Brew

So YOU'RE the one that drives me insane an does me 'ead in!!

Really glad to hear you're both improving, not sure what to say about Russia and their lockdown. I've never been but by their authorities reputation I'd say the truth will be difficult to establish.

We did just that and I posted about it here. Derbyshire was rammed with more visitors than a bank holiday

The piece by Toby Young echoes the herd immunity theory proposed by Dominic Cummins. Basically, let the virus run wild and the strong will survive. The weak, the old and those with problems that are a burden on the state health care system will be gone, the herd will be stronger, fitter and leaner. As a hypothesis it's fine if we think in purely pragmatic and financial terms and it's difficult to fault the logic. Thankfully the virus is on our side and does not behave as the model suggests. It's a theory that has been repeatedly disproven, it simply does not work.

If that's a regular sort of diet RR I'm amazed you have any taste buds!

Lists?.... More like... ello…. yeah it's me.... yeah not bad.... I'm in Tesco enni and..... no listen what did yer ask me ter get..... oh yeah that's right...….. yeah .. no... yeah I know but they got own brand and it's.... oh OK...… no tell er I'll gerrit forra…. ow much does she want..... ooo I know it were awful.... they reckon it's gonna..... nooo…. when..... that's bad tharis… no I can't right nah.... listen I'll ring inna a bit 'cos me credits nearly go……..

Royal or not Waddo it scared the living daylights out his family, his immediate neighbour were none too happy either...

Is it me or are Eastern European countries more accepting of government doing this type of thing?

Good news re hospitalised neighbour. It is Covid19 but mild (like very bad flu apparently), he will be released later today under strict orders to self isolate (not even family contact), for a minimum 14 days. Getting juuuust a tad too close for comfort here...

I sympathise, three of my family are sole traders, and the outlook for them at the moment is a bit bleak.

I'm like a bloomin hermit at the moment Margie so not been in close company to anyone. My hair will soon be long enough to plait (she says), though I draw the line at hair shirts. My neighbour is a designer. glass lampshades last time we spoke, so no idea why he carried on working. Looking for a silver lining I suppose those of us that are retired and have a pension are in a better position than the poor devils who are losing their jobs and income.

I note that tucked away in a corner is the news that Hungary has moved to rule by decree. Not only is this unusual in a democracy it's highly dangerous and means Hungary is now a dictatorship with no set time limit. Opponents deemed to publish untrue or distorted facts face several years in jail.

A bad news day here. A neighbour taken by ambulance to hospital. Symptoms - dangerously high temperature and fever, cause unknown. He is mid 50's and still working. Difficult to have a conversation or offer help, tea and sympathy whilst yelling across the street... Hope he's OK

Like you I'm tired and should have more sense, or at least read stuff back before I press send...

Depends on how you interpret it. I do not infer the lord of the manor is doling out largesse to the great unwashed but rather the 'hand' is the system, the one we are all part of and our society is built upon. I did say it was far from perfect and it is. Biting the hand etc infers that tearing down the present system is potentially disastrous.

Much hype has been made of testing yet in itself it's a rather pointless exercise. The Italian authorities have realised this and have stopped routine testing. There are 60+ million in the UK and clearly testing everyone is not only impossible it's a complete waste of time and resources. The testing IMHO should be reserved for medical staff and should be done regularly. They are the ones at most risk and also, due to close physical contact, the ones who are most likely to pass the infection to others. We should of course also test those with presenting with Covid-19 symptom

I completely agree and we as a society have been searching and advocating various systems since we left the hunter/gatherer system behind. The present setup, whilst far from perfect, has lowered infant mortality rates, increased life span, continually raised living standards etc. Compared to out fathers and our grandfathers we live, even those on benefits, a life of almost unimaginable abundance and luxury. How many here had grandparents who owned a car, owned their own house, went abroad for holidays, had more consumer goods than you can shake a stick at, had a university education?... Y

That I can agree with...

You just did siddha I would tend to agree, what would you suggest? Various nations have tried Communism, Fascism, Democracy, Theocracy, Monarchies, and everything in between. None of them seems better than our present system. The reason (I believe), we do not have something more equitable and effective is because there is nothing or at least nothing we have tried so far. Complaining that the rich control everything is peeing into the wind. It has been that way since time immemorial and will not change until human nature changes.

As far as I'm aware they have and are working remotely. I have no idea nor have I heard of private testing but if true why is it profiteering? I can't see it's any different to going private for dentists etc. i.e root canal NHS £79 - private £800.

Sorry Col I have to disagree. The UK has the fourth highest number of tests per million people in Europe and the fifth largest number of tests globally. Italy lockdown date - Mar 9th UK lockdown date - Mar 23rd That would suggest we had lockdown long before the UK situation became as serious as it did in Italy before they went into lockdown. Other European countries doing 'hugely' more? I think not... Number of tests to March 26th: Italy - 23345 tests UK - 13525 Austria - 2120 Finland - 130

The ISS will be over Turin:- Sun Mar 29, 9:46 PM 2 min 36°20° above NW36° above NNE only visible for 2 minutes... Info here: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=Italy&region=None&city=Turin-Torino#.Xn9JwvZ2uUk

Has to be the Pelham St pic...

Amongst all the bull and bluster I don't think Boris has ever claimed omniscience. Maybe he could have done better but I don't think his actions were any better or worse than other leaders. I do think we need to do more as infections ramp up but he's following experts advice and hindsight is a wonderful thing.