Lockdown Fallout

 Thursday. 7.05 a.m. I've been out with Alfie.

2.15 p.m. I've been to the Oaktree Centre as I have for quite a few months now, helping to set up and pack away the gear for the Acorns playgroup. Then, at 10 o'clock, into one of the side rooms for Bible study. I drove home and had some lunch, watching an episode of Bargain Hunt, which I hadn't seen in ages. It's been running on BBC1 since about 2000. Two teams of two have one hour to find three antiques at an antique fair or in an antique shop and then sell the items for a profit, which, if they win, they keep. Each team has an antique expert who helps them decide which items to buy and then, once the teams have bought their three items, the experts go off with what cash they have left and then buy another bonus item which the teams can either decide to sell or reject. The profit, or loss, is added to the cost of what they sell. More challenging than it seems. Along the way you learn about various items and at the midpoint of the show the presenter, in this show, it was Charlie Ross, goes somewhere local to the site of the antiques fair, such as a country house, museum or other historic site and gives a talk about some aspect of that place or a style of antiques, furniture, pottery or whatever.

Friday. 5.15 a.m. I'm wide awake because there is a sound coming from one of the nearby flats. I can hear music, possibly a television on, and a voice. I look out of my door and a man comes out of the flat. I thought I could hear the sound of one of the alarms going off, which all the flats in Dexter House have. I don't know what is going on. I will no doubt discover during the course of the day.

6.05 a.m. I've done some more transcribing my handwritten writing onto word processing. I was awake, so  I thought I'd do some more. It's going well. Now I need to find a way to incorporate this into the rest of my writing. I have some ideas, but at the moment I'm not sure where it's going. Time will tell.

7.20 a.m. So, we're now being able to read the WhatsApp messages which were sent to the then Health Secretary, Matt Hancock to various members of the government during the COVID-19 lockdowns. And which are currently being published in The Daily Telegraph.  It would appear that some ministers as well as government scientists attempted to stop lockdowns because they believed that they would not help the spread of the virus. Also, the use of face masks was said to not be effective. It seems we've been treated like infants and the collateral damage caused by lockdowns, not least the financial damage, caused by closing down businesses, such as pubs, shops, theatres and a whole host of other places of work, not least the mental health damage which has been caused and the destruction of school children's education as well as their mental well-being. We became a police state at one point, with police having the power to fine members of the public for doing innocent things such as taking their dog for a walk, having a picnic or merely having a cup of coffee. There really was no logic to this, because the virus would surely be dispersed by the breeze in the open air. It wasn't like having people crowded together in a confined space, such as a room in a house, an office, or even a lift in a tall building, where people could be in close quarters with other people.  I think people became like sheep, they didn't question any of the lockdown restrictions or lockdown in general. All of these smack of Nazi Germany or life under Stalin or any communist regime. Then we read that certain members of the government, who should have known better, were contemptuous of those who got caught contravening the lockdown regulations. Of course, we then had to find out that Boris Johnson, when he was Prime Minister, along with many other members of his Government, was caught holding parties in 10 Downing Street. Johnson had to own up to all of this and had to pay a fine, although he did his utmost to wriggle out of the truth of all this. You would imagine that members of the government, which forced through the various bits of legislation which set up the regulations, which included people not meeting in groups of around six, with no parties allowed etc would have known that such a party was illegal. Or did they wave it through without thinking and then, if they had a party, no one would find out? Except someone took photographs which proved they did. Shows even more contempt for the public.

All this had a marked effect on my mental health. I lost my lovely wife, Carol, to cancer in December 2018. I spent most of 2019 attempting to come to terms with being on my own and building a new life for myself, starting volunteering at Camphill (which I have mentioned in these posts on many occasions.) But then, having everything held in suspended animation in the early part of 2020 when the first lockdown was introduced. I ended up having to use antidepressants (which, incidentally, I have stopped taking.) Being shut in my flat, not seeing anyone, not being able to go to church, although services were relayed via Facebook, and we had Zoom meetings (although, having access to Zoom was brilliant, and I learned very fast how to use it, and I still do, for certain events which are put on  Zoom.) But, generally, it was very difficult for me, not to be able to interact with other people.

Is It Over And Out?

Monday. 6.00 a.m. So, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health, has resigned over breaking social distancing regulations that he helped set up. All due because he was caught kissing his aide which was caught on CCTV camera. It wasn't necessarily the kiss that has caused the uproar, but the fact that they were in a clinch and obviously breaking the social distancing regulations. All this makes a mockery of the rules on this and is like rubbing our faces in the dirt, those of us who have gone along with what we've been told, kept strictly to the rules. It's a certain hypocrisy  amount of which is so unbelievable, a case of 'do as I say, but not as I do.' So, it would seem it's definitely 'over and out' for Hancock. The question everyone is asking, was he pushed, or did he jump? 

Well, that's over. Can we now get on with our lives? No, you can't. You've got to be good and do as you're told. Or you'll be arrested and have to pay a fine.

I was surprised that it was raining when we went out at 5.50 a.m. Alfie didn't stay outside too long when he realized it was raining. 

I'm currently watching the recent BBC1 adaptation of 'Les Miserables', the version which was shown over Christmas and New Year 2019. It's adapted by Andrew Davies who has made a successful career out of adaptations for television of classic novels, including the 1995 'Pride and Prejudice', which had Colin Firth as Mr. Darcey in it and has become the definitive version of that novel. Having seen the musical version on stage twice, once in the West End at the Place Theatre and then two years ago when the touring version visited Milton Keynes as well as seeing the 2012 film adaptation as well as reading the Victor Hugo novel (some 1500 pages or so.) I think I know the story very well. This is a more faithful version that has six hours to tell the story and can therefore go a good deal deeper than a 3-hour stage or film musical can possibly manage. 

Tuesday. 6.45 a.m. Another somewhat overcast day. It seemed dry enough when I took out Alfie for his usual walk.

Still in Groundhog Day. Now that Hancock has gone as Health Secretary we have a replacement, Sajid Javid, former Chancellor of The Exchequer. His approach to the pandemic is a good deal less 'Nanny State' and insists that we return to near-enough normality on 19th July. Thank goodness! I just hope that we can at least not have to wear face coverings and social distancing is either entirely removed or somehow relaxed in some way.

Wednesday. 6.00 a.m. I was out with Alfie around 5.30 this morning. Well, if you're awake and you have a very lively Yorkie that's got a need to go out, why not just go for it? Not warm, but still mild and fairly pleasant.

There was a certain amount of noise coming from The Cricketers (well, I presume it was there.) as I did washing up yesterday evening. I think it was because England had just beaten Germany in their game in the Euro football game. I'm not interested in football, as you will have realized if you follow my blog posts. But it's good that there's something positive to give people a lift after near enough eighteen months of lockdown and misery which it's caused. The outside of this pub has been decorated with flags of all nations in celebration of this football competition and certainly adding a touch of colour to the area around Chadwick Drive and Oldbrook Boulevard.

I have a new iPhone 12 arriving sometime today! My contract with Sky Mobile has finished and because Sky had a very good deal on iPhones (other mobiles are available, even if they're not as good as iPhones!) I decided it was too good to miss. I won't be paying much more per month than I am currently with around the same amount of data. I will return the old iPhone 7 back to Sky and get a credit on my new contract and, with the data I have used each month 'rolls over' and can be used to get a discount on the contract. So getting excited about it arriving. Red iPhone 12. Now I have the fun of transferring the SIM card from the old mobile into the new iPhone, which isn't difficult but very fiddly getting that tiny little chip into the little tray that slides out of the side of these mobiles. This is because I will be keeping my phone number as I really don't want to change it. I ordered a case for the new case which had arrived in the post from Amazon. I always get cases for my various gadgets because I want to look after them. My iPad and this MacBook air which this is being written on have their own cases. If you're going to buy expensive gadgets, then it makes sense to me to keep them in good condition.

New Lockdown Restrictions???

 (Tuesday) Not actually sure which day of the week it was. Just goes to show the effect being in lockdown has.

There's the possibility of the measures the government has put in place to slow the virus's transmission might be strengthened. Matt Hancock,  Secretary of State for Health has said it may be necessary for face covering to be required by law when we're outside. But this is crazy, because, surely, viruses are dispersed in the open air. Obviously you need to wear one in enclosed spaces, in supermarkets, for example, but not outside. I don't see the point. I'm not really convinced that they make a lot of difference. As for me, breathing in my own hot breath is unpleasant over a long period. I was in Aldi the other day and I had to wait in a queue at the checkout and I was feeling quite uncomfortable. I think I was liable to pass out, not something I want to do in public. It's just not pleasant. Also, because I wear glasses, they steam up. Also, they make speaking really difficult.

I have been into Sainsbury's to collect the Bisoprolol which was ready for collection from Lloyd's Pharmacy. It's a good time to go grocery shopping because there were very few other shoppers in there. I got a few items which were running out, but I shall do a full shop tomorrow after I get paid.

I'm watching something rather special on the BBC iPlayer (it's also broadcast on BBC1.) It's called 'Staged' and has David Tennant and Michael Sheen in it. They are stuck in lockdown (very current.) and attempting to rehearse a play 'Six Characters In Search of an Author,' by Pirendello. It's what you might call 'meta' meaning it is self referential. These brilliant actors play versions of themselves and at times appear as if they're chatting via something like Zoom. It's very funny (but I warn you because the language can be quite strong. Quite a lot of swear words used, but having worked myself with actors, I know some of them can be a bit raw with their language.) But it's very good and well worth watching. I'm watching the first run of episodes and will eventually get to the second run soon. It's such a simple idea and I only wish I'd had the idea. I have mentioned 'Car Share' on my blog and that's a simple idea and something else I enjoy. It just goes to show that you can create a piece of drama in the most basic of manners and still be quite dramatic or funny.

(Wednesday) I've been back to Sainsbury's to do a proper shop. Enough food for several weeks so I shouldn't have to go out again shopping for a while, except probably to get milk.

It's quite mild this morning, although there was a fog over the city centre as we approached Oldbrook Green.

Later. I'm watching, via YouTube, the American Senate debating the Impeachment of Donald Trump. Last Wednesday there was an assault on the Capitol by a mob of  Trump supporters, attempting to disrupt the legislative process to allow the transition of Donald Trumps presidency to Joe Biden. Absolutely horrifying shots of rioters breaking into the building, the  home of U.S. democracy. Trump  did nothing to condemn the rioters. In fact, he seemed to positively encourage the disruption. He will be the only U.S President to be impeached twice. He will be leaving the White House on 20th January, when Biden is inaugurated as President. The motion of the House is that Trump attempted to an 'Incitement of Insurrection.' As a result of all this, Trump has had his Twitter and Facebook accounts suspended and possibly banned for goodness know how long, possibly permanently. The concern now is that, as America awaits the 20th January Inauguration Day, there is likely to be far more riots and disruption caused by Trump supporters. All this because Trump kept on saying that there was 'election fraud,'and that the Election was 'stolen.'when clearly there was no such thing. More than ever it's clear that the man is delusional and positively dangerous.

So, now Donald Trump is the first U.S. President to be impeached twice. Not a particularly brilliant legacy as he leaves the White House, but he has been whipping up unrest and deserves to be dealt with in this way.