Coronavirus/ Covid – January February March.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea.
This is an account of my life under the cosh of Covid-19. 2020 ©
My thoughts are in italics.
Underneath –
Me.
Although I was to spend my lockdown alone, many were in couples, family groups, or house and flat shares, each with their separate box of tricky moments. I was lucky, because, although I was far from Family and old friends, I had a garden, my very first own patch of earth. But alone-ness was around the corner. My two Cats, Louis and Ella, the radio, books and films to catch up on. I have always valued my moments of solitude, in fact I relished the time, however, enforced solitary, 24 /7 is another prospect all together. Lockdown, guarded by my rusting angels. Charles Mingus and Ray Charles are still in my Shed.
Warnings.
December 21st 2019
Chinese epidemiologists with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention published an article on 20th January 2020 stating that the first cluster of patients with ‘pneumonia of an unknown cause’ had been identified on 21st December 2019
December 31st 2019
Chinese authorities confirmed they were treating dozens of cases of pneumonia of an unknown cause. Days laters researchers in China identified a new virus that had infected dozens of people. There was no evidence that the virus was spread by humans.
China contacts the WHO and informs them of ‘cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology’ detected in Wuhan.
Me.
The weekend of March 7th/8th 2020 was to be the last of my life as almost ‘Normal’. Thinking, sorting, wondering when this will all end.
It has only just begun.
Changes began for me on the turn of the year, 2019 into 2020.
I had spent a wonderful Christmas and into the new year with my daughter Kasia and her partner Harvey, with visits from friends, in and out. My son visited just before Christmas, then he returned to Portugal.
Me.
Now – we sit between the dangerous Orange Devil over the Pond and ..
.. a Shower of Shits and Toxic Toffs on our side.
Donald Trump.
On Jan. 28, U.S. President Trump, standing proud beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. Meddling in the Middle East unveiling plans for Middle East peace that was quickly criticised for favouring Israel and burying Palestinian hopes of a homeland.
Brexit ..
.. finalised by the Jan. 31 deadline. Britain’s departure date, was postponed several times amid disagreements in the British Parliament on what shape Brexit should take.
Me.
We have fires, floods, deranged Presidents. Bully boys from The Bullingdon Club in The Cabinet. I think we are in for a bumpy ride?
On Boris Johnson.
The woman who recruited members in Oxford in the 1980s said that she was horrified at the prospect of Johnson becoming prime minister.
“The characteristics he displayed at Oxford – entitlement, aggression, amorality, lack of concern for others – are still there, dressed up in a contrived, jovial image. It’s a mask to sanitise some ugly features.”
Me.
January 29th Hospital Canterbury.
For the last few years, I have been experiencing extreme episodes of Vertigo and nausea, hearing loss and fear. A very informative audio man at Boots was concerned and wrote to my GP. Twice. Many weeks passed with one or two appointments over the year and finally a hospital check-up. They lost the results. 3 years later, another referral and result! I have been diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease, the reason for hearing loss and vertigo. I had never heard of this condition.
Dr Omar Ahmed, one of these Immigrants so harassed by the Right Wing. One of those people who, without, the NHS would be in an even more fragile state. The second person to bother to take me seriously with this frightening condition, I had had a few falls by then. And there are treatments for this, he has started me on one and said I can’t guarantee this will help but I will guarantee that I will see you in 3 months when this course of meds ends. A letter arrived 3 days later. I call him an Angel, one of the many Angels I have met in my life.
Most doctors say, tinnitus, nothing we can do, it’s age, go away. No medication for this. Put up & shut up in other words. I was given hearing aids which kept falling out! This, after several waits of months for appointments. Several visits to hear, ‘there is nothing wrong with these aids.’ Several rebuffs. They kept falling out.
The Audio man at Boots said, no wonder, they took the wrong measurements! Finally I was listened to.
Donald Trump.
.. strutting around, meddling in the middle east. Hobnobbing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meddling with Middle Eastern affairs, isolating Palestine. The killing of Gen Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force. Ordered the American military to shoot and destroy any Iranian vessels that harass US navy ships, as tensions rise in the Gulf in the wake of a record collapse in crude oil prices.
Me.
Fires, floods, wars, famine, pollution and poisons on and in land and sea.
The Earth is screaming. The earth is dying. What legacy is this for the next generations?
I am grieving for the people living in this beautiful land – l listened to a fire chief being interviewed on the news, talking about these fires & the issues of climate change and what is to come, and that those around the world in positions of power are not listening. Terrifying, and then some.
January 3rd
I read a beautiful and tender poem by Michael Rosen on Facebook the other day. He said in his post..
“This is the poem I read last night at the vigil against the anti-semitic graffiti-daubing in Hampstead.”
I cannot include his beautiful poem..it is not mine to share.
I wept. …. and here are my thoughts.©
‘I weep for the loss of common decency and clear vision.
I weep for the children, lost and without homes,
fleeing in small boats on dangerous seas,
trafficked around the world, abused and used.
I weep for the people in the burning fires,
I weep for those who have warned us over and over
for many many years.
Wake up! We are killing our world with our greed.‘
December 31st
The end of 2019 ©
Into a new year…
I weep for the casual cruelty, misogyny, bigotry, racism and lies-
handed out by those in power.
In print and speech.
I weep for the casual acceptance by the many, of these crimes, too many to mention. I weep for the lack of collective memory in so many people.
A convenient way of avoiding what they do not want to hear.
I weep for those living on the Streets.
The homeless.
There, by a mouse whisker, go many of us.
I weep for those living in the midst of Wars.
Not knowing if they will live another day.
I weep.
I weep for those in pain, not able to find succour within the failing health service,
the jewel in our Crown… run down and out over the decades, our leaders wanting it gone.
Money?
Money in War, money in Oil, money in Land,
Money in Medicines.
Money.
I weep.
Money in human misery.
I weep for those fighting for a free world, fighting for fair wages for their work. Living wage?
What is not a living wage?
A Starving wage?
I weep.
Burning Australia is a red hot warning.
I weep.
The streets of Hong Kong, a warning.
Yellow Jackets in Paris. I weep with them.
We sleep at our peril.’
The last day with my beloveds, Kasia, my daughter and her partner Harvey, before they took the trains north. On my own again. The world is in turmoil.
January 13th
Bush Fires in Australia. Floods in Indonesia.
Ukrainian jetliner crash in Iran. …
Devastating floods in Indonesia. …
Communal riots in Delhi. …
Taal volcano eruption. …
Earthquakes in Turkey and the Caribbean.
Hong Kong, the people rising.
Out on the streets protesting against the oppressive Chinese regime.
Our Planet Earth is in crisis. Our Planet Earth is angry.
Our Planet Earth is being systematically poisoned to death.
Poisoned by greed, war, human beings pursuit of wealth, ownership and lust for power, in the hands of the filthy few.
It’s been so long..it feels like a century.. since I was out and busy… performing..running choirs .. Workshops, rehearsing … wonderful adventures… close and warm.. new friendships, learning every day.. it seems as if we were all in another universe then…. another time, another planet. A time when we could all be close….
January 22nd COBRA Meeting
Matt Hancock ..
“The clinical advice is that the risk to the public remains low.”
The health secretary, who would contract the virus himself in late March.
Me.
Little did we know that soon, meeting in our homes would soon be on the lists of cannot do. Sitting in a friendly Pub or Bar cafe or cinema. Gathering in celebration. A birthday, a wedding, a birth, a death. Hugging and holding, vanished. For those alone, a lonely path.
Jan. 22
Donald Trump.
Trump spewing senseless words from his mean mouth ..
.. as US infections reached 4,000, he then slammed reports of the outbreak as part of a “hoax”.
Jan. 31: Italy suspends flights to China and declares a national emergency after two cases are confirmed in Rome.
February 7th 2020.
My friend Ian Shaw, one of my beloved singing pals, came down to his flat down the road from me in Sandgate. A lovely day pottering in Hythe and lunch in a little Pub around the corner from his place.
February 2020
Tokyo Japan
All but a handful of the passengers of the disease-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship berthed in Yokohama have disembarked. But for Japan, the saga is far from over. Much of the crew remains on board, enduring another 14 days of quarantine—although this time under conditions that Japanese officials hope will prevent any additional infections.
Donald Trump.
February, as the coronavirus threat grew across the world, and the first cases emerged in the United States, Trump belittled the threat. Critics say February was a missed opportunity to move faster to recommend that Americans stay two meters away from other people, a position Trump adopted in mid-March and then extended through April. Later, he said, Americans should consider wearing face masks in public, though he said he had no intention of wearing one.
We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.
Boris Johnson.
.. advocated for the UK to take Covid-19 “on the chin” and allow the disease to spread through the population.
Feb. 23: Small towns hit by the outbreak are placed under quarantine. Carnival celebrations and some soccer matches are canceled (150 cases).
March 4: Schools and universities are closed (3,089 cases).
March 8: Several northern provinces are placed under lockdown (7,375 cases).
March 9: The lockdown is extended nationwide (9,172 cases).
Me.
Spring.
I wince every time these world leaders strut the stage, every time another flood, another fire happens and still, those same world leaders turn their ears from the facts, climate change, War. They carry on making the dirty money. But I smile when I hear ‘Angels on earth’ stories, I smile when I see people in love, they are gonna need that love. I smile at the unfolding of Spring.
A metaphor for life and hope. Yellow shouts .. Spring is here.
White snowdrops appear, the glorious Spring flowers bud, tulips and daffodils Forsythia, that first burst of yellow, a flag for spring. I smile watching the ferns unfurl from winter slumber. I smile when I hear the voices of my children and dear friends on the phone. Trees will soon pop with shoots and then the fresh green leaves, and we will survive another day. I smile whilst I make my home a place of refuge and weep for those who have no home. I try to smile every day.
But some days it is so hard.
Tinnitus, I hate this thing, it never stops. Sleep is terrible. Like Niagra Falls and high pitched squeals, living in my head 24 /7 – Depression, fear, headaches. It is Shit. But hey, I am not in Syria or Yemen. Every day I hear the news from there and I weep. I weep when yet more people and children take to dangerous seas in little Boats.
ME.
11th of February,
Annie, Mark and I went to Margate for the day. We visited The Turner Gallery to see the Quilts exhibition. The sun was out, the sky was blue. I didn’t know that it was to the last time I could travel away from Folkestone for a long while? That in a month’s time, I would be trapped here in Folkestone. We had lunch in the Harbour Cafe. There was beloved David Mossman in photographs by the Bar.
A wave of sadness ran through my bones. I miss him.
3 March (release of coronavirus action plan)
March 11: All restaurants and bars are closed (12,462 cases).
Michael Gove.
.. no longer self-isolating after he was given special permission to have his daughter tested for the coronavirus – and the result came back negative.
Me.
Why? Oh Why.. did the UK and the USA not take note? Were they asleep at the wheel? Were they afraid to risk the economy? Prepared to let thousands die in order to protect the money? A toxic antipathy?
Boris Johnson.
“I’m shaking hands continuously. I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know. I continue to shake hands.”
“We already have a fantastic NHS, fantastic testing systems and fantastic surveillance of the spread of the disease … I want to stress that for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual.”
28 February (after the death of a Briton aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship)
Me.
Well done Boris Johnson. The very NHS you and previous Governments have been running down for decades. Well done, Like Donald Trump, you mock this virus at your own peril. You risk many many lives with your arrogant stupidity.
February 29th
Sarah Red Hurst Birthday.
February 29th
I’m sorting through my stuff. Especially photos. They are backed up everywhere. Clothes and kitchen stuff. I love my collected treasures but? When I pop my clogs, I don’t want have it in a muddle.
Here are a few of my inspirational books.
Boris Johnson.
“The issue of coronavirus is something that is the government’s top priority. The best thing people can do to prevent the spread of coronavirus is wash your hands.”
5 March (after death of first victim on UK soil)
“We are still in the contain phase, though now our scientists and medical advisers are making preparations for the delay phase. For the moment, things are as they have been. There’s been a change of advice on Italy, I believe, but basically we’re saying, ‘Wash your hands and business as usual.’
Me.
Is that all you say? Wash your freaking hands?
Boris Johnson.
In Britain in early March. London England-Wales rugby match. A crowd of 81,000; the prime minister attended.
A GIG. Will it be the last?
March 7/9/ Me.
I think the weekend of March 7th/8th was the last of life as almost ‘Normal’. Did a Gig at Eleto in Folkestone. Sold out. People crowded in together, hugging, kissing eating and drinking. Then, people starting staying away from crowds, large and small. Ordered an online shop on Sunday that weekend thinking, ‘Hmm things are getting serious out there.’ It took a week and the lovely young man could not bring the bags into my flat, but it was food and stuff. From Monday, online websites for food were going down, no deliveries for weeks.
Day by day, hour by hour, the life as we know it collapsed. Venues closing, friends right across the board had gigs cancelled and or postponed…My son and friends with a small business’s? Yes indeed, those of us who are self-employed left dangling…
At the sharp end, the health workers. Really, they are taking the brunt of daily risk of the virus. So let us all pump out as much love and support for those who are in the hospitals and chemists, those who have lost loved ones, and for those who are homeless, those still in refugee camps, not knowing where they will be one day to the next. It is a global tragedy. Sending elbow bumps and virtual hugs.
Me.
Monday 9th March 2020 The Norfolk Sandgate, Choir Gathering.
The following Monday, our choir, The Wildflowers, gathered. Some stayed away, already concerned. Then, my gigs in London were cancelled, life was on hold and was to unravel day by day.
Mother Earth was blooming, a respite from the Human poisons over centuries. Devine intervention? It had seemed as if Planet Earth was very angry, what with the Human race screwing things up so badly. If it wasn’t dumping our toxic waste into the oceans, it was fighting, killing, thieving and lying and stealing. And that was just the world leaders.
March 11th
Me.
Shelves in supermarkets began to empty. Mass buying of Pasta, Flour. Tins of tomatoes and beans. Eggs, a mad run on eggs. Panic buying had set in. Fighting over Flour and Toilet rolls.
In the UK.
Liverpool played Atletico Madrid, in front of a crowd of 52,000 fans, including 3,000 from Spain.
March 13th.
252,000 gathered at the Cheltenham Festival, 252,000.
Italy …Europe.
Lockdown on March 9th, Denmark on March 11th, Spain on March 14th and France on March 17th. Britain on March 23rd.
Me.
I planted potatoes and onions. A lot of them. I scattered seeds. I planted herbs.
I was lonely. I missed my adult children. I missed old friends.
Listening to a lot of the BBC coverage and so many people were calling in to say.. Symptoms, what are they? Self-isolating. No tests? How do we know whether ’tis the common winter cold or the Corona Bug? How do we know whether we are infectious? How do we know when free of infection? How do we know?
Mothers day.
My beloved daughter did not forget.
A Facebook post from Jacky Chapman Photos.
OOH Missus, look at the state of you? Mad Hatter? Next to Jenny Eclair.
Better late than never!
Happy belated International Women’s Day 2020! Sharing portraits taken over the years of just a few of the wonderful women that I’ve met along the way…..Su Pollard, Carol Grimes, Lydia Tischler, Shere Hite, Angela Barnes, Ann Philippa Pearce, Joanna Lumley, Grumpy Old Women and Yvonne Cloetta.
Boris Johnson.
12 March
“This is the worst public health crisis in a generation. And it’s going to spread further and I must level with you, level with the British public: many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.
Me.
Well, you have changed your mind then? Boris Johnson? No apologies for getting it wrong? Even when it was killing thousands in Italy? Who’s not a clever boy then? Do you have your head up your arse?
March 12
Chris Whitty..
.. the chief medical officer, announced Britain had moved the threat to UK citizens from “moderate” to “high.” New cases were not going to be tracked at all. “It is no longer necessary for us to identify every case,” he said.
Government Ministers.
Micheal Gove was spotted jogging just days into the two-week period when a person should stay home if a member of their household has displayed symptoms.
“We have a clear plan that we are now working through. We are not, I repeat not, closing schools now. The scientific advice is this could do more harm than good at this time. Schools should only close if they are specifically advised to do so.”
Me.
16th March
A Letter to the Wildflowers.
Hello all… We four on Monday, myself Annie, Diana and Michelle met at The Norfolk. We were allocated the huge board room. Diana said she didn’t feel like singing in it. It was a rather cold looking room. So we didn’t. We went back to the Bar.
We sat and drank wine and chatted and had banter. A grand event in the light of such doom, gloom, panic and stress and the not knowing. A couple at a table, from Bristol, sat next to us, eating dinner. Turned out to be back from Spain, truncated holiday. Made a stop off in The Norfolk before driving back to the South West. They said they were very cheered up by our tres jolly gathering. So we bumped elbows and such like, and we all went home to our separate self isolations and couples and the like. Who knows what happens from hour to hour?
I offered this. Meeting at my house until the fear of public places dies down. A chance to do a slightly more creative evening as I will have my percussion collection and other devices!
Of course, no one with a cough and temperature or been in contact with said Virus would attend. the next day, we were in lockdown, self-isolating, shielding. All these new phrases to live and learn.
Donald Trump.
March 17
News conference.
“This is a pandemic,” and “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
Me.
Of course you knew Donald Trump, you who are so clever and wise. A genius.
I know this because you keep telling the world.
Donald Trump.
“I said it a long time ago based on knowledge — based on knowledge. I’m — I’m meeting with these geniuses — based on knowledge.”
“It’s complex — very complex machinery, computerised all over the place, and very expensive.”
Me.
Mother Earth was blossoming, a respite from the Human poisons over centuries. Devine intervention? Skies were clear, air was sweet, the roads were empty. It had seemed as if Mother earth was very angry, what with the Human race screwing things up so badly. If it wasn’t dumping our toxic waste into the oceans, it was fighting, killing, thieving and lying and stealing. And that was just the rich people. Little creatures are in abundance.
Boris Johnson.
18 March
“I want to repeat that everyone – everyone – must follow the advice to protect themselves and their families, but also – more importantly – to protect the wider public. So stay at home for seven days if you think you have the symptoms. Remember, the two key symptoms are high temperature and a continuous new cough. The symptom of lack of taste and smell was not listed, although known.
“Whole household to stay at home for 14 days if one member in that household thinks he/she has symptoms. Avoid all unnecessary gatherings – pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, theatres and so on – and work from home if you can. Wash your hands.”
ME.
The lack of traffic in the sky and on the roads and railways has given us a glorious introduction to spring. Birds and bees a tweeting and buzzing. The air is clean and the earth has been given respite from the battering we humans have inflicted on it for centuries…
Louis, one off my Cats, likes a night-time ramble, came in at some ungodly hour, as usual, and as usual, walked up me, as if I was a garden path, a few head butts and loud purring, a bit of dribbling, before he plodded off to see if there was any food in his dish! What a life. Nasturtiums.. delicious in salads, both flower and leaf.
Boris Johnson.
19 March
“I’m conscious as the days have gone by that people will want to know how long we’re expecting them to keep it up. I think, looking at it all, that we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks, and I’m absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country.”
20 March (asked if he would be visiting his mother on Mother’s Day)
“I’ll be working very hard on Sunday, I can tell you that. I will certainly be sending her my very best wishes and hope to get to see her.”
Me
Boris and his Tory chums clustered around the speakers chair..who do they think they are? Chris sakes. Do they Walk on water holier than thou? Will they rise again in a luxury cave in the Cotswolds? Well chaps, that didn’t work well did it?
Self Isolating. The new most overused words since Brexit. I have been plunged into unexpected isolation for 75 per cent of the time since I left my home in London? 10 years ago. So I must be the least most likely, according to what has been designated the most vulnerable group. Old and with underlying conditions. In my case asthma and many other conditions. Still, it’s given me the time to tidy my online and paper chaos. Take care out there. Look after the young.
Me.
March 15th.
I maintain my take on life. Take 10 people- for every arsehole, there will be 9 lovely people. On a bad day maybe 3 of them. Arseholes that is. Ah well. Back to self-isolating.
PS I just cleaned my cutlery drawers. They are pristine. I will move onto the saucepans cupboard next.
Spring is bursting out all over. Yellow and green. Buds and shoots. Birds singing. I wish I could sleep peacefully. I wish the dread would go away. These attacks are happening more and more over the last few years, a wave of hot fear coursing through my body.
Me.
March 16th
As the days pass, and if we are in it for months and food becomes tricky and we are on tins of beans and tuna. I have a garden full of herbs. Please do come and I’ll pick you bunches… to, lively up your suppers! an’ all, you know who you are. xxxx p.s. I have planted Lotsa Spuds, Onions, Garlic & will be doing beans, salad leaves Tomatoes and more. I will have more than I need, so if you need do come along with a basket when all are ready.
Boris Johnson.
Nearly a month later, he claimed that cases were “going substantially down, not up” just days before he number of confirmed infections reached 1,000.
Johnson made a speech in Downing Street, flanked by two Union Jacks and evoking the spirit of Winston Churchill’s “darkest hour” address. He warned: “I must level with you, level with the British public – more families, many more families are going to loose loved ones before their time.”
March 18th
People calling in on Facebook. Keeps me feeling connected. I thank them.
From …
Maiuko Fi. Tell me about it, hopefully it’s only a bad dream and we’re all going to wake up very soon and enjoy music & social gatherings. But keep safe, I heard you can also catch it in your dreams. Mk x
Henning Jacobsen. I send you a loving digital warm, big hug from Oslo. As an artist you have given me so much beauty through life… and in that way been one of the soul-workers of this world who has helped me fight the deadly virus of materialism and inhumanity. Thank you, Carol.
Shyamal Maitra. Thank you Carol…this will uplift the morals….sharing!
Me.
A beautiful young man has passed. Chris D’Souza. He attended one of the two Choirs for people with Neurological Conditions I worked as Musical Director for many years. He was a bright light. I am so sad. I cannot go to the Funeral.
Lock down.
22 March.
Government.
“This Mothering Sunday, the single best present that we can give – we who owe our mothers so much – is to spare them the risk of catching a very dangerous disease. The sad news is, that means staying away.”
Me.
I attempted another online order. I was barred from the Website. List full apparently.
Me.
I loved a post on Facebook. Italians singing to each other on their balconies. Made my day. I am feeling very alone here… I have just spoken to my Son, Sam in Portugal. It is the Trumps of this world that scare me the most, why is he still here? Spouting lies and fears and grandstanding himself ? Makes me mad that Malaria has been killing people all over the world for many years. With very little support. Or coverage. I am probably drinking too much.
Daily Briefing.
22 March press conference (after a weekend in which people continued to go to the beach and parks)
“I want, of course I do, people to be able to go to the parks, open spaces and enjoy themselves. It is crucial for health, physical and mental wellbeing.
“Take this [government physical distancing] advice seriously, follow it, because it is absolutely crucial. And, as I have said throughout this process, we will keep the implementation of these measures under constant review and, yes of course, we will bring forward further measures if we think that is necessary.”
My Mantra.
What about the testing?
What about the Kit? The PPE?
Boris Johnson.
23 March:
The prime minister. “The public must stay at home.”
People are warned not to meet friends or family members they do not live with. Those with symptoms had already been told to self-isolate.
Donald Trump.
By the time the Covid-19 spread had been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation with nearly 14,000 cases confirmed in the US, forcing the president to declare a national emergency. Nearly a month later, he claimed that cases were “going substantially down, not up”
Micheal Gove.
.. was spotted jogging just days into the two-week period when a person should stay home if a member of their household has displayed symptoms.
Me.
Sometime in March. Time is an elastic band. Stretched, this way and that.
February seems like a year ago. Self Isolating. The new most overused words since Brexit. I have been plunged into unexpected self-isolation for 75 per cent of the time since I left my home in London? 10 years ago.
Old and with underlying conditions. In my case asthma and a few other things. Still, it’s given me the time to tidy my online and paper chaos. Take care out there. Look after the young.
P..S. Sometimes, in the last 10 years, I can go 3 /4 even 5 days without speaking to, or indeed any communication with another human being. So I should be able to do this?
Boris Johnson.
Stay at Home, Protect the NHS Save Lives Boris Johnson declared himself head of a “wartime government.”
Me.
He always wanted to be the 21st Century Winston Churchill. Pompous Arse.
Me.
A friend with an elderly relative in The Royal Free in London. Not a mop, broom or disinfectant spray, has she seen in weeks of visiting there. Student doctors with nothing but a flimsy apron and gloves to protect them. A major Hospital. We are not deep cleaning, we are not testing. ???? WTF!
The government want to disappear all of us over 70. But not test saving face with a depleted NHS if we conveniently pop our clogs. Fewer state pensions to payout and more available beds. Then the hospitals release elderly patients back into care homes. No testing.
BMA warns supplies of protective gear at ‘dangerously low levels’ as 19 healthcare workers die.
Me.
Meanwhile, I often wake with the sensation that I have not slept. That I am more tired than I have ever been, despite several hours of sleep. It feels as if I have returned from a dangerous and frightening journey. During the hours following such an experience, I am afraid. For most of my life, I have had intermittent insomnia. In this situation, it has become a common symptom for many. I have developed a hunger for Gu-key lime pies and eating massive amounts of Garlic. No one around to object to my breath! About to plant herbs.
23 March 2020
Boris Johnson.
Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS with 7500 former clinicians now coming back to the service.
With the time you buy – by simply staying at home – we are increasing our stocks of equipment. We are accelerating our search for treatments. We are pioneering work on a vaccine. And we are buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide.
“From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home … If you don’t follow the rules, the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings … at present there are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost.”
Me
PPE arriving any time soon Boris Johnson?
Shortage of Beds.
I would not take a bed if I did get it. Far more important for the working young, the young in general, and the kids. And of course, those working at the sharp end. Priority.
Me.
My gig at the beginning of March. Singing and prancing about. May well have been my last!? I feel very sad. Strange times indeed. The following week, venues, theatres, Concert Halls Pubs.. were closed. All life outside ceased. I am in isolation. However, a treat. Mothers day and a packet arrived from Kasia..my daughter. I am missing human contact. Hugs and laughter with others.
Donald Trump.
“This is a pandemic,” Trump said at a March 17 news conference. “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
Me.
Of course you did. Mr Trump. All that other stuff you said was fake news, your enemies found a dummy and made it say the other stuff. Live, on TV.
Boris Johnson.
23 March: The prime minister . the public must stay at home. People are warned not to meet friends or family members they do not live with. Those with symptoms had already been told to self-isolate.
Also.. Boris Johnson 23 March 2020
Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS with 7500 former clinicians now coming back to the service.
With the time you buy – by simply staying at home – we are increasing our stocks of equipment. We are accelerating our search for treatments. We are pioneering work on a vaccine. And we are buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide.
Me.
LIES.
I totally understand why we all have to be careful. BUT WHY THE FUCK IS THIS GOVERNMENT NOT TESTING? Especially front line health workers. Places like the previous so-called eastern block countries and African and Asian countries, far poorer places than the USA and UK. They are testing. In the Czech Republic, test and results within hours? South Korea.
( Korean Center for Disease Control are always published in the same repository and are updated daily. Utter madness. I rest my case. I am ashamed of my country.
My mantra..
What about the testing?
What about the Kit? The PPE?
Public Health England
The guidance is a reversal of stipulating that full-length waterproof surgical gowns, designed to stop coronavirus droplets getting into someone’s mouth or nose, should be worn for all high-risk hospital procedures. PHE advised frontline staff to wear a flimsy plastic apron with coveralls when gowns ran out, in a move that doctors and nurses fear may lead to more of them contracting the virus and ultimately putting lives at risk.
Not on this list of the dead are the Care home deaths, the undiagnosed deaths in people’s homes.
Priti Patel.
Speaking at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing, was asked twice if she would apologise about the lack of PPE being provided to frontline workers. “I’m sorry if people feel that there have been failings,” she said. “I will be very, very clear about that.”
Me.
Cambodia, Rwanda, East Timor, Armenians, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) Darfur, forces under the command of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on & bloody on. Slavery, Genocide before and after the Holocaust. Imperial colonisation. Native Americans. In Australia, New Zealand, Brazil on and on we have pillaged, raped and committed genocide. Yes, we need to keep it all alive. Lest we forget? When will we ever learn?
Boris Johnson.
.. has said people are “right to be concerned” about the spread of the coronavirus in the UK, but says the “best advice” to prevent a wider outbreak is to wash your hands with hot water and soap. ‘Wash your hands for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice’
Daily briefing, they all boast …
Boris .. ‘we wrap our arms around you’
Treasury .. ‘Unprecedented Bank loans’
Me.
In the House of Commons ..offers of financial support, most of which has not been forthcoming, along with the Testing and PPE offers. Gushing Torys patting their own backs, wallowing in their power and strutting, as if Great War leaders earning medals for bravery.
Me.
26th March
I am feeling blessed. If this situation had happened just 3 or 4 years ago, I would be seriously in the pooh. With no support, friends and family far away. I don’t drive and could have been totally isolated. In very recent years, I have met some real, honest and true people.
I am almost 76. Bloomin’ Blimey, OMG and strike me down with a bird feather. Nearly 76 and with several underlying conditions, some of them, respiratory, and I could have been in a very scary situation. Most of the people I met during my first few years here are not in touch and will not be. I was a fleeting novelty. I thank the amazing people I met lately, who have my back. Thank you is not enough.
Dominique Cummings
1 Friday 27 March
Cummings seen in London
2 Friday-Saturday 27-28 March
Family travels to Durham
3 Tuesday 31 March
Police were told that the family were in the area. 29 March 2020 at 2:37am
Boris Johnson’s letter to the UK
Boris Johnson is writing to every household in the UK to urge the public to obey the lockdown and stay home during the coronavirus “national emergency”.
People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD 4.
Me.
I did not receive this letter or the one from NHS. Consequently, when I tried to place another online order, I was blocked. I was not on the list. Slipped through the net once more. Onto the phone, onto the internet.
Donald Trump.
“You are something.” The President of the United States to Yamiche Alcindor, a reporter for PBS NewsHour and a black woman, who was asking him for specifics on a plan to address the violence against African Americans by the police.
Me.
Time is transient
Time is stretched.
Time is elusive.
Taste has changed.
Days are blurring.
Sleep is elusive.
Hair from pink to white.
Zoom.
Being seen?
How long?
I am obsessed with the Sky. I have always loved clouds. I am loving the Birds. I am in love with the trees. I love Lobelia. Roses Rosemary Lavender. I love them all. Blessings. My friend Mark sent me the forms I needed to fill in order to be able to get an order. He is in lockdown with his elderly mother and had received the necessary links and forms. It worked. A week later I put in my order. I will not starve. Blue glorious blue.
Popping the Prosecco, mixing a Gin and Tonic and smoking like a Chimney… not good.
