Friday 27th March 2020
Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2020 6:44 am
Morning all.
Simon Nixon
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2h2 hours ago
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So it seems Johnson launched his appeal for British-built ventilators three days before an EU ventilator buying scheme closed and two days after Brussels publicly said Britain was free to join. Hard to square with No. 10 claims of “communication problems” https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vent ... -6s7tg3vnw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
*Prof James Lee at York University and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science“There is no silver lining to the Covid-19 situation,” he* said. “But I think it shows we can actually achieve quite a lot without travelling. It shows that if we did work from home more in normal times then we would have an effect on air pollution.”
Double hmm...RogerOThornhill wrote:Hmm...
@Simon_Nixon
2h2 hours ago
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So it seems Johnson launched his appeal for British-built ventilators three days before an EU ventilator buying scheme closed and two days after Brussels publicly said Britain was free to join. Hard to square with No. 10 claims of “communication problems” https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vent ... -6s7tg3vnw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
https://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2020/03/2 ... ntilators/Nine days ago the Tory government was contacted by the ventilator manufacturer Direct Access with an offer to upscale their existing production to provide 5,000 new ventilators - the company have heard nothing since.
MEC Medical, which is an existing manufacturer of ventilator parts, also contacted the government about upscaling production - the company have heard nothing from the government.
Today social media is ablaze with reports that the UK government has signed a contract with Dyson to supply 10,000 ventilators, despite the company having never produced such equipment before, and having shifted huge chunks of their manufacturing overseas ages ago in order to cut down on labour costs and avoid contributions to the UK tax system.
It's absolutely ludicrous that existing ventilator manufacturers are being ignored whilst novices in the field are being handed contracts to begin production "within weeks".
Another "silver lining" is people on benefits not being persecuted for a few months, too much to hope that could become somewhat habit forming as well?gilsey wrote:The good news.
Coronavirus UK lockdown causes big drop in air pollution
Hopefully the restrictions will be habit-breaking and result in a permanent drop in the amount of travelling about for no good reason. Even a small drop would be good.
*Prof James Lee at York University and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science“There is no silver lining to the Covid-19 situation,” he* said. “But I think it shows we can actually achieve quite a lot without travelling. It shows that if we did work from home more in normal times then we would have an effect on air pollution.”
I'll make greater effort securing provisions safely. Never fear.frog222 wrote:https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... oronavirus
how-doctors-live-with-the-risks-of-the-coronavirus
Good one, recommended in the France Inter press review
JA -- you must try to build up some stocks, without being a shelf-emptier ! Why not get your friend in distribution to help ? Better to do it earlier, before more people are 'infected in the community' and the risk of contamination on your shopping itself rises as well as the others around you breathing-out aerosol coronabombs without masks ...
It's easier for me, in the country, as I'm so far going shopping approaching once a week . First time was the Monday when that evening Macron announced the lockdown for midday on Tuesday. Next was the Saturday veg market , sack of spuds & 24 salad plants, then in the afternoon I went to the supermarket for a small shop, but it was mostly curiosity. My neighbour occasionally stops his tractor for a chat, but it's a good distance away over a bocage hedge .
I could go out quite often , as long as I do another Time and dated "Attestation" for the gendarmes, and so can you if you really have to ?
Oh I saw a really detailed one at HuffPo Canada about unpacking parcels , or just anything touched by 'other people' , but you've probably sussed all that !
Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives
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Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus.
I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.
Together we will beat this. #StayHomeSaveLives
After a period of warm, sunny weather, it is going to feel much colder this weekend, especially on Sunday as northeasterly winds become established across the UK
During Saturday night, temperatures will fall widely close to freezing, with -4 Celsius possible in sheltered rural spots. Temperatures by day on Sunday will struggle to reach double digits, the keen northeasterly wind making it feel colder. There’ll be a risk of hail and snow along eastern coasts and inland... .
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/p ... march-2020" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This is easy for me to say because just because it's true here doesn't make it true anywhere else but smaller shops seem to be doing just fine. The market's open here, and pretty fully stocked, the cheap and cheerful end of things have bread/milk/egg/loo rolls and all the normal thing (cool trader's shelves looked exactly like they always do) and interesting little shops are selling odd things (loo rolls in the off license). And then there are the slightly posher food shops here which everyone seems to be ignoring too... Stick with it, have a safe little wander and ignore supermarkets. If things there are at all like they are here, you only need to really think about shopping for the week, but I can see how that's an impossible attitude to have at the moment so maybe think about shopping for a fortnight. At the moment, I think - hope - that would give you a good deal of security.citizenJA wrote:I'm having trouble. Only allowed out once a day, we don't drive, we're discouraged from using cabs and public transportation has been cut to Saturday schedules, Mr citizen has asthma but is otherwise healthy and we're reluctant putting ourselves on person(s) with health conditions list for a couple of reasons. Delivery is patchy for people with health conditions from what I gather on official local online information sources and that feeds fears of accusations of not being vulnerable.
It's dangerous asking friends for a ride, they're in the same situation as we are regarding isolation rules one outing a day and there's rationing at markets. We're allowed only the one time and so can't check back later. No time slots for delivery or grocery order for pick up. In fact, websites are periodically crashing and are rationing the number of people accessing their website.
A friend we trust working in a distribution centre posted elsewhere reminded everyone in the area there's no lack of food, we're getting enough food centrally delivered, the area has plenty of food but we all need to shop in the same quantities as usual or others showing up during their solitary forage won't find milk or bread, for example. I think ransacked shelves in markets entirely rational behaviour from people due to government's leadership incapacity. While I know it's rational action, they must stop ransacking shelves because it puts others in a tough spot.
I can handle isolation in our flat but if I'm not able to secure provisions, that's a great big god damn worry. We're in a high population density urban area.
I'm sorry for this rambling message. Yesterday's outing for food wasn't a pleasant experience.
During the great pestilence of 1348, food was left for people at a safe location.
Grace Dent in the Guardian.‘The Aldi car park is full of Audis jam-packed with Super Noodles. It’s almost as if River Cottage never happened.’
I hope we remember the selfless hard work of the till workers and midnight shelf-stackers, the people on self-service checkouts who sort our unexplained item in the baggage area problems without maintaining a safe distance. Forever touching the screens we’ve just touched, keeping the queues moving and, by default, breathing in our germs. As shoppers ransacked the pasta and fought over UHT, they had no time to plan for their own families or to watch rolling news or to think too hard if their sweat was the mark of hard work or a fever. I would hug, if I could, the team at my Sainsbury’s Local, who open at dawn every day, always jolly, with the shelves restocked with small amounts of almost all vital items. I’m especially indebted to the drivers whom I’m trusting to get to my mother. They’re taking up the slack on what is now my biggest life problem. I’m trusting total strangers to feed her, not upset her, not frighten her, to keep their distance and to leave the boxes somewhere handy. And to explain to her why there are no rich teas. I wouldn’t call that job unskilled at all.
Fair enough- apologies. I also don't drive, but I'm lucky enough to have had regular supermarket deliveries for a while so that's been fairly easy to continue. Take care xcitizenJA wrote:@adam
I'm an urban hiker.
I don't drive.
I'm unable to carry two weeks worth of groceries.
I'd prefer Mr. citizen not going into the markets as he is at greater risk from catching COVID-19.
Keep trying somewhere else doesn't work in our situation.
My dear friend, no apologies are necessary. I hope what I experienced yesterday was an anomaly and won't have the same difficulty today. The air is cleaner and for that I'm sincerely grateful. During times of difficulty, I remember others having gone through catastrophic problems and remember their courage. I'm in the cockpit of that big jet somewhere over Iowa having lost all hydraulic fluids after an in-flight explosion and you're a flight engineer on the ground helping me figure out how to come out of standing. I got some ego and imagination don't I. I will post this. Make fun if you want.adam wrote:Fair enough- apologies. I also don't drive, but I'm lucky enough to have had regular supermarket deliveries for a while so that's been fairly easy to continue. Take care xcitizenJA wrote:@adam
I'm an urban hiker.
I don't drive.
I'm unable to carry two weeks worth of groceries.
I'd prefer Mr. citizen not going into the markets as he is at greater risk from catching COVID-19.
Keep trying somewhere else doesn't work in our situation.
That's beautiful.adam wrote:That Grace Dent quote was the picture caption - I've just finished the rest of the article and this is how it - beautifully, wonderfully - ends...I hope we remember the selfless hard work of the till workers and midnight shelf-stackers, the people on self-service checkouts who sort our unexplained item in the baggage area problems without maintaining a safe distance. Forever touching the screens we’ve just touched, keeping the queues moving and, by default, breathing in our germs. As shoppers ransacked the pasta and fought over UHT, they had no time to plan for their own families or to watch rolling news or to think too hard if their sweat was the mark of hard work or a fever. I would hug, if I could, the team at my Sainsbury’s Local, who open at dawn every day, always jolly, with the shelves restocked with small amounts of almost all vital items. I’m especially indebted to the drivers whom I’m trusting to get to my mother. They’re taking up the slack on what is now my biggest life problem. I’m trusting total strangers to feed her, not upset her, not frighten her, to keep their distance and to leave the boxes somewhere handy. And to explain to her why there are no rich teas. I wouldn’t call that job unskilled at all.
People need to remember all this when the crisis is over!adam wrote:That Grace Dent quote was the picture caption - I've just finished the rest of the article and this is how it - beautifully, wonderfully - ends...I hope we remember the selfless hard work of the till workers and midnight shelf-stackers, the people on self-service checkouts who sort our unexplained item in the baggage area problems without maintaining a safe distance. Forever touching the screens we’ve just touched, keeping the queues moving and, by default, breathing in our germs. As shoppers ransacked the pasta and fought over UHT, they had no time to plan for their own families or to watch rolling news or to think too hard if their sweat was the mark of hard work or a fever. I would hug, if I could, the team at my Sainsbury’s Local, who open at dawn every day, always jolly, with the shelves restocked with small amounts of almost all vital items. I’m especially indebted to the drivers whom I’m trusting to get to my mother. They’re taking up the slack on what is now my biggest life problem. I’m trusting total strangers to feed her, not upset her, not frighten her, to keep their distance and to leave the boxes somewhere handy. And to explain to her why there are no rich teas. I wouldn’t call that job unskilled at all.
What's Sunak going to do now, I imagine he was planning to decamp to North Yorkshire for Easter? He should stay in London.RogerOThornhill wrote:So everyone that he shook hands with a couple of weeks ago is now wondering...
-2 here this morning.citizenJA wrote:After a period of warm, sunny weather, it is going to feel much colder this weekend, especially on Sunday as northeasterly winds become established across the UK
During Saturday night, temperatures will fall widely close to freezing, with -4 Celsius possible in sheltered rural spots. Temperatures by day on Sunday will struggle to reach double digits, the keen northeasterly wind making it feel colder. There’ll be a risk of hail and snow along eastern coasts and inland... .
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/p ... march-2020" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Why do you think it could have any bearing on it?AnatolyKasparov wrote:Reported that Angela Rayner has tested positive for the virus as well.
Where that leaves her with regard to the leadership announcement due on April 4th - where she could well be elected deputy - is an interesting question.
Pssst, perhaps get a shopping trolley ? Then you could discreetly increase your stockscitizenJA wrote:Allergy season is here. I've mentioned that before now. I'd a lovely walk and successful outing getting food. It wasn't crowded. There was a pleasant person asking us to form a line to go in so the number of people in the shop was controlled. It worked very well. Didn't wait long, plenty of provisions. It was wonderful walking past the toilet rolls available and didn't need.
one fine dayfrog222 wrote:Pssst, perhaps get a shopping trolley ? Then you could discreetly increase your stockscitizenJA wrote:Allergy season is here. I've mentioned that before now. I'd a lovely walk and successful outing getting food. It wasn't crowded. There was a pleasant person asking us to form a line to go in so the number of people in the shop was controlled. It worked very well. Didn't wait long, plenty of provisions. It was wonderful walking past the toilet rolls available and didn't need.
I had to pick up a prescription for my son at the hospital pharmacy this morning. I wasn't looking forward to it because it's usually heaving but it seems, with all non-essential out-patients appointments cancelled, that the hospital pharmacy is actually the best pharmacy to collect from at the moment. There was just one person ahead of us, in and out in minutes! Not at all what I was expecting. It meant I got a chance to walk across central Bristol during lockdown, a strange experience seeing the streets so empty, especially with my husband talking about watching the first episode of 'Survivors' last night and how we're now kind of living it, which was a little bit eerie, although the security guards around Cabot Circus, people at bus stops and the obligatory lone busker helped preserve a sense of almost normality.GetYou wrote:Just got back from a trip to the outside world myself.
It was nice to feel the sun on my face again.
A five mile round trip walk to the chemist to pick up a prescription.
I had to wait an hour in a 2m separated queue to get in, but that is such a minor inconvenience these days it hardly registered.
I was surprised by
a) the number of cars on the roads, it was like a marginally quiet Sunday morning.
b) the number of people out, 50/50 split between shopping and exercise
c) the general cheerfulness
NO CitizenJ, Get that trolley ... YESTERDAY !citizenJA wrote:one fine dayfrog222 wrote:Pssst, perhaps get a shopping trolley ? Then you could discreetly increase your stockscitizenJA wrote:Allergy season is here. I've mentioned that before now. I'd a lovely walk and successful outing getting food. It wasn't crowded. There was a pleasant person asking us to form a line to go in so the number of people in the shop was controlled. It worked very well. Didn't wait long, plenty of provisions. It was wonderful walking past the toilet rolls available and didn't need.