“…if the government wants a fast track to undo all of the gains of the present lockdown, this is it” (Dan Shears)
Contrary Messages
In contrast to the previous week, blog posting took up much of Monday leaving little time for anything else. I attempted yoga in the afternoon but achy and tired, I lay down after ten minutes. Tuesday was equally boring.
Amid threats of further restrictions and quarantine, Germans infested Majorca on early Easter breaks. Already locked down in parts of Europe, The Bumbler predicted the third wave would come to the UK (not if you banned travel, you idiot!) Witty and Valance agreed, unhelpfully saying they regretted the dearth of tests and data in the plague’s early days. But Prof Ferguson contrarily suggested the wave might not get here because of ‘measures’ and vaccines. Complaining he was desperate for a haircut, I guffawed: “he’s hardly got any hair!” The Prof and Minister Helen Waffle both warned of an increased risk from variants against which we had less protection. USA trials showed AZ gave 100% protection against severe Covid and no risk of thrombosis. Thinking it was a live trial, I was flummoxed by accusations they hadn’t used the latest data. Rabid Raab instigated a travel ban and an asset freeze on Chinese officials as punishment for the oppression of minorities. Was that the same twat who said he’d trade with nations breaching human rights?
A year since the start of lockdown mark 1, a minute’s silence took place and yellow lights were lit across the country. Dexamethasone research showed the cheap steroid saved 1 million lives worldwide, 22,000 in the UK. Plans to test all adults twice a week, make vaccines mandatory for staff in elderly care homes and an extension of Coronavirus Laws until October were muted. On Newsnight, Mike Tildesley of Spi-M said in the short-term we needed better airport testing, travel restrictions and isolation of cases. He bleated about ‘harms’ caused by mask-wearing -think of the children! Melinda Mills of SPI-B responded she’d rather cover her face than be dead. Another Kill the Bill demo in Bristol led to 14 more arrests.
For the next 3 days, I felt a bit ill on waking but took Echinacea and ignored it. On Wednesday’s PMQs, Keir claimed the defence review broke promises for ‘no troop cuts’. Boris replied “there will be no redundancies” which didn’t mean no cuts thus Keir accused him of ‘Playing with numbers’, said they’d already been reduced by 24,000 since 2010 and there was more to come.
Moves and Counter Moves
Breaking the humdrum, we moved off the sofa to go for a walk early afternoon. As I’d stupidly put my walking boots away, Phil loitered outside to wait, spooking a hippy’s dog. Inspired by Walking Friend’s photos of fresh pesto on Facebook, we went to forage in what I called the ‘garlic fields’ in a nearby clough. Initially, we enjoyed a steady walk, pausing to admire dramatic lines created by the sun behind trees. The hippy with dog approached. He kindly attached the dog’s lead for us and we exchanged a few words. Loose stones made the last upward stretch hard-going. We rested on a rock before getting to work. Early in the season, young bright green leaves exuded pungency. We filled 2 carrier bags then made our way back. From higher paths, we espied portions of the one alongside the stream and recalled it was once fully navigable. Tempted to explore, Phil was put off by a hippy woman performing extreme yoga moves by the mill ponds. Back home, I rinsed the garlic before sitting down with coffee and a snack. My back hurt and I felt very tired while Phil almost fell asleep on the spot – the flu-like reaction to AZ leaving him fatigued.
Coronavirus infections up, I guessed it was due to the re-opening of schools. As the EU vaccine row rumbled on, Boris faced the select committee and hinted at tougher rules such as putting France on the travel red list. The Bumblers’ suggestion that pubs could issue their own Covid Passes was attacked by the CRG, the liberal party, publicans and unions alike as unworkable, chaotic, and discriminatory. The GMB’s Dan Shears said: “…most under-50s are essentially barred until they get a jab…this will lead to…false certificates, potential violence for pub workers and even a black market for vaccines doses…if the government wants a fast track to undo all of the gains of the present lockdown, this is it.” At a private meeting, Boris joked the UK had the vaccine because of greed, to immediately add “forget I said that.” Angela Rayner quipped: “greed certainly explains why tory donors and cronies are laughing all the way to the bank while our nurses get pay cuts.”
As the new travel law went to a parliamentary vote, many complained the move was far too late and a loophole making it legal to go to a second home was dubbed the ‘Stanley Johnson clause’. Merkel announced a 5 day lockdown in Germany at Easter but u-turned the next day. No doubt realising the ban on self-catering staycations was ludicrous when thousands of Germans had already flown to Majorca! An edict from Robert Jerk for public buildings to fly the union flag was issued on the same day that he put Liverpool City Council partly under commission due to mismanagement. An investigation into property contracts, bribery and corruption implicated mayor Joe Anderson and 4 others. A girl aged 7 was shot dead by the junta at her home in Myanmar while a fire ripped through Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp, Bangladesh, leaving 15 dead, 45,000 shelter-less and traumatised Rohingya children separated from their families.
Nasty Patel laid out her aims in dealing with incoming asylum-seekers: supporting those in genuine need, deterring illegal entry (by denying them the same entitlements), and making it easier to remove people with ‘no right to be here’. A stricter definition of what qualified as a ‘well-founded fear of persecution’ made it more difficult to get refugee status. Shadow home sec Nick Thomas-Symonds responded: “These changes risk making the situation even harder to access help in the UK, helping criminal gangs escape justice.” Patel said she’d create safe routes but it was pointed out they’d all been closed down by the nasty tories. I predicted a counter-move with an influx before the new rules came into force…
The Contrarian
Thursday, I rose from a restless night feeling out of sorts. Due to a misunderstanding, we had a daft argument. Although we made up, the altercation left me depressed all day. Chores done, in the afternoon he went to the shop and I went to the garden to clear my mind. The secateurs still missing, I hacked at shrubs in the far corner with cut-everything scissors. A pile of twigs belied the amount of work still to be done. The elderly neighbour appeared and sat on the bench opposite to chat. Phil arrived back and joined in whingeing about the state we were in. I bit my tongue when she reiterated refusal to have the vaccine. “If someone tells me to do something, I will do the opposite,” she said. “Well, It’s a prerogative of getting older to be contrary isn’t it?”
A woman I’d seen a couple of times entering next door, introduced herself. I remarked she seemed nice but it was hard to keep track of who lived in the house or on the street, for that matter. I hadn’t even noticed an entire family moving from the next terrace.
Contrary to their threats and after issuing a joint statement with the UK government pledging to work together for the benefit of all, the EU stopped short of banning vaccine exports and stressed the importance of global supply chains. In the last act before the run-up to an election, the Scottish government confirmed a 4% rise for the lowest paid NHS staff. Unison said Westminster should be ‘shamed’ into doing the same. Boris hinted this could happen at the pay review, but only mentioned nurses. BT were to give their key workers £1,000 bonuses as thanks for keeping us connected. John Lewis announced the closure of 8 more shops, 2 in Yorkshire and Santander were shutting 111 branches by the end of August. All within 3-5 miles of another branch, unions said the move would preserve jobs and avoid compulsory redundancies. As the BoE unveiled a new £50 note featuring Alan Turing, Nina on BBC Breakfast said she’d not seen one during the pandemic – as if it was normal pre-Covid to see wads of 50’s. I’d only ever set eyes on one in my entire life!
A terrible segment on Friday’s BBC Breakfast moved me to complain. Reporting from the Wrockhardt factory, the annoyingly chirpy and condescending Jayne Gubbins’ piece was misleading, inaccurate and unbalanced. Amongst other things, she wrongly said they made the AZ vaccine when they actually had a contract to put vaccine in vials, not limited to the AZ version. The propagandist citing of Boris’s praise of the factory again reminded me of Soviet-era radio Tirana broadcasts lauding tractor production.
Phil disappeared downstairs. It turned out he’d been trying to detach a broken lens mounting from one of his cameras. I suggested a couple of possible solutions to which he shook his head. “It’s fucked,” we agreed, when all of a sudden, it contrarily came free. Thankfully, the camera still worked but he was narked that it had taken up half a day. I arranged a ‘walk and talk’ in May with the researcher before setting off for the co-op in a sunny breeze. A dilemma over two £5 deals was solved by buying both, but I questioned the decision as I subsequently battled to fit it all in the freezer. Purchases made, I spotted Phil approaching and timed my exit to run into him. We then ran into our photographer friend and partner. We shared notes on getting jabs and laughs at the expense of conspiracy theorists. During a siesta, I was disturbed by shed boy arriving home with music blasting from his car.
ONS figures showed infections in England, Wales and NI were levelling off with a slight rise in Scotland. Prof Spector, Kings College (and leader of the Covid Symptom Tracker app study) claimed there was ‘no science’ stopping vaccinated people seeing each other – preferably after 2 doses, but probably okay a month after the first. Rishi Rich urged firms to re-open offices after lockdown, allegedly to stop staff leaving but recalling last summer’s antics, we knew it was to keep Pret and Starbucks in business. Saying going to offices was better than remote working, I wondered why not meet halfway like Nationwide, allowing staff to work where they liked? A CIPD survey a week later, found 2/3 of employers favoured hybrid working. USA daily deaths fell to below 1000 for the first time since November. 7 in 10 over 65’s had been vaccinated with 27m more doses coming. The Evergreen ship, confusingly named Ever Given, got stuck in the Suez Canal. Warning it could be there for weeks, diggers trying to dislodge it from mud looked like Tonka toys.
Shifting Through Smoke
Following moderate drinking, I rose on Saturday without a hangover. Not tempted outdoors in changeable weather, I made wild garlic pesto and salsa verde for later use, wrote a haiga and drafted blogs. Phil went to look for rooks. It rained heavily as soon as he left the house which didn’t deter the coffee-cuppers but made him soggy and moody. In the evening, sharp pains shot up my neck and I worried my head was about to fall off. A few exercises eased the pain although it was a couple of days until they went altogether.
Contrary to expectations with the start of BST, I was up earlier than usual on Sunday. On the way to the market, the BBQ ran by the local kebab take-away exuded pungent dark smoke. Grey clouds wafted over gammons shiftily queuing in front of the stall.
The square busy again, I weaved through a maze of coffee-cuppers and had to ask someone to step back so I could get to the rustic veg stall. It was worth the effort to acquire a wealth of muddy produce. Back home, I dodged round 2 hippy women hovering at the threshold next door – more inhabitants or just visiting? Settling down to watch telly, I caught a bit of ice skating which was nice, if odd. In place of an audience, mask-wearing officials stood in lines behind the barrier. Very tired at bedtime due to the early start, I slept well.
When asked if there could be more national lockdowns on The Marr, Oliver Dowdy said he wasn’t ruling anything out. Mark Woodhouse of SPI-M warned that June normality was ‘over-optimistic’. People vaccinated reached 30m of whom 3.5m had a second dose. Hospital admissions were the lowest they’d been for 6 months and a Vivaldi study found a 62% drop in care home cases within 5 weeks of a jab. Hauliers coming into GB would be tested while an experimental gig in Barcelona involved revellers taking tests and wearing masks but not physical distancing. As Merkel lost support, Phil informed me Adolf Von Der Leyen had been in a bunker bubble for the last 6 months. “it’s all a bit Downfall!” I remarked:* Kill the Bill protests took place across the UK but the Bradford demo was an idiotic anti-lockdown effort. 9 cops were injured and 13 arrested. The Myanmar junta had a party after killing 114 civilians, including a 5 year old, prompting chiefs of staff to write that the duty of the military was to protect citizens, not attack them.
*Downfall – A much-parodied film detailing the last days of Adolf Hitler in his bunker
References:
i. My haigas: https://wordpress.com/posts/mondaymorninghaiga.wordpress.com
The Corvus Diaries 