Not Good

Not Good. 

Halloween. Day of the Dead. Zombies, ghosts and witches roam the streets grasping candy from friendly neighbours. I have done my bit keeping the tradition alive with all 4 grandchildren and am Halloween-ed out. I never want to see another pumpkin again.

Scratch the surface of this happy picture and all is not good.

1. Welcome back the "super cold", lying myself and millions more low.   Community immunity is wiped out by a year of self isolation, social distancing and mask wearing. Tests show definitely not Covid. Just a plain old horrible bug. 

2. Covid cases hover at 40,000 daily but worse the hospital and death rates continue to rise. Hospitals are showing signs of overheating. Intensive care beds are filling up.

3. Booster program is running slowly. Too slowly. Walk in clinics are often standing empty as social media/online adverts fail to reach those elderly and vulnerable most at need. People waiting patiently for a call from their GP will wait for months, sadly. 

I am due my booster anytime now. Plan is to wait til cold subsides and find a walk in, which will involve travelling to Brighton. Deep joy. GP surgeries are so behind any residual acclaim those services had for delivering the first two jabs has long worn off and those GPs protesting that it is Covid that prevents them seeing patients face to face have no credibility.

4. The complete breakdown of our GP service is symbolic of the breakdown of pre Covid society. Blaming Covid is only part of the picture. The rest is about money. Brexit and a global supply chain crisis from food to energy has collided with a Tory Government prepared to put up NI rates, thus affecting the lower paid, rather than changing the higher tax rates. Protect the wealthy at all costs.

The latest grim scandal is the sight of sewage ruining our beaches. Water companies use legal loopholes to wash untreated sewage out to stop the nations Victorian sewers backing up. The Government has a policy of mass house building. No new sewers. MPs are not prepared to stop the overflow policy. The sea does not bring in money. 

5. The UK hosts COP 26 in Glasgow, cue cynical laughter across the whole world treated to images of raw sewage washing up on the sands. Delegates fly in from the climate change conference in Rome, causing mass disruption to the city and creating their own  minor climate hiatus.  You couldn't make it up.

6. France and the UK engage in yet another squabble over fishing rights. Someone tell the fish to stop swimming, that'll sort it. Seriously, you couldn't make it up.

The clocks have gone back. Winter is officially here. There is a deep seated somber mood of foreboding under those jolly Halloween antics. Covid is still with us. No one is convinced the vaccine will be enough. It is gong to be a long cold winter.