate from ‘Johnny Air Force’. There was a reason why the return of many demobbed husbands and fathers was not a happy family reunion.

          2. I can remember accompanying my parents round bombed out or deserted factories to get firewood and the occasional working lightbulb.
            20+ years later, when i saw The Ipcress File, that all came flooding back and I was scared witless.

  18. At dawn the telephone rings,

    “Hello Señor Bob? This is Ernesto, the caretaker at your country house.”

    “Ah yes, Ernesto. What can I do for you? Is there a problem?”

    “Um, I am just calling to advise you, Señor Bob, that your parrot, he is dead.”

    “My parrot? Dead? The one that won the International competition?”

    “Si, Señor, that’s the one.”

    “Damn! That’s a pity! I spent a small fortune on that bird. What did he die from?”

    “From eating the rotten meat, Señor Bob.”

    “Rotten meat? Who the hell fed him rotten meat?”

    “Nobody Señor. He ate the meat of the dead horse.”

    “Dead horse? What dead horse?”

    “The thoroughbred, Señor Bob.”

    “My prize thoroughbred is dead?”

    “Yes, Señor Bob, he died from all that work pulling the water cart.”

    “Are you insane? What water cart?”

    “The one we used to put out the fire, Señor.”

    “Good Lord! What fire are you talking about, man?”

    “The one at your house, Señor! A candle fell and the curtains caught on fire.”

    “What the hell? Are you saying that my mansion is destroyed because of a candle?!”

    “Yes, Señor Bob.”

    “But there’s electricity at the house! What was the candle for?”

    “For the funeral Señor Bob.”

    “WHAT BLOODY FUNERAL??!!”

    “Your wife’s, Señor Bob. She showed up very late one night and I thought she was a burglar. I hit her with your new Ping G15 204g titanium head golf club with the TFC 149D graphite shaft.”

    SILENCE………..

    LONG SILENCE………

    VERY LONG SILENCE…………

    “Ernesto, if you broke that driver, you’re in deep shit.”

      2. Good morning Grizzly

        Succinctly and intelligently put – you get to the bare essentials.

  19. Gilead are ramping up production of Remdesivir so it looks like we can all party after all !

  20. It’s more than we can bear. It’s Paddington now.
    Lima is on lockdown. No flights out. He flew home to visit his relatives and can’t get back.

    1. …and all the marmalade in all the shops has been panic bought.

      Thanks for that, Tony, and Good morning.

  22. ” London could be put into lockdown by the weekend under government plans to curb Covid-19 infections.”
    I thought the expression ” could be ” had been banned for over-use ?

  24. No need to go out for your bugs. Stay at home and the man with bugs on his hands will deliver them free.

    Has the government thought about the bug-laden and unsolicited junk-mail and charity bags dropping through everybody’s letter box?

    1. And lamp posts, you can catch it off lamp posts. Monty Python made that clear many years ago.

      1. That’s why I’ve stopped leaning on a lamp-post at the corner of the street in case a certain little lady comes by.

    2. I must say I am gazing suspiciously at everything that drops through the letterbox now. Goodness knows where it has been, shuffled next to, on its way here.

      1. Exactly.

        While we all jammed the sideboard behind the front door to keep the bugs out, we forgot to close the kitchen window.

        Although they’ve eased off lately, hardly a day went by without a charity bag dropping through the door.

        If you are concerned and you know it’s junk, leave it overnight.

    1. BT seems reasonably cheerful all things considered.
      In theory their van arrives today and they should set off North with their appropriate “attestations” stating they are on their way home to the UK.
      The neighbours have been brilliant. No hotels available but friends have offered them a holiday home for an overnight stop at about the halfway point.

      1. An interesting finale to their life in France ‘we were on the last train through the Chunnel out of Calais and France’.

    2. Blimey, those two look like they could stretch the average guy’s wallet to breaking point in double-quick time.

      1. Apparently a fashion shot from 1942.
        The fashionistas gazed at the world through a very selective view finder.

  26. Channel migrants: Border Force stops two boats in Channel

    Twenty-five migrants have been picked up by the Border Force after two incidents in the English Channel, the Home Office has confirmed.

    One boat carrying 16 men was stopped at about 04:30 GMT and a second with nine men was intercepted four hours later.

    The men, who were brought to Dover for medical checks, said they were Iranian.

    Medical assessments included checking for coronavirus symptoms, a Home Office spokesman said. All operational staff had personal protective equipment.

    The two groups are now being dealt with by immigration officials.

    1. Isn’t Iran a country with rather a lot of coronavirus?
      Fortunately, even if the youngsters are merely 38 year old striplings, they’ll not have to rock up at Sainsbury’s at 7.0 am.

    2. Isn’t Iran a country with rather a lot of coronavirus?
      Fortunately, even if the youngsters are merely 38 year old striplings, they’ll not have to rock up at Sainsbury’s at 7.0 am.

    3. If they’re all Iranians, they can send them straight back to Iran. Or France. They didn’t paddle all the way from Iran in those boats just to get to England. And as Iran is a hotbed of corona virus, what are our authorities thinking when allowing them in?
      And nice to know they abandoned their wives and children.

      1. ‘Morning, Ims2, “And nice to know they abandoned their wives and children.”

        The wives and kiddies (aged 28, 26, 24 and 22) will follow shortly once ‘Immigration’ has settled them in.

    4. If they’re all Iranians, they can send them straight back to Iran. Or France. They didn’t paddle all the way from Iran in those boats just to get to England. And as Iran is a hotbed of corona virus, what are our authorities thinking when allowing them in?
      And nice to know they abandoned their wives and children.

    5. “The two groups are now being dealt with by immigration officials.”

      They are getting bank accounts opened for their bennies to be paid in, while their three bedroomed houses are being allocated and the food banks raided for all things halal.

      Why were they brought to Dover rather than Calais?

  27. Coronavirus latest news: London is a ‘city of superspreaders’, say officials

    Officials believe that London, with its population of nine million people, has become a “city of superspreaders”, prompting the Government to consider its effective closure as early as this weekend.

    Number 10 is drawing up sweeping plans to enforce the emergency closure of restaurants, bars, pubs and cinemas in the city and restrict the use of public transport to only essential “key workers”, turning Britain’s capital into a ghost town.

  29. London braced for lockdown as Tube stations close and troops on standby to help fight coronavirus crisis

    Mayor Sadiq Khan said journeys should not be made “unless absolutely necessary” as he unveiled plans for reduced services.

    From Thursday, up to 40 London Underground stations that do not interchange with other lines will be closed until further notice.

    Transport for London (TfL) services will from then on be gradually reduced in a move designed to allow only critical workers to make essential journeys.

    It comes after Boris Johnson on Wednesday refused to rule out the possibility of “further and faster measures” to control the spread of the virus in the capital, where the epidemic is running ahead of the rest of the nation.​

    From Friday there will be no Waterloo & City line, while the Night Tube will not run until further notice.

    London buses will operate fewer services, but still run at night, and everyone will be urged not to use public transport for anything other than essential journeys.

    London Underground stations facing closure:

    Bakerloo Line: Lambeth North, Regents Park, Warwick Avenue, Kilburn Park, Charing Cross

    Central Line: Holland Park, Queensway, Lancaster Gate, Chancery Lane, Redbridge

    Circle Line: Bayswater, Great Portland Street, Barbican

    District Line: Bow Road, Stepney Green, Mansion House, Temple, St James’s Park, Gloucester Road

    Jubilee Line: Swiss Cottage, St John’s Wood, Bermondsey, Southwark

    Northern Line: Tuffnell Park, Chalk Farm, Mornington Crescent, Goodge Street, Borough, Clapham South, Tooting Bec, South Wimbledon, Hampstead

    Piccadilly Line: Caledonian Road, Arsenal, Covent Garden, Hyde Park Corner, Bounds Green, Manor House

    Victoria Line: Pimlico, Blackhorse Road

      1. Please calm down, Grizzly.

        Don’t let the continual doom laden posts, from BJ,
        bother you,

        1. I’m well-chilled, Garlands.

          It’s just that I cant let the incessant London-centric posts of certain ‘contributors’ go unchallenged. They go on as if the accursed place is the centre of the universe. It isn’t. It is the cesspit of the universe.

          1. You absolutely right Grizz the centre of the universe is Woking. That’s why the Martians 👽 landed here. 😂😂😂😂🤣

          3. We are very unwoke in this household. Can’t speak for the rest of the idiots in this town.😂😂

    2. Mayor Sadiq Khan said… “Everywhere but Tower Hamlets must be locked down and shops and offices must leave their doors and windows unlocked to facilitate the swift removal of all valuables to the Muslim Brethren”.

  30. Dancing On Ice star Linda Lusardi says she is ‘extremely ill’ with Covid-19

    Actor Linda Lusardi has said she is “extremely ill” with the coronavirus in response to a fan on Twitter.

    Over the past few days and weeks, several celebrities have been informing their fans that they have contracted coronavirus, including Idris Elba and Tom Hanks.

    On Wednesday 18 March, Lusardi, who starred on Dancing On Ice in 2008, stated that she is also currently showing symptoms of the virus.

    The 61-year-old’s admission came after a fan sent her a tweet requesting that she film a video message for their grandfather, who they said is currently in lockdown in Spain

    After first apologising to the Twitter user, Lusardi wrote: “I am extremely ill with Corona at the moment.”

    1. After first apologising to the Twitter user, Lusardi wrote: “I am extremely ill with Corona at the moment.”

      Should have drunk a decent beer like Budweiser Budvar.

    3. Unhealthy lot these selebs, Most of it will be coughs and colds but they can’t miss an opportunity to self promote.

    1. On a par with health workers in AfGaff being murdered for vaccinating children against diseases not seen in the west for nigh on a century.
      Nothing – but nothing – must interfere with Mo’s divine rulings.

    1. I have a question: there are a lot of Chinese in Africa. How come Africa isn’t a raging hotbed of Corona virus outbreaks?

      1. How would we know?
        There so many terminal possibilities in Africa and given that China has bought most of the continent, they’re not likely to advertise the fact.

    2. Got to the end of and a sign popped up to “This link is no longer available etc.” The truths hurts doesn’t it and I doesn’t fit in with faceache and the leftist agenda.

  35. Has anyone in government thought about how the London Street gangs are going to survive through this.
    Surely they will need some sort of bailout.
    They have overheads too you know.
    Crack houses don’t come cheap.

      1. Morning Anne -The stabbings seem to have abated for the moment. Perhaps Covid-19 is distracting BJ and they are not newsworthy. There may be a confirmed case in N Yorks about 300 yards from my house but the info is 3rd hand, originally from a taxi driver.

  36. Has anyone in government thought about how the London Street gangs are going to survive through this.
    Surely they will need some sort of bailout.
    They have overheads too you know.
    Crack houses don’t come cheap.

  37. So far, this winter has been wet and relatively mild.
    Usually the frogs arrive in our pond in February; the first has arrived today.
    Did they take a detour via Tesco to stock up on bog rolls?

    1. 317248+ up ticks,
      Morning Anne,
      Ours were well established in early Feb, the surface of the pond like a corrugated sheet & squeals of delight.
      You look down and a million pairs of eyes
      look up……. weird.

      1. Normally our pond during February is absolutely heaving.
        We really wondered if something had gone wrong elsewhere.
        Morning, ogga.

        1. Well the bonus is last year we had hardly any snails and slugs in the garden. But having said that I haven’t seen a thrush in the garden for many years.

  40. Did anyone else think, back when the Chinese authorities were barricading citizens in their own homes, that either this virus is much deadlier than they were admitting, or there’s something else going on?

    1. That same thought had crossed my mind.
      The trouble is, the west has become so risk averse that it’s difficult to decide whether this is an over-reaction or something is known about C19 that we are not being told.
      A country where playing conkers is considered a high-risk pursuit has lost its ability to make judgements.

      1. I think your last sentence says it.

        One piece of good news is that a small trial in France with 40 patients with corona virus seems to show that the virus can be stopped with an anti-malarial drug, chloroquine. It apparently had a 100% success rate, but I don’t know how ill the patients were when the drug was administered.

        1. If you care to check the Government website the export of Chloroquinine was banned on 26th February.

          Somebody in government obviously knew about this, but kept quiet so that the important people could get their supplies in.

        2. If you care to check the Government website the export of Chloroquinine was banned on 26th February.

          Somebody in government obviously knew about this, but kept quiet so that the important people could get their supplies in.

    2. Good morning, Ims.

      I thought it [and posted about It then] and still think it now.
      I will accept HMG rulings but I am starting to believe there
      may well be some truth in the conspiracy theories doing
      the rounds.

    3. Morning Ims2, the only thought that crossed my mind is why would a Government (several in fact) put their economy at risk without good reason?
      The one thing for sure is, we will never know the whole truth.

      2. According to the Chinese, they’re already back in business.
        And what are a few thousand of your own citizens in an economic war with the US and the West?

      1. How would they keep track?
        There are just so many ways to die in the ME. Compared with chemical warfare and ISIS, death by sore throat is easily missed.

  41. SIR, We have a few new jigsaws to occupy us. Once we have done them a few times we will do what my mother did in the war and solve them upside down instead. Richard Cooke, Warwickshire.
    I tried this and all I got was a nose bleed and a headache.

    1. When ‘Pennies from Heaven’ was being broadcast, my mother was dying from cervical cancer.
      Given that she ran away to London in her late teens, I could picture her dancing to these very bands, probably in the same locations.
      It made the series extremely poignant.

      1. Good morning Fellow Hippy

        Did you see the television series ‘Pennies from Heaven’ with Bob Hoskins, Gemma Craven and Cheryl Campbell in the late 70’s?

        I should imagine there must be a very poignant story behind your mother’s story.

    2. With just an addition of one n.
      Pennines from heaven, there’s a safe place to be right now.

  43. China reports no domestic cases of coronavirus for first time since outbreak began

    For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak started, China has reported no new domestic transmissions of Covid-19, a major milestone in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

    China’s national health commission said on Thursday there were 34 new cases, but all were recent overseas arrivals. In Hubei, the Chinese province where the outbreak began, there were no new cases of any kind during Wednesday.

    1. So a country of 1.6 billion people with questionable sanitary attitudes that eat chicken feet and chicken beaks and can’t get 1 foot between each other let alone 2 metres has all of a sudden solved the big ‘problem’ of Covid-19.
      This whole farce has been engineered by the Chinese, the MSM and big money. Probably the Chinese have nipped in and bought up lots of stakes in companies at knock down prices and won’t have to steal their intellectual properties they will own them. And the West has fallen for it hook line and sinker.

      2. And the western world is happily going along with the destruction of their economies and businesses. I hope the NHS will be bracing itself for an influx of depressed and suicidal patients in the near future. What on earth are all the schoolchildren going to do off school for 4 weeks at least with no entertainment or amusements to go to? And their parents?

        The way western govern have reacted to a virus is bizarre. I think they’ve done the worst thing possible by shutting everything down. It’s gonna be hellishly difficult to start up again and in the meantime unemployment will rocket.

    2. I think it read:-

      China reports no cases of domestic violence for first time since outbreak began

  44. As expected laid off this morning when I was due to start a round of four nights tonight.

      1. As yet nothing apart from access to universal credit – for all the good that will do with the waiting time. Boris will need to do something for them as they are largely his constituency.

      2. Maybe a little for the real self-employed. Sweet FA for disguised employment in the gig economy. I got enough money to last until what would have been my next pay day, so in 5 days im in trouble. How am I supposed to find work in this locked down economy?

  45. I’ve just remembered something which I noticed when I was shopping in w/rose yes’day: all the offers, e.g. 2 bottles of Schweppes tonic, 2 bottles of fruit juice, for a discount price, have suddenly been withdrawn & nearly everything was displayed at its normal individual price. Is that to discourage multi-buying?

    1. They gotta make money you understand, but they can’t increase prices or there would be a riot.

      1. Wednesday Thursday is the day all their offers change... at least here out in the sticks.

        I was previously last in the store on Sunday, so the withdrawal could have been on Monday.

    3. Not sure if Nick Ferrari (LBC) was joking this morning when he said the Danish had the right idea to control multi-buying: one bottle of hand sanitising lotion £5 (approx 40 Krone for any pedant lurking in the shadows😎), two bottles £150.

      1. He must have been joking – it would be too easy to foil that little scheme by visiting the store twice.

  47. I’ve noticed in the media that only celebreties and the occasional politician have succumbed to the virus. The usual sample Muslims and Afro-Caribbeans are conspicuous by their absence. Not joking here; maybe some nationalities are immune ?

        2. ♫ “It accentuates O positive, eliminates A negative – don’t mess with virus C-19” ♫

          :

          1. Good afternoon – or afternoon anyway, not sure how good it is!

            The Persians are historically Indo-European, though of course since the Muslim conquest they have mixed with Arabs. Semites are the descendants of the Hebrews, Arabs, Assyrians and Phoenicians.

          2. Thank you, Sue, as others on here have often said, “You learn something new every day.”

        1. True, but I believe that there are cases in Arab countries. Whether or not they are foreign workers as opposed to indegenes isn’t made clear.

  48. The bad news is – (thanks, Guardian) –

    “Barnier’s illness will dent an already dented timetable for Brexit talks.”

    1. Why should it?

      Nobody is irreplaceable. If he died I presume someone would step into his boots.

      1. Hello ! You’re back.
        Seriously, I think any agreement is unlikely. The EU is effectively dead in the water. The virus event has shown that it just doesn’t work. The unwilling subjects that have re-discovered their own identity will never re-join that monolithic regulator.
        When the crisis is over, the whole of Europe will be ready for a complete re-think.

        2. Counter-productive if we go into a 30’s style depression. The Remain crowd would blame no deal and I fear the clamour to return would be irresistible

          1. ‘Morning, Sos, with a bit of luck and Barnier’s infection, there’ll be nowt to return to.

    3. Not really. WE leave at the end of the year regardless. Talk on a trade deal can continue after that time though

  49. Morning all, when things become desperate for amusement, I am considering who would have been “Moral Improvement Officer” of the week from the Nottlers who has posted on these pages.
    PT is a front runner with great music video posts, Bill of course who is on track to replace both BBC and Sky News so must be considered, but ogga1 is bringing up the rear at present.
    I leave you to make your own “fantasy nomination” when boredom strikes over the next few months. 🤡

    1. Moral Improvement Ossifer?? Much as we all love him, somehow I doubt if Phizzee is in the running.{:^))

      Morning vvof

      1. Morning to you, I love all Nottlers. Somehow I think it will help us through this fiasco.

    2. ‘Morning, VVOF, I think the morals on here are OK and many will lift the morale, though there are a couple of doomsters about.

      1. Then we close that down too, the world would be a better place without Facebook and Twitter.

        1. This is social media too – do you want us all to be completely isolated with not evven online contact?

          1. This is a highly selective and mature group. Not facebook and twitter trailer trash folk.

          3. I couldn’t possibly comment, however I assume you must be a viewer only, the exception that proves the rule!…

  51. Bill Jackson: “Barnier has coronavirus”.
    Peddy: “Barnier tested +ve for virus.”
    Lewis Duckworth: “Michel Barnier tests positive.”
    Jewish Kuffar: “Michel Barnier has tested positive.”
    Tony: “Barnier’s illness will dent an already dented timetable for Brexit talks.”

    I think, then, that we can take it as read that the man has isolated himself.

    3. Just goes to show that the virus has no pride. It doesn’t care who it infects.

      It’s a tart.

  52. Well done Gilead with Remdesivir…

    Looks like the US has saved the world..

    Again !

  53. A woke reporter bleated out at Trump’s Press Conference yesterday with obvious pain (and with obvious hatred – the MSM all hate him) “why do you call in ChinaFlu?”.

    Gosh, the MSM ought to ask why we call the 1918/19 killer of many millions “SpanishFlu”. Just what did they name it when they thought about it? Should we now rush to completely rewrite history and call it something else?

    1. Hong Kong, Ebola, West Nile – all places whose names have been attached to maladies. seems like TDS is still alive and well.

  54. SIR – We have a few new jigsaws to occupy us. Once we have done them a few times we will do what my mother did in the war and solve them upside down instead.

    Richard Cooke

    Norton Lindsey, Warwickshire

    SIR – Years ago, my wife and I were music teachers. Now that we have to self-isolate we are learning new piano duets together.

    Mike Aston

    Stourbridge, Worcestershire

    SIR – My wife and I have both found the Telegraph’s Quick Crossword harder in recent days.

    Is this a strategy by the compilers, as we who are self-isolating have more time on our hands?

    Alan Law

    Streatley, Berkshire

    1. I was going to spend more time playing my guitar but all the extra gardening I am doing has broken my most crucial finger picking finger nails.

    2. Re the Jigsaw puzzle – When my eldest daughter at a very early age had a development check up by the Health Visitor, the HV produced a six piece jigsaw puzzle, whereupon the eldest popped up stairs and came down with a 42 piece puzzle and assembled it in minutes. Later when bored she took to completing jigsaws picture face down…

  55. Right everyone. I am venturing out to pay my years Council Tax before all travel and Bank Accounts are frozen. See you all in the re-education camp!

  57. Blimey, my daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren live in the next street in the house they bought 17 years ago. And if I walk round, they won’t let me in. They’ve been told it’s too dangerous.

    How would this population cope? with all the bomb sites I grew up with in North Shields in the late 1940s where kids used to merrily play with bricks and uncleared rubbish …

    2. That’s awful. Who told them? Do they do everything their told to? Don’t they have minds of their own?
      I feel for you. You’re welcome in our home anytime.

    3. Over-reaction. Everyone has been so scared my the media that they can’t assess their personal risk.

      The papers are still thowing buckets of petrol on the fire with their photos of empty supermarkets, encouraging more of the same. After this is over they shoulld be jailing some editors and publishers.

      On teh other side of the issue, my wife has just this moment come in from having a chat with our postman. He was saying they had a meeting at work yesterday to tell them what to do in the current circumstances and what would be available for them if they have to stay at hoime because of infection. This morning one of the younger posties walked into work, gave a slight (put on) cough, said ‘Oh dear, I’ve got a cough’, turned on his heels and went home, no doubt to plot his next looting foray to his local supermarket(s).

      Our postie wasn’t impressed.

    4. I jave been amazed really how people fall for all this claptrap, the power of suggestion is much greater than I realised.

      1. 317248+ up ticks,
        Morning B3,
        Year upon year of brain rinsing think
        ” manifesto’s” it has got so that rhetoric wins elections not actions.

      2. The majority of the population still get their news from the MSM and believe every word they are told. Although most of the population appears to be glued to their phones, the proportion using the internet for an alternative news source is very small as far as I can judge. Without the links posted on here everyday I would have missed out on many interesting sources of news.

      1. They have bought the propaganda that it is for the benefit of the old that they are denied contact with the young.

      2. No, Anne, I know they’re doing it because they’ve been infantilised by cradle-to-grave welfare and excessive BBC viewing and mixing with Bournville snowflakes …

        Besides, having lost a sum greater than Phizzee mentioned yesterday, my will has become much less valuable in recent weeks ….

  58. Remember the ‘magicians’ who performed

    at children’s birthday parties, on stage, or on TV? Recall that their

    ‘trick’ always was to make you look at one thing so you didn’t notice

    that and how you were tricked?

    It’s the same with the COVID-19 pandemic

    where the mass hysteria has been driven by the MSM even unto pushing

    the PM into instituting harsh measures, to ‘protect’ us, ahem: to

    protect the NHS. Behind the scenes though the economy here and worldwide

    is being dismantled, ordinary people are being impoverished and

    legislation curtailing our civic liberties is going to be put in place

    which will be with us for another two years at least.

    https://independencedaily.co.uk/your-daily-brexit-betrayal-thursday-19th-march-2020-3rd-covid-19-pandemic-special/

    1. 317248+ up ticks,
      Afternoon Rik,
      Judge by the immediate political future then if the same as what in the past has led up to our present plight
      demand a General Election & by sane peoples power
      obliterate ALL current politico’s, no mercy, OUT.
      The voting mode of ,vote to keep in / out regardless of consequence, has brought these Isles to it’s knees as can be clearly seen.

      1. A bit like George, Ogga, if you keep repeating a ‘truth’ it ends up being likened to brain-washing, in order to hammer home what is patently an untruth. You too are in danger of losing credibility.

        1. 317248+ up ticks,
          Afternoon NtN,
          I never looked for credibility just the plain unvarnished truth the lab/lib/con governance
          parties have in the main been feeding me political rhetoric sh!te for years with seemingly
          carte blanche of the peoples GE on GE, year on year, decade on decade.
          Fact is fact credibility does not enter the equation.
          Who’s George ?

    2. Conspiracy theories abound at the moment but one thing is for certain, the desultory initial response from our Government. What was Hancock thinking – am I giving him too much praise? – when news of the outbreak finally broke out and his response was a bloody leaflet handed out at some airports. All that the Country is suffering stems from that lack of action. Royal Commission to uncover the truth when the dust has settled? Don’t bank on that.

  59. Coronavirus is nothing like the Second World War. Spiked. 19 March 2020.

    What the comparison with the Second World War ought to show us, most of all, is that we are not at war. Coronavirus is a health emergency and it will cause real hardship. But it is in no way comparable to the Second World War. Perhaps the best lesson to draw from 1940-45 is the one that Hunter Davies did – that people are pretty resilient and can cope with circumstances which are a lot worse.

    I’ve been into town this morning and though people are stocking up with grub (a natural precaution since the government is preaching catastrophe) the general air is now one of indifference. This is only to be expected; the PTB have fed us a diet of lies for the last thirty years and that cannot be rectified overnight. My own view is that CV will probably prove relatively harmless (60,000 people were killed in the Blitz!) but the response to it will probably kill off the world economy and bring on calamity!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-is-nothing-like-the-second-world-war/

    1. Bear in mind, Araminta, that in most winters an average of 4,000 people die of ‘flu and its complications, so the hysterical outburst on the BBC this morning that six people in Scotland have died of Coronavirus is ridiculous.
      It’s not even up to the usual average.

      Either the real figures are far higher, or more likely that this is being used as a smokescreen for something more serious.

    2. Bear in mind, Araminta, that in most winters an average of 4,000 people die of ‘flu and its complications, so the hysterical outburst on the BBC this morning that six people in Scotland have died of Coronavirus is ridiculous.
      It’s not even up to the usual average.

      Either the real figures are far higher, or more likely that this is being used as a smokescreen for something far more serious.

      But for more shocking figures please see Mr Basset’s figures below……….and as I said before, six deaths shouldn’t be a reason for BBC hysteria!

  60. France has said it is war and the best way to fight the virus is to stay at home.

    Pretty much the strategy from 1939 then………………………

    1. We used to have a Rover like that. It was a very good car until somebody drove into it and it was a write off.

  62. Whoever thought we would close the schools AND AT THE SAME TIME have the government tell us the grandparents must NOT help in looking after the children.

    What about those families where, due to tragedy/accident, the grandparents are the parents?

  63. Looking at the reports of panic buying, I wonder how much of the produce will eventually end up in landfill, unused.

    Quite a lot I suspect.

      1. Dont understand the run on potatoes they dont keep well.so they will be throwing a lot of them away

          2. Actually mashed potato freeze well so if you have spuds spouting just mash them and freeze them. Preferably in portion sizes

          3. Oh my God !! From the recesses of my brain just crawled a memory of that foul offensive stuff.

          1. Does not work now. Whether they used to put something on the spuds in the past to stop them sprouting I dont know. A col dark place is best to store them though

          3. I buy 25kg bags for about 6 to 9 quid, depending on how the annual harvest has affected the prices from local shops or a nearby farm throughout the period from about September to May.

            I just chucked an empty out last week. I’ll get myself up to the farm tomorrow.

          4. We find the 50 k sacks last too long. I buy the 25k every few weeks during the late autumn and winter.

        4. They keep perfectly well if you don’t wash them and keep them in the dark. (Something like a 56lb potato sack works well). Sacks of potatoes are readily available.You will need to remove the outside “skin” before boiling them, but a device called a potato peeler works well.

          1. When I was a kid, my family always bought their potatoes in 56lb sacks. As you say, if you keep them correctly they do last.
            They never used to last too long after coming out the deep fat fryer, but that’s another story.

          3. I learnt the hard way to place the sack on an old bath mat to protect it from direct contact with the concrete floor in the shed. A run of low temperatures produced a very unpleasant surprise.

    2. Some people must have a huge freezers to store it all. Why the run on bread ? It has a limit shelf life even if you freeze it

          1. Does it bollocks. I bake small bread cobs (the clueless refer to them as ‘rolls’, ‘baps’, ‘buns’, ‘bread cakes’, ‘batches’, ‘tea cakes’ and a plethora of other silly regional names, but they are cobs!) and I wrap them in polythene freezer bags and freeze them for months at a time.

            When I take one out of the freezer, I put it into the microwave oven for 30 seconds and it emerges looking, smelling and tasting freshly baked.

            Are you really a woman? Because your stock of old wives’ tales is the biggest on this forum! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4b5fb8f4f7cb1208870ac3cc3f8d09e41fcb6ed19e73db38f46cee5989ac135a.jpg

          2. Isn’t the word, ‘cob’ just another regional name? It also defines as a type of horse.

          4. Cob is a general name for a large round loaf but a regional name for the small ones that I make. My post was just a jokey response to the incessant number of times when people from other regions like to ‘correct’ me when I call them cobs. It also defines a male mute swan.

        2. I bake each month and freeze the bread, its as good as the day it was baked when it’s defrosted.
          But like any home made bread it only has around 4-5 ingredients, unlike batch baked supermarket bread that has up to 11-14.
          Preservatives included. Some of it is made and ready to cool down within 2 hours.
          as any baker knows, Sour dough has only 2. Water and flour. But after the starter has activated it takes 24 hours to make and bake it.

          1. Frozen scones and soda bread are best microwaved in their frozen state; they come out as if freshly baked.

          2. We have a bread defrost on our microwave that defrosts on weight and a little over warms the bread through. Makes it better for spreading 😉

        3. Looking on the bright side – apparently canned dog food keeps for decades. Best eaten curried. Yum.

          1. When I was studying marketing the lecturer gave an example of why sales figures need to be looked at in detail and with care. A pet food manufacturer noted that sales of tinned dog and cat food were strongly on the rise in a particular area. An area largely inhabited by Pakistani immigrants who did not have pets…

          2. That’s what i’m feeding the tadpoles on. I think i may have collected too much spawn. I think i’m going to treat all the neighbours to a plague of frogs before long.

      2. My wife was just chatting to a salesperson from a white goods store who said that they’ve sold 60+ freezers already this week, normally 1 or 2.

        1. According to our son, supermarket orders are really going great guns; suddenly, people will be eating at home a lot more.
          Orders from companies that supply caterers are seriously down; or, in the case of the EU, non-existent.

      3. I have 3 freezers. One for meat. One for fish. One for veg and chips. I also have 2 wine fridges. One for sparkly stuff and one for everything else. Plus i have 2 fridges. Also a free standing larder and 3 under worktop storage for canned goods. And 2 double wall units for all the dry and packet stuff. Oh…i nearly forgot, the fruit veg store.

        Now…What shall i cook today……….

    3. During World War II, a hugely better standard of human worked for each other, grew vegetables together, and looked after each other.

      Their less-than-useless grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all of the Me, Me, Me generation who only care about themselves.

      1. Not all of them.

        Two of my three boys have been laid off, they are doing voluntary work to stay occupied and help out. The third is working from home as his children have been sent home from school.

      2. My grandparents did that, while my father and my uncles all went to war.

        So, I am apparently one of the less than useless grandchildren.

        Thanks.

          1. ‘Afternoon, George, but no, it’s not that the truth hurts, it’s just that constant repetition makes it sound like a brain-washing exercise to hammer home a basic untruth. So, I agree with Anne – give it a rest or you may hurt your credibility.

          2. What credibility?

            Countless others on this forum bang on about their own particular hobby horses without censure.

            As for ‘basic untruth’, what is untrue about it? People didn’t empty shops through panic-buying during the war. They wouldn’t be allowed to and, in any case, rationing prevented that.

          3. It is so easy to criticise, Grizzly,

            but not so easy to stick with it…..
            and remain in the Country to which
            you proclaim your allegiance?

          6. Not just rationing – there were no supermarkets with aisles and trolleys. Goods were handed over the counter by the shop staff.

          7. It’s relentless. Grizz.
            And, given the small acts of kindness that MB and I have experienced (not just now, but throughout our lives), I find it insulting to all those who have put themselves out for us and those around us.

          8. You will always find nice people, everywhere, who are willing to help in a crisis. However, I was generalising and you cannot deny that selfishness is more common today than it once was.

          9. I am not sure about that, Grizzly.

            I once was shocked to read the Kent miners went on strike
            ………during WWII…….FFS

          12. The production of the early spitfires was put seriously in doubt, partly because of the Supermarine factory’s inabilty to cope with the volume of the order and partly because of the bolshy attitude of the workers at the factories where they were being built.

            The government almost cancelled the Spitfire order in favour of the Westland Whirlwind, but that model wasn’t quite ready for production runs.

            I think it was Beeverbrook who sorted out the mess and got things in order.

          13. And the dockers on the Clyde went on strike at the end of WWII leaving returning troopships unable to dock.

          14. Probably before Operation Barbarossa. The Trade Unionists and Commies did a lot of sabotaging the war effort while the Soviet Union was on the other side.

          15. Not been my experience. I don’t remember my parents getting much help in post-war London.

          16. Shame she didn’t live in the north where community spirit remained traditionally high.

    4. Good afternoon Sos. I understand you haven’t been well. I hope you are recovered and will back here regularly.

      1. Most of the way better, thank you.

        Good luck with the job, any idea if you’ll get another rota?

          1. I read that earlier, I was wondering about whether you had been given any potentially better news.

          3. It’s already looking bad here in the North East. Many small businesses have just shut the doors and made staff redundant. It’s hitting everyone, I have 6 friends/relatives who have lost their jobs just since Tuesday. Our flagship department store, Fenwick, is closing today for the duration. I don’t know if I’m just too pessimistic but I just don’t see a way back for the economy.

          4. The Fenwicks in Colchester is closing for the duration.
            I’m not too sure how successful it has been, so whether it will employ the same numbers afterwards is in the lap of the gods.

  64. Morning all

    I’m going on a date tonight! I separated from my wife over Christmas, am now ready to dip a toe in the waters. And unless I’m physically restrained by a large policeman, to hell with ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-isolation!’

    1. Morning JK

      Do you have a particular lucky lady in mind or is this just a statement of intent? {:^))

      1. Got an actual, real-life woman to meet up with later. First date with a woman not my (ex) wife in about 16 years, so nervous and excited in equal measure!

        It feels good to have some normal human interraction to look forward to. And if we kiss at the end of it well – let them arrest me, it’ll be worth it!

    2. Good luck JK, I met my 2nd (Swedish) wife online and it lasted for 15 years, 13 of them as a married couple.

      Sadly divorced, I met Best Beloved (English) online and she and I share a great compatibility.

      You may have to metaphorically kiss an awful lot of frogs before you find your compatible princess, I can only advise, persevere.

        1. A word to the wise if you do use online dating, do not identify your marital status as ‘separated’ as they will block you, on the (often false) assumption that you will return to your wife. Just say that you are divorced but be sure to tell your date of the situation and the reason for the minor deception.

          2. Why can’t modern-day singers (especially female) sing? All they do is chant a repetitious and tuneless dirge.

          3. Because their target audience is 8 year-old girls who are more interested in a simple rhyme and how pretty the singer is than any musical talent they may have? Just a thought!

          5. There’s probably quite a bit of truth to that.
            Plus they’ve run out of inspiration and originality. It absolutely all sounds the same, especially with the electronic tweaking. Can’t stand most modern music, and I don’t think it’s merely my age.

    3. I wish you luck.
      Personally, I’d hate to go out “dating” again. I’m too old for all that.

      1. I wouldn’t know where to start these days. The dating landscape has changed so much so I met my wife nearly 40 years ago.

      2. I did it, Ims2 when I was 73 and Best Beloved was 71. You’re never too old to try something new.

        1. As long as it doesn’t take you all night to do what you used to do all night and keep your mobile handy pre-dialled at 999 :o)

      3. Thank you. It’s a bit of normality and social contact at this point, and a way of psychologically moving on from my ex. I’m taking every bit of fun I can get from life at the moment!

  65. Well we are now in quarantine for fourteen days, it is our rewards for interrupting our vacation and rushing home from the US.

    After all of the scare stories about empty shelves in supermarkets, we started our last day of freedom by grocery shopping. Admittedly it was just after 7AM but the shelves were packed with fresh produce, we managed to buy everything that we needed. No idea about loo rolls, we didn’t need to buy any more.

    It was quite a weird drive, restaurants are closed or just doing takeout service. Pennsylvania had the bright idea of shutting all rest areas on the freeways so if you needed a one, it was a case of finding the nearest shopping centre – that really helps stop the spread of disease.

    New York really has it down pat. The big “Welcome to New York” sign has a flashing sign underneath “Stay Home”. Those northerners really have a friendly disposition.

    Lots of signs of generosity back home, several restaurants have given all of their food to anyone in need. We have had many offers from people willing to bring in food for us during our isolation.

    Ho hum, only thirteen and a half days to go.

          1. Windows 10…………………….I can post on my old windos 7 laptop!

            It must be the settings?

          2. Plum, are you trying to upload the picture or post the address of an already uploaded picture?

            If the latter, try this:-
            go to page with picture
            Press F6 key:- The cursor will jump to the url box and automatically highlight the entire address
            Press CTRL C to copy the address
            Go to the comment box where you want to post the picture
            Press CTRL V to paste the full address
            Click on Post, job done.

        2. You have probably been asked this before, but just in case have you tried different browsers, eg Chrome or Firefox. The default browser is Microsoft Edge for Win10, if that is so for you, it might be worthwhile trying another Browser.
          I use Win 10 but use Chrome as much as possible.

          2. Do you have a really smart family member or friend who knows about Win10. I use teamviewer to remotely access an elderly relation’s PC when she c0cks it up.
            Perhaps that would be a solution.
            I know just enough to keep her going, and teamviewer saves me a 45 mile round trip.

      2. For some reason her computer appears to be splitting the address for the picture.
        Open the clicky bit in a new tab then copy & paste the black bit ending “.jpg” onto the end of the address on the new tab.

    5. Morning Plum

      Just about.. woke at 4.30 with a terrifying nightmare… Trying to relax now .. drizzle here .. just want some sun to shine .

      Have some leaflets to deliver re help lines etc,, just want to go back to sleep actually .

      1. The dog woke me up at 04.00 because he wanted to go out. I then couldn’t get back to sleep.

  67. As I was cutting the grass yesterday afternoon my 40 something neighbour popped her head up over the fence and offered to do our shopping. Communication will be by notes. A very kind offer.
    Later on we heard from our DiL, an A&E nurse, that as from today our son will be working from home and available to help. Finally, a flyer appeared through the letterbox from a local pub, The Donkey and Buskins, offering a home delivery service of cooked food from from their restaurant. Now I have to organise becoming more of a cash payer than usual. Support coming together for my wife and me and we consider ourselves fortunate. I hope that our good fortune is as widespread as possible.

    1. Morning Korky.

      The day after I dropped a note through an 87-year old neighbour’s door telling her to let me know if she needed anything from town, she rang me up. She’d been into town the day before with her pal and had been taken to the shops by her granddaughter at the weekend.

      She then asked me if I needed anything getting.

      She having grown up when austerity meant what it said on the label and able to produce a three-course meal with two twigs and a dandelion leaf, she’s an ideal neighbour to have when supplies become tight.

    2. Yes, we’ve had several offers. I wonder if the D&B would deliver to ‘Old Lexden’?

      1. Morning, Anne. I hope you’re mending well.

        Your comment made me re-read the flyer: the offer is for Layer-de-la-Haye and immediate surrounding area, so Kingsford falls into the latter area but ‘Old Lexden’ is probably a couple of miles too far away. I’m now waiting for the Layer Fox’s flyer to arrive.

        1. I’ve learnt one thing. Don’t try to be too ‘rock hard’.
          Because I got through the day without paracetamol, I thought I’d be fine at night.
          By 4.0 am I realised I’d made a mistake.
          Having to sleep propped up doesn’t help matters.
          BTW: do you live anywhere near Robert and Sandra Putt?

          1. I do not know them but if you give me a clue where they live I will be able to enlighten you.

          3. Found it on Royal Mail post code finder. If I go to the bottom of my back garden and look towards Layer Road the bottom of your friends’ garden is what was two gardens away – the second garden has had a number of bungalows built on it.

    3. Cash? A viral breeding ground. I have enabled that wireless thingie on my credit cards so I don’t have to touch dirty keypads. Unfortunately, I think it’s restricted to max £30 per transaction. And the EU in its usual infinite wisdom has just invoked a new rule that requires credit card companies to invoke, periodically, an additional security check that requires use of the shop’s touch pad…

      1. A piece of clingfilm over your finger (if you can remember to pop a pre-torn square in your pocket before going out) should suffice, or a latex disposable glove if you have them.

        1. I used to keep the gloves from Sainsbury’s filling station for use at home e.g. when handling weedkiller or fertiliser. Lately I’ve noticed that their pump handles are always covered in diesel and this renders the gloves useless beyond the filling process.

      2. I do not think that my well meaning neighbour takes credit cards of any description. I am also loath to ask her for her bank details although I may ‘float’ the idea so that I will be able to make a direct cash transfer to her account. In the current situation the awful modern notes may come into their own as they look as though they will take being sanitised readily.

  68. Gosh, I know this is serious: my coffee-makes-life-worth-living wife refuses to visit any coffee shop – not even Bournville Garden Centre ….

    1. ” I’ve just heard someone in the office say….”
      Little whispers travel far……………

        1. Meeting to decide what goes into The One Show. They’ve all come in specially. For the time being, I’m still still in Television Centre and the nice Italian staff in the canteen are still cooking and feeding me!

          1. Glad to hear you are being treasured.
            I suspect the world would keep turning if The One Show wasn’t broadcast.

      1. Total lockdown of London would be difficult. The approach seem to be to run down rail service and order theaters and clubs and bars and restaurants to close. Shops may be order to close as well

      2. I think the threat hangs over us but if we’re good children it may not be full lock down. Another colleague has just e-mailed me her personal phone number in case I need to talk, which is sweet of her. Her husband is a police officer but he’s usually desk bound so unsurprisingly he too is now working from home.

        1. Stay safe, Sue. Our son is having to travel in and out of London on a daily basis. Once in London he has always preferred to walk rather than take the tube, about a half hour’s journey on foot.

    1. The virus has swept down though the low countries and taken Paris,
      it has travelled by air and devastated London, they are fighting it on the Beechams at the moment.
      It has opened a second front in Eastern Europe and will soon be on it’s way to Moscow.

  73. Coronavirus: No10 slams full London lockdown claims – saying ‘zero chance’ travel will stop

    I dont think any one was expecting that it would be very difficult to do but they are cleanly tightening up on London hence the start of reducing rail service in London. They also have the legislation to enforce the closing of theaters etc. I expect them to start ordering restaurants and bars to shut

  74. National Express, the UK’s largest operator of scheduled coach services, says it will reduce its capacity by 80% because of the outbreak.

    A typical Sunday service will operate on the company’s bus networks in the West Midlands, Coventry and Dundee.

    Buses in London are also operating fewer services because of the outbreak.

  75. If you want a laugh, do access this with a copy and paste job into google, if you are able. Oh to be young again with abundant joie de vivre. I do not have the facility for posting videos and for photographs I am sorry to say the computer says a definite ‘No!’
    bbd63fd9-6627-4c0c-b43e-e152350136e4.MP4

    1. ‘Afternoon, Mum, I’ve often wondered how to upload MP4s but unfortunately copy and paste into Google doesn’t seem to work. I’m going to try other methods and will let you know, if I find a solution.

      If anyone else has cracked it, please let us know how. I use Windows 7 professional.

      1. I received it by email in one of those square boxy things which you tap to activate. It made me burst out laughing, very difficult to do these days as I am feeling very twitchy with a worst case scenario in all directions looming inside my head. I am too busy washing my hands as well!

  76. Apropos of nothing at all, I’ve just joined a Facebook Group of Ex RAF Boy Entrants (I was one from 1960 to 1961) and in the process of reminiscing some wag has posted, “The great days when women wore stockings and there was that bit of bare flesh at the top of the thigh, known as the “Comedy Zone”…if you got that far you were laughing.”

    2. There comes a time in a gentleman’s life where if you reached that bare flesh, you forgot why you were going that way!

  77. Birmingham buses operating Sunday service as public transport slashed during coronavirus crisis

    2. So in response to an infection where we are being told not to get too close to others, they are reducing the number of service units available, thus forcing those who need to get somewhere to be crowded closer together in larger numbers when the bus finally arrives.

      Good joined-up thinking there.

      Well done Birmingham.

  78. ” Sainsbury’s dedicated shopping hour for vulnerable people ‘chaotic and crowded'”
    Worth a read.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/sainsburys-dedicated-shopping-hour-for-vulnerable-people-chaotic-and-crowded

    ” Daniella Brice, 73, from Lingfield, in Surrey, who has asthma and
    diabetes and is seven months pregnant, said her 37-year-old mother went
    to the Sainsbury’s store in East Grinstead, Sussex, at 6.50am to pick up
    some essentials for her.”

    1. Well done that man. He and Chelsea FC who has made a similar offer should be commended.

      1. More relevant is the fact that some years ago he moved all his holding companies to various Caribbean tax havens so as to avoid paying British tax.
        Why should he now ask British taxpayers for a bail out?

    3. Well done Gary.
      As our many grossly over paid footballers are now ‘Resting’. I hope they are carrying out as much charity work as they possible can.

        1. The number of times they spit on the pitch during a game it’s a wonder the whole football industry hasn’t succumbed.
          Hearts apparently have halved the salaries of it’s workforce – which means their players will have to survive on about £20k a week – poor bastards

  80. It has just been confirmed that the virus is transmitted by hot air emanating from experts.

  81. Afternoon all.

    From member of the Stanford hospital board. This is their feedback for now
    on Corona virus:

    The new Coronavirus may not show sign of infection for
    many days. How can one know if he/she is infected? By the time they have
    fever and/or cough and go to the hospital, the lung is usually 50%
    Fibrosis and it’s too late. Taiwan experts provide a simple self-check
    that we can do every morning. Take a deep breath and hold your breath
    for more than 10 seconds. If you complete it successfully without
    coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, etc., it proves
    there is no Fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicates no infection. In
    critical time, please self-check every morning in an environment with
    clean air. Serious excellent advice by Japanese doctors treating
    COVID-19 cases: Everyone should ensure your mouth & throat are
    moist, never dry. Take a few sips of water every 15 minutes at least.
    Why? Even if the virus gets into your mouth, drinking water or other
    liquids will wash them down through your throat and into the stomach.
    Once there, your stomach acid will kill all the virus. If you don’t
    drink enough water more regularly, the virus can enter your windpipe and
    into the lungs. That’s very dangerous. Please send and share this with
    family and friends. Take care everyone and may the world recover from
    this Coronavirus soon. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – CORONAVIRUS 1. If you
    have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold 2. Coronavirus
    pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose. 3. This new virus is not
    heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27
    degrees. It hates the Sun. 4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about
    10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne. 5. If
    it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if
    you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon
    as you can with a bacterial soap. 6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12
    hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it. 7. Drinking warm water is
    effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice. 8. Wash
    your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10
    minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your
    eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on. 9. You should also gargle as
    a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice. 10.
    Can’t emphasis enough – drink plenty of water! THE SYMPTOMS 1. It will
    first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
    2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and
    then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further. 3.
    With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing. 4. The
    nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re
    drowning. It’s imperative you then seek immediate attention.

          3. #Me too.
            A slice or two of lemon, 1/2 fill glass with gin, add cubes of frozen tonic to the rim, top up with liquid tonic from the fridge.

          4. Chilled beer is worse than that.

            Good quality cask-conditioned ale should be served at cellar temperature (i.e. a cool 13ºC).

        2. No, be British – a good hot mug of tea – covers the liquid and temperature aspects.

    2. If it was killed at 26-27°C, it would not survive in the human body, body temp being 37°C approx.

      Do a Google search on “Covid 19 hold your breath for 10 seconds” and you will find it is totally debunked. So, it’s the whole thing above is fake news.

      1. UV however does kill viruses. Get out there in the sun with your tops off and rotate slowly…

          3. MOH has very sensitive skin and did in the South of France. We were both surprised as the day was 10/10ths overcast.

  82. Why is it so bad in Italy. Over 3000 deaths. It has overtaken China. China has a population of about 1.4B , Italy about 60M

    1. A bit like asking why are Italian girls prettier than Chinese girls.
      Answer: Because they are.

    2. Probably because they are being rather more honest in their reporting. No-one really knows how many Chinese died.

      1. It’s been said that the Chinese also has very few influenza deaths. If someone died of flu, and had another illness, they’d record the cause of death as the other illness and not flu. I expect they’ve done the same with this virus…

      1. More likely it’s the reported 100,000 Chinese working in the garment industry in northern Italy.

        1. 320,000. Plus those who are invisible ‘tourists’ and students. Though more likely that the touchy feely young Italians regularly hug their parents and grandparents.

  83. A cousin of mine has just posted on FB that school closures should be the ideal time for parents to teach their children some good manners and useful skills. I wonder how many young parents are up to the task but that aside, I agree.

    1. Some of the parents may be able to teach the children the three “R”s.
      Reading, rioting and rithmatic.

      1. On the bright side, if the oldies are allowed near the kids then some home schooling might undo a little of the brainwashing.

    2. You may well wonder, Sue, and I share your doubts.

      It’s quite shocking, the number of young parents these days who don’t even know which way to pass the port.

      :¬(

        1. Hang on a mo. If we are a country that sensibly drives our cars on the left, why do we have to follow the Yanks and continentals in boats and drive on the right?

          1. One theory goes back to the time before rudders had been invented and all ships/boats had large oars or steer-boards hung over the right hand side to steer with and as such unpleasant tangles were avoided in narrow passages. I guess this is when the rot set in, might be a load of bowlines of course.

          2. IIRC, the Swedes voted to switch from driving on the left to driving on the right.

          3. I first visited Sweden in 1964 when they drove on the left but the cars had left-hand drive! I thought it weird but they were all in-prep for the change. The change happened on Sept 3, 1967.

      3. I pass it from the glass to my throat via my mouth. Is there another way?😎

    3. “This is a knife …. put it in your right hand …. no, don’t stab Leroy with it ….”

    4. SWMBO has just started teaching our 13yo granddaughter dressmaking, she’s taken to it biggly and has already mastered the sewing machine and overlocker and produced a simple dress and is now embarking on a more complicated project, my 11yo granddaughter is building a scale model of a Ballista. It’s a start 🤣

    5. I should be careful of criticising the younger generations, Sue.

      Whenever I venture to do so I get attacked by a pincer movement of the cognoscenti (i.e the ‘in’ crowd) who sternly put me in my place.

  84. The Voice UK’s live semi final and final postponed and replaced

    ITV has released a statement as the spread of coronavirus impacts its ability to produce shows.

    Carolyn McCall, ITV’s CEO, said: “All businesses are being deeply affected and ITV is no exception, but as a Public Service Broadcaster we remain committed to doing everything we can to continue to provide news, drama, entertainment and factual programmes to our viewers to keep them informed about this crisis and to offer them an escape from it.

    1. The gift that keeps on giving. Now, if only the Beeb had to exist in a commercial world, it could be finished off pretty quickly.

  85. ;Morning, all.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e48c0a1a7e736c7dbfd736a2aae762bd892d6d006459c9e5dd199f48c4e28922.png

    “It is serious. Take it seriously,” Merkel said in a televised speech. “Since World War Two, there has never been a challenge for our country in which acting in solidarity was so very crucial.”

    An awkward comparison from Merkel. No doubt most Germans will be hoping that acting in solidarity during the present virus crisis turns out rather better for them than did the solidarity they displayed, at their Leader’s urging, during World War Two.

    1. She really is an ugly specimen of humanity.

      Good morning Mr Mac. Your hand to hand skills may be needed shortly.

    2. Maybe dividing Germany in two again will help control the virus.
      They could build a wall ………..

  86. Waterloo & City line closes after Friday and weekend night service on the Underground and Overground will also cease at the same time

      1. They will have to cope. They are going to have to manage without tennis

        It will mean a mega amount of repeats on TV with all the sports and Glastonbury and Euro vision cancelled as well as filming of many TV programs stopped

        1. I think you missed the point of my post, BJ. I was not so much focussing on Wimbledon (tennis) as on Wombles (Underground, Overground, wombleing free…). With regards to the Eurovision Song Contest being cancelled, they could always re-broadcast the first half dozen contests when it was a Song Contest with songs and singers (remember Volare?) rather than oddly dressed dancers singing repetitive meaningless lyrics with pyrotechnics and more dance moves than the Shadows.

        2. I think you missed the point of my post, BJ. I was not so much focussing on Wimbledon (tennis) as on Wombles (Underground, Overground, wombleing free…). With regards to the Eurovision Song Contest being cancelled, they could always re-broadcast the first half dozen contests when it was a Song Contest with songs and singers (remember Volare?) rather than oddly dressed dancers singing repetitive meaningless lyrics with pyrotechnics and more dance moves than the Shadows.

          1. I watched a bit of that idiotic croakfest back in 1967 when Sandie Shaw ‘won’ it.

            I haven’t bothered again since.

          5. I think she admitted several decades later that she really hated the “song”.

          7. I’ve never watched it in my life, except for a few YouTube clips of “Volare”, etc.

  87. Just tried a Reddit share after reading about loads of offers by 3D printer hobbyists who are offering to print ICU ventilator parts to replace depleted stocks.

    Health regs for hospital kit are however very stringent on sourcing but when a patient is gasping for air to survive, any relief from that unbearable feeling is welcome.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fjcz60/an_italian_hospital_ran_out_of_icu_valves_a_local/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

    1. Let them grow on a bit and you’ll have an abundance of meal worms for fish bait.

  91. Bus Service likely to be cut from Monday

    Some have already been cut back but with the schools closed most areas outside London will have the services reduced because of that. It is not clear at present what will happen but most probably they will go the the Non School day timetables

    1. Good morning, Bill.

      Please concentrate your efforts on London, we,
      who don’t live there, will continue to survive and
      adapt, we have plenty of experience!

      1. Sort of like a very large taxi. For most areas outside of London the services mostly ceased a few decades ago

      1. Being introduced to computers using the old DOS system with Multimate and Supercalc, I’m very much a keyboard driver and still use the ALT & CTRL shortcuts.

      2. Use the mouse pad and keyboard Sue. The more you can use a PC or laptop without your hands leaving the keyboard, the better you’ll find it. Seems awkward at first but persevere – it really pays off.

        Use the tab key more and there are lots of table on t’internet that give the most common keyboard shortcuts e.g.

        Ctrl+c – copy
        Ctrl+x – cut
        Ctrl+v – paste
        Ctrl+z – undo
        F4 – redo last command

        And hundreds more

    2. I know the feeling. The problem for me was finding the on-off switch especially on computer courses with their differing models. It was always cunningly disguised in the bodywork.

    3. GT / Quotes / Misc
      Wordperfect Helpline

      This is a true story from the Word Perfect Help line which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department.Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired, however, he/she is currently sueing the Word Perfect organization for “Termination without Cause.”
      Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee

      SERVICE: “Ridge Hall computer assistance, may I help you?”
      CUSTOMER: “Yes, well, I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.”

      SERVICE: “What sort of trouble?”

      CUSTOMER: “Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away.”

      SERVICE: “Went away?”

      CUSTOMER: “They disappeared.”

      SERVICE: “Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?”

      CUSTOMER: “Nothing.”

      SERVICE: “Nothing?”

      CUSTOMER: “It’s blank; it won’t accept anything when I type.”

      SERVICE: “Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?”

      CUSTOMER: “How do I tell?”

      SERVICE: “Can you see the C: prompt on the screen?”

      CUSTOMER: “What’s a sea prompt?”

      SERVICE: “Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?”

      CUSTOMER: “There isn’t any cursor. I told you, it won’t accept anything I type.”

      SERVICE: “Does your monitor have a power indicator?”

      CUSTOMER: “What’s a monitor?”

      SERVICE: “It’s the thing with the screen on it that looks like a T.V. Does it have a little light that tells you when it is on?”

      CUSTOMER: “I don’t know.”

      SERVICE: “Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that?”

      CUSTOMER: “Yes, I think so.”

      SERVICE: “Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it’s plugged into the wall.”

      CUSTOMER: “Yes, it is.”

      SERVICE: “When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?”

      CUSTOMER: “No.”

      SERVICE: “Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.”

      CUSTOMER: “Okay, here it is.”

      SERVICE: “Follow it for me, and tell me if it’s plugged securely into the back of your computer.”

      CUSTOMER: “I can’t reach.”

      SERVICE: “Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?”

      CUSTOMER: “No.”

      SERVICE: “Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?”

      CUSTOMER: “Oh, it’s not because I don’t have the right angle – it’s because it’s dark.”

      SERVICE: “Dark?”

      CUSTOMER: “Yes, the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window.”

      SERVICE: “Well, turn on the office light then.”

      CUSTOMER: “I can’t.”

      SERVICE: “No? Why not?”

      CUSTOMER: “Because there’s a power failure.”

      SERVICE: “A power… A power failure? Aha, Okay, we’ve got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?”

      CUSTOMER: “Well, yes. I keep them in the closet.”

      SERVICE: “Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.”

      CUSTOMER: “Really? Is it that bad?”

      SERVICE: “Yes, I’m afraid it is.”

      CUSTOMER: “Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?”

      SERVICE: “Tell them you’re too fucking stupid to own a computer.”

      http://www.generationterrorists.com

  96. When the internet was first made available to the public it was seen as a useful resource that would positively assist in increasing people’s education.

    Unfortunately it seems to have had quite the opposite effect since most contributors and commentators on the countless social media channels are incapable of thinking, speaking or writing with any form of clarity, intelligence, reverence or common sense.

    It has degenerated, largely, into a convenient platform that is assisting the inexorable increase in moronic behaviour. Just peruse the comments below any YouTube channel for conclusive proof of this.

  97. 317248+ up ticks,
    May one ask thinking on it if the wretch cameron could put out a leaflet singing the praises of the eu to every household, could not the current party send out a simplified test kit to reassure those peoples that are in need of reassurance.
    Deduct the cost from future eu funding & overseas aid which, by the by should now be placed in the emergency only department.

      1. 317248+ up ticks,
        T,
        I often wonder who it was that applauded his
        approach & stance on pig husbandry, now I know.

  98. It’s raining again, again, here in Bournville. However, the weather forecast for the next 12 days up till 1 April has quite a lot of son and no rain!

    Sorry, I don’t believe you … you’re pulling our legs …

    1. It’ll be a political infection to ensure the pointless talks are dragged out further.

      1. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

        Luckily he is 69, so clearly not in a high-risk category. If he’d been 70 mind, he’d automatically be ‘vulnerable.’

      2. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

        Luckily he is 69, so clearly not in a high-risk category. If he’d been 70 mind, he’d automatically be ‘vulnerable.’

    4. Absolutely tasteless, Peddy but I suggest we send his wife a ‘Sorry for Your Loss’ card.

  102. BREAKING NEWS

    A spokesman for the NPCC has announced that in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, police officers will work from home for the foreseeable future.

    He reassured the public that this measure would in no way hinder the vital work of policing social media, remorselessly hunting down the perpetrators of non-crime-hate-crime, nor would it prevent officers from checking people’s thoughts by telephone.

    “There will be no hiding place for these non-criminals.” he added, “Not even self-isolation will save them. People must learn that even in a time of National Emergency, non-crime doesn’t pay.”

      1. Well, Alec, that was what I was planning to do. However…

        NOTE TO ALL NOTTLERS: This is an in-joke between Alec and I.

        1. This is an in-joke between Alec and I. me.

          You’ve been watching too much MasterChef, Elsie. Good morning!

          1. Between you and me, Peddy, I must have been suffering from lack-of-coffee-itis this morning, mate!

    2. “… police officers will work from home for the foreseeable future.”

      They might as bloody well. You never see one on the streets theses days!

      1. ♫ “I’m an ordinary copper, social media’s my beat
        Around Dock Green.
        ‘This is a muslim area!’ shout the wogs in the street,
        Around Dock Green.
        Some folk tell us “Concentrate on knife-crime!”
        But I prefer the social media scene.
        As an ordinary copper watching Twitter online.
        So feck Dock Green”.♫

          5. Not had them for about 5 years. Money saved is supposed to go into Road Safety. Not sure that does much either.

          9. Bally heck. The only thing that would teach these scum how to behave is twinned 50 cals that turn them to mush.

      3. Hey, Beatnik, we have an old police homestead in the burg but no boys in blue to be seen. The odd guy in paramilitary kit in his bureaucrat-mobile shows up, Dude, from time to time.

    2. What a shame P.G.Wodehouse’s Blandings stories are not in the Venn Diagram.

      2. I read Defoe’s miserable book years and years ago ..I had a tidy up last year and got rid of the book . I don’t think I completed it either .. too much misery .

        They called that 1665 plague .. The great visitation

        ” A Journal of the Plague Year “is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in March 1722.

        This novel is an account of one man’s experiences of the year 1665, in which the Great Plague or the bubonic plague struck the city of London. The book is told somewhat chronologically, though without sections or chapter headings.

    1. Oi! Billy Goats!

      When are you going to assure all the millions of hapless customers of your useless operating system that they will get a refund or a free, proper, Apple Mac computer?

  106. “OH, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers, 
    With England’s own coal, up and down the salt seas? ”
    “We are going to fetch you your bread and your butter,
    Your beef, pork, and mutton, eggs, apples, and cheese.”

    “And where will you fetch it from, all you Big Steamers,
    And where shall I write you when you are away? ”
    “We fetch it from Melbourne, Quebec, and Vancouver.
    Address us at Hobart, Hong-kong, and Bombay.”

    “But if anything happened to all you Big Steamers, 
    And suppose you were wrecked up and down the salt sea?”
    “Why, you’d have no coffee or bacon for breakfast,
    And you’d have no muffins or toast for your tea.”

    “Then I’ll pray for fine weather for all you Big Steamers 
    For little blue billows and breezes so soft.” 
    “Oh, billows and breezes don’t bother Big Steamers: 
    We’re iron below and steel-rigging aloft.”

    “Then I’ll build a new lighthouse for all you Big Steamers,
    With plenty wise pilots to pilot you through.”
    “Oh, the Channel’s as bright as a ball-room already,
    And pilots are thicker than pilchards at Looe.”

    “Then what can I do for you, all you Big Steamers,
    Oh, what can I do for your comfort and good?”
    “Send out your big warships to watch your big waters,
    That no one may stop us from bringing you food.”

    For the bread that you eat and the biscuits you nibble,
    The sweets that you suck and the joints that you carve,
    They are brought to you daily by All Us Big Steamers
    And if any one hinders our coming you’ll starve!”

  107. So let me get this straight. We’ve triggered a recession, possibly a

    depression, cancelled school for the rest of the academic year,

    destroyed thousands of businesses and laid off hundreds of thousands of

    people and are about to lockdown London because 104 folks, largely the very old or the very ill, have

    died?

    It would be awfully embarrassing if a simple solution/cure for the virus appeared wouldn’t it??

    Meet Didier Raoult,eminent scientist,researcher,virologist

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Raoult

    Can anyone imagine that one of the most respected and cited scientists in the field is going to fake a peer reviewed study??

    No me neither

    Cop this

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/186Bel9RqfsmEx55FDum4xY_IlWSHnGbj/view

    https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/French-researcher-in-Marseille-posts-successful-Covid-19-coronavirus-drug-trial-results

    Yet this study has been rubbished by the “Ministry of health”

    https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/927033
    Hmm one would have thought at the least further large scale trials would take place urgently………………..
    Unless the chaos suits certain agendas

    1. I am interested in the school closure because for years parents have been told that missing a day’s school will result in the wrecking of a child’s education. Now schools are closed until further notice, at exam time. The only objection being raised is how the free school-mealers are going to be fed.

      1. We are running our Easter French courses by skype. Caroline will be teaching five hours a day and receiving our students’ written work to correct by e-mail.

        We shall be doing our very best to make our skype courses as good as we try to make our normal residential courses.

      3. Please be assured that schools are not closing because the Kids are in danger. They are closing because staff are self isolating and schools have insufficient staff to cover.

        1. We’re in the cold and flu season and despite it being about 98% certain that any cough or splutter will be just that, they have been told to go home if they sneeze.

          Paralysis beckons with that policy.

    2. There are times when I think that there are malign forces at work determined to subdue and control us and that economic ruin is their most potent weapon!

      2. It certainly suits China – after all,life is cheap for the CCP. Keep quiet about the virus until it has had time to spread worldwide.
        The EU aren’t far behind in their opportunism.

        Excerpt from Independence Daily:
        Posted by Vivian Evans | Mar 19, 2020 | Brexit, Editorial | 6 |

        “And so to the EU and Brexit! They are all doing so well on the Continent that borders are now closed everywhere, with tailbacks that are miles long. Trust the French though to posture and stomp their feet – this headline yesterday says it all:

        “British nationals will be BANNED from France if Boris Johnson does not adopt the same coronavirus policies as the EU, the French prime minister warns” (link)

        Never mind that these measures are so deeply illiberal it defies comprehension! In France, you need a piece of paper, proving that you’re ‘authorised’ to leave your house to do the daily shop. That is what we should copy?

        Then there’s an article the DT by a German journalist, the London correspondent of the German paper ‘Die Welt’, well-known for her anti-Brexit, Johnson-bashing attitude. She asks why Germany has such a low death rate of COVID-infected patients (paywalled link). It’s all due to the fabulous German Health service, to German efficiency. That’s why Poland and Austria closed their borders to Germany before Germany followed suit.

        If only “Our NHS” were to copy those Germans … but as all our own journalists demonstrate daily, the validity of those numbers is never to be investigated. That would, of course, disturb the narrative and allow us peasants to question the logic of our MSM’s “Project Panic”.

        And then there’s Brussels … You recall that the Trade negotiations couldn’t go ahead because video conferencing was somehow impossible because: ‘reasons’ – never mind that last week, the EU Council did have a video conference, and that the drafts couldn;t be evaluated properly. So now read this:

        “Michel Barnier has been ordered to wrestle back control of Britain’s fishing waters just days after Boris Johnson was handed a major concession ahead of this week’s cancelled trade talks.” (link)

        It’s surely miraculous how this happened! How did they all read those emails so quickly? Joe Barnes reports further down in his article, published yesterday evening:

        “After this week’s trade negotiations, scheduled to take place in London, were cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak, both sides have spent studying each others’ positions.” […] Meanwhile Mr Johnson today ruled out remaining under the EU’s rules and regulations beyond the end of the year. The Prime Minister refused to accept extending the Brexit transition period as an option despite the Government focusing much of its energy on trying to halt the spread of the dread virus. At his daily coronavirus briefing, he said: “There is legislation in place which I have no intention of changing.” (link)

        That is in stark contrast to the Remain report in the DT which headline screams:

        “Boris Johnson fails to rule out extension to Brexit transition period in coronavirus crisis” (paywalled link)

        Never mind what Johnson said – and they do quote him – : this was insufficient! Instead, take a look at another outstanding report by our friends at facts4eu, both on the video conferencing shambles and the ‘excuse’ by Whitehall civil serpents that everyone is working on that COVID-19 Pandemic. Do please read it yourselves, here!

        And finally – get ready for being called ‘racist’ should you say this is a Chinese virus, like President Trump did. Benedict Spence in the DT writes:

        “To be clear, this has nothing to do with Chinese people — I almost can’t believe I would need to clarify that, but here we are in an age where words are twisted as easily as they are uttered — who are as much innocent victims of this pandemic as anyone else, and perhaps even more so, having borne the brunt of the outbreak. But it has a great deal to do with the actions of the Chinese state. Something that may have escaped your attention, in the pandemonium of the nation coming to terms with the sweeping changes of the past few days, was the news that yesterday China expelled all US journalists from the country working for outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.” (paywalled link)

        Let that sink in! I endorse Mr Spence’s next sentences:

        “The fact that this is happening at a time when we have never needed transparency and information sharing more is shocking enough. But it has also come in the midst of a major propaganda push from Beijing, which claims to have turned the corner in the fight against coronavirus, and has also started an information war — “disinformation war” would be more accurate — over the virus’s true origins, even suggesting it originated not in China, but the US.” (paywalled link)”

        For whole article and links:

        https://independencedaily.co.uk/your-daily-brexit-betrayal-thursday-19th-march-2020-3rd-covid-19-pandemic-special/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=INDEPENDENCE+Daily+Newsletter1

        1. Indeed so, the Telegraph’s remain bias continues to be strongly evident, even in articles which have a non- Peter Foster byline.

    3. I’ve just posted links to the same study.
      Australian doctors had announced similar results several days ago.

  108. During my check-up I asked the Doctor, “Do you think I’ll live a long and healthy life then?”

    He replied, “I doubt it somehow. Mercury is in Uranus right now.”

    I said, “I don’t go in for any of that astrology nonsense.”

    He replied, “Neither do I. My thermometer just broke.”

    2. If they want another Counsellor of State then Princess Anne should be their go-to royal.

          1. I should have written ‘Counsellors of State’. “Counsellors of State are made up of the consort of The Queen and the first four people in the line of succession meeting qualifications – must be over age of 21”. Prince Philip IS therefore a counsellor of state but he is somewhat over age 70 so not suitable.

    4. It’s constitutional ‘experts’ gassing to the Daily Mail
      Awful lot of ‘coulds’ and ‘mights’.

  110. Question 1:
    If you knew a woman who was pregnant,
    Who had 8 kids already,
    Three who were deaf,
    Two who were blind,
    One mentally retarded,
    And she had syphilis,
    Would you recommend that she undergoes an abortion?

    Read the next question before looking at the response for this one.

    Question 2:

    It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts..
    Here are the facts about the three candidates.

    Candidate A:
    Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists.
    He’s had two mistresses.
    He also chain smokes
    And drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

    Candidate B:
    He was kicked out of office twice,
    Sleeps until noon,
    Used opium in college
    And drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

    Candidate C:
    He is a decorated war hero,
    He’s a vegetarian,
    Doesn’t smoke,
    Drinks an occasional beer
    And never committed adultery.

    Which of these candidates would be your choice?

    Decide first … No peeking, and then scroll down for the response.

    Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    Candidate B is Winston Churchill.
    Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

    And, by the way, on your answer to the abortion question:

    If you said YES, you just killed Beethoven.

    Pretty interesting isn’t it?
    Makes a person think before judging someone.

    Remember:

    Amateurs … Built the ark.
    Professionals … Built the Titanic

    1. Interesting that several of Beethoven’s siblings were deaf – I wonder if there was genetic link with his or could it be related to the syphilis.

        2. He was one of seven children apparently. Only three lived to adulthood. His mother actually died of tuberculosis.

        4. Had time to search for some more info now. Not true it would seem with regard to Beethoven (so wonder if it is accurate for the politicians):

          “Beethoven was the second of seven children born to his parents, Johnann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich, the daughter of a chef. Sadly, only three of their children survived to adulthood.
          Their first son was born in 1769 and named Ludwig Maria, but he only lived six days.
          Their second son, born in 1770 was also named Ludwig and became the composer we know and love.
          The third born was Kasper Anton Karl – more about him later.
          The fourth born was Nikolaus Johann – more about him later as well.
          The next child was a girl, born in 1779, named Anna Maria Francisca, who died that same year. Two more children followed: a boy, Franz Georg in 1781, who died in 1783 and finally a girl, Maria Margarita Josepha who was born in 1786 and died the following year. The same year, Beethoven’s mother died of consumption.”

          Information came from https://www.cmuse.org/beethovens-siblings/

          On the political side, B is the logical choice if you take time to think about it (regardless of whether they are accurate with reference to the 3 politicians). C should be rejected straight off because they would always be convinced that they know best and would never brook any argument. A is dodgy because of consulting with astrologers, assuming it means taking them seriously rather than having a laugh over this week’s stars. The adultery also suggests he could be untrustworthy. Which leaves B: getting kicked out of office may mean he stands up for his principles and upsets people; sleeps until noon may mean he’s a night owl rather than lazy (though it might relate to the whisky consumption), apparently given up on opium, which leaves him as heavy drinker. Which seems the least of the problems presented.

    2. Oh that is such an interesting post. It backs up my opinion that NoTTL is a very improving board for the individual.

  112. https://poorrichardsnews.com/is-anti-malaria-drug-chloroquine-the-cure-for-coronavirus-peer-review-study/

    Is antimalarial drug chloroquine a cure for corona virus?

    https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/bayer-preps-u-s-donation-malaria-med-chloroquine-to-help-covid-19-fight-report
    Bayer preps U.S. donation of malaria med chloroquine to help in COVID-19 fight: report

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8126789/NHS-faces-pressure-trial-counter-anti-malaria-drug-coronavirus-patients.html
    NHS under pressure to trial over-the-counter anti-malaria and flu drugs on coronavirus patients as petition launches online after studies show signs they can fight the killer infection

      1. Can’t hurt, but I doubt it.
        Tonic and white wine is great for a sore throat and cough, I’ve found (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it)

        1. Actually, excessive doses of quinine can cause liver and kidney failure. Not that tonic water presents much of a risk, as you would have to drink gallons of the stuff. I take quinine sulphate to prevent nights cramps, but have to have regular blood tests.

          1. As I posted a few days ago, Clarrisa Dickson-Wright had the medics baffled when she came down with a severe affliction during her party days.

            They eventually found out it was quinine poisoning from her love of gin & tonics.

            True story.

          2. That rather supports my ‘you have to drink gallons of the stuff’ comment.

          4. I’ve just 10 minutes ago put the old bones from the chicken we had the other day into the Rayburn to make some stock for the soup.

            It’s shopping day tomorrow and if the profiteers and looters are still at it my trip to Asda might be a dud, so some soup might come in handy.

            I’m told chicken stock cures Covid19. It cures everything apart from badly broken legs.

          6. Was that before or after Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright got shagged by an MP behind the Speaker’s chair?

          7. Don’t know, but there might have been a bit of ‘during’, which you’ve missed. 🙂

          9. I found some tonics a few weeks ago in the back of a drinks cabinet. Those plastic bottle ones. Over the years, the bottles appear to have expanded or the contents shrunk, so the contents no longer fills them properly and the sides have shrunk in.

          2. Of course I dont think anyone has been making claims of a cure for Corona virus though

          4. Good for sterilising the remains too if plenty of fuel is used.

            Greta would disapprove, but there you are.

      2. You just can’t get your hands on unicorn urine any more so people will search for alternatives.

        3. I have expert opinion that a large dose of arsenic cure it. IT does though have an unfortunate side affect. It kills you so please do not try this at home

      3. Ah! that explains it. We had some trouble finding some – we could not find Schweppes – as our G&T is not the same without it.

    2. I think Erdogan is spoiling for a fight and if he continues, he’ll probably get one, if not Greece or Austria, Russia and Syria might give him what for.

    1. Helo there.

      How nice. I have almost given up on radio and TV. I have heard enough about Corvid-19.

      I am almost, but not quite, wishing they would re-run some football matches 🙂

      1. I was hoping to see the Dulux paint advert so that I could watch the paint dry.

      3. I was hoping to see the Dulux paint advert so that I could watch the paint dry.

  116. I understand the plan now. The elderly are to be killed off, the young then are to be starved to death in the traditional socialist manner. They do have form on starvation of populations.

    1. Good job there’s no food in the shops. It will reduce the demand for bog rolls.

  117. Government statement:

    We’d damned well like to fight you on the beaches, the landing grounds, and even in the hills, but unfortunately the NHS would not be able to cope with the surge in casualties … we have therefore decided to surrender.

    1. In the original French –

      Nous avions bien damné de vous battre sur les plages, les terrains d’atterrissage et même dans les collines, mais malheureusement le NHS ne serait pas en mesure de faire face à la vague de victimes … nous avons donc décidé de nous rendre.

  119. Supermarkets also said they were having to use additional security staff in store to ensure customer behaviour did not get out of hand.

    “Most people are sensible but some aren’t.”

    They said that there had been no discussions as yet with the government about a police presence in store but it was a “subject that was being discussed internally”.

  120. A charity worker stopped me in the street and asked if I fancied taking
    part in a marathon. I was going to decline but he told me it was for
    disabled kids and children with severe learning difficulties.

    I thought, hey !, I might win this.

  121. The Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, said:

    Couples and parents, friends and families will have been planning for months, even years for their special moment, whether a wedding or a christening.

    Now it can go ahead – but with only the minimum required in attendance. You may need to cancel or postpone.

  122. The Church of England has advised that wedding guests should observe social distancing… apart from the couple themselves.

    Apart from the couple themselves, the other people attending weddings should observe social distance as much as possible, the Church of England guidance says.

    Traditions such as the priest touching the rings or the couple’s hands as part of a prayer or blessing are not required, and the reading of banns will not be possible as public worship services have been suspended. But couples can instead apply for a licence through a different procedure and those whose banns have already been read can proceed.

    The guidance recommends streaming where possible but acknowledges couples may wish to postpone their wedding or proceed but hold a public blessing at a later date.

    The church recommends similar measures for baptisms, with numbers limited to the candidate, their parents (or guardians or carers), the godparents and the minister.

    1. The Christian tradition is actually that anyone can baptise. It’s just nice to do it in church and have a party.

  123. Has China found a breakthrough coronavirus treatment?

    Since the outbreak of COVID-19, people around the globe have been eagerly awaiting a real breakthrough on its treatment. Fortunately, a silver lining seems finally to be showing up.

    The virus clearance rate is a well-established golden standard assessing the clinical effectiveness of an antiviral medication.

    Recently, preliminary results of the “Clinical Study on Favipiravir’s Safety and Effectiveness to COVID-19 Patients” led by the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen were released at a press conference held by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the P.R.C.

    In this study, it shows that Favipiravir alleviated the pneumonia symptom of COVID-19 patients with high tolerance and few adverse reactions, potentially through a mechanism that can quickly eliminate the coronaviruses from their bodies.

      1. Favipiravir, also known as T-705 or Avigan, is an experimental antiviral drug being developed by Toyama Chemical of Japan with activity against many RNA viruses. Like some other experimental antiviral drugs (T-1105 and T-1106), it is a pyrazinecarboxamide derivative.

  124. At the barbers today, I asked to have my hair cut like Tom Cruise.

    So he gave me a cushion to sit on.

          1. We had a teacher known as “The Ancient Brit” – she taught history ” because she was there”.

  125. Hundreds of thousands of UK tourists could be stranded overseas for weeks as airlines ground planes and countries close borders due to the coronavirus.

    Holidaymakers in destinations such as Peru and Morocco are facing immense difficulty and cost to return home.

    Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was “very difficult” for people to get out of those countries.

    He told the Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee: “The challenge there is to make sure, first of all, the governments of those countries keep a route so British nationals can get out.”

    Mr Raab said there were between 300,000 and “closer to a million” British nationals travelling abroad.

    “That is a massive, massive scale,” he admitted.

    1. Just proves we’re not a nation of inward looking racists after all. Ironic that the UK is one of the few countries that hasn’t closed its borders unlike the EU.

    3. Surely that means about a million fewer bog rolls are needed each week they are away.

  126. Well, we survived our trip out to the supermarket.
    Tesco looked like a store in a communist country, most of its shelves either empty or getting there. Very little fresh meat, just a few joints of beef or pork. Sliced packs of bacon were back in stock, but not much else. No potatoes or onions. Few other winter vegetables (cabbages, leeks, etc,) or mushrooms, but some veg was plentiful.
    No pasta, rice, dried noodles, but there were packs of pre-cooked rice. No toilet rolls, bleach, etc, and even laundry detergent, wine, pet food, etc was low. It looked like there’d been no deliveries to the store for a few days.
    Asda was a bit better, but not much. At least it had frozen mince.
    If I was of a suspicious mind, I’d think we were deliberately being pushed to give up meat, as there was so little of it available…
    Both stores were relatively quiet, and no one was loading their trolleys up. Roads also more quiet than normal. Hopefully we won’t need to go out again for a few days.

    1. Do you have smaller independent food shops? We do and they’ve been well stocked all week. Most are also now offering home delivery as are some local pubs.

      1. There’s a post office/village store, but it doesn’t stock much at the best of times. We bought eggs there a couple of days ago, and it usually stocks bread, milk, that kind of thing. And postage stamps…

    2. There was no milk in Iceland, Home Bargains or the local mini-store. In the end, as we were almost out and MOH drinks a lot of milk, I went to Tesco and ended up paying more for less (2 litres instead of 4 pints). Hopefully things will return to more or less normal soon. It’s rather like war-time when housewives spent ages queuing only to find when they reached the head of it there was nothing left.

      1. If you can get hold of some more milk at some point, I’d suggest having a couple of smaller bottles in the freezer for emergencies. It doesn’t last indefinitely in the freezer and can still go off, but it’ll be months rather than days.

  127. 29 deaths from Corona virus over the last 24 hours 18 in the London area

    The patients died in hospitals run by the following NHS Trusts in England:

    London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust – 2

    King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – 1

    Barts Health NHS Trust – 2

    North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust – 2

    Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust – 3

    Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust – 1

    Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospital NHS Trust- 4

    Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust – 2

    Croydon Health NHS Trust – 1

    The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust – 2
    University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust- 1
    Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust – 3
    Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust- 1
    Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – 1
    Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust – 2
    Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – 1

    2. I was devastated to hear about Robbie Williams during the current corona virus outbreak.

      Apparently he’s fine.

  129. Brenda nails it again…

    “The UK & the World are entering a period of uncertainty.”

    2. The UK does that weekly (or a good proportion of it anyway – not me) when millions go into their local post office to splurge their cash on a lottery with odds of 14 million to one against.

      1. I would disagree. There is no real uncertainty. It is all but certain you will not win. No great harm just buying one ticket. It is those buying dozens that are a concern. It hardly improved the odds o winning but it greatly deplete their wallet

        1. My son called it “the stupiid tax” because it’s the tax you don’t have to pay.

  130. Coronavirus: F1 teams to build new ventilators in the fight against Covid-19

    F1 are not into volume manufacturing. The obvious way to increases production quickly is to work with an existing manufacturer and get an additional outsource manufactures building them to that design. Problems could be lead time o the part plus getting tooling and jigs made

    The Formula One machine has cranked up the fight against coronavirus with an offer to help the government in the production of ventilators. The demand in the UK is expected to reach at least 20,000 in extra ventilators as the crisis deepens over the coming weeks.

    A number of F1 teams convened remotely via teleconference on Monday to discuss ways in which they might put any spare industrial capacity and technical expertise to use following the suspension of the grand prix season in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    1. I managed to get toilet rolls, bread, longlife milk today with no problem.

      I love my cattle prod.

      1. Not ideal if you need them quickly and many factories thee shut down still

        How many ventilators are really needed is another thing./ In these situations every one tends to over order on the basis they will not get all the ask for

      2. Not ideal if you need them quickly and many factories thee shut down still

        How many ventilators are really needed is another thing./ In these situations every one tends to over order on the basis they will not get all the ask for

    3. The government has warned that critically ill people will need
      ventilation and has put out a plea to manufacturers to help remedy the
      shortage.

      I though “shit I’ve got no ventilation in my bathroom either” so I
      knocked a hole in the wall and some bugger nicked my bog roll.

    1. “Precooked meat has already been checked out…”

      So that’ll be raw meat then?

    2. There must be plenty of mugs around though who buy Uncle Bens rice. They must have plenty of money to waste

    3. Honey being left behind surprises me.

      Almost infinite shelf life and serves a multitude of sweetening purposes as well as being antispetic if there’s nothing else fro the chemist’s available.

      3. We were in Lidl this morning to take advantage of a promotion on Polish honey that starts today. They did not have any. Many of the shelves were completely empty. We left with nothing.

        1. That particular honey appears pretty regularly; probably about every 3 months. I buy it for cooking and to mix with yoghurt.

          1. We only buy honey where we can be more or less sure of the source. So we buy direct from apiaries in Scotland, and special offers of Greek and Polish honey from Lidl. We trust that the Greek honey is Greek honey and that the Polish honey is Polish honey. We do not buy any honey that is described as blend of “EU and non-EU”. Where opportunity presents itself we will buy honey from NZ but it tends to be expensive.
            We use quite a lot (around 10 kilos a year), for cooking, and as a sweetener in coffee.
            TKMaxx is a good source for French and Portuguese honeys, but there is no continuity.
            A lot of honey sold in the US is corn syrup, that is, it is not honey at all. Singapore is one of the largest exporters of honey in Asia, yet does not have a single beehive. So fraud is widespread.

          2. Honey origin can be checked by examining the pollen therein. Corn syrup, of course, usually contains very little.

          3. That is spot on. However, you cannot do it at home. I contacted the Food Standards Agency re this a few years ago, and they couldn’t care less.

          4. True, it’s a very specialised subject. A broad knowledge of the distribution of pollen producing plants can identify the geographical origin of honeys. Selling imported honey as premium local honey has been successfully prosecuted.

            The FSA, as with many other consumer organisations, can claim ‘lack of resources’.
            The best protection against counterfeiting is, of course, to keep your own bees!

          5. God made the bees and the bees made honey
            God made Man and Man made money
            God made the rabbits to run upon the grass
            And the Devil made the greyhounds to catch the buggers by the ass.

            As told to me by my future father in law in 1970.

  135. Most Supermarkets now trying to stop hording. . Iceland now limiting you to a maximum of 2 of each item

  136. Government considering enforced shut down of establishments in London as their has been widespread non compliance with the request to shut them down

    1. Yes but “considering” isn’t “will do” is it? It would appear that they’re hoping we’ll feel sufficiently intimidated to comply without force but like you I’m putting two and two together and making five.

        1. I think the legislation giving the power to compulsorily shut them down went through the commons today. I assume the Queen needs to sign it off as well

      2. A number of cases in the US where local bars decided that the “shut down” orders did not apply to them. Seems that the state police rolled up and explained that either they shut down right now, or the owner and staff would be arrested forthwith. Problem solved.

      3. It was a request initially hoping that most would comply also the legislation was not in place to mandate them to close. I think the legislation has now been passed so I think next week they will be able to order places to close

  137. HAPPY HOUR – ‘Do remember they can’t cancel the spring’.

    David Hockney has unveiled a new painting to add a splash of colour to the dark times facing the country.
    The 82-year-old painter, often dubbed Britain’s greatest living artist, new piece is titled ‘Do remember they can’t cancel the spring’.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8128821/David-Hockney-unveils-new-painting-lift-nations-gloom-amid-coronavirus-crisis.html#comments

    Thanks David….a nice gesture but a bottle of sherry or two lifts my spirits….

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c21cfca282990a9f09002904a4d9fae12795f0da232c8fd6e980319008a820e.jpg

        1. That’s what happens at his age….

          I am reminded of the old ad – “Heineken Refreshes the Parts Other Beers Cannot Reach”

        3. I’m not bothered about that. Flower stems growing directly from the ground without the surrounding foliage that is essential for their presence is a howler.

          The fact that they are about a hundred feet tall is another, unless they are growing through felt.

        4. I’m not bothered about that. Flower stems growing directly from the ground without the surrounding foliage that is essential for their presence is a howler.

          The fact that they are about a hundred feet tall is another, unless they are growing through felt.

          4. Before I clicked on it I was expecting – and hoping for – a riot of Monet-like colour: daffodils, purple irises, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, narcissi, hellebores, primroses, catkins, pussy willows. Think what he could have painted. And what do we get? A few spaggy stems of daffodils/narcissi.

            Good evening, Hl.

          5. Good evening, poppiesmum (I was going to abbreviate that to pm but thought that would be too like PM!)

            That was rotten picture by a now over-rated artist. Poor man – if that’s his idea of Spring. Or is he taking the pee?

            Whatever, let’s forget about it a.s.a.p.

      2. The sort of thing you dash off when you’ve forgotten to make the promised hand-made Mothering Sunday card.

      3. Those who label him as “Britain’s greatest living artist” clearly know nothing about art or artists.

    3. Spring is sprung
      de grass is ris
      I wonder where de boidies is?

      De boidies on da wing.
      But that’s absoid,
      De wing is on da boid

        1. Was that the Guy with the black doggerel?

          I thought it was Ogden Nash, but I’ve never been able to find the whole thing and my post was merely a variation on the theme

          1. Don’t know – but he also penned:

            “I wish I were a fish
            And could swim beneath the ice,
            And when the girls go skating
            Wouldn’t that be nice!

          2. To keep your marriage brimming

            With love in the loving cup,

            Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;

            Whenever you’re right, shut up.

  138. Research from Italy indicates that 99% of Chinese Flu fatalities had underlying health conditions, and that age alone was not necessarily a factor.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8130479/99-patients-killed-coronavirus-Italy-existing-illnesses-study-finds.html

    Therefore, would it not be more sensible for governments to focus on isolation for high risk groups, including block bookings of hotels all expenses paid if individuals can’t isolate at home, rather than closing the country down virtually completely ?

    This research also gives credence to the hypothesis in The Lancet and British Medical Journal relating to ACE and ARB medications……

    https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30116-8/fulltext

    https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m810/rr-2

  139. Boris says that there are no current plan to stop public transport in London at present but equally it is not ruled out

    Reading between the lines it looks as if it only wants key workers coming into London. It is clear they dont think this is happening at present. Stage one appears to be clamping down on establishments that have bot closed down although the message that went out on that to me was confusing as he seemed to aim it at the customers to stay away from bars pubs and, restaurants etc. He is also trying to dissuade people commuting into London, The minor cuts to bus and trains in London seems to be an attempt to discourage this

      2. That would be the kamikazi bats deliberately flying into Chinese diners’ mouths.

  141. At around 4:00 pm I managed to bag the last bag of salad leaves in a local Sainsbury’s (None available in local M&S food store). Only green veg in either store was – Mexican Asparagus – no root veggies whatsoever. Likewise no milk in either store. However, I was reassured by the frequent announcements that there will be Jam tomorrow..

      1. Root beer, Baileys Irish cream, Milk Stout, Pale cream Sherry , Corona……

    2. I dont understand it. There are no supply problems just a surge in demand. Why people want to bulk buy fresh products that have a limited shelf life beats me. Maybe once people have run out of storage space perhaps they will stop buying excessive amounts. Mind you they may end up throwing out have the stuff as it has gone off and rushing out to replace it

          2. Ironically, she was seriously trying to organise assistance for the starving peasants when that comment was made.

    1. Cancel that, apparently some prat has taken a video from an earlier riot and put it us as happening today.

        1. I pisses me off big time when twats use old photos & videos as fake news like that.

  143. Bus and tram passengers with concessionary passes in Manchester can travel for free during morning rush hour to help with shopping

    Bus and tram passengers with concessionary passes will be able to travel during the morning rush hour from Friday – to make it easier to get the shopping in.

    Concessionary pass holders usually pay full adult fare to travel before 9.30am.

    But peak time restrictions will be lifted for Greater Manchester’s older and disabled citizens as of March 20, to coincide with supermarkets’ new ringfenced shopping periods for those most vulnerable to Covid-19.

    While unnecessary travel is discouraged, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has taken the decision knowing that many people will have no choice but to venture out.

    Those with concessionary passes would usually have to pay full adult fare to travel during

    1. It would make sense for the government to say that the morning restriction is lifted until the Corona virus is over. With Schools closed now and many people working from home their is no capacity problem and with many supermarkets opening at 8am for the elderly it ould make sense for that as well

    1. 317248+ up ticks,
      O2O,
      If this is the answer & President Trump gives the word
      then it could save a great deal of suffering & cut off at the knees any potential scams being set up.

  147. Should HS2 be scrapped? I think we will see a permanent reduction in passenger numbers so it would not be needed

    A program on the railways the other day identified several shuffle ready rail projects mainly in the North that would deal with bottle necks enabling more trans to run and to reduce delays. The total coy of thee projects was about £7B and they could be completed in a few years and not 30 years

    These would give a real business case and improve daily journeys for millions of people

    1. Nowadays it’s not business cases that are produced – it’s cronyism and buddy cases, and political nutcases.

      1. Lord Adonis seems to be the main one pushing it. He came up with all sorts of daft arguments

        Only about 10% use rail on a regular basis and of that 10% less tan 1% travel more than 50 mils by rail. Hardly a strong case for HS2

          1. I suspect that Soros does not have friends. He has accomplices, who ultimately become victims and prey when they have served their purpose.

        2. Adonis is a complete idiot. I went to a talk once where he was spouting. (I went to see what he would say, and it was very local.)

          He was an entertaining speaker – that I’ll admit, but he completely plagiarised, misrepresented and simply lied about quotes from people like Churchill.

          Most of the audience were too stupid (or biased) to pick up on that.

          Adonis is a slimy nothing, like – well I can’t even say a worm, as worms are very useful creatures.

          Why on earth he was made a lord goodness only knows – but then that is the way nowadays.

  148. Boris has said he is looking to stop the daily face to face press briefings. The reason given is it goes against government advice to have unnecessary travel and meetings. HE is looking at an alternative possibly video conferencing

    1. At least the three speakers are keeping one metre apart from each other.

      1. Every time I watch those briefings some journalist in the audience coughs dryly throughout. It is the same when Hunt is chairing his parliamentary committee.

        It is even worse than the hacking coughs giving the background during performances of slow movements in the Albert Hall.

        1. Are you sure it’s a journalist?

          Remember the coughing major from Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

          It’s a code telling Boris what answers to give.

  152. I bought some big fat oyster mushrooms am, they looked interesting and cost an arm and a leg.
    WTF do i do with them….?

    2. Google search throws up a ton of recipes. The saute with garlic and onions sounded good.

    5. Cut off the stems and blend them with breadcrumbs, parsley and parmesan then stuff this mixture back into the cups and then microwave for a couple of mins..

      1. I would put the mushrooms in a buttered shallow oven dish then sprinkle that mixture all over then grill them.

    7. Stir fry with other vegetables, like chopped celery, baby sweetcorn, maybe chopped chicken breast, garlic, onion, red or green peppers, and a dash of soy sauce, and oyster sauce.

      1. Thanks Ims2
        I sauteed them in butter and garlic.with a dash of sherry and sweet chilli sauce….added cooked chicken thighs and soy sauce. Served with steamed broccoli
        I would make it again adding more veg as you suggest…thankyou

        1. Blimey…you’ve gone out on a limb. More than 3 ingredients !!!

          They are good at reducing red meat in your diet as they are quite meaty.

    8. Sit next to them and cover yourself in excrement, you will then be a fully fledged member of today’s cowed population.

    9. I might have been unlucky on the few occasions I’ve had them, when I found them to be a bit chewy, but they tasted nice.

    10. Don’t wash them. If they have some spots of humus on them wipe of with kitchen paper or tissues.

      Garlic and parsley chopped.
      Knob of butter sizzling in the fry pan.
      Lob in the mushrooms.

      Fry for 2 or 3 mins.
      Serve on hot buttered toast.
      Goes well with a glass of sherry. :o)

      1. I would not lob in the mushrooms ( as you put it) I would put them in carefully.

        1. I saw your other post and what you eventually did. I was going to make another suggestion but you already added the sherry.

          As per my original suggestion you could if you are not worried about your weight……When the mushrooms are ready chuck a schooner of sherry into the hot pan and ignite then add some cream when the flames and your hair stop burning. You will have a lovely sauce and a new fringe. :o(

    1. So, Bill.

      The Bank Interest rates have NOT been cut to nothing!

      Seriously, you need to get a grip on life!

        1. It’s a good time that even in a time of crisis, the Bank will help the Chancellor’s spending intentions.

        1. Sorry, it was one of those ‘flash’ things BB gets on her phone. I didn’t check.

    1. Suprised how long ago that clip was put up and how little attention it’s received over the years!

      1. Sad how few views there are of the classic old recordings. The viewers just do a search for Pavarotti.
        In all walks of life, few people are interested in history.

  155. Yesterday upon the stair
    I met a virus that wasn’t there
    It wasn’t there again today
    I wish, I wish it’d go away

    When I came home last night at three
    The virus was waiting there for me on tv
    But when I looked around the hall
    I couldn’t see it there at all!

    Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
    Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door

    Last night I saw upon the stair
    A little tittle virus that wasn’t there
    It wasn’t there again today
    Oh, how I wish it’d go away

  157. Hospitals in London split into coronavirus and non-coronavirus halves to hold off spread

    A sensible move but why were they not in an isolation ward in the first place ?

    Hospitals across London are subdividing themselves into separate areas in a bid to prevent coronavirus patients spreading the virus to others.

    A top doctor said it felt like the “calm before the storm” as teams rushed to create areas where patients can be isolated and given oxygen. It came amid ongoing concern at delays to introducing testing for frontline staff, which means many are being forced to go into quarantine if a family member develops possible symptoms.

    1. Why not assign the infected medics who are still functioning to the wards where CV patients are?

  158. Edinburgh Airport to cut 100 jobs over passenger number warnings

    Edinburgh Airport is to open talks with staff on shedding at least 100 jobs as it faces “close to zero” passenger demand in the coming months.

    Staff will be offered unpaid leave and redundancy as part of the airport’s “consolidation plan” to remain open.

    Only three shops or restaurants are expected to stay open as the coronavirus crisis continues.

    Passenger numbers at Scotland’s busiest airport are already down by two-thirds on this time last year.

    ‘Tough decisions’
    It is expected to operate only freight, mail and medical flights within two weeks.

    The airport has 750 directly-employed staff, while there are more than 6,000 workers in other businesses based in and around it.

      2. Quite so, BSK. My late father was KRRC (60th) and I just wonder what he would have made of all this…

        1. I was in RGJ before the formation of The RIFLES. I then rebadged to AGC(SPS)
          (Staples, pens and stationery)

      3. Is he hoping to sell it at a profit, or is he just a compulsive hoarder? Some people collect stamps; a friend of mine collects old Mercs. This guy collects food.Is he waiting in for the men in white coats?

      4. Probably a shopkeeper storing some of his stock at home. The fresh fruit wouldn’t keep, so he must be planning to sell it.

      5. I wonder if he has worked out how long that is going to take his family to eat. I hope he’s checked the use by dates. He’s got a lot of carrots to eat before they go off.

        What beats me is how someone can afford to buy so much at once.

    1. I hope that he doesn’t have holes in his socks. Nothing could be more embarrassing than being caught with sub standard hosiery.

      1. “He heard a rumour that the local shop just had a loo roll delivery ……” and got over-excited …

      2. Me too, bed and a book are so comforting.

        Sov godt.

        Good night and sweet dreams, lovely NoTTLers…

  163. While we are in lockdown the BBC should put up a graphic showing how much everyone’s pension pot and savings will be decreasing in value each day, now that would be entertaining and pass the time.

    1. It would certainly give people like me who have only the State pension something to watch.

      1. Yes and it’s quite active most of the time with a fitness club which Cadbury workers use during the day. One can still detect that the Cadbury’s must have preferred cricket to football …

  165. People receiving benefits will not have to attend Jobcentre appointments for at least three months, the Department for Work and Pensions announced.

    Claimants will continue to receive their benefits as normal, but all requirements to attend the Jobcentre in person are suspended from Thursday as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

    People can still make applications for benefits online if they are eligible, the DWP said.

    Jobcentres remain open, and will continue to support people who are not able to use phones or online methods.

  166. Another 29 people have died in England after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the UK death toll to 137 and England’s to 128.

    A statement from NHS England said: “A further 29 people who tested positive for the coronavirus (Covid-19) have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England to 128.”

    1. They’d better start trying hydroxychloroquine on hospitalised patients with covid-19..

  167. The police knocked on my door. An officer said, “We’d just like to
    inform you Sir, that whilst you were at work, a black male was
    apprehended trying to break into your property.”

    “Golly!” I exclaimed.

    The officer cautioned, “We understand your anger Sir, but lets just
    stick to referring to him as a black male.”

  168. The number of people attending church weddings during the coronavirus crisis should be limited to the legal minimum of five – the priest, the bride and groom and two witnesses – the Church of England has said.

      1. IIRC, in Medieval times, it required at least five witnesses to the consummation.

  169. Anyone else hear about the appalling behaviour on Bournemouth beach
    yesterday? Man and woman arguing in front of a load of kids. Then she
    smacked him one and it all kicked off. Police turned up and the copper
    had to use his baton on the bloke, but after a struggle, the bloke got
    the baton off the copper then he started hitting the copper and the
    woman with it!

    Then a crocodile turned up and stole all the sausages….

    4. Like looking in the mirror. I trapped my fingers in a cupboard door and it made me owl.

  171. Rudyard always did have a turn of phrase……………..

    “Power without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot through the ages”.

    Ringing words from Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in 1931 (though
    they were written by his cousin, Rudyard Kipling). He was denouncing the
    Press Barons, influencers of events answerable to no one for the
    consequences.

  173. Research from Italy indicates that 99% of Chinese Flu fatalities had underlying health conditions, and that age alone was not necessarily a factor.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8130479/99-patients-killed-coronavirus-Italy-existing-illnesses-study-finds.html

    Therefore, would it not be more sensible for governments to focus on isolation for high risk groups, including block bookings of hotels all expenses paid if individuals can’t isolate at home, rather than closing the country down virtually completely ?

    This research also gives credence to the hypothesis in The Lancet and British Medical Journal relating to ACE and ARB medications……

    https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30116-8/fulltext

    https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m810/rr-2

    1. No that does not work. Even if you are not badly affected by it you can still spread it. Stopping the spreading of it is key

      1. The virus should be allowed to run its course. Anyone elderly and/or with health problems has far more common sense and will be looking after themselves already. The whole country is going to grind to a halt with jobs and businesses being lost maybe forever.

        Our son has just been told he will be working 50% hours on 50% pay from now on. Has the government even considered the effect and consequences of shutting everything down? It seems not to me. Absolutely OTT reaction by the western world.

      2. Not spreading it to high risk groups is the paramount consideration. The research indicates those individuals who are not high risk will recover, and probably thereafter have immunity for some time.

        High risk individuals who can’t isolate for family reasons are not being helped in the present scenario.

        1. If, as you say, “research indicates those individuals who are not high risk will recover and probthereafter have immunity for some time” – why the panic? Those with existing health problems will be taking care of themselves for that very reason.

          1. Because – Conspiracy Theory Alert – chaos such as this wrecks markets meaning deep state billionaires can short everything to oblivion and end up with billions of extra dollars.

            Therefore are deep state billionaires behind it ?

            Following the money usually works !

          2. I know this Polly. The MSM and agenda 21 and Event 201 are co-conspirators and will be making billions from crashing the markets whilst western governments ably assist them. We’re being saturated with publicity about the Vhinese virus,nflooding the zone it’s called, and we will pay a very heavy price for not just carrying on as usual.

      1. I’m suspicious of anything that makes You Know Who a few billion thanks to shorting.

    1. That first clip reminds me of a lovely but very strange cat that we had years ago which used to run in through the front door, race along a corridor and jump into our bath (it was a bungalow). The memory of what happened the day Dad had filled the bath is still quite vivid – it was rather like a Tom & Jerry episode! The cat never did it again though.

      1. Many years ago a neighbour spotted her cat eyeing up the gold fish in her pond. So intent was the cat in watching the fish, it didn’t her her creep up behind it and push it in the pond! Lesson learnt!

    2. So pleased to see that today’s pub lunch has not, after all, resulted in your demise, Rik. But do take care when you mix socially – to lose your wonderful giffs and memes would be bad enough; to lose you would be a disaster.

    3. So pleased to see that today’s pub lunch has not, after all, resulted in your demise, Rik. But do take care when you mix socially – to lose your wonderful giffs and memes would be bad enough; to lose you would be a disaster.

  175. Given the selfish attitude of large numbers of our population, stripping shelves in supermarkets and evidently stealing from shops I personally think it high time to police supermarkets and arrest hooligans in hoodies stoving in shop fronts.

    The mistake during the last riots was to let folk off. That sort of acquiescence and tolerance was never an appropriate response. These offenders should be taken into custody and placed on Cruise Ships if the prisons are unable to cope with the vast numbers of criminal miscreants. We could rename the ships Windrush 2,3,4, ad infinitum.

    1. I hope we don’t have everything closing down but I think a curfew would appropriate?

      1. That would really p155 people off. Counterproductive I think and who would police it?

    2. Its the only thing governments are good at its called Appeasment. They avoid anything difficult.

    4. They were let off last time because it would be too much hassle to do anything about them,
      and to fight the professional get-you-offers in the legal profession.
      As you say, time to stop that nonsense. It some of theoffenders are black, tough luck.

      1. I would rather turn the clock forward a few weeks to show the futility of the current policies.

    3. Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,

      Nor the furious winter’s rages;

      Thou thy worldly task hast done,

      Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:

      Golden lads and girls all must,

      As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

      Fear no more the frown o’ the great;

      Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;

      Care no more to clothe and eat;

      To thee the reed is as the oak:

      The scepter, learning, physic, must

      All follow this, and come to dust.

      Fear no more the lightning flash,

      Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone;

      Fear not slander, censure rash;

      Thou hast finished joy and moan:

      All lovers young, all lovers must

      Consign to thee, and come to dust.

      No exorciser harm thee!

      Nor no witchcraft charm thee!

      Ghost unlaid forbear thee!

      Nothing ill come near thee!

      Quiet consummation have;

      And renownèd be thy grave!

        1. It is the Psalm for this Sunday, Mothering Sunday. It is suggested we place a light in our windows at 19.00 hours to show the light of Christ is not dimmed although we can’t worship together. I am looking out a lantern and will set my alarm.

          1. “Tu autem cum orabis intra in cubiculum tuum et cluso ostio tuo ora Patrem tuum in abscondito et Pater tuus qui videt in abscondito reddet tibi”
            — Mat. 6:6

          6. Many years ago, I sat absolutely entranced in Leees Cathedral as the organist rehearsed that piece – stopping & starting, going back, and then playing the whole piece. Just the organist, and me. Very, very moving.

    5. I have unblocked the person I had blocked because I feel we all need to stand and be together in this even if 6 ft apart.

    1. Prince Andrew has paid for a young lady of his acquaintance to give a massage to the nation.

    2. At least the RF are doing their bit by self-isolating Arry and Meagain…

    3. Windsor Castle is no more the Queen’s than the White House is Donald Trump’s.

      1. Sorry, but the Queen was anointed, and that is superior to election. Her Majesty also owns the ships of the Royal Navy.

    4. Our nation has been unforged by the formation of ghettos of incompatible groups

  178. Browsing in a charity bookshop I picked up a book by investigative journalist John Pilger titled
    ‘The New Rulers of the World’.
    For 50p, a hard back it was worth a punt. John Pilger’s work has been a beacon of light in dark times.
    I hope he can lighten the gloom that has descended on our Scepter’d Isle…..

  179. I have been betrayed….I paid the subscription…i thought i was protected…………….. but now ! ………all porn sites are now free. What is worse…..i don’t get any royalties………………….

    1. You may not……..but you do get worserer! :-))

      Did you see the earlier comment about you? :-))

      Good evening, Phizzee.

  180. I note that the usual crew of Republican wankers are queueing up to criticise the Queen.

    Here’s her statement in full:

    As Philip and I arrive at Windsor today, we know that many individuals and families across the United Kingdom, and around the world, are entering a period of great concern and uncertainty.

    We are all being advised to change our normal routines and regular patterns of life for the greater good of the communities we live in and, in particular, to protect the most vulnerable within them.

    At times such as these, I am reminded that our nation’s history has been forged by people and communities coming together to work as one, concentrating our combined efforts with a focus on the common goal.

    We are enormously thankful for the expertise and commitment of our scientists, medical practitioners and emergency and public services; but now more than any time in our recent past, we all have a vitally important part to play as individuals – today and in the coming days, weeks and months.

    Many of us will need to find new ways of staying in touch with each other and making sure that loved ones are safe. I am certain we are up to that challenge. You can be assured that my family and I stand ready to play our part.

    ELIZABETH R

    It’s all standard “keep calm and carry on”; but what else do you tossers expect her to do or say?

    As far as I’m concerned better this than a Blair bleat or Boris bulling or any other lying politicians whose first port of call is self-interest

    1. When dic Brenda start referring to the Greek ‘un as ‘Philip’ and not ‘Prince Philip’?

          2. Scotch. The people of North Britain were Scotch until the whisky marketing took off,
            according to the late James Lees-Milne.

        1. Yes I did, I am an unapologetic Royalist, for the seniors that is! Maybe William and Catherine, possibly.

  181. Q: What is the biggest threat to the isolated elderly during the Coronavirus crisis?

    A: Starvation.

        1. That’s food !! Many years ago I came out in an allergic reaction after a tin of anchovies in oil. I came out in spots all over my face. Since then I have managed to avoid anchovies and sardines. A plus is that I no longer get oil all over my shirt and trousers.

    1. She was taking eight tablets a day, which is twice the recommended maximum dose. No wonder it ‘exacerbated’ the problem.

    2. I found Ibrufen to be a superb painkiller when I was abroad with a very painful tooth
      infection, but as you say it has to be used with care.
      The article is good propaganda, especially for anti-smoking, and unusually for the
      media it seems very genuine.
      My wife and all her friends are all scared stiff of what is happening, and
      jabbering to one another on the phone about it. I assume that is nationwide.
      I think the country is holding up well so far, and I cannot criticise Boris. He is
      not God. (Where is God when you need him, anyway?).

          1. And things are not looking good for the Celestial Choir.

            Hundreds of seraphim and cherubim are being laid-off and the archangels have been put on zero-hours contracts.

          2. We have isolated ourselves from Him. Therein lies the problem.

            Please note that I am not religious in the conventional, traditional sense.

  185. Wow, we have been busy today, I’ve just logged on to say Good night and God bless – see you all later.

  187. I just had to end with something we all had to learn by heart – here is just the first (and apt) verse.

    The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
    The lowing herds winds slowly o’er the lea,
    The ploughman, homeward plods his weary way
    And leaves the world to darkness – and to me.

    1. I often think of that verse when I am taking our dog for a walk down the green during a winter’s twilight – very occasionally there are no cars and with the thatched cottages on either side of the green I could be in a different century – all is peaceful. That particular verse is so evocative, so English.

    2. Sadly, my education, whilst good in other respects, did not include instilling an appreciation of poetry. Though I do enjoy listening to it being recited, reading it is something I have to work at.

      1. #metoo, Bob, except listening to poetry does nowt for me at all – it just sounds pretentious.
        I have been collecting poems that say something to me, though, and have a collection of about five so far, so maybe there’s hope for me yet…

        1. I like this one. It reminds me of Firstborn’s farm:
          Leisure
          William Henry Davies, 1911

          What is this life if, full of care,
          We have no time to stand and stare.
          No time to stand beneath the boughs
          And stare as long as sheep or cows.
          No time to see, when woods we pass,
          Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
          No time to see, in broad daylight,
          Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
          No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
          And watch her feet, how they can dance.
          No time to wait till her mouth can
          Enrich that smile her eyes began.
          A poor life this if, full of care,
          We have no time to stand and stare.

          1. WH Davies lived near here in his later years – his cottage was restored a few years ago.

  188. Just looked at the front page of the DT and the words underneath the picture of an empty airport sum it up for me.

    “In order to stop the NHS being overwhelmed, the Government is being forced to put the economy into lockdown.”

    Seems to me the government’s objective is to protect the NHS not to protect business, commerce and jobs. If you are ill stay at home and look after yourself. What’s happening now is the state destruction of our way of life and will cause a lot of heartache as well as bankruptcy.

    1. I think the point about the NHS is that the people who become really ill with pneumonia from this virus need the treatment. If they can’t cope these people will die.

      1. We were in A&E yesterday afternoon and the place was deserted, patients triaged outside the urgent treatment room before being allowed to be triaged again in the actual department. I appreciate that staff may have succumbed to the virus; it is obvious that the public is staying away, which is brilliant. But I feel that this is being done at the cost of ordinary commerce – things will never go back to where they were before this virus. It is the reaction that is so damaging.

          1. People are always dying and there are no pockets on shrouds but the NHS does need money to be earned to keep going. Shutting down the economy is the doing the opposite. Unbelievably naive. Economic illiteracy.

      2. I think that most of those who have and will die already have underlying health problems and they will die anyway. At best Coronavirus may be a contributory factor.

          1. I am of the opinion that it is better to catch the illness if you are not in a vulnerable group. It will all be over in about a week and I could stop worrying and would return to work (if I was not retired). The present plan is to prolong uncertainty and incarcerate ourselves, for months. I think we all accept that most of us will get the virus. Just like at the disco, its sometimes better to go ugly early.

          3. I don’t know what all the fuss is about worldwide. It’s a bug. 10-30,000 people die each year from ‘ordinary’ flu and nobody bats an eyelid because that’s what happens in winter.
            And no, precautions should always be taken but shutting down the economy and businesses is OTT. Has anyone made an estimate of the increase in suicides as people are thrown out of work and their debts mount and they can’t cope. Then their families suffer. The mind boggles but we’re all tunnel visioned on a single bug.

          4. If, in two month’s time, few more people other than the old with underlying heath problems have died and no more new cases are occurring, we will have had a massive over-reaction and caused lasting damage to our economy and way of life. On the other hand, if the virus mutates and results in far more deaths than now, the measures that are being taken might stave off something that would make the Black Death look like a minor inconvenience. There is a balance to be struck and the right balance will be known only with hindsight and perhaps not even then.

          5. Well, at least hindsight is something politicians are always good at.

            Not really surprising, since most of them have their heads stuck up their arses.

          6. Duncan: Now that last sentence of yours really is offensive. Don’t tar all politicians with the same brush.

          7. You are absolutely right. As a matter of interest I have a 1st class honours degree in hindsight from the University of Life.

        2. I know we’ve all got to go sometime…….. but I, for one would prefer it to be later, rather than sooner.

          1. I wholeheartedly agree with you but I am not going to be a ‘worried well’ individual.
            As I have said recently, if you’ve seen the film Bridge of Spies there is a wonderful phrase when Tom Hanks turns to Mark Rylance and says to him ‘Are you worried?’ and Rylance replies ‘Would it help?’. That is my view on the current induced panic.
            Carpe deum. Live for today.

    2. Without the NHS, everyone in business, commerce or employment could die. You have a logic failure.

      1. I don’t think so. Without us all paying our dues the NHS will die! And in any case everyone will die!

      2. Without business to earn income there will not be enough tax to support the NHS. I think your the one with the logic failure.

      4. Regardless of what happens we will all eventually die. Immortality is not an option.

      5. Everyone? The weak would shuffle on a little sooner, for many of them it would be a blessing.

      6. “Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated”?

        1. I said that vouvray had a logic failure. That is not rude or an insult. You are, I think, seeing what you want to see, but it it isn’t there.
          Have a good night.

        2. Please explain why Tony was rude or indulging in a personal attack. He seemed to have expressed a perfectly reasonable view.

          1. There we must disagree – I felt it was rude to accuse someone of a “logic failure” – but then, if we all thought the same this would be a very boring site!

    4. The expectation of the state by most people is far too great.We do not just look after the sick, but everybody far to much and we need far less of the nannny state. Now when it comes to the crunch it cannot do it.

      1. I agree with you Johnny. Over the years successive governments, but mostly labour, have looked to increase state busybodying and people have been taught to expect “government to do something”. Even the Conservatives have abandoned their “aspiration and responsibility” stance.

    5. The NHS saves lives, few business do although a deep recession will also kill people. I very difficult balancing act.

  192. Is there anybody there? I can’t sleep and we’re aiming for the early morning one hour 7.00 am pensioners’ slot at Waitrose in a few hours’ time. We need to be up at 5.30 am – 6.00 am at the latest. Looks like I’m having no sleep tonight.

    Why has the toilet roll become the iconic symbol of these uncertain times – our lives do not depend upon having a stash of toilet roll, it’s not as if we can eat it, we might be a little uncomfortable without it, that is all. I wonder if it is in some way representative, a symbol, of our present civilisation and we want to hang on to that at all costs when it feels as though everything else is falling apart, that our civilisation is falling away from us. To some extent food of some form or another has always been available to a greater or lesser degree; toilet roll, the soft tissuey sort has been only available from the latter half of the 20 century onwards. There is an irony there – in order to hold on to our symbol of civilisation we have become very uncivilised indeed.

    Just early morning pre-dawn ponderings.

    Edit: Perhaps in the end it is something as simple and mundane as we do not wish to be inconvenienced in the convenience.

    1. Heyup Lass!
      I’ve logged on after waking up to pump bilges.
      A rather pleasant bit of music on R4 at the moment, George Frideric Handel’s Theme and Variations following on from Wawrzyniec Zulawski’s Suite in the Old Style.

      1. Good morning, Bob! Well, I am up now, I got about an hour’s sleep and now I’m ready to do battle in Waitrose.
        Elbows at the ready but I shall be polite over the loo rolls, it will be ‘after you’ and ‘can I lift a pack down for you?’

        Why are you pumping out bilges?

          2. Morning OB

            Fine but overcast morning here , birds are singing happily . The hedgerows and trees are greening up..

            There were sheep and lambs in the fields near to us last week , the animals have been moved on and the fields have been ploughed , I hope there won’t be any muck spreading yet!

          3. Oh, I see! I thought he was barge-ing, or on a sailing holiday, or a problem with flooding in the house…….! I was still propping my eyelids open at 6.00 am. Thank you for enlightening me!

    2. Morning PM

      How disgraceful grocery strores are , expecting older people to shop at 7am in the morning.. just for one hour?

      Many people have to rely on lifts or perhaps even buses to get them to the shops . They should be saying a morning or an afternoon or even a day, but one hour is disgusting .. it is going to resemble that ghastly TV programme from years ago .. Supermarket Sweep.

      Sleep is abit elusive these days , isn’t it.

      1. My mum went to Sainsburys yesterday for the great granny shopping hour, said it was total madness, took her an hour just to get out of the car park.
        It made her feel unwell by the time she got home.
        The funny thing was that she gave most of the stuff she bought to me as she said her freezer was full anyway.

          1. There is nothing near where she lives to be fair.
            She most probably wanted to get food for her bird feeder and the foxes.
            The eat a la carte in her garden.
            Fattest foxes for miles

      2. There’s nothing to stop older people going at a later time. Please don’t complain at the preferential service you’re getting.

      3. I certainly won’t be going for the early morning slot. I don’t have to get up for work, and I’m not getting up to joinn the throng in the car park. I have no problem getting up at 5.30am when on holiday, but not for shopping.

        I shall go at my normal time today – late afternoon. I may find there’s nothing left.

      4. They didn’t throw us out after one hour, an hour was that which was allowed before the rest of the public could join. Pd and I shared the list so we were finished more quickly, we were done and dusted by 7.30 (started at 7.00 am). No toilet rolls by the time we trolleyed past the shelves although pd had said there were a few when he had passed by minutes earlier as he had tried to find me with the trolley. No tissues either. Waitrose was however offering packets and packets of 2-ply table napkins as a possible substitute for either.

        Yes, our efforts did resemble supermarket sweep! Although we only bought exactly what was on our list and what we needed.

        Sleep is indeed very elusive these days. I slept for a couple of hours or so when we returned home.

        1. There are herbal things one can take to assist sleep at night , the chemist told me .

          I haven’t tried anything yet .. I cannot nap in the afternoon like Moh ..

          1. As I write, pd is snoring gently with the dog on the sofa. I will have a chat with the pharmacist when we are ‘allowed out’. I know as soon as my head makes contact with the pillow as to whether or not I will fall asleep. Or, I awaken in the early hours and cannot get back to sleep until dawn. Sometimes I sleep the whole night through. Our younger son has put us under curfew! – he is concerned for us, he does not know about our early morning Waitrose visit, he wants to do our shopping for us but he and his little family have had a really really bad week and we did not want to stress him further by doing our shopping for us as well.

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