“Allowing community transmission to surge is like building new ‘variant factories’ at a very fast rate” (Susan Michie)
Go Your Own Way
Overnight rain led to more showers on Monday. A good day to do a pile of ironing. At dinnertime, I pre-cooked veg in the microwave and transferred them to the oven for roasting, stupidly forgetting to take the plastic lid off the Pyrex dish. Inevitably it melting and unsalvageable, at least it didn’t get on the food. Unable to keep my eyes open reading that night, I unusually fell asleep before I’d even turned over.
ONS reported 153,000 total deaths and WHO revealed 6 of 10 European covid hotspots were in Scotland. Walk-in in centres popped up in all regions and Labour MSP Anas Sarwar wanted the gap between jabs reduced to 4 weeks. For the 73rd anniversary of the NHS, nauseating Thank You Day events took place all weekend. On Monday, the queen awarded them the George Cross. Princess Kate went into isolation so missed the Big Tea and St Pauls’ thanksgiving service which Simon Stevens called ‘emotional’. The Jerk’s Building Safety Bill gave homeowners 15 years to chase builders for unsafe homes. It failed to address how people were meant to afford to do so, resolve leaseholders’ issues or force guilty parties to pay up. Why wasn’t the government suing developers and getting them to repay The Treasury?
The pandemic ‘far from over’, as predicted, The Bumbler’s briefing on step 4 of the roadmap echoed Goblin Saj’s message on ‘learning to live with the virus’, telling MPs hospitalisations rose at a slower rate and deaths were 1% compared to ‘the peak’. We had to manage our own risk, exercise our own judgement and reconcile ourselves to more infections (at least 50,000 a day), hospital cases and fatalities. Stating ‘If not now, when?’ the PM gambled on vaccine protection and reduced the gap between 1st and 2nd jabs for under 40’s to 8 weeks. Going much further than hinted at, the ‘Rule of 6’ would end, there’d be no social contact limits, the legal mandate to wear masks was replaced by ‘guidance’ on where to use them and the instruction to work from home and the named care home visitor requirements ceased. Pubs could serve at the bar, nightclubs could open and audience limits were ditched. There’d be no compulsory use of covid passes but firms could use them and the scan code thingy if they wished. TIT would be ‘proportionate’, whatever that meant, with a different self-isolation system for fully-vaccinated adults and children to follow. The 1 metre plus rule only applying at borders to separate red list travellers, ‘tough border controls’ were to stay but government would work with the travel industry to remove the need for inoculated travellers from amber countries to quarantine. Promising ‘continual monitoring of the data’, the emphasis was on strengthened guidance rather than restrictions if cases rose autumn/winter. 19th July wasn’t officially confirmed as the date until rubber-stamping next week.
Amid widespread concern of repeating last summer’s mistakes, Unite labelled the move on face-coverings which protected others ‘gross negligence’ and Jon Ashworth called it ‘irresponsible’. Yorkshire mayors Jarvis and Brabin joined the chorus of disapproval along with some scientists. Stephen Reicher wanted continuing ‘support and proportionate mitigations to keep us safe’ and Susan Michie said it amounted to building new ‘variant factories’. On Newsnight, Nathalie McDermott of King’s College claimed people took no notice when it was law so definitely wouldn’t when it became advice. She cited a rise in other illnesses due to the virus (e.g., diabetes, thyroid issues and long-covid) and favoured a delay until all adults were fully vaccinated. Ben Bradshaw supported less restrictions but felt ministers spoilt the message by lifting safeguards. Tory Laura Francis inanely told us they’d publish guidance. When asked if there’d be another lockdown in autumn, she replied ‘Who knows? It depends on future variants.’ Very re-assuring – not! UKHospitality seemed to be the only ones thrilled by the news; at least until the implications of rising cases hit home. Sick to death of tories banging on about mandated mask-wearing infringing civil liberties and the BBC saying the ‘common sense’ approach was a shift in emphasis, I screamed at the telly: “NO IT’S NOT! it’s what they’ve done every time they’ve lifted lockdowns!”
Phil told me kids used pop and orange juice to fake lateral flow tests (LFTs). Mark Lorch from Hull University explained. The soft drinks were highly acidic and affected proteins thus the antibodies’ sensitivity to the virus was lost. Immobilised antibodies stuck to gold particles at the T line and gave a false-positive result. If washed, the LFT kit regained normal function and the true result unveiled. He suggested ingenious kids devise experiments to further explore his hypothesis.
Risky Business
Becoming breathless during exercise Tuesday morning, Phil also appeared pained and later whinged the heavy weather caused migraine again. The Researcher texted to consult on how to refer to me on the project blog. As I still owned the data she’d use, we settled on ‘contributor’. Currently with her parents in Somerset, they were nervous after The Bumbler’s announcement. Yep, here we go again! ‘Genuinely aghast’ the PM admitted more cases and deaths, her mum saw it as mob rule: the elderly and vulnerable sent back indoors so beer drinking ‘ENGERLAND’ get to have ‘Freedom Day’. To prove the point, pubs were allowed to stay open ‘til 11.15 Sunday night. Finding several reduced items in the co-op, I returned laden. Phil had cleared kitchen surfaces which helped deal with extra purchases. Fatigued, I failed to rest and went to the garden, potted a mint sprig and tidied a few bits up. The Toddler ran up and down the street, chased by Young Mum. “Is he too fast to catch yet? I asked. “Nearly!” In the first Euro 2020 semi-final, Italy and Spain drew 1-1 after 90 minutes. No goals in extra time, Italy won on penalties. Phil observed: “it took them a long to win that!” But I agreed with pundits who said Spain played better. Whatever the outcome, I thought we’d watched the ultimate victors of the tournament (disloyal as that seemed).
Now confessing cases could reach 100,000 a day over summer, Prof Semple called it a ‘calculated risk’. In more mixed messaging, Witless told the LGA long-covid would go up, especially among younger people and urged all to ‘push hell for leather’ to reduce rates. How, if all restrictions were lifted? He added we’d have a ‘difficult winter’ and not return to normal until spring. Nevertheless, ministers unveiled promised further details to MPs. The Salesman scrapped school bubbles from 19th July, ‘transferring contact-tracing to the NHS TIT system’. Saying they must balance risks from the virus with risks to ’health, social and economic hardship due to restrictions’, and the long-term protection of vaccines meant they could restore ‘the freedoms we all cherish’, Goblin Saj divulged under 18’s and the double-jabbed need not self-isolate after contact from 16th August unless the ‘advised’ PCR test proved positive. Shats would later provide an update on the same for arrivals from amber list countries. Jon Ashworth called for a U-turn on masks and better sick pay to unlock in a ‘safe and sustainable way’. While Neil Ferguson was ‘moderately optimistic’, NHS providers worried about the impact on managing capacity, mental health and the backlog. Jonathan Chew joined Lewis Hughes in being charged with the assault on the Witless. OBR warned Britain faced ‘potentially catastrophic’ risks from the pandemic, climate change, a debt mountain and a £10b black hole even with economic recovery by mid-2022. Lord Bethel was under investigation by the Lords Commissioner for Standards, for sponsoring Gina’s parliamentary pass – against the rules because she didn’t directly work for him. As it was revealed 676 migrants made their way to Britain on dinghies 1-4 July, the Nationality and Borders Bill proposed a draconian 4 years in prison for illegal immigrants and 14 years for smugglers.
No idea why there was a pool of water at the bottom of fridge Wednesday morning, I checked the plug, turned the knob up, listened for the familiar hum and deduced it was the funny weather playing tricks again. I worked on the journal and watched PMQs.
Keir said summer infections of 100,00 a day begged key questions on hospitalisations, deaths and long-covid. Boris told him to look at the Spi-M graph which showed the projection was based on the Delta wave and erroneously, that vaccines ‘severed the link’ between cases and serious illness. He asked if labour supported ‘progress of this country?’ The Speaker reminded him it was for him to answer, not pose questions. Keir corrected Boris; the link was weakened not broken, berated him for evasion, repeated accusations of letting the Delta variant into the UK and recklessness for removing all restrictions in one go, risking further mutations and more pressure on the NHS. Was the PM comfortable with that? Boris said because vaccines gave 90% protection, they could go ahead with easement and challenged Keir on supporting the plan earlier in the week. Keir retorted opening up should be controlled with masks, ventilation and proper pay for self-isolation. Boris couldn’t just ‘wish away the practical problems’ of hundreds of thousands pinged by TIT to self-isolate (forecast to reach 3m a week by 19th August) meaning huge disruption to families and businesses. How many did the PM expect to be infected? Boris inanely thanked all who self-isolated and insisted the move towards testing was a ’prudent approach’ as more people were vaccinated. Keir said by not answering, he ignored the next big problem; it won’t feel like freedom day to those who can’t go to the pub, sports day or on holiday. Yes, I thought, and what about countries that used infection rates as a reason to block entry? Not that I cared but those going bonkers in the pub watching footie, wouldn’t be happy when they couldn’t go to the Costas next month! Companies already warning of carnage, Keir predicted people deleting the TIT app to avoid being pinged thus undermining the system ‘he spent billions on’. Boris reiterated they were ‘moving prudently from legal diktat to people taking responsibility for their own actions’. Keir claimed it was actually about him losing a health sec and a by-election and getting flak from his own MPs. He did what he always did; gave into pressure, which would lead to a summer of chaos and confusion. Boris unbelievably maintained decisions were taken in a balanced way, and it took ‘a great deal of drive and leadership to get things done’.
After that bun-fest, Phil went to Leeds, I went to the large charity shop. Hovering to deposit donations, the cashier chatted to a customer about acquiring art space and getting Banksy to come. Stifling a guffaw, I commented: “How would we know it was him?” On the lookout for microwave pots, I found a spare cafetiere, glanced at the photo equipment then whizzed round 2 more shops and bought groceries. A profusion of wildflowers almost obliterated stone steps on the way home. I assembled a buffet-style TV dinner and Phil returned just in time for the footie. Hype all day over the Euro 2020 semi-final between England and Denmark, I looked forward to it as much as the next person, but you’d think nothing else happened in the world! In another rollercoaster, 24 million of us saw Denmark score first. England looked jittery but settled down and equalised as Sterling forced an own goal, falling forward into the net in comedic Sunday league style. In extra time, Kane scored a penalty on the rebound (lucky or calculated?) sending England through to the final against Italy. The keen-eyed spotted Mick Jagger in the crowd without quarantining, and a laser pen distracting Kasper Schmeichel. UEFA threatened to fine the FA. Elated players sang Sweet Caroline along with fans. I had no idea why it had become the new national anthem! 23 were arrested for hooliganism in London.
Case numbers the highest since 23rd January, there were 33 deaths. ONS said 90% of adults had antibodies, up 10% from last month. A REACT study showed jabs cut the odds of even mild infection. Therese Coffee-Cup confirmed the Universal Credit uplift would end in September and incompetently ‘guessed’ at the exact date. Rishi Rich later defended withdrawal of the extra £20 and hinted at an end to triple-lock pensions, predicted to go up next year because of covid. All 11 English cricket team members embarrassingly self-isolated, insisting they followed safe practices.
Make Your Mind Up
I awoke several times in the night, visions of the game spinning round my mind. About to hang sheets out in Thursday sunshine, Walking Friend arrived. The line snapped and she offered a hand but I left the task to Phil as we went for lunch. The centre packed on market day, outside space was scant and the town hall offered a scant menu. We settled on the old mill shop. The first time I’d been asked to provide contact details for months, I filled in a slip before we ordered at the counter and sat out back by the river. “Apparently, there was a football match last night,” I joked. Laughing, she agreed media hype was ridiculous. Discussing earlier with Phil why I got into it when other sports bored me stiff, we concluded it was cultural. Ingrained since an early age, she attended Valley Road from age 12. She still found it entertaining, exciting, and inclusive. Costing nothing to have a kick-about in backstreets, anyone could get spotted, join an academy and go onto a professional career. It was about the only thing toffs hadn’t usurped (or ‘Ruperts’ as Phil called them, although they got to go to live games while ordinary people couldn’t afford it). We took our time drinking tea, enjoying soothing water sounds as a cheeky juvenile jackdaw came begging. Our plates empty, it hopped impatiently atop the fence waiting to scavenge as soon as tables were vacated. We visited a couple of charity shops where I acquired posh flip-flops before she headed to work for the late shift.
Phil sat on the near bench musing on whether to varnish. I rested on the far bench until heat forced me inside. About to do some work on the laptop, he roped me into hunting for turps and sticking up post-its in case passers-by had a mind to sit on tacky benches even if the 16 hour drying time was significantly cut by the warm sun.
The Dildo told the commons public accounts committee TIT was a great success, admitting we’d find that hard to believe. Indeed; especially as sage observed it had marginal effects on reducing infections. Shats said transport operators could make up their own minds whether to insist on mask-wearing when no longer illegal, as airlines BA, EasyJet and Ryanair had. In a trial of fast-track lanes for the double-jabbed at Heathrow, passengers could upload covid passes. 10-days’ isolation for fully vaccinated arrivals from amber countries and advice not to travel lifted from 19th July, tests had to be taken 3 days before returning. Carriers welcomed the change but BA chief Sean Doyle wanted it extended to all vaccinated travellers, a reciprocal deal with the US, more countries on the green list and reduced need for ‘unnecessary, expensive tests’. The commons standards commissioner concluded Boris’ Caribbean jaunt breached the code of conduct but MPs overruled the finding. Sturgeon hinted the planned move to level 0 on 19th July in Scotland and further easing 9th August, might be stalled due to rising cases. After a surge in India, over 400,000 deaths and criticism of his handling of the crisis, Nodi fired 12 cabinet members. Although manufacturing vaccine, millions were unprotected. The opposition called them ‘fall guys’. Following Sarah Gilbert writing a book about it, Astra-Zeneca researchers received an NHS parliamentary award for Excellence. A Petition reaching 1000,000 signatories, Boris said making next Monday an emergency Bank Holiday, tempted fate. What? More than wearing an England shirt over your suit and tie? Men 30% more likely to test positive, Euro 2020 was blamed. A state of emergency was declared in Tokyo and Olympic spectators banned.
Asleep fast, I felt inordinately refreshed Friday morning. Phil slept straight through but it had the opposite effect, meaning he felt dozy. Getting weekend essentials in the co-op, I thought I’d proper lost my mind when I couldn’t see the second bottle of wine at the till. The friendly cashier saw It had slid to the other side of the slope. Phew! Awaiting Phil outside, I realised I’d dropped my mask bag and left the shopping with him to retrieve it from the end of an aisle. Deciding it wasn’t going to rain that afternoon, he applied another coat of varnish on the garden benches; unadvisedly as it turned out.
The R rate now 1.2-1.5, 122 scientists and doctors including David King of indy sage and the BMA wrote a letter accusing government of ‘dangerous and unethical experiments’ leading to deliberately infecting kids. Skyscanner saying holiday bookings up 53% within 30 minutes of announcements, Shats warned of airport queues due to additional checks, especially at return departure points. Lucy Moreton of ISU said waits could be up to 6 hours because not all electronic gates at UK airports were adapted: “It’s a political decision to check 100% of covid arrivals and that largely is the problem here.” Quarantine exemptions only applicable to NHS-administered jabs, ministers were ‘actively working’ on accepting certificates from other countries. In a welcome change of mind, Wayne Couzens pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard, on top of kidnap and rape.
The Fall
Over breakfast on Saturday, we randomly discussed cultural food. Neither of us ever sampling a Wigan pie sandwich or parmo. I pointed out his home city where we met after I graduated, boasted a plethora of delicacies. Mostly sliced meats such as haslet, it struck me as odd for a former fishing port. “We had the fish finger!” he declared, “and the best chips in the world at Hull market.” “I don’t remember that.” I spent a typical Saturday draft-posting the journal and took recycling out to see splotches on the benches where overnight rain had penetrated the varnish. So not a great job after all. Early mist replaced by drizzle then hazy sun, It felt pleasant out albeit humid. Making a trip to town shops, Phil found streets inevitably heaving and drunken girls pub-crawling in their finery. One projectile-vomited into the river and declared “that’s better.” Charming! Especially in broad daylight with kids about.
On a grey Sunday, we visited Open Studios. I headed canalside to find too many hippies and not much art but spotted a heron below the aqueduct. On the busy pedestrian street, the German sociopath and 2 other anti-maskers hunched round a crappy sign scrawled with the words ‘covid lies’. I muttered ‘eff off’ and hurried past. I waited at the foot of the fire escape until I was beckoned up to sign in and made a beeline to chat with Welsh Friend. She informed me her pregnant step-daughter and partner were now our neighbours – that solved a mystery. Phil rang as arranged and I waited for him back near the door. We caught up with another friend, whizzed round other exhibits, exited and crossed to the art mill to be directed to a display of posh photos and a mind-boggling installation. The top floor contained a few interesting pieces but £350 price tags for poxy oil paintings of fruit like you did in art class bemused us. We traipsed the whole building to locate Photography Friend, kept company by her teenage son. She gave details of the recent flooding. Water poured through the ceiling and landlords now argued over who paid for repairs. We took a back route to the large charity shop via the dilapidated substation, the grounds overrun by tall grasses and ragwort providing material for my weekly haiga. Phil perused the photo gear, tempted by an underwater camera and amused by a digital model so arcane it had a floppy disc slot. I examined a bag full of random leads and print-outs but no actual camera. On querying the shop workers reckoned it had been nicked and sold me the case for £4.
The Euro 2020 final finally arrived. Luke Shaw scored for England after 2 minutes. Too soon! Failing to get another in the first half, the team fell to bits in the second and Italy inevitably equalised. In extra time, England rallied but still goalless, dreaded penalties ensued. Italy missed 2 but England missed 3: Rashford, Sancho and an inconsolable Saka. Daft putting a 19 year old under that pressure; as Gareth Southgate accepted, taking full responsibility for the selection. Seeing every subsequent win after they beat Germany as a bonus, we ate a few celebrations anyway. The young team did very well to get to the final and had 18 months before the world cup to work on a balance between youthful ‘fearlessness’ and mature experience.
87% of adults now vaccinated (66% fully), anti-vaxxers surrounded a bus in Brighton so it had to stop inoculating. Nads Zahawi told Marr there was an ‘expectation’ to wear masks indoors from 19th July and Goblin Saj said it was ‘irresponsible’ not to. Jon Ashworth spluttered the lifting of restrictions was irresponsible. A woman in Belgium, infected with both the Kent and SA variants, died while a death in Sydney led to lockdown extension. Treasury phones conveniently wiped ‘by accident’, Tom Scholar couldn’t pass on messages from Camoron. The Dildo reportedly unlikely to get the NHS England job., Douglas Gurr of Amazon UK was interviewed. Sharon Graham of Unite likened it to putting ‘the fox in charge of the henhouse’. Truss went to talk trade in the US and Richard Branston went to the edge of space in Virgin Galactic’s VSS unity.
The extended, exhausting football led to a terrible night. I tossed and turned with art and footie churning round my head and reached for the meditation soundtrack. The MP3 battery was flat even though I hadn’t used it since the last charge. Using my own relaxation techniques, I managed some sleep but nowhere near enough.
Reference:
i. My haigas: https://wordpress.com/posts/mondaymorninghaiga.wordpress.com
The Corvus Diaries 