Day: 20 June 2020

Feest Isolation Days –21 June

The alert level is DOWN!  We have moved from level four to level three!  Hurrah!  So just what does that mean? Covid is still here.  It’s circulating in the community but not to the degree it was back in March and April and May.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) is an organisation that uses various tests to identify changes in infection rates around the country and feeds in environmental and workplace data to their statisticians before advising the Chief Medical Officers who in turn advise the Ministers. Where is SAGE in all of this?

Tom Hurd (Douglas Hurds son) and a pal of Boris’s – they were at Eton and Oxford together – set up the JBC.  Tom is a specialist in anti terrorism. The JBC is now run by Dr. Claire Gardener, and according to the Financial Times, Dr. Gardener is a “Senior Spy”.

Dr. Gardener has a research background in medical statistics and epidemiology at least, but since when was Covid 19 something that spies needed to get involved with? The virus isn’t going to change how it functions or come up with neat ways of bypassing computers! Clair was working as the Head of Cyber Resilience and Strategy at the National Cyber Security Centre — a branch of signals intelligence agency – GCHQ.

I guess she is a spy!  All I wanted to do was find out what Level Three meant and low and behold, it would seem that I have stumbled across something quite unexpected.  A bit of a mismatch between stopping a virus and stopping terrorists don’t you think?

Hopefully Professor Whitty will be at a briefing soon and can tell us what he thinks. He is a trustworthy and sensible man. Thank heaven he’s the CMO.

So I ask again, what now as we are at Level Three? Much the same for this household as Level Four.  We don’t plan to go into shops or anywhere else until we are at Level Two. 

Zoom dinner parties to continue then!  I wonder if anyone will be listening to us as we chat away and mention the word spy…I doubt it!

Let’s hope that while all this intrigue carries on, most people continue to socially distance and wash their hands…

With love

Kathy x

Feest Isolation Days –20 June

When a vaccine becomes available there will be two groups of people who will top the list of those who can access it.  The first group of course will be those working in the Health and Social Care fields.  The next group was somewhat surprising.  All those people over fifty will be given the vaccine.  This means that both members of this household will be eligible.  We had wondered if they might begin with over seventies first, but that isn’t the plan announced today by Matt Hancock the Health Secretary. 

Fingers crossed and thumbs pressed in hope that the Oxford group has a vaccine that works and is effective soon. No one knows where the fingers crossed came from exactly, but it is a Christian sign for luck.  If you find yourself in Vietnam (lucky you!) don’t cross your fingers as it’s a rude gesture, a bit like giving someone the finger here.  In Germany, Poland and other Slavic countries, pressed thumbs does the trick! 

Astra Zeneca have already started production on the Oxford vaccine just in case it works. It seems to me that they wouldn’t spend money on making doses already unless they were fairly confident that the trials will be successful.  A further two hundred vaccines are being trialled around the globe. If at first you don’t succeed try try again? 

Reports seem to be optimistic at the moment and this has to be good news!  My hope is that it becomes available worldwide sometime in November.  That would stop Trump from claiming he solved the world’s problem before the American election.  And of course he would say that.  The man is a disgrace in every way. 

The birds are quiet again today as the rain has not stopped.  The usual happy chortle outside our window is a little peep. Jenny wren clearly doesn’t do rain.  Can’t say I blame her.  It’s grey and wet.  We will need an umbrella again today to head down the garden for our morning tea.  We will however sit on the swing without our devices with cups in hand and chat as though we haven’t seen each other so constantly for day upon day.  I suspect that’s what happens when you have a really good relationship.  It never becomes tired even when everything else wears a bit thin.

Terry made apple spread yesterday. Jars and jars worth. Let’s hope the vaccine is found before he makes the next batch!  We can only eat so much apple spread on our toast in the morning!.

 In the meantime we keep talking and we keep moving. Indoor exercise bike, Pilates on Zoom and mat work. We dance occasionally too.   Not quite as much as the couple below who are in their 90s –  but we live in hope! 

With love,

Kathy x