It’s odd isn’t it, that the people who are in positions of information giving about Corona, aren’t following best practice. The news presenters definitely aren’t sitting a metre apart, and Government ministers aren’t either. Trump’s entourage is shoulder to shoulder too.
The general public are panic buying, yet crowd together in supermarket queues. I don’t touch many things that aren’t mine. Nearly always I can’t reach door handles, and usually I’m holding onto the handle(s) of my Triride, rather than touching other stuff. It doesn’t seem to have dawned on most people that it’s touching things that others have touched, or breathing the air that someone else ( who has the virus ) has just breathed out. So when you pass close to people, turn your face away, and hold your breath for a few seconds. That’s not difficult, is it?

A mate’s niece, who is a nurse of 30, has contracted it, and it’s quite nasty even when you are young. When you have lungs that are already unhealthy then you’ll probably die.

The toilet paper thing is bonkers. I think there ought be Toilet Paper Use adverts Have you ever watched people using toilet paper? Not necessarily actually in the ‘ act ‘ itself, but someone taking some to say blow their nose. Lots of people use SO much, rolling the paper around their hand again and again, so taking about 20 sheets, and then they give their nose a little dab, and it’s in the bin. Where’s the logic in that? If your nose is FULL of snot. then sure, use a few sheets ( it’s all 3 layers of paper per sheet anyway ) The snot doesn’t soak through 3 sheets, so why use 20? Same with the other end – your poo ( unless it’s diarrhoea, isn’t going to get through either. Just use less and make the toilet rolls last, and wash your hands…

The not touching your face thing … well that depends what you have been doing. If you have just touched a surface that someone else has touched / sneezed on then then don’t touch your face, but if you have just washed your hands then it’s fine. I’m not sure people really understand what and why they are told to do stuff.

When I was a kid, my parents use to make me and my brothers wipe our bums with dock leaves – that’s a plant leaf that’s quite large and grippy. So there you go then – if there’s no paper use leaves; there are lots around. Careful not to use ones that are toxic tho. Don’t wipe your arse with deathly nightshade, and also check for earwigs that might run up your bum.
Pass it on.

As things are quite rightly cancelled all around us, I wondered what to do about my theatre booking tonight. If it’s on and you don’t go then you won’t get a refund, but if it’s cancelled then you usually would get the option to reschedule and not pay again. I have been checking regularly and it’s not called off, but I’m thinking it’s not sensible to go. Theatres do tend to be full of older ( and therefore more vulnerable ) people so I imagined that loads of those with tickets wouldn’t go… which means it’s far less likely to be a risky visit. Well if there’s no one there to cough on you, and you don’t go round touching everything, then it’s pretty safe.

Then I noticed in the world’s smallest print the words ‘ covid 19 advice ‘. I clicked on that and bingo – it gave me the option to reschedule my tickets. … EXCEPT the play runs only until April 11th…… at which point I’ve no doubt the pandemic measures will have shut the theatre anyway… meaning I can’t go and we may even get a refund.

With no income for loads of businesses it should be bloody landlords that declare rent holidays for their business tenants. I can’t see the point in landlords insisting on full rents at a time that businesses are getting no incomes. The businesses will go bust and the landlords left with tenants that can’t pay anything at all, full stop.

Everyone needs to be understanding at this time, not just some people, but when it comes to commercial landlords’ contracts, kindness and consideration aren’t words often used..

I keep fantasising that I’m Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and occasionally, Bing Crosby.

Think I’ve got crooner virus.

I’m in the HIGH RISK category of copping it if I get Corona’fied.

Am I bovvered…?

Nahhhhh!

There’s a new film coming out this week. It’s a remake of an oldie and it’s called The Invisible Man.

I got a text from Wendy today –

‘We should go and see the invisible man xxx‘

Ha! I said. You can’t catch me out with that old joke!

Mmm. Seems she hadn’t actually realised what she was writing… That’s girls for you….! 😂

Hong Kong is a higher risk area than Italy for 2 reasons: Firstly the density of our population; secondly our proximity and close relationship with China. We had our first coronavirus cases in mid Jan. So why has coronavirus been less severe in Hong Kong (116 cases, 3 deaths) than Italy? (It could still go bad again in HK…)

1. The government take it seriously
   Having been through it before (SARS), the government closed schools (so far) until April 20th; the Chinese border is effectively closed (anyone crossing gets 14 days in quarantine). Compulsery quarantine has been extended to people coming from the most affected countries too.
   
   
2. The population take it seriously
   People wear masks, wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and (mainly) avoid large scale social events. It’s also important to try not to touch your face, avoid kiss & handshake greetings and if you feel sick – stay home or go to the doctor!
   
   
3. Businesses take it seriously
   A lot of people are working from home; I get my temperature taken about twice a day (on entering some business premises)

So there you have it – if the UK wants to avoid another Italy, the whole country needs to take it seriously and use its common sense… If the fact my Mum’s local Church are all still drinking out of the Communion Cup is representative, you have no chance!!!
Cheers all!

Is Italy the Corona virus crystal ball for the rest of the world?

It arrived here first in the western hemisphere and is spreading to every corner of the globe, I expect what has happened here to be mirrored everywhere else, with a four week time lag, I wanted to post this to temper the media fear-mongering that I hear is prevalent, so here’s a brief roundup of what to expect based on facts.

Five weeks ago we had 60 positive cases.

As of this evening, we have 9200+/- positives, another 1800 in the last 24 hours, as each day passes now, the number of new cases seems to increase exponentially.

The mortality rate in Italy at the moment is 5% and slowly climbing, partially attributed to the larger than average elderly population I would guess.

10% of people that contract the virus need hospitalisation and now hospitals are so full in the red zones that cancer treatments are being stopped and authorities have decided upon a demographic to accept into care to try to save and the rest will go untreated, there simply isn’t the space in the hospitals or the staff.

All schools and universities are closed nationwide.

All public events have been cancelled nationwide.

Shaking hands is banned.

Church services have been banned.

All civil services such as marriages and funerals are prohibited nationwide.

All cinemas and theatres are closed nationwide as are pubs, bars for the meantime remain open.

Restaurants are staying open for the moment so long as they rearrange seating to give spacing of one metre between customers but it seems the customers aren’t going anyway.

The red zones have been closed off, effectively quarantining 16 million people, a quarter of the population, anyone caught trying to leave these zones face fines or three month prison sentences.

I don’t believe Italy will use methods of control as draconian as China has been accused of so I don’t know what that means for the national situation in say one months time, if numbers keep climbing as they are, by the end of March there could be 40,000 positive cases and it seems the great hope is for the heat of summer to deal with the virus, that will be maybe three months away at least.

The Italian economy is going to be in tatters by the summer, at which point the country would normally be full of tourists that prop up the economy, this year that seems highly unlikely to happen.

So there you go then. Worldwide economic collapse in the offing, and large scale death of those that are weakest. Blimey….. sounds like it’s back to nature then. The weakest are supposed to die. It’s only ‘ modern advancement’ that keeps us all alive way beyond the ‘ natural ‘ lifespan we should have, with health and medical companies making huge profits from keeping everyone alive for ever. People like me shouldn’t be alive. I should have died at the time of my accident. My health is managed artificially. As im completely sanguine about death, if Corona took me then I wouldn’t give a monkeys arse. It’s certainly going to kill lots in my situation who are more disabled than me. Well that’s only natural isn’t it? It’s hard to argue otherwise, surely.
I haven’t stockpiled anything, but I do have quite a lot of wine so it could be worse.

In the pursuit of being seen by other road users, I purchased a pretty cool rucksack, after I spied this dude on a skateboard in Hyde Park using one. It’s cool because it has an LED panel on the back. That means it’s like having a TV screen on your back, with moving images that are of your choosing. Now obvs that makes you 1/ highly visible and 2/ gives you scope to have a laugh with what you put on the screen.

You can download GIFS – short repeating videos – as many as you want, and have them playing in sequence, or draw your own pictures, or write your own messages that can flash, can repeat, can move in different ways etc etc. You can be sensible, or you can be ‘ topical ‘ or risqué …

I imagine I could be stopped by the Feds for anything indecent/ too offensive, so I so far have been ( sort of ) sensible. The novelty of being sensible will wear off soon I’m sure.

Floods and Corona then. One of em is gonna get you or someone you know quite soon. It’s when Corona starts killing ( old ) famous people that the reality will kick in. No one is exempt… it’s in Italy in a big way and will infiltrate the Vatican City. All those cardinals and the Pope… all old. Presidential candidates in America…. all old peeps. Go abroad and catch it, go to crowded places and catch it, or get your mates round to yours and catch it. I’m fascinated by it, and what will happen. Not in an obsessive way, but it’s bringing down companies and will change the world. Losing a billion people will make a fair difference to man’s effect on the planet ( well provided we don’t burn everyone and add to global warming via that )

Aye Corona!

Staying in more because of the unrelenting rain means more cosy nights in with my girl ( when she’s in London ) Watching films in bed isn’t too awful an option when you are with a beautiful woman, who happens to be breathtakingly fit. Wendy is a very rare thing – the body of a 25 year old athlete ( with just the most amazing bum ) despite being a mum of 2 in her 40’s… well that’s good for me! Plus she’s most certainly the most snuggly and loving woman I’ve ever met ( by far ) .. so it’s not all bad in my world any more.

Great to see Cress and Toby yesterday ( for lunch no less ), to see a fair bit of Marky P, including Royal Geograpical Society nights, to spend a day watching the rugby with Leigh, to seeing Lily, to seeing some old mates at Clair’s party, and to teach my brand of English to the varied selection of peeps that turn up to my class. I get housewives and I get refugees, I get young and old. They are all positive and they all smile a lot, despite their ‘ situations’ not being ones they are used to or wished for.
The Overprivileged could certainly learn a lot from em, that’s for sure. They seem to like me, and all show a lot of humanity. It’s a bit weird being called Sir, and no, I didn’t ask to be, but they all seem to insist on doing it. Respect is alive and well, if not so much so amongst the British born and bred. …

To help with transferring me from wheelchair to bed and back, and wheelchair to another wheelchair, and as I can’t do this myself since I was filled with metalwork, I now have 2 electric hoists. One’s in my bedroom and one is outside under cover on the terrace ( as I just don’t have room inside ) One is powered by a rechargeable battery and the other charges via the mains. Both however stop working when there’s a charging issue, and there’s no manual override or anything to enable me to go upwards. Occasionally I’m sort of halfway up and the hoist will start to beep, or just stop, and I’m left dangling. That’s ok if someone is there, but as I don’t always have assistance there it’s the case that sometimes I’m a bit buggered and by myself. The other day I was outside, it was bloody cold and the thing stopped about a foot up and a foot short of where I needed it. I managed to reach something to one side and hauled myself over to the right position, but it’s touch and go at best. I’ve decided to buy manual chain block and tackle hoists that are used in construction instead. Well they aren’t pretty but they are going to be reliable, and stop me being bloody stranded.
On the same topic, 2 nights ago I went outside to crack a coconut ( like you do ) against the railing on the terrace. Well there’s nothing hard enough indoors, hence my choice. I have to go side on to the railings and then smash the nut. It was dark and one wheel went into the soil flowerbed. … which I sort of ignored. But then when I tried to wheel away I couldn’t. I was stuck fast in the mud, tilted to one side and in the dark. Well bloody hell, I was pulling as hard as I could on the wheel rims and then the railing, trying to dislodge myself for about 10 minutes. It was dark, very cold and I just had a t shirt on. Because I have so much metal in my back I can’t turn my torso so my directions of travel are limited to forward and back, whereas I needed to go diagonally. Obviously I contemplated shouting for help but then I have the gamble of who jumps over the wall to help, perhaps opting to just leave me stranded and instead just rob me.. well you never know, right? Anyway after a shit load of effort, but definitely seeming to sink lower in the mud, I managed to escape , though unbelievably in the process managed to tangle a wheel in the solar lighting wires… and that’s a casualty.

Yet another lesson learned then. Life is a journey for sure!

I realised last night that I had a UTI. It’s been a while since one has got hold of me, and for a few hours I suppose I didn’t want to acknowledge it ( don’t know why that was ). I had gone to listen to a talk at the Royal Geograpical Society but my legs were spasming non stop in a familiar but thankfully not so familiar anymore way.
From about now, almost a day later, I feel ok again. I double dosed on antibiotic dose and as my urologist advised previously, that has had a rapid effect. What I realise now though, and is very sobering to realise, is how badly a UTI affects me. Last night seems really hazy to me, as though it was a dream. I recall going to the Royal Geograpical Society, I recall being there and in the audience in front of the speaker, a famous explorer, but I don’t recall anything he said, am aware of a feeling of panic, of being afraid and vulnerable and unhappy, of being able to think about nothing but stopping the spasms somehow, of not being able to think or speak coherently, and just wanting to get away.

I got myself back and somehow managed to remove the catheter from my abdomen and change it for another one ( something a nurse or doctor normally does ) because I suspected it just wasn’t draining properly ( and yes it did look all blocked up ) and finding my antibiotics, and feeling tearful, and calling Wendy and asking her to please help me, which of course she did, and having feelings of being unwanted and alone, and worthless and pointless, but trying to rationalise these feelings in the knowledge that I had a UTI which would hopefully soon be treated and gone.
What I also know is that for pretty much 2 whole years I had a non stop recurring UTI, for most of 2015 to 2017 which affected and dominated my thinking, and in that same period I lost my home, my business, and my wife and kids. Having had an infection for the 24/36 hours and feeling it’s awful effect on me, I can almost not see how I managed to survive ( literally ) for the 2 years that infections had me in their grip. I’m extremely surprised now that I chose life over ending it all, for all that time. I remember that people didn’t understand what I was going through, and didn’t seem to care although of course Pia did try her very best to. I looked ok ( albeit in a wheelchair ) so why couldn’t I just cheer up and appreciate being alive? Well having not had infections for 2 years I can now tell you that the difference mentally between having them and not having them is just vast. It’s really no wonder my life went into free fall. There haven’t been many unequivocal articles written about the mental effects of UTI’s on those with dementia and other disabling conditions, but for me the effects are dramatic.
I hope I don’t get many recurrences going forward. I don’t think I could go back to living like that, I really don’t.