Wow! What an exciting week. As mentioned briefly last time, we had our first post “irreversible” unlockdown catch-up with Nick, Lucy and Annabelle on Saturday and Adam, Ava and Jessie on Sunday. The weather wasn’t great – too bad as we had to spend all of it out of doors! Cold and overcast on Saturday, cold but at least intermittently sunny on Sunday.
The best thing of all, though – since Adam, Ava and Jessie had been isolating for ten days after Jessie finished school for the Easter break, there were hugs! Oh, how we’ve missed these – hard to imagine that it’s been a year since we were able to give either of our granddaughters a proper hug.
On both days we made our way up to Canons Ashby, the National Trust property just a mile up the road from us. This gave everyone who wanted to (i.e., Annabelle, Jessie and Penny) an opportunity to run around a lot and play hide and seek.
Back to our place for lunch – as I say, a bit fresh on the patio – and a bit more running around searching for hidden Easter eggs. Thankfully, Penny remembered to count how many she put out and in a streak both Annabelle and Jessie had made a clean sweep of the garden and collected all the treats.
Penny’s Easter cake was a masterpiece, as was Annabelle’s!
A marvellous weekend and a real joy. We were able to hug one of our granddaughters and meet up with loved ones in person! I’d like to say the sheer joy of being able to finally do so would have made up for the months of lockdown but I’m not sure – that’s a year’s worth of hugs and cuddles I will never get back again. And I’ve missed them.
I’ve just finished Michael Rosen’s new book, Many Different Kinds of Love, which was an absolute joy. I guess that everyone amongst this extensive readership knows him – an acclaimed poet and children’s author – a national treasure in a lot of people’s eyes.
The book is about his experience of almost dying in the first wave of the coronavirus a year ago. He caught Covid very early – in March last year. He began to feel poorly after a night out at a soccer match, long after such events should probably have been shut down.
As it turns out, he probably would not have survived if they had waited any longer. As it was he spent 48 days on a ventilator in an induced coma and now suffers from the effects of long Covid although he is slowly getting back to something approaching normal, one year after the event.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he is a pretty vocal critic of the government’s handling of the pandemic and it’s hard to argue with him. In spite of being one of the richest countries in the world with a “world-beating” National Health Service we still have one of the highest death rates from Covid in the world.
Pen and I “enjoyed” a brisk, fresh walk around the Edgcote estate the other day and came across a splendid upright bear amongst the daffodils.
Look closely though – it’s a bench and the bear is holding one end. What a clever idea.
And so to the government’s latest “world-beating” strategy . . .
What do you do when you’ve handed billions of pounds to your mates to develop a quick-fire, “world-beating” lateral flow test for Covid-19 which turns out to be not fit for purpose? You carry on regardless – much better to pretend that the billions spent have not been wasted rather than admit you f**ked up. So, everyone, apparently, is now to be given two “free” lateral flow tests a week to test for Covid. Hurray!
As the scientists have repeatedly said, the lateral flow tests are OK at picking up those who are asymptomatic. The government, however, is using them as “catch and release” tests which scientists warn against. Nearly half of those who receive a negative test do, in fact, have Covid. Yet the government’s plan is that one might need a negative test to be able to attend sporting or other public events and to travel abroad. The best that can be said for a negative lateral flow test is that you “might” not have Covid.
Let’s hope that “irreversible” unlocking can withstand the results.
And, this just in:
Boris Johnson accused of dropping pledge to ‘follow data not dates’ and urged to wait for more vaccinations before easing restrictions
The Guardian
Boris Johnson breaking a promise he made? Quelle surprise!
And . . . Brexit!
Northern Ireland has been in turmoil this past week – a lot of anger at the duplicity of the Government in their desperation to “get Brexit done.” Despite the Prime Minister’s “promise” that no British government could ever agree to the establishment of a “border” in the Irish Sea (between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland) his Withdrawal Agreement with the EU (which he rammed through Parliament in one day) does precisely that.
They promised people unfettered access, which is not the case. And they denied the existence of borders, even as those borders were being erected. I think that that dishonesty, and the lack of clarity around these issues has contributed to a sense of anger in parts of our community.
Northern Ireland Justice minister Naomi Long
Why the Northern Irish would believe anything Boris Johnson says is beyond me – he is the epitome of a lying politician. His only “answer” has been to threaten to discard the treaty he signed less than a year ago.
So, not only has his Brexit agreement sent hundreds of UK businesses to the wall (and beyond) because they can no longer export to what used to be their largest market, he’s also in danger of reigniting the Irish Troubles. Could he to be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?
Those sunlit uplands are looking increasingly further and further away.
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, keep isolating as much as you can, wear a facemask when you go out and keep your distance. And keep safe.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg