Wednesday 24 February 2021

A change in the air.


With blossom on the Plum trees, and a full week of warm sunshine ahead, things are looking up!


Boris has laid-out his 'roadmap' to lockdown-freedom, and there is an air of optimism afoot. There certainly seems to be some light at the end of, what's been, an extremely long tunnel.

Of course, one mustn't think that some miracle will make Covid-19 disappear on June 21st; it won't. If the figures of incidents and deaths reduce, the government hopes that increased mingling will make boosting the economy worthwhile. Hopefully those future lost-lives will be kept to an absolute minimum, but that all depends on how WE behave.


With plenty of sunshine and warmth around, we can now begin to enjoy ourselves again; but we need to remain extremely cautious.

 

41 comments:

  1. Good to see an optimist.
    I suspect it's not so much a Roadmap but a SatNav continuously saying "Turn around when possible."
    They will have a new variant by then. I don't know what it will be but it will be easy to spell and preferably only have a maximum of two syllables.
    The only scary thing about all this is letting fear dictate ones actions.

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    1. The more relaxation; the more spread. We all know this, but it's balancing the ratio between deaths and the economy that is the real problem for Boris & Co. As soon as the pubs and restaurants are opened again, the infection rates will rise. Best to stay very vigilant until daily deaths drop to single figures. Just remain cautious.

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    2. The opening of pubs had no effect last time. Supermarkets, factories and schools seem safe. Hospitals less so.

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    3. After Rishi's bribe of £10 off restaurant meals(?), the rate of infection went up; it had to! When people start mingling again, the same will happen. If I'm wrong, I shall admit as much!

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    4. I hate to remind people, but Covid-19 is an extremely virulent virus, and in the UK over 500 people are still dying every day. This must be taken seriously.

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  2. How does France compare. Not heard much about it lately.

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    Replies
    1. Not doing too well, and Germany is worse. Germany is just going into a 3rd Lockdown.

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  3. Here too the sun is shining and the sky is blue. I try to be optimistic.

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    1. Luckily I was born both optimistic and happy; two qualities that are almost essential at the moment. Lovely day here again.

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  4. Are you back in England? You write as if you are going to be " enjoying" the path that Boris has set out!

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  5. Here, some people are clamouring for our borders to be reopened but I am not sure that we should do so until at least all the over 50s have been vaccinated. I am avoiding crowds until I feel safe to mingle.

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    1. I think you're right. I see that the Greek government is encouraging tourism. Some of the small popular islands have remained almost virus free (like Man), but I can see that changing very quickly.

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  6. No sign of any blossom on our plum trees yet. I hope we don't get any late frosts like we did last year.

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    1. I sometimes think it's almost obligatory here! My Peach trees are just about to flower; much too early.

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  7. Unfortunately, it seems like people have extremely short memories. The stringent rule-making would not have been necessary at all if people had been simply willing to take common sense measures to begin with. But people didn't. There are those who will dig in their heels and refuse to do anything at all for the good of all. These people are the reason that made the lockdowns necessary. They will also be the very first ones to totally forget the cost of these days as they rush back into their lives, blissfully unaware of anything but their own selfish wants.

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    1. Those people will also be the first to blame Boris if it goes wrong again. Some people simply refuse to learn.

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    2. Boris is between a rock and a hard place, whatever he does he can't win it seems. I shan't be rushing to go out and mingle when the lockdowns are lifted, I think we have to just look after ourselves and let the rest get on with it now.

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  8. I second everything Debby just said. It's infuriating to me how casual some people are with others' lives and well being. Just yesterday I found out a friend's father died of Covid last week and his mother is hospitalized. We must remain vigilant until this thing is really beaten!

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    1. If everyone had done what they were asked at the beginning of 2020, we wouldn't be where we are today.

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    2. There are some who just won't do what they are asked to, totally infuriating, I suggest that it is they who volunteer for the new trials if they don't believe in Covid, they'll get well paid for it!

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    3. I don’t think the world beating death toll was the result of people disobeying the requirements. I think it was the requirements were too lax and too late. At least he seems to have learnt his lesson.

      People have short memories and will remember the wonderful vaccine roll out as opposed to the money wasted and world beating death rate.

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  9. Exactly Debbie. I prefer Nicola's wisely cautious approach in Scotland...Data not Dates...which Boris quoted then reeled off a list of dates...Hmm.
    It will depend upon those of us who are sticking to the advice and more.

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    1. Fixed dates do sound a tad optimistic, but I think he's just trying to give people something to aim at. Whether or not the dates remain fixed is another matter.

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  10. People’s memories are very short and getting shorter. A couple of weeks of decrease in number of cases and everything is opening again. We have done this before with disastrous results. This time, though, we have a vaccine, however, the rollout is not fast enough. The “me” still seems to be more important than the “we”.

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    1. The vaccine is only effective if a strong majority are vaccinated. Back in the UK, about 70% of the black population are refusing to have it. Here in France about 60% of the population refuse to have it. What chance is there?

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    2. Cro...have you been reading the Daily Mail again? I think your stats on UK are way off. Public Health Wales has the gap at 14% Wales, I know but I seriously doubt UK stats are 70% refusal...happy to be proven wrong with a reputable source

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  11. Hooooray! I'm scheduled to get my first jab this afternoon. I haven't seen my grandkids since April 2019. (They live 500 miles away, too.) It has been tough. But extreme caution is the order of the day. We are now down to last summer's highs! It is a bit like an old WWI soldier in the trenches saying, "I think that machine gun is ALMOST out of bullets. Maybe it is safe to stick our heads up." NOT. More blossom pics, please.

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    1. I should have taken my blossom pix today, the trees are amazing.

      I phoned my local medical centre today about a jab, and they've kept my number to contact me when one is available. Knowing the mess the French (Macron) has made with the whole caboodle; I could be waiting some while!

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  12. Replies
    1. Thank you... I'm not really looking forward to it, but I know I need it.

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  13. I don't understand how you can stay past March as the rules are 90 days out of 180?. I.m not allowed that. Did you get a visa?.

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    1. I have no idea. they have decided amongst themselves that our kicking-out date starts around the end of Summer; just to give us a few weeks swimming time. Things change... who knows.

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  14. It was a gorgeous day today. I walked beside the sparkling sea. Far too hot for a jacket. Covid seemed so far away except for the mask . Still locked down of course but I'm so glad I don't live in a city. It's easy to find good things in life here.

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    1. Lovely day here too. I walked by the sparkling pool cover, and fished out a Toad who's been laying eggs there. Yuk. They come back every year!

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  15. I find that I cannot enjoy myself when I am being cautious. I need to throw caution to the wind. Let's all run naked through the potato fields.

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    1. Personally I don't do much streaking these days, but I admire your verve.

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  16. Life is pretty well back to normal here with cafes and hotels etc all operating carefully but the country is closed up tight and quarantine for returning citizens and interstate travellers strictly policed. It seems to have beeen the right approach and we learned the lesson very early that people could not be trusted and had to be placed in quarantine(in high rise hotels ) and guarded by police and the army. A costly exercise but it has worked, the country now has a huge debt ...but the citizens are safe - so far !!!

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    1. The whole world is now in huge debt, and the urge to get businesses up and running again could prove dangerous. We all need to remain cautious, whilst trying to help our respective economies.

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