It is 2022. I hope you all survived New Year's Eve and did not suffer from the malady of a hangover on new Year's Day.
I am beginning my blog this year by posting my latest Covid Chronicles which returned in December when we went into a kind of lockdown called Plan B! Yes, it really is 649 days since we first went into a full lockdown in March 2020. It was only supposed to last for twenty-one days.
Day 649, Saturday,
January 1st, 2022 (Day 32 Plan B. Get ready for more restrictions,
lockdown 4 on its way)
NEW YEAR’S DAY
Good morning on this
bright sunny day in the UK. We have the warmest New Year on record. Well, I am
not complaining. May I wish all of you, my friends, wherever you are every
happiness, success, and good health throughout 2022.
I arose just after 9.00
this morning and considering I did not retire until 2.00pm that is remarkable
for me. Maybe it is a sign of things to come. I love New Year’s Day; I see hope
and excitement ahead. On auto-pilot I take my lateral flow test before
breakfast. Negative. Will report it online later. Time for my New Year’s day
treat, watching the traditional concert from Vienna. Then, there is the
Archbishop of Canterbury’s message. He and I have one thing in common… our
belief that hope is essential. His message was on the theme of hope for the
future after trying times.
Okay, pop out and take
calendars to my neighbours. Spread a little happiness before I watch another
fav film, The Sound of Music. Memories and love the music… Climb
every mountain…
The New Year’s Honours
list is headline news. Call me cynical but we have examples of how some are
benefitting from their Covid work. NHS, teachers, frontline workers? Nah! Professor
Chris Whitty, and Jonathan Van Tam, our chief medical officer and his deputy
have been knighted. Other peeps include the talented Joanna Lumley, Ashley
Banjo, and Bill Roache, (better known as Ken Barlow of Corrie).
Archbishop Desmond
Tutu’s funeral took place this morning in Cape Town Cathedral, South Africa.
Our Health Secretary, Sajid
Javid, has indicated that the next few days are critical for the NHS and
further restrictions cannot be ruled out. Hospital cases have risen by 68% in a
week. In one attempt to prevent the lurgy spreading it will be mandatory for
secondary school children to wear masks during lessons when school recommences
next week. Our daily figures are still high and as this is the weekend, they
are usually lower than in the week due to lack of data but today it is 161,692
new cases and 154 deaths. As 95% of cases are now the Omicron variant, I am
assuming that those deaths are the Omicron variant. Just to refresh your memory
we were told that this variant was more transmissible but milder than Delta. If
that is the case then I have one question, why is the number of daily deaths so
high? Surely, it should be in low double figures not treble ones.
Looking forward to
tonight’s premiere showing of Downton Abbey, the film on the box. I
missed it when it was on our Silver Screen at the Odeon on a Thursday morning
because I was in Cyprus. Ah, the good old days of my youth. Those long ago days
when life seemed so simple, and we took everything for granted. Wait a minute
it was only a couple of years ago. The last Silver Screen was March 2020. My
last visit to Cyprus was 2019. It just seems like an eternity ago.
I bid you a fond
farewell for today. I wish you much happiness for the future. I hope you have
made positive New Year Resolutions and you will keep them.
Back tomorrow.
Day 650, Sunday,
January 2nd, 2022. (Day 34. Plan B. Just wait awhile…)
Later rising this
morning after yesterday’s exciting day. It is still mild here for the time of
year, 14°. Alas, in Colorado, just north of Denver they are suffering from the
effects of climate change. I see today they have had a massive snowfall but
sadly, three days too late to prevent tragedy. They had a drought followed by
raging fires which razed properties to the ground. Residents were forced to
evacuate and on returning today they attempted to salvage what they could of
their possessions through the snow covering the ruins of their properties. What
a start to 2022. Count your blessings, my friends if you are not in such dire
straits.
Okay, back to the start
of my day. I saw the bright light of that phenomenon named Sun through my
drapes. Happy. Jump out of bed. I lie. I carefully, and slowly arose from my
bed. Smiling. Approaching soixante-neuf et deux and still alive. Looked out of
the windows, dressed, and ventured downstairs. The Paddington films are
on the Beeb prior to the news and Songs of Praise. I listen more than
watch the films as I have brekky and play with iPad. Then, pop outside because
pesky pigeons are making me aware of their presence. How dare I eat before I
feed them. Also, need to feed Miss Bugsy Blue Bin.
Songs of
Praise began with that
glorious hymn, Morning has broken… ‘like the first morning’. Yes, my
friends we are lucky enough to see another day. We must embrace it and enjoy
it.
For the rest of my day,
I shall be working on three of my projects. Writing these chronicles, reading
through them, and writing my next novel.
Covid update time.
Today’s UK figure is 137,583 with 73 deaths. The total global case figure is 290,668,26.
What was it twelve months ago? Let me check. 85,102,771. That is 215,566,430
cases more than last year. What about the death figure? How do we compare with
other countries? We have a fatality figure of 193,438 for every million of our
population. Let’s compare it with India who as far as case figures go are
second in the league table to the USA but their fatality rate is only 344 for
every million of their population. Aren’t statistics fantastic? Oh, we still
remain at #4 in the global table with 13,235,401 total cases. Brazil at #3 have
a total of 22,293,228. India have 34+ million and the USA 56+ million but look
at the size of their countries and population in comparison with our small
island.
Other news. The South
African parliament building in Cape Town is on fire and the damage is serious
to a building with part of it dating back to the 1800’s. Experts fear it may
collapse. Fortunately, the building was empty due to the holidays, but it is
the second fire in ten months. In Amsterdam there are protests over the
government’s imposed lockdown.
At home twenty
Conservative MP’s and peers have called on Booster Boris to take action over
the proposed energy rises from April. They want him to reduce the taxes to ease
the situation on households who will also suffer from the general rise in the
cost of living resulting from the double whammy of Covid and Brexit. Our
Booster Boris is insisting that there will be no further restrictions. I am
smiling at his ostrich approach to problems. Thinking. His reply to problems
resulting from Brexit. He just said peeps voted for it, he delivered it and now
it is up to them. Red tape? Price rises? Problems with exports and imports? Not
his problem! That’s how Booster Boris survives. Right now, he is delivering
boosters at a record pace. That is our salvation and nothing else matters. Case
figures, hospitalisations, businesses collapsing, economy on its knees, no
furlough, staff shortages in all sectors of society due to Covid… the ostrich
approach.
Football matches are
going ahead. Chelsea played Liverpool this afternoon in the Premier League at Stamford
Bridge, Chelsea’s home ground. The result was a draw 2-2. But history was made.
Spectators were standing again. It has been illegal since 1994 after the
horrific Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Tomorrow, we have
another Bank Holiday Monday like last week and then on Tuesday our live goes
back to the new normal.
