April 5th: Rant time

Ok, sorry folks, it's rant time. I've tried to avoid this, but I can't any longer.

I suspect many people will have seen stories over the last few days about people flouting the #stayathome guidance - this piece from Sky News pretty much sums it up, but equally illustrates some of the confusion that exists. Sure, just "going out" to laze about in the sun with your mates sunbathe on the beach, or gather anon any sort of group anywhere etc is not what going out for daily exercise means, but at the same time, going for a walk on your own (or with your family) is. So in the video at the top of that piece, the woman that was stopped by reporters surely - as she argued, just taking exercise on her own and keeping away from others. The man with the child who said  "...it's all nonsense..."  needs to seriously look at himself. I've also read comments on Twitter from people saying they have neighbours who are having friends round for parties. But the problem is many people can't differentiate between what's the right thing to do (pretty much stay at home unless you HAVE to go out) and those who are using the 'guidance' to flout that principle. And as I've seen suggested today, they are going to be the first people to moan if the current lockdown is extended, or tightened. Personally I feel guilty every time I go through my front door, whether that's to go to the shops (twice in the last fortnight for me) or a short walk for exercise sake (about half a dozen times in the last fortnight, and my wife and I were given the eyes by someone on their drive today when we went for a short 20 minutes stroll.

If anyone needed any greater clarity about the gravity of the current situation, then the following graph published in the Financial Times showing that the UK's (and the US and Spanish) death tolls are higher relatively than Italy's should give them a wake up call. But it won't. Partly because the people that don't care don't read the FT (I don't but that's not because I don't care), but because they can't past the "I'm alright Jack" mentality. Maybe we should confront them (within social distancing rules) with all the health and service workers who are doing their utmost to save lives and keep the country running at this terrible time, or speak to someone who's lost a family member due to coronavirus. It IS hard to stay indoors and not go out (apart from a daily walk, if you must - and I do sometimes - on your own close to home). But it's better than being dead, or causing the death of someone else by your own selfishness and stupidity. This will end, and sooner rather than later if we all follow the rules now.
Rant over.

At the moment, the cat's got it better. Can go out when she pleases, gets fed twice a day and sleeps the rest of the time.

Stay safe: #stayhomesavelives

April 4th: 5G, thumbs and golf trolleys

It's been a relatively quiet, if painful day of #isolationlife. In advance of promised warm weather this weekend there have been many messages across multiple channels asking people to observe the stay at home guidance. Unfortunately there are bound to be people who see both the weekend and the sun as an opportunity to get out and about. Folks we've only been at this two weeks. It's far from over yet, and it's not a holiday. STAY AT HOME.

Another story with increasing noise is that the whole coronavirus outbreak is caused by, or exacerbated by the 5G rollout. One comment I've seen from someone responding to the burning down of a 5G mast in Birmingham, is that "people are scared". Firstly I can't believe that people are stupid enough to think that coronavirus is caused by 5G, and secondly burning something down because you're afraid of it is not an excuse to do it, let alone ctreating necessary to to the emergency services that have to deal with such wanton acts of idiocy. I do wonder about some people's mindset but then this could quickly lead into a conversation about flat earth, moon landings and vaccines and the like, so I'm not going any further with this. By the way, I've enabled comments on the blog, so if you're one of my very few readers, please feel free to comment about this or anything else I post, but please keep it civil. Comments that I deem inappropriate or offensive will be removed!

The big clear/declutter/tidy/clean continues at Chez Stats, but not without some painful consequences. I was tidying up the garage (again) today, and was moving some chairs we're storing in there when I inadvertently nudged my golf trolley which was hanging on a hook. It fell off right onto my thumb. Luckily I don't think anyone was within hearing distance as I ran out a string of expletives for about 2 minutes before running it under some cold water and strapping some ice to it for half an hour. Believe me, it was worse than the photo below shows.

Don't drop a golf trolley on your thumb. It bloody hurts!

Finally yesterday, I spent some time looking at the night sky. I've been fascinated by space since for as long as I can remember. A couple of years ago my wife bought me a proper telescope which has been opened up a whole new vista. I've seen Jupiters moons (which you can also see with a pair of binoculars), Saturn's rings, the Andromeda galaxy, the nebula in Orion's sword and aliens. Ok, I made the last one up. I also follow a few people on Twitter who are big space geeks - the main one being @VirtualAstro who keeps people abreast of all that's happening in the night sky including International Space Station (ISS) passes. Last night I was particularly looking at Venus, always bright, but currently exceptionally so, which is in the west in early evening. Last night it was "in conjunction" with the Pleiades Cluster, a small (from earth) but bright cluster of stars also knows as the Seven Sisters or Messier 45 (m45). In conjunction in this context means when to objects in the night sky are in close proximity. Yesterday and for one night only, it looked like Venus was plonked right in Pleiades - a phenomenon that only happens once every 8 years. They'll be close tonight if you look up, but not as close as last night. Despite my long fascination with space and photography, apart from capturing ISS passes I've never really tried astrophotography. Last night I attempted to capture the Venus/Pleiades conjunction after seeing an excellent shot by someone on Twitter. Following their guidance, I managed it - not brilliant but passable, but that's more than likely down to the quality of my camera kit. Here is the result, plus a shot of my kit last night.

My camera and 'scope setup in my garden

Venus & the Pleiades Cluster (Seven Sisters/M45)

I'm toying with the idea of changing the title of this blog - it was originally called "The Lentil" for a very good reason explained in one of my first posts way back in 2004, but I suspect the page is usually found by people looking for lentil recipes. Perhaps now's the time to make it more current and personal? I quite like the sound of "The Grumpy Old Git".... any other ideas?

Until tomorrow.. keep safe: #stayhomesavelives

April 3rd: Birthdays, garage doors and more blogs

First up, a very Happy Birthday to my Mother in Law who turned 94 today. My wife was over there and sorted her cake and me and kids FaceTimed in to wish her a happy birthday.

In the latest day of #isolationlife, in a temporary moment of freedom I drove to the surgery for my latest routine blood test for the medication I'm on. Quizzed and temperature taken at the door, I passed with flying colours before a very short wait and an even shorted visit to the phlebotomist, who expertly relieved me of a few millilitres of the red stuff. She was in good spirits, though said she was very busy moving between the community and the local hospital, and it also brought home how easily we can come into contact with people who are in contact with others who maybe closer to the "coal face", so the over-riding mantra remains - #stayathomesavelives unless you absolutely have to be out. I also thanked her for all she and her colleagues are doing when I left (as I always do, but made a particular point of today). It's a small thing, but hopefully helps people understand how much they are appreciated.

My wife was out doing shopping whilst I was at the surgery and texted me to ask if I could stop to get some eggs as there were none in the big Tesco near us! So on the way back from the surgery I stopped at a local stores where fortunately they had a decent supply. I was only out about 20 minutes in total, but the sense of freedom and release was quite something.

In a more bizarre turn of events, I found myself washing the interior of the garage door. Seriously. I only went in the garage to put something away. And then it happens. You look at the inside of the door and think "God that's filthy, I really should clean it sometime" (having wilfully ignored it for the last 15 years). And then you realise that there's just no time like the present. So a bucket of soapy water, a sponge and there I was scrubbing down the door. I just hope no-one came up the drive whilst I was doing it - they'd probably have thought Ithere was a crazy zombie in there knocking on the door to get out!

As the sun continues to shine I keep putting off some decorating (actually a lot) that needs doing, and keep dabbling in the garden. I've pricked out my fledgling tomato plants today and sown some runner bean and French beans. The conservatory looks more like a greenhouse every day.

The things you do when isolated - cleaning the inside of the garage door 

I thought it also worth sharing the following picture that I came across on Facebook which genuinely made me laugh out loud (my wife gave me a very funny look at the time.

Following on from yesterday's post when I directed people to the Better Out than In blog, I've come across another blog worth a read, not least because it's a local blog - Barry's Boldest Blogger. Often humorous, relevant and passionate it's well worth a browse, especially her latest musings on lockdown.

Later this evening we're going to have a 'virtual drink" with our friends, who we'll be FaceTiming for a chat and a catch up over a beer and glass of wine or G&T. My son is also doing a "virtual pub" catch up with his workmates when they clock off this evening, including prizes for the best dressed, most interesting drink and more. Good to see people making the most of a bad situation.

Until tomorrow, I'll leave you with a photo of me and the cat taking a break from washing the garage door.

April 2nd: Blogs and rising tensions

First up today, a shout out to an old friend Andy Pearce. I've known Andy for donkey's years firstly through playing cricket together way back in the late 80's/early 90's and more recently as we (along with our sons) sat together as Cardiff City supporters for many years. Andy also blogs occasionally and is a far better writer, and much more eloquent than I am. His blog is Better Out Than In, and he's also taking the opportunity of #isolationlife to pen his thoughts. Pop over and visit his blog.

It's been another quiet day here in Barry (as you'd expect). My wife's had a day off seeing her mum as it's her brother's turn on the rota today. Tomorrow her mum turns 94, and it's going to be a huge shame that we can't all pop over to see her and celebrate that milestone with her.

Otherwise it's the normal routine. Pottering around the house doing odd jobs, and various personal, cricket and family admin tasks. My wife and I have been out for a walk - it was lovely and warm earlier when we went, but has gone very chilly now, so we had the best of the day for our daily ambulatory allowance. One of the positives about getting out for a walk is that you see far more of your locality than you might otherwise, a point I've mentioned before. Today we went on a route we've never done in 15 years of living here. Only a couple of miles circular walk, but I saw green spaces, views and road names that I'd never have seen before today.

In the wider, but narrowly focused world, I've started to notice a subtle shift in some social media and more broadcast news. It seems to me that after a couple of weeks of general goodwill (not everyone but most), and acceptance that whatever your political leanings, the those in charge have a tough, almost impossible job on their hands, people are starting to snark, moan, blame a bit more. And to make matters worse, some of the social media posts where people are feeding and re-posting/tweeting some of the conspiracy theories around all this is patently absurd. There's also a huge amount of misinformation out there. Maybe we're all getting a bit stir crazy, but folks, we're going to have to live with this for a lot longer yet, so chill out, check facts before jumping to conclusions, and accept that this is such a hugely unprecedented situation, no-one is going to get things right all the time. Andrew Neil, BBC presenter responded to a snarky comment on Twitter today suggesting "the" commentators were

"...all determined to bring about the collapse of this government"

with what I thought was a pretty measured response;

"You are howling into the dark and into the wind. And not adding an iota to our knowledge or understanding. I do not for a second underestimate the huge challenges ministers/officials face in unprecedented circumstances. Mistakes will inevitably be made.

That sums it up for me. It is unprecedented. Mistakes will be made because nobody knows what the answer is. Those in charge are doing the best they can with the science and data available to them. Despite what many seem to think, they're not idiots. Scientists (and politicians) disagree with each other all the time, so they're not all going to (metaphorically) cuddle up and say they all agree on one way forward now.

Anyway, that's enough depressing talk for now. As you know, we should have been in the Peak District this week, so in the absence of any worthwhile photo from today, here's one of Chee Dale from our last visit in November 2018.

Bridge of the river Wye in Chee Dale

Oh, and the cat. Haven't seen her all day.

All Fools Day: The Good Life

April already. How did that happen?

Well here we are, barrelling into the fourth month of 2020 and what a shit year it's been so far. Floods followed by plague, a global lockdown and a worldwide shortage of toilet rolls.

On a more serious note, things out there are getting increasingly challenging, especially for the fabulous frontline staff that are keeping the country and its people in some sort of bizarre dystopian normality. The NHS workers (all of them), carers, refuse collectors, retail workers including those supporting online shopping and delivery, the emergency services, the forces and many, many more. Ordinary folk like me would be in a far darker place were it not for these people.

The BBC today reported a 563 rise in deaths in a day, and a 13 year old with no underlying health conditions has died from coronavirus perhaps forcing people to realise this doesn't just affect the elderly with underlying health problems. If you weren't already aware, this is serious folks #stayathomesavelives.

Adding to an already serious situation, it appears that there are various 'scams' out there on the back of this. I read today about someone who was allegedly stopped by two besuited men whilst coming home from shopping, who was asked where they'd been, and demanded a £50 up front payment in cash for breaching the stay at home guidelines. Clearly most people wouldn't fall for this, but there are some gullible folk out there who would. If anything looks remotely dodgy, it probably is. Take care out there people, and don't believe everything you read on social media.

More cricket admin for me today. Who'd have thought that so much needed to be done when we're not actually playing cricket (now or for the foreseeable future). The role of a club volunteer (in my case secretary) is often hidden from those who actually play the game.
Also gardening again for me today. My front garden has had more attention on the last week than it's had in the last 15 years. The cat was overseeing things.

Chief Gardening Supervisor

My tomatoes and cucumbers have also sprouted as have my lettuce and radish and pak choi. If the slugs don't get 'em at least we won't suffer from salad starvation, although I'll have to find something to eat for the next two or three months until they're ready!

Tomatoes to the left of me, cucumbers to the right....

Stay safe folks, and stay home unless you absolutely have to go out #isolationlife.

March 31st: What a month that was

So we say goodbye to March. Or perhaps more appropriately good riddance. Saying that though, there's almost certainly worse to come, and as set out in yesterdays post, there's an awfully long way to go yet. If you can bear reviewing it, there's an article on the BBC titled "The month everything changed". Wherever we go from here, one things for sure, the world will never be quite the same.

Today's update from Chez Stats. All fit and well here. My wife and I went for a walk which turned out to be about 2.5 miles according to my iPhone. Only locally (obviously), bit it's quite interesting what you see on foot that you never really take notice of because you're in a car or a hurry to get somewhere. It wasn't a particular "lovely" walk as we are on the edge of town here, but we did see some wildlife. An R.A.T. scuttled across some grass in from of us and then poked his head back out and watched us intently for a couple of minutes affording me time to take at the following picture (I usually have my camera with me - always my phone, but frequently one of several others I own). Here's Mr Rat - not everyone's cup of tea, but this was cute a cute shot.

A local resident

Walking along a wooded path, I also spotted, though was unable to photograph due to it's speed and being tucked away in the branches, a coal tit. I haven't seen one of those for donkey's years, so counted the wildlife score on perambulation today as a good result.

My daughter is still having work IT issues - or rather her work IT is having trouble getting her connected (she's not alone in this), so her working from home is very stop start - more stop than start currently. As I mentioned the other day, I think businesses will learn an awful lot about their business continuity procedures as a result of this situation.

Otherwise it's been a day in the garden, and a lot more achieved than I set out to do. Oh - I've also booked seats and updated our Advanced Passenger Information for our holiday to Greece in June, more in hope than expectation #nochance.

Yesterday evening, all those we were supposed to be in the Peak District with this week caught up on the face to face social network app Houseparty, although I was slightly concerned about the numbers of people reporting being hacked in various ways after installing it. It seems this is slightly incorrect, although as with any app, using strong and secure passwords is key. we'll see - we intend to have a catch up once a week for a "virtual drink".

Just catching up on other news - deaths attributable (in part at least) to coronavirus in the UK are at almost 1,800. Still way short of the predicted "best case" 20,000. A new "hospital", the Nightingale has been built (or rather an existing building re-purposed) in just under two weeks, a stupendous achievement. Some supermarkets are supposedly easing restrictions on purchases - note "easing"not removing. And in one of the more amusing stories coming out of coronavirus, goats appear to have taken over Llanduno in North Wales.

The cat's had a mixed day. My wife, daughter and I attempted one of Joe Wicks workouts on YouTube this morning. That sent the cat barmy and she was running around like someone had set fire to her tail whilst we were doing that. Then she came and sat watching me gardening - we both like being outside. The rest of the afternoon, she's crashed on a sunny bed upstairs.

That's all for now folks. Check in for another instalment of #socialdistancing fun tomorrow.

March 30th: Silicone and Windows - but not that kind

So, starting with coronavirus/covid-19 because that's what prompted this renewed effort at blogging. Yesterday the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England said that it might be six months before life in the UK returns to normal. That's quite scary as that takes us to the end of September, although she did say that doesn't (necessarily) mean we'll be in complete lockdown for 6 months. And I was thinking today, that on the day that Boris (or whomever says it) says, "Ok folks, you can get out and about", where is everyone going to go first? I bet for a good many it'll be straight to the local pub (if it's still open). Those first few days post lockdown are going to be really weird I think, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
It's evident that some people still don't appreciate the seriousness of this pandemic. However, when it starts affecting those they know and love, perhaps that'll hit home. A couple of those nudged me today. First, a post on Facebook from someone I don't know, but who lives relatively locally said they had someone in there family that had "had" the virus. True or not, when it's just around the corner, it rams it home a bit. Secondly, as people that are famous (or at least well know) are reported to have been diagnosed, it also becomes a bit more scary. Obviously we've had a few politicians who have been diagnosed including the Prime Minister. Today I found out that one of my favourite musicians, American country/folk singer John Prine has not only been diagnosed, but it currently on a ventilator. That's not to say that I didn't appreciate what a terrible situation we are in before today, but this brings it home even more. As an aside, one of John Prime's songs "Ain't Hurtin Nobody" has got one of the best lines of any song ever:

There's roosters layin' chickens
And chickens layin' eggs
Farm machinery eating people's arms and legs

On the basis of that single line about farm machinery I bought his album "Lost Dogs And Mixed Blessings" which is absolutely splendid.

In #isolationlife today I've meandered between redoing the silicon sealant inside the conservatory and upgrading a laptop. You'll recall my sone was clearing out his bedroom the other day. Well he dug out his old laptop. I can't recall just how old it is (it's the one before the one he's got now), but he was going to chuck it. Ever the gadget hoarder, I dusted it down (literally), booted it up and found that it ran (almost) perfectly. I did a completer restore of the operating system (Windows 8) and today I upgraded that to Windows 10. Can't see anything wrong with the device, and it runs really well and quite fast for an machine a few years old. Bonus win as a spare machine (although I'm a Mac man).

Old laptop with W10 installed

As for the silicone..... Well I'm not the best DIY-er by a long way. But how hard can siliconing be? The professionals make it look easy. I look like I've done 10 rounds with a silicone gun and lost badly, and whilst the sealing will do a job, it ain't going to win any prizes for neatness. It's terrible stuff! And I only managed to slice my finger once getting the old stuff off. I've got a few tales about my DIY failures which I'll save for another day.

Hardly seen the cat all day.

March 29th: Curtains and quizzes

Today my wife and I should be in the car on the way to her sister's in Birmingham for a meet up with her other sister and brother, and all other halves, before all 10 of us take an onward journey tomorrow to the Peak District for 3 nights away, walking, eating and drinking beer.

But we're not. The coronavirus pandemic has put paid to that. It's really disappointing - it's been in the diary since the middle of last year, but it is what it is. Derbyshire will still be there when all this is over. So in the meantime, here's a couple of photos from our last visit there in October 2018.

Kept away from all news today - it's refreshing to take a break.

The peaks above Hathersage, Derbyshire

Derbyshire Peak District

In #stayathome mode today I've been cleaning and tidying up. Someone mused on Twitter yesterday (you understand by now that I'm a bit of a Twitter fanatic) that they were currently taking apart a p-trap under a sink having started doing something completely different, but had got distracted. That's me to a tee.I start doing one thing, then see something else and before you know it I'm taking down the curtains and hoovering them. Yes, you heard that right. I was trying to declutter my small study but went into the bedroom for something, glanced at the top of the curtains and realised how dusty they were. Is I took them down with a view to sticking them in the washing machine, but then read the label that said "dry clean only". So I hoovered the dust off. All worked ok if a little unorthodox!

We've done a couple of online (YouTube) family quizzes in the last couple of nights - another social distancing thing apparently.

The one on Saturday was a pub quiz sort of thing. Hard though. We're pretty good at quizzes (not brilliant, but not bad), and I top scored with 26/50! Rubbish effort.
Tonight we did a Monkman and Seagull one (they of University Challenge fame). This time my son top scored with 13/30 and I only got 10/30!!!! It was hard! They (or rather Bobby Seagull particularly) go off at a tangent throughout - he can talk for Britain - and the whole video is around an hour for just 30 questions. It's good fun watching though. Overall verdict on our scoring - must try harder. The cat could probably have done better.

March 28th: Technology, toilet rolls and sparrows

Our best friends FaceTimed me this morning. A 100% rock solid video chat on my iPhone whilst sat in my kitchen. It's a technology we now take for granted, but what if we didn't have it? Only yesterday I was chatting to my daughter about how she's keeping in touch with her boyfriend who lives a few miles way, but she now can't see for the foreseeable future. I mentioned that if this was the "old days" the only way they'd have of staying in touch would be a telephone call, and before telephones were invented by writing letters (as my parents did). And for those of a certain era - mine, what about "pen friends"? Remember those? I had a penfriend in Brunei. Had to write proper letters on airmail paper (lightweight so it was cheaper to airmail). Nowadays with FaceTime/Skype (other apps are available) you can video call anyone anywhere.
And as if my magic, there's a thought provoking article on the BBC website this morning asking how we would have coped if this virus outbreak had happened in 2005? It's not that long ago, but technology has moved on immeasurably in those 15 years.

However, having praised the technological era we currently live in....
I'm trying to find a way for the cricket club committee to "get together" as we are due a meeting in the next couple of weeks and we have a lot to discuss. There's about 14 of us, so the tech options are great, but the problem is our technical skills range from the excellent to the luddite, so not quite sure how it's going to work yet.

My wife and I went for a 30 minute constitutional around the local park this afternoon. Not many people about as you'd expect, a couple of families kicking a ball about and a few dog walkers. Still feels very odd and slightly disconcerting consciously moving well out of the way of people as they approach. At the end of our walk we went to our local Lidl for a few essentials. Bread (which was almost non-existent (it was 3pm on a Saturday), a few fresh vegetables, tomato puree (none). There were some toilet rolls, and we did buy some, the first time we have since "toiletrollgate" kicked off. Walking back to the house I mused that 1) there was almost a feeling of guilt for carrying a pack of toilet rolls, and 2) we were quite possible a high target for a mugging for the same reason.

Still on toilet rolls, saw this photo on Twitter posted by the author Stephen King. Thought it was quite funny. If you're not a SK fan, you'll have to Google It (see what I did there? 😉).

Copyright Stephen King

Whilst I'm trying to keep this log of my experience of the whole coronavirus situation fairly light touch, and not dwell on the science, politics and so on, be in no doubt about how serious this is. I saw another tweet earlier that suggested we were fighting two things. coronavirus and stupidity, and there's enough of the second to make you wonder just how idiotic some people are. Like those people from Bristol who today were urned back from walking up Pen-y-Fan by Brecon police, or those out in the Peak District having a picnic. This isn't an excuse for a holiday folks. This is serious. And if you didn't understand that, then the news today that the number of UK deaths has risen above 1,000, but that the Medical Director for England thinks the UK will have done well if it can keep the number of deaths below 20,000 should make you stop and think. That's another 19,000 deaths - and if that is the figure we'll have done well........ that's why we're doing what we're doing what we've been asked to do. Stay at home. #stayhomesavelives

Cat update.
Me 1 : 0 Cat
Saw her sneaking round the side of the house with a sparrow in her mouth earlier. Got her to drop it, and for a moment I though it was an ex-sparrow lying there apparently all mis-shapen and breathing it's last but as I went to pick it up to dispose of it, it flew away. That's one life saved anyway.

Footnote. I know this blog only has a handful of readers (thank you all). It's as much a cathartic experience for me as anything else, but please feel free to share.

March 27th: Whoops

So it’s taken me almost a week before I’ve forgotten to write a post, and that’s despite having a reminder set. I’m writing this post for Friday on Saturday morning.

Big news of the day is that Prime Minister Boris Johnson AND Health Secretary Matt Hancock have both tested positive for Coronavirus. Both are self isolating and are well enough to continue their jobs remotely. 

There is, sadly rather inevitably, a lot of social media comment about “karma” and no sympathy because the Tories have “stripped the NHS”. It’s outrageous. Whatever your politics, and there’s no denying  the Conservative party have done many things wrong during their tenure including not doing the best or right thing for the NHS, now is not the time for politics. And you certainly shouldn’t be celebrating the fact that someone has got this horrific disease. 

Well that’s my quick post for yesterday. 

The cats been on guard duty ensuring we don’t wander to far in hear social distancing times.

You can't come in! (or go out)

March 26th: Clap for the NHS

A quiet day at Chez Stats. My wife has been to care for her mother again, and reports that there is now official queuing at the local Tescos, with no more than 40 people allowed into the shop at one time and a strict one in, one out policy.

Kids both working in the dining room, and I've been doing some more gardening and housework. The house and garden has never looked so clean and tidy at this time of year before!

Not stir crazy yet, but I suppose with the weather bing nice it's offset some of the feeling of being stuck at home.

I still can't quite get my head around the issue that we're all being urged to stay at home apart from essential trips for food, medicine or work (for key workers), but people seem to be out making and about because they're using the "one walk a day" ploy.  It doesn't appear to have impacted the local Rag and Bone man (are we allowed to say that any more?) either - he was out and about on the estate this morning although I couldn't make a word out of what was coming through the speaker on his van. Sounded like "Aaeurrghugaraahnnhossioosduher" (repeat til fade).

I see the Chancellor has just announced some news for support for the self employed, a group who seem to have been left wanting in regard to other support packages announced. It's hard, but I suppose the Government can provide fixes/support for everyone at once. The logistics and financial implications are staggering. And whilst we perhaps do need immediate action to address critical issues (like pay for those not working, ventilator production, etc etc) it's worrying to think how all this is going to be managed and paid for once the worst is over.

I was talking to a cricket club colleague earlier also, and we were musing about businesses who perhaps thought they would never have to deal with a situation like this, or argued that they couldn't work remotely, and are now finding that they have to. With so many finding solutions, I think the business models about how the country works in the future may change significantly.

And still on businesses, whilst most companies are doing their utmost to find solutions and support staff, there are a few who it appears are doing quite the opposite. No care for their staff, and only thoughts about the bottom line. Two of these are Sports Direct and Wetherspoons owned by Mike Ashley and Tim Martin respectively. Both have come in (quite rightly) for some major battering on social media, and there's currently a #boycottwetherspoons hashtag trending on Twitter, with many saying they'll never drink in there again. Whilst 'Spoons seem to have backtracked on not paying their staff, the damage may be done, but conversely people have short memories, and when all this is over and everyone flocks back to the pubs, the lure of cheap (relatively) beer may usurp any honourable intentions made now.

Finally, to close off tonight, it seems the Clap for the NHS at 8pm tonight went down well. I was outside clapping along with many in our street. Hats off to all the NHS staff and volunteers - for all they do anytime, let alone now.

Hardly seen the cat all day. Gone AWOL.

Graffiti appeared overnight on a Wetherspoons in Crystal Palace, south London (Picture: PA)

March 25th: Food and space

Well if we're in this for the long haul, we should be good here. I already had onions, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, leeks, radish, spinach and rhubarb on the go in my (very small) plot, and yesterday I sowed tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers. I would say we won't starve, but it'll take months to grow so it might be too late by then. Better brave Tesco's or some other outlet soon then...

Actually I went to Lidl's. It's a five minute walk, so I doubled up on my allowances for a daily walk outside the house essential shopping. The Lidl store has been rammed of late in common with many other supermarkets. In fact, come to think of it, it's busy most off the time, even when we haven't got an apolcalyptic situation. This morning to be fair, whilst it was fairly busy, I've seen it busier, and there was an air of calmness about the place. It was pretty well stocked with everything (except flour, and I didn't go down the loo roll aisle) plus the normal "extra" stuff that the store is famous (or is that 'infamous' for). People didn't seem to be panic buying anything (apart from a bloke who had a carte of 24 cans of cider who it seemed was politely asked to step to one side and speak to someone (seems you can't buy 24 tinnies at once). Trouble is, when I go shopping I end up buying things I wasn't sent for. Today it was two doughnuts and a a pair of Belgian iced buns, some eggs (apparently we already had some) and a chicken and mushroom pot noodle. The main thing I went for was milk, and I forgot to buy that.....

Elsewhere, both kids have been WFH, my daughter's IT issues seemingly largely resolved. My wife went to see her mum and get her shopping and stuff. I've done more gardening, sorted my compost heap (yes it's a thing), cleaned the uPVC windows (plus the conservatory inner window sills (did the outers yesterday), and have managed to walk the equivalent of 2.8 miles today doing it all.

Oh, and I cooked tea. A favourite of ours, since I've started my retirement cooking, chicken and turmeric rice.

The cat's still loving the sunny weather (no rats today). She's in for a shock when the weather turns colder later this week.

Photo of the day, an overhead pass of the International Space Station taken this evening on my iPhone. This was the second half of the pass after a quick run from the back garden to the front garden. You can also see the constellation of the Great Bear/Big Dipper or Plough to the left of the picture. The bright star to the bottom is Arcturus.

The ISS is approx 250 miles up and going 17,500mph. Currently has a crew of 3 three, although it can accommodate up to nine. There are usually six, and they usually stay on board for around six months. The current crew is US astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew “Drew” Morgan and Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka. Self isolation at its best! You can learn more about the ISS here 

International Space Station over Barry

March 24th. Lockdown day 1: Supplemental update - Pale Blue Dot

Sorry for two posts in one day, but I was out taking photos of stars earlier, and it got me to thinking about Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check the link out (it's a very short read).

The point I'm making here is this in the context of the situation the world currently finds itself in. This is us. There's no one else (at least if there is, they're keeping well clear of us). Let's not fuck it up.

March 24th: Lockdown day 1.

So here we are. Lockdown. In simple terms this means:

• Stay at home - no unnecessary journeys or social contact 
• Only leave home for essential shopping, medical needs and one form of exercise per day
• Travel to and from work only if absolutely necessary
• Public gatherings of more than two people are banned - excluding people you live with
• Don't visit other peoples homes or socialise outside your home
• Police have the power to fine/enforce these rules
• If any of you, or your family are unwell, isolate yourselves

Watching social media in particularly there still seems to be some confusion and uncertainty over what constitutes an "essential" worker - builders for example seem to be one group where there's a significant divide of opinion. We're waiting for a bathroom to be ripped out and a new bathroom to be fitted - was due to happen in early April. I can't see that happening (reasonable). It'll wait. It's not going anywhere. And pictures of the Tube in London suggest no-one's heard of the lockdown or social distancing! 

Here's my dilemma. I consider myself to be a reasonably well adjusted, sensible, educated sort of bloke who absolutely understands the implications of everything that's happening (I was once a nurse in the dim and distant past, but far too long ago to be of any use now). But....

My arthritis and a couple of other minor and managed health conditions apart, I'm fit and well. My wife who as you now know is a practising NHS nurse (part-time) and is also a carer for her elderly housebound mother who lives a few miles away (who also has carers coming in morning and night to make sure she's up/ready for bed). I'd like to do more. I want to do more, but it's not the "right" thing to do, especially now the lockdown rules above have been implemented. And that places a greater burden (and potentially risk) on my wife which makes me uncomfortable. 

Personally, one effect on lockdown has for me is be the inability to go out wander round and take photos of the local area. It's been a glorious day here in South Wales, (I've even got shorts on), and there's nothing better I'd love to have done than to wander down to Barry Island or Penarth and have a walk and take some photos. I'm an enthusiastic photographer rather than a good one. You can find some of my photo albums on Flickr here. But whilst Boris has said you can go out for one walk a day, I still think it's not the right thing to do. According to my iPhone I've "walked" almost 2 miles today staying within the confines of my house and garden whilst gardening, so I can hardly claim inactivity.  Whilst this is going on I'll have to find some other stuff to take photos of like my garden. So here's some nice tulips to brighten up your day.

And as for the cat. well my daughter was teaching her how to do jigsaws, and stand up for treats.

The cat learning how to do jigsaws

She'll do anything for a treat

March 23rd, Blood, dogs and lockdown

Latest news first. Lockdown.

I think we all knew it was coming, but watching the Prime Minister deliver the message was surreal. But at least we have a clear and definite message/instruction. Let's see how it plays out. Good job I have some paint in. Might as well get on with the decorating.

In other news, this is how my day went.

Moral support to our daughter who was supposed to be at work today, but is finding things so stressful she felt that she just couldn't go in. She felt worse that she was letting people down. I reminded her you have to look after yourself first.

Went to GP surgery for a routine/regular blood test (remember I'm on a disease modifying drug for arthritis that can potentially damage your liver and affected the immune system, so require these regular blood tests. I was stopped at the door to the surgery to answer questions about my health and have my temperature taken (all good). Place was very quiet - only four other patients in the waiting area, though the two receptionists were constantly on the phone helping patients with their enquiries. Phlebotomist did a wonderful job as per and I was in and out in about 2 minutes. Also handed in my prescription - the adjacent pharmacy is very busy, and have to go back to pick up later, as they're now dispensing three months worth of drugs at a time, and they didn't have enough of one of them until later today when they get a delivery. Update: I now have more drugs than Boots.....😂

Following that I went to Cardiff Dogs Home to walk a dog. I took up volunteer dog-walking in December after I retired (my wife is also a walker). And despite the current situation, those dogs in the home still need to be walked. Its's good exercise for me and something that can be done whilst socially distancing - walkers aren't allowed to be close to other people/dogs anyway. The signing in and handover of the dogs was almost as strict as at the GP surgery! Today's "client" was Hip, a lovely, friendly staffie/brown Patterdale cross. I'm not sure what happens now we're in lockdown? Can I combine my allowed daily walk with a visit to the dogs home?

Jip

A friendly fella

River Ely with canoeists and Cardiff Dogs Home behind

It's been another sunny day here, so cat is on sleeping duty (again). No rats today.

22nd March 2020

A relatively quiet day in Chez Stats.

Anne (my wife) has been over to her mother's, partly because it's Mother's Day, but also because she's her part-time carer. Wrong though it felt, I decided not to go on the basis that really the general advice is not to visit others, even though it is my mother-in-law. I suspect however that there will be times over the coming weeks that I will have to visit. As I feel fine (as does my wife), and my mother-in-law - for an almost 94 year old housebound person with multiple pathology, it does feel wrong not to go, but that's what we're being told to do, so that's what we're doing.

I've been nowhere today, and neither have the kids. Its been another nice day if little breezy, so I've been doing some more gardening. My daughter has been trying to set up the laptop she's been given for potential home working, and despite being advised the set-up is "idiot proof" has run into an issue that requires advice when she's back in work tomorrow. Such is the nature of IT. It's supposed to be easy, but rarely is in my experience.

We've all (well me, my wife and son) had a go at Joe Wicks' YouTube "Worksout for Seniors" this morning. We chose the "seniors" version  at my wife's behest. She's only 59 😂. 10 minutes of fairly gentle exercises. Was quite funny to watch (us not the video), but on a serious note, as we move towards a more confined life for the present, maintaining any level of activity is important, and 10 minutes is nothing. What else are we going to do?

The news (and particularly social media) is still full of tales of scenes of idiocy at supermarkets and in some public spaces. Best avoided I think. Supermarkets and social media that is.

Tomorrow I have to go out as I'm due a regular blood test at the GP surgery, and to pick up my prescription.

I almost forgot. Last night me and my son watched Zombieland. Felt immensely weird watching an albeit comedy film about a zombie apocalypse give the current situation, but it was very funny. Well I thought so anyway. Reminds me, I might have to watch Shaun of the Dead (again).

The cat's been out enjoying the sun, and as per my quip yesterday that she could always go out hunting in these times of (some) food scarcity, she was spotted this afternoon coming home along the top of the fence carrying a large, dead R.A.T. Luckily we managed to catch her before she brought in indoors.

21st March 2020

So today I accompanied my wife for our weekly shop. Last Saturday the local "big" Tesco's was a bit like Christmas. Rammed, no (or very little toilet roll, pasta or rice. After a week of sensible people telling the idiots not to stockpile (which might just actually make it worse) and I wasn't expecting a fun hour or so out.
Actually it was OK. It was less busy than last week (we were there at about 8.30. There was a general air of calmness about the place. Sure, there wasn't any loo roll (or just a couple of packs, but we didn't need any anyway). everything else looked reasonably stocked apart from dried pasta and rice - still non existent, and the other thing now looking remarkably scarce is pet food (cat, please take note). However, again we are pretty well stocked for that anyway and usually have a couple of weeks worth in. Anyway, she can always go and hunt for fresh meat 😺.  Also, the wine shelves whilst far fro empty, certainly had quite a lot of spaces. Talking of which...

The other obvious thing was that restrictions on (some) items were being reinforced. The bloke in front of us at the checkout had several bottles of wine (in fact that's pretty much all he had), and was told in no uncertain terms that he could only have three. There were trolleys at the end of checkouts where staff had obviously removed items from customers who had 'overlooked' the limits, and these were to be truthful mostly full of alcohol. I suppose the thinking is, with pubs and restaurants shut, if you have to stay in isolation you might as well make it as enjoyable as possible!

Our daughter has been given a laptop and headset to set up in advance of the decision to work from home, although she's not yet sure when that will be.

Sone has been over to see his best mate and lend him a guitar. He reckons if he has to self-isolate he may as well learn a new skill.

Was a day off from visiting mum-in-law today as my wife's brother was on the rota for that, but we will be going over tomorrow, which also happens to be Mother's Day.

It was a nice day today so I spent some of it doing some early gardening - it's the first decent dry day we've had for a while, and then we went for a walk in the local woods. Quite a few people about making the most of the day and the chance to get out and about.

I've also updated a camping website I do for a friend with their latest update on CV19.

In the last 24 hours Ive also been in touch with my elder brother and sister, neither of whom I see very often. They and their families are all ok.

With one eye on the news, what we're hearing from Italy is horrific. Why Italy seems to be hit so bad, or whether we're just not hearing reports from elsewhere I don't know. One thing seems certain. We haven't seen the half of it here yet. But, if we follow the guidance/advice, ignore the crap on social media and scare stories, we'll all be a lot better off.

The cat's spent most of the day asleep in the conservatory.

Laters....

20th March - quick update

Just a quick one as I missed posting this yesterday, and will do a lengthier post later.

Still all alive and well at Chez Stats.

Boris has ordered the shutting all pubs and restaurants. No surprising really, but still a stark reminder of where we are.

New Chancellor Rishi Sunak calm and comprehensive approach to the financial challenges facing individuals, business and the country in general seems to be being received very well in the main (there's always someone with an axe to grind though. Hey, this is unprecedented folks, one step at a time...).

Just found out that I can "pause" my Sky Sports subscription whilst there's no live sport on their channels (thanks to an article I came across in the Independent, otherwise I wouldn't have known as Sky aren't doing this automatically). It's worth doing. You still have access to the channels, you just won't be charged for watching old re-runs and documentaries.  It's easy to do online and Sky will resume automatically once live sport returns. Seems a no-brainer.

Braved the weekly shop this morning (21st) with Mrs H. more on that later.

Cat couldn't care less.

19th March

So day 2 of my blogging about Coronavirus/Covid-19 (can I just abbreviate it to CV19 or is that a Coventry postcode 😂?)

We've just had the latest Government New Briefing with Boris and the Chief Scientific Officers. Whatever your views on Boris, you wouldn't wish this situation on anyone to have to lead a country through and all politics aside, I think he's doing a fairly decent job in what must be a monumentally pressured job. Whatever he says or does, or those around hime recommend in terms of policy and actions, he's not ever going to please everyone - this is completely unprecedented. I also must give a shout out to the two CSO's Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty who in my view are both hugely impressive in both conveying their messages, their knowledge and their demeanour.

I haven't been out and about today - not social distancing particularly, for one it's been a rainy old  grey day and not conducive to going out - I did think about walking a dog but chickened out, so have stayed inside cleaning lights and curtains and sorting a dodgy radiator - all those things that when I was working I never really had the time (or rather the inclination) to do.

My wife has been to see her mum and make sure all is well with her. My son continues to work at home, although he did pop into Cardiff to the office to collect few bits. My daughter is at work, although is feeling incredibly anxious about everything - more worried I think about having CV19 without knowing because she's working with others and using public transport, and passing it on to others in the family. I've tried to reassure her, and hopefully that's helped a bit. I'm sure her company will continue to do the right thing, support their staff and make the right decisions for the good of their employees.

Some of the skittle team are having a last hurrah at the club this evening, but I've decided not to go. A load of men playing with their balls doesn't seem very sensible, although I'm sure they'll take appropriate precautions. Who knows, maybe CV19 is undone by beer? That could be a win.....

We've also almost certainly knocked on the head a trip to the Peak District the week after next with my wife's sisters and brothers and their other halves. The pub we were going to stay at for a couple of days is still open, but it just doesn't seem to be the right thing to be doing, although our daytime activities of walking in the hills and valleys would probably have been an ideal social distancing activity. The meals and beers in the pub afterwards perhaps not so much.

The cat's mostly been asleep.

In other non CV19 news, everyone associated with Cardiff City has been devastated today to hear of the passing of former Bluebird midfielder Peter Whittingham, who has died following a fall a couple of weeks ago. He was only 35 and with a young family. Truly tragic. He was one of the most, if not the most gifted footballer I ever saw in the flesh and gave me and all Cardiff fans many moments to remember over his time with the club. My condolences go to his family at this terrible time.

Peter Whittingham  8 September 1984 - 19 March 2020
(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

Coronavirus/Covid-19 - a personal perspective

This is scary stuff isn't it?

When the first reports of coronavirus first started coming out of China, the only pre-occupation I had was around whether a long planned cruise with friends to Asia would be affected. Short answer - yes. It was cancelled. So we booked a last minute break to Lanzarote instead where we endured a 3 day sandstorm, and heard of a coronavirus outbreak in neighbouring Tenerife.

Anyway, by now we all know this thing has blown up globally, and there's no end in sight - in fact it may only just be the beginning for us in the UK. So I thought I'd pen a few thoughts about how it's impacting me and my family. I might get fed up with this pretty quickly, but it helps pass the time.

Me: I'm 60, retired (at the end of last year), and enjoying new found freedom. In reasonable health apart from an arthritic condition for which I take a drug that suppresses my immune system and requires regular blood tests. Not good if viruses are around....
I'm secretary of the local cricket club, play golf (a bit), and like walking & photography. I'm a volunteer dog walker at the local dogs home.

My wife: Semi-retired, is a nurse working 2 days a week in the local hospital and spends a lot of time caring for her 93 (soon to be 94) year old housebound mother who lives a few miles away.

Son: Still at home, works in Cardiff.

Daughter: Still at home, works in Cardiff

Cat: Does her own thing

Currently, we're all fit and healthy (not withstanding my arthritis, and a currently painful shoulder - cause unknown but not arthritis). Wife's work is understandably busy and making plans for what might come. Son is working from home for the foreseeable future, and his job makes that fairly easy. Daughter still working in Cardiff on shifts for a large insurance company. Talk of working from home, but no clear idea yet how that can be realistically achieved (she's a customer service agent in the call centre). She's perhaps understandably, fretting about it.

We haven't stockpiled anything - there's no reason to. Plenty of stuff in the shops if only other idiots would realise it. I'm not sure the media and social media publicising people panic buying helps or just makes the situation worse.

We have things in place to support my elderly, infirm mother-in-law, but clearly the idea of "social distancing" and the potential to require those over 70 to remain in social isolation for up to four months could become a major issue.

At the direction of the ECB (cricket's governing body) the cricket club has cancelled all activity including pre-season nets. The season won't start on time and may not happen at all.

Socially, our skittles league has been cancelled.

We have some short breaks and holidays booked. They're a little further ahead in time at the moment, so no need to worry about them just yet, but I'm thinking they won't happen. Myself, son and daughter are all Cardiff City season ticket holders, so that's gone, as has pretty much all sport. Cardiff's RHS Flower show in April has gone. And Boris has told us to stay away from the pub - although apparently he hasn't told his father!

As things stand and like most others, I'm very concerned about how all this will pan out in the end - and when will it be "safe" to resume anything like normal life and social activity? What will the high street look like in the coming months or next year? What businesses will go to the wall? In the short term, if we're all sensible and follow the advice we should be ok. It'll be hard no doubt but to be honest, as things stand at the very moment in time we're in a much better situation than many.

As for the cat, she couldn't care less so long as she's fed regularly, and spends most of her time sleeping.