Good morning – and, for a change, it’s raining! Will this never stop – a couple of sunny days last week filled me with hope that Spring was nearly here and I have been heartened by the displays of daffodils everywhere. Now, a few dry days to start getting the garden tidied up would be a real help!
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I have always believed that, as a nation, the English are usually a phlegmatic people, not given to panic or hysteria. I cannot express how shocked and saddened I have been this week to discover how the nation that used to be exemplified by ‘mustn’t grumble’ and ‘keep a stiff upper lip’ has become a nation I no longer recognise.
We have lived through Asian Flu, Sars, Bird Flu, Foot and Mouth, Swine Fever, Ebola – and others I’ve probably forgotten – plus the annual flu outbreaks and so on without batting an eyelid. This time some people have gone into Doomsday mode and are stockpiling, of all things, toilet rolls! There is no anti-bac hand gel to be had, no anti-bac wipes, no paracetamol – and why? Because people are in a state of panic that they might become unwell for a few days – and so they feel entitled to stockpile and deprive people whose needs are desperate because they have a compromised immune system or are having chemotherapy or whatever.
Who do I really blame for this? Party the stores, who allow people to buy such vast quantities of the same item – I feel they should be limited, but most of all I blame the media! Every news broadcast, every newspaper – COVID 19 is the headline news!
The local paper had a never to be forgotten headline which they published on line – ‘Coronavirus victims now up to 63 – death toll rises to 1’. (This is not a joke!). Yes, of course if you or someone you love is ill then that is always horrid but there are a lot of people catching this virus and not even knowing they’ve had it, as the illness is so mild compared to flu. Yes two people have died so far in this country, but they both had underlying health concerns and were seriously ill anyway – it is not striking down people who are well and going about their normal business.
As of yesterday, 7 March, in this country 20,338 people had been tested for the virus out of which there was a grand total of 206 confirmed cases. That’s out of a population of 55.93 million people!
Please people, STOP! Stop worrying, stop stockpiling, stop the drama – just practice good personal hygiene and carry on as normal!
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In the evenings I usually watch the television – but am I alone in finding it increasingly difficult to find anything I would like to watch? I have hundreds of channels but far too many to plough through! I don’t watch soaps, sport or reality television which seems to immediately cut out a whole swathe of programmes and a series is often difficult because the MM can’t remember from one day to the next what we have watched. I now tend to let him choose what he wants and read a book instead!
Perhaps I’m just getting old and more picky than I used to be!
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This week I met up with a woman I used to go to school with a very long time ago. We met up at the mini reunion and have met up on a couple of occasions since. We had lunch in the 1940s in Havant (if you don’t know it, it is a vintage tearoom – tiny and absolutely stuffed full of things to look at) and a long chat about the past, the present and the future! It was interesting and I suspect we will be doing it again at some point – always interesting to talk about things with people who may have a very different perspective.
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Unless my eyes deceive me there now appears to be some sun shine so I’m off to get my washing out on the line!
Have a good week, stay safe and keep washing your hands!
xx
Random Ramblings 