This series of
posts will be about the coronavirus situation, how it is impacting me
here in Scotland and interesting gossip and opinions I'm hearing through
our media. I'll be posting as and when I have something to share but I
take no responsibility for the accuracy of the news I share or the
medical advice and opinion that I mention.
Day 13
I went round to the shops first thing this morning, fully kitted out in mask and gloves. After insisting that healthy people don't need to wear a mask and it wouldn't help anyway, the WHO seem to be considering a change of advice as sneezes can travel further than they thought. Well, really??? Anyone who has explosive sneezes like me during an infection, or has hay fever and allergies could've told them that two metres wasn't far enough for social distancing! My masks were bought during the summer as I always do for flu season and they are good quality but breathing in them is very hard. I was almost hyperventilating with the heat inside it so I have sympathy for workers wearing that for long shifts. Bought bread, chocolate, newspapers, Lime fizzy juice, magazines, sliced ham and milk. I won't be out again until Monday probably.
The Hit Parade of Morons continues with criminals spitting and coughing on police who are arresting them. Off grid parents are refusing to pay full council tax because they can't use all the council facilities because of the lockdown. Over a quarter of Brits are refusing to isolate or use social distancing. Teenage girl attacks a security officer trying to stop her attacking a nurse with a knife. What is going on? It seems like so many people feel that this is an excuse to behave like idiots and I just don't get it. At least the person who slashed the tyres on those ambulances has been caught and hopefully is going to jail.
There are some good news stories too. A paramedic was allowed to skip a supermarket queue and was given a round of applause, then a stranger insisted on paying for his shopping. I've been amused by videos of neighbours exercising on the street to the strains of Night Fever and British boxers miming and dancing to Build me up Buttercup! The new super hospital in London was adapted in nine days and will be opened by video link by Prince Charles today. Other pop up hospitals are being adapted across the country. Companies continue to work hard to make equipment for use by medics.
2921 deaths across the UK. It's a tragedy, it really is and seeing all the numbers of deaths around the world is heartbreaking. I saw the first confirmation of people infected in my town a few days ago in the newspaper. It made my stomach flip, knowing for sure that it's here, even though I already thought.
Day 14
Can I first ask everyone to put Mary at http://scarymarythehamsterlady.blogspot.com/ in your thoughts and prayers as she is having a really bad week with her daughter and husband both going into hospital for different things. Sending all our love your way xxx
http://scarymarythehamsterlady.blogspot.com/2020/04/life-update.html
It's really hard to tell if there is improvement in my hand. Some moments I think there is and other times I get worried about it. My dad thinks it looks better and I do still have four days of medication left, so I'm keeping everything crossed. I really don't want to have to get in touch with the doctor again. I can't believe how stupid and reckless I was at a time when everyone needs to be so sensible. *sighs*
The Hit Parade of Morons continues. Two thieves offered to clean the house of a 92 year old woman after telling her that her neighbour died of the virus and when she let them in, they robbed her. 100 people including a Labour MP flout social distancing rules and attend a funeral. He claims it is racist against Muslims with big families and plans to attend more funerals. Twat. Man punched and choked his girlfriend in an arguement over lockdown music. Bus Driver throws an NHS worker off his bus for trying to pay with a £20 note instead of the correct change, forcing her to take a taxi instead.
Numbers are getting grim in the US, numbers rising in Spain and Italy, more cases in the UK...and on it goes. From today I won't be posting a diary entry every day, now that I've done two weeks in isolation. I'll post as and when I have news of note and do some other posts too.
Stay safe everyone.
This series of
posts will be about the coronavirus situation, how it is impacting me
here in Scotland and interesting gossip and opinions I'm hearing through
our media. I'll be posting as and when I have something to share but I
take no responsibility for the accuracy of the news I share or the
medical advice and opinion that I mention.
Day 11
You have to hand it to Chuckles for gross stupidity! At a time when I'm being oh so careful to take virus precautions, I decide to inflict myself with a stupid injury that is now infected. Yes the saga of the Bastard Bee Sting continues! I thought that the sting site had the sting still in it so instead of looking up sensible NHS guidance, I got stuck in with a safety pin to try to get the blighter out. Instead, I've left myself with a small infected wound so I had to phone the doctor this morning at 8.30am. As I'm in the at risk category he wouldn't let me come to see him but he was satisfied with my description and phoned an antibiotic prescription to my local chemist who have already delivered it. What a wonderful health service we have and I could kick myself for causing them extra work at a time like this. I should be adding myself to the Hit Parade of Morons! Hopefully the medication will clear it up.
The Hit Parade of Morons starts with a sad story-an NHS worker has been murdered in the street and her husband of six months has been arrested. They had recently split. A husband has been charged with murdering his wife in their home during isolation in a different case. Thieves steal two lorry loads of toilet rolls worth £13000. A virus scam has been swindling people online by saying the government is fining them for being illegally out of their home. A British boxer posted advice online for how to punch your wife if she gives you trouble during the lockdown. He claims he wasn't promoting domestic violence!!!
How sad to hear that a police community support officer who once rescued four girls in trouble in the sea despite his heart pacemaker, has died of the virus. It's so unfair that good people are dying of this bloody plague.
Day 12
On the infected hand story, I've used the first day of antibiotics and I think I see a slight improvement. It's still sore but the open part of the wound has closed over and part of the angry red ring around it has faded, so fingers crossed. I have six more days of medication to go so I hope for a full recovery. In other GREAT news I've had a lovely delivery of more cheese and chutney with two new cheese flavours to try-cheddar and port, and apple and cider! NICE! I also got a side delivery of cheesy bread to eat with it. And just for extra fun, the DVD box sets of Deadliest Catch season 13 and 14 are FINALLY on sale on Amazon! I've been waiting YEARS for them! I also bought Gold Rush season 9. I might be watching a lot of stuff over the next few months-maybe an excuse for a full all series binge of each?
Why is it that most of the adverts on TV right now are for things like buying gold coins, which hardly anyone can afford, or for funerals and funeral plans (sensitive, NOT) or products we can't get out to buy and aren't essential! I'm also getting fed up with the same questions being asked at the government's daily briefing which have been answered countless times. When is lockdown going to end? (can't predict), when is there going to be more testing? (as soon as we can), what is the death toll going to be (don't know), why are we not testing more? (not enough test kits), where is the protective equipment for staff? (coming as soon as we can get it). Can't anyone ask a different question, something the people want to hear about?
The sad news is that there have been a few cases this week of seemingly healthy people dying of the virus, including a 13 year old boy. A retired doctor who came back to help in the crisis has just died from it. If you guys possibly can, stay at home, stay safe and avoid catching this disease.
And now, the Hit Parade of Morons. Man fined for meeting friends in the park twice. 40 mourners ignore social distancing rules to attend a traveller funeral. Morons smash the windows of a doctor's car in Wolverhampton. Evil sod murders his wife, kids and dog and then kills himself while all were in lockdown. Rooftop party on a backpacker hostel-at least 12 of them. Church in London selling plague protection kits to parish members at £91 each. Asshat. A woman volunteering to deliver meals and medicine to her neighbours had all four tyres slashed, her windows smashed and the paintwork damaged. Sick muppets.
Stay safe everyone.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish
in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of
2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to
bring bookish friends together. http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by
Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave
comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my
profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
This week I'm going rogue! I'm looking at ten positive things about isolation and lockdown.
1) An excuse to BUY ALL THE BOOKS!
When do us bookworms ever need such an excuse? We are of course doing it to help the poor authors whose sales may have been hit by the crisis, so we are doing it for selfless reasons really. Getting all those shiny paperbacks or downloading the books on sale for Kindle are just the added bonus right? With it being an exceptional circumstance, we don't REALLY need to look at the number of books on the TBR right now...credit for the drawing goes to author Allie Brosh, who wrote Hyperbole and a Half. Read it if you get the chance!
2) An excuse to BUY ALL THE CHEESE!
Cheese is my favourite food and I can't do without it. I bought a pile of cheese to use for cooking which will last until the end of June, but I also bought cheese for personal eating too. I got a lovely wooden cheeseboard, lots of flavoured chutneys, oat biscuits, cheesy crackers, cheesy bread and a wide range of cheese from Snowdonia and The Cheddar Gorge, which will do me right through to the second week in July, and the company assures me that they continue to make and deliver their cheese so I can keep buying it through the lockdown! I'd had the Snowdonia Cheese before but this was my first sample of the Cheddar Gorge Company so a big shout out to both for their delicious products!
https://www.welshcheesecompany.co.uk/our-producers/snowdonia-cheese-company/
https://www.cheddaronline.co.uk/
3) An excuse to BUY ALL THE CHOCOLATE!
Before we even heard of the pandemic, my dad treated me to four big bags of mini eggs and six medium Easter Eggs so I was already well sorted. When I first heard of the pandemic I was able to order from Amazon four boxes of Dairy Box chocolates (one has been eaten!) and from the supermarket, two tins of Heroes chocolate for me and two big boxes of Milk Tray for my dad. The local shops are selling Easter Eggs but I'm still hoping their price will drop before I grab them!
https://www.cadbury.co.uk/
4) An excuse to BUY ALL THE BEER!
I always enjoyed a cold beer with lime but hadn't had one for the best part of fifteen years so for the lockdown I grabbed four bottles of lime cordial and a pile of beer for my dad and I. I have a can on Friday and Satueday night with my cheeseboard which has been great, and it's nearly Friday again! I also have tasty cheese and onion, prawn cocktail, beef, and monster munch crisps to enjoy with it. I like to buy Tennents Lager for this purpose.
https://tennents.co.uk/
5) An excuse to watch old soaps!
Call it a soap, call it a serial drama but I've watched Coronation Street since the late 70's and I love it! I have every episode from April 1976 to the present day other than five missing episodes which I keep looking for! (I used to watch Eastenders in the early years but lost interest in it by the mid 2000s) Over the last few years I've been re-watching the old episodes starting from 1976 and I'm now right up at 1992. I hope to plough through a lot more this year! I'm a big fan of the Barlows, the Platts, the Connors...favourite recent characters are Peter Barlow, Steve McDonald and Carla Connor.
https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Coronation_Street_Wiki
https://www.itv.com/hub/coronation-street/1a0694
6) An excuse to binge watch reality TV!
Having got my hands on long awaited dvd box sets of Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush, I think it might be time to binge watch series like this from the start! I can't remember which series I last watched for Gold Rush plus I have the spin offs like Parker's Trail, Dave Turin's Lost Mines and Gold Rush White Water with the Dakota Boys to catch up with. I might binge watch Ax Men too if I can get the final series! Deadliest Catch is my favourite and I enjoy watching the current captains-Sig, Keith and Monty, Wild Bill, Jake A, Jake H and Casey. I do miss Andy and Johnathan and the Time Bandit!
https://www.discoveryuk.com/series/deadliest-catch-sig-hansen-legacy/
7) An excuse to watch my favourite films!
In the mornings while I blog, I've been watching some of my favourite films like the four Jaws films, The Mummy, Star Wars 4-6, Jurassic Park/World, Harry Potter etc. I thonk it might be time to revisit other favourite series that I'm not fully caught up with like Saw, Predator, Jeepers Creepers, Halloween, Final Destination, Anaconda, The Hunger Games, Die Hard, Jumanji, Rocky, Rambo. I also really need to catch up with films I haven't seen like the Purge series, The Expendables, Fantastic Beasts, the superhero films and a ton more.
8) An excuse to plough through documentaries from YouTube!
Last year I watched all the political documentaries that I'd downloaded over the last few years-though I've still to watch the US election ones-and I'm currently watching Royal related docs, State Opening of Parliament, Jubilee celebrations and Royal weddings and funerals. I still have quite a few to watch but I'm devoting a couple of nights a week to getting through the rest of them. I still have a ton of military ones to watch-the wars, SAS Who Dares Wins, the behind the scenes of army, navy and air force basic training, specialist training courses for submarines and special forces etc.
9) An excuse to catch up on my news scrapbook!
The last thing in my news scrapbook was the London 2012 Paralympics! It is very time consuming-first I cut out every article of interest from the daily newspapers. Months or years later I look at them again and discard any that no longer interest me or have proven to be fake stories. Then I read each article and cut out the interesting paragraphs, discarding the rest, and put the cuttings into categories like sport, politics, royalty, special events. After that I start piecing all the stories together like a gigantic jigswa puzzle, trying to fill all the gaps, which takes forever! This virus lockdown is an excuse to get on with catching up every afternoon. This week alone I have completed sticking in September, October and November 2012, and I'm really happy with that! Lots more to do though...
10) An excuse not to go out!
All my friends are online so I have no 'real world' friends to miss meeting up with! The few I stayed in touch with from school vanished when I got depression. I'm not a social animal, I hate going out unless I have to, so the actual lockdown isn't really bothering me from that point of view. I'm happy to stay indoors and wait it out.
This series of
posts will be about the coronavirus situation, how it is impacting me
here in Scotland and interesting gossip and opinions I'm hearing through
our media. I'll be posting as and when I have something to share but I
take no responsibility for the accuracy of the news I share or the
medical advice and opinion that I mention.
I want to start today with a big shout out to the brilliant people in industry who have switched their production to making ventilators and other equipment for use in the NHS. Seeing how quickly they were able to start producing vital equipment was really inspiring when it was so badly needed. Again, thank you to everyone in the NHS and emergency services who are trying to save lives and keep people safe. Also a shout out to the delivery men and women who are keeping shops and supermarkets filled with food, the shop workers who continue to serve their community, those delivering the Amazon packages, our posties and binmen, the volunteers who have come forward to help deliver and to work in our most important industries and everyone who is going to work to try and keep Britain working. Without all of you, things would be in a really grim mess and I appreciate you all.
I'm no fan of Trump but I do support his decision not to have US taxpayers pay for the security of Harry and Meghan. I find it frustrating that this pair have been expecting taxpayers in Britain and then Canada to fund their security as they go globe trotting. You chose to leave Royal life, pay for your own security! I also note that Trump is no longer talking about getting things open for Easter! Our PM's advisor and policy guru Dominic Cummings is self isolating with symptoms. A very moving minute silence in Spain for victims of the virus reduced me to tears. Also very sad to hear that an NHS doctor has died of the virus-may God bless that poor man and his heartbroken family. This crisis is truly horrible. It is good to hear that Prince Charles is now out of self isolation and back to health, however.
Sadly I have to report now on the Hit Parade of Morons. An NHS worker has been assaulted and left with a fractured cheek. In Derby 25 people were at a karaoke party complete with buffet!!! In Bristol, a group were stopped from going mountain climbing in Wales. People are still going on driving lessons and caravan holidays despite being told not to. Labour MP Stephen Kinnock drove from Wales to London to visit his elderly parents yet we'll be fined for non essential travel outside our area! Footballer Jack Grealish went to a party at a friend's house then crashed his car into other cars. Clown. He was lecturing us to stay home to help the NHS but obviously the rules don't apply to him! Labour MP Luke Pollard thinks it is a great idea to let 70000 EU fruit pickers into Britain while we are locked down. What a moron.
A man has been jailed for 12 months for spitting on an emergency worker. Disgusting cretin. 16 members of the same family appear to have the virus after going to a family funeral on March 13th, and another has already died. Over 300 Iranians die, 1000 seriously ill after false rumours led them to drink methanol to cure the virus-somebody needs locking up for that.I'm also annoyed that our local council STILL hasn't done anything about setting up a phoneline where those of us in lockdown can register for food delivery! People could starve waiting for the council to get its act together.
Signing off for today. I'm having haddock chowder with cheesy bread and some cherry cola!
Stay safe everyone.
This series of
posts will be about the coronavirus situation, how it is impacting me
here in Scotland and interesting gossip and opinions I'm hearing through
our media. I'll be posting as and when I have something to share but I
take no responsibility for the accuracy of the news I share or the
medical advice and opinion that I mention.
Day 8 Saturday
I've been pretty busy today, off the computer. I've been working on my scrapbook, sticking in news from September 2012. Yes that's how far behind I seem to be! It'll take years to catch up as it is like a very complex jigsaw puzzle but worse! Death rates around the world are climbing but progress is being made on the new temporary hospital in London. Hopefully it will open next week. Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham are looking at doing something similar. The UK government may have another virus victim as the Scottish Secretary has symptoms. One piece of happier news is that Jimmy Savile's pervert chauffeur who was jailed for raping young girls has caught the virus in prison. Oh my heart bleeds!
Another Hit Parade of Morons. A Mercedes driver in Manchester steals all the gloves provided at a petrol station. Eight friends were caught having a picnic with kebabs by police. A moron in Scotland was threatening people he passed that he had the virus. Gangs of dumb youths are going up to strangers and coughing on them. 14 year old boy in UK spits on a woman and shouts coronavirus. A man arrested at Asda for refusing to comply with social distancing and trying to jump the queue. Fake police in Humberside are trying to con people into paying spot fines. People still flocking to parks and beaches. I'm just waiting for the government to decide to stop letting people leave home for anything other than food, as too many people are flouting the rules. In the US a man dies after possibly being infected at Miami's Winter Party Festival.
Ugh what a night. I was just settling down for an early night when the buzzing began. I looked at my curtain and there was a huge uber-bee ambling across it. The damn thing stung us both before we could deal with it, which is weird, as normally a bee dies when it stings you, right? Who knows what was going on with this freaky sized thing. So we sat up for a few hours just in case one of us took a reaction to it but all seemed well. I finally got to bed at 2am but had restless leg for three hours and barely got any sleep. I was so hacked off this morning that I just ordered three paperbacks from Amazon-We Sold Our Souls, The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires and The Roo. I have no idea when they'll arrive.
Day 9 Sunday
Sitting here feeling grump and wanting to chuck something at the TV as Tony Blair lectures us with his all seeing wisdom about how bad government response is. We are reaping the results of all his failed policies right now-selling out to the EU and mass immigration led to Brexit, he signed that dreadful one sided extradition treaty that means the US woman whose dangerous driving killed that boy can't be ordered here to face justice, The Iraq War making us a target for increased terrorist attacks, overspending leading to austerity, the Scottish Parliament which as he was warned has lead to a big increase in demands for Scottish Independence...the list goes on and on so he has no right to slag off any other government! I can't believe I voted for that bloody guy. Sorry, political rant over. Anyway, sod off Tony!
Concerning news that a footman of the Queen has tested positive for the virus. I'm very worried for her health now, and that of her husband the Duke. Prince William has been outstanding. His intervention has led to homeless people being taken off the street and into accomodation during the crisis, saving lives. His children were so sweet in their video for Clap for the Carers. Charles and Camilla, Edward and Sophie and their kids also did a video. Camilla, despite her husband being infected, issued a message of support for those affected by domestic violence who are in constant terror during this lockdown, offering support and numbers to call. Charles continues to work during his isolation. Harry and Meghan flee Canada to avoid Meghan paying more tax. Yeah, great, really helping during the crisis.
Here is the Hit Parade of Morons for today. In the Midlands, photos have emerged of piles of food bought by panic buyers all being thrown in bins-unused, wasted and out of date. Bread, cheese, bananas, burgers, fresh veg all chucked away. Total asshats. A tourist from Sheffield was confronted by angry locals in Snowdonia and a driver from Birmingham was prevented from travelling to Devon.
On a plus point, a paramedic was reduced to tears when her whole street applauded her as she went to work, leaving cake and chocolates on her car roof.
Stay safe everyone.
