Happy anniversary 😒

Saturday Jan 9th.

My 39th wedding anniversary.

No cards, no flowers. Neither Paul or I will risk our lives going shopping for the sake of tokens.

On Friday 1,325 Covid related  deaths were recorded in the UK, the highest figure in a single day since the pandemic began.

Hospitals throughout London and the Southeast have declared a major incident. Medical chiefs advise beds and oxygen are at capacity. God forbid anyone gets ill now.

Ambulances queue for hours outside hospitals unable to unload seriously ill people. Non Covid patients are in dire straits, cancer operations have been cancelled, major surgeries postponed, accident victims left in agony for lack of services and staff.

The UK Lockdown is universally deemed to lightweight but this Government seems oblivious. 

Schools are shut to all but key workers. However, with many, many more businesses are open , far more than in the first lockdown, and those who cannot work from home being deemed "key", the pupil numbers are still high.

In the second lockdown schools remained open. Now, in lockdown three, the rules regarding businesses stay as in lockdown two, i.e. soft. 

Garden centres, pet shops, builders merchants, health food shops, the list of essential businesses is long and growing. People who cannot work from home can send their children to school. 

Plus now the rule is only one parent at work , not two as in the spring lockdown, entitles a child to a place, alongside those who have no access to a laptop , plus the vulnerable, plus the parents who simply can't cope, etc, etc.

Yesterday I heard of a teacher in a local school who has died of Covid. This new variant is lethal and children are super spreaders. 

The Government is under pressure to change the leniency of lockdown. This is not lockdown as we knew it last year. This is a mess.

This week also brought shocking news from America. Wednesday Jan 6th violence broke out in Washington,  protestors stormed the Capitol in a (failed) bid to prevent lawmakers certifying Joe Biden's Presidential victory. 

Four people died in the riots. Trump organised the march, incited his supporters to rise up and protest. Despite his subsequent declaration of innocence, he has been banned from Twitter and social media platforms. There are calls to impeach him rather than allow this madman even another 12 days of presidency. 

Less than 10 days into 2021. Not a good start to the new year.