Archive of Postings to June 2020

26-Jun-2020

Modern English Usage

It may not be caused by the Corona Virus or the weather or the worries over jobs but it certainly seems to have fuelled the current climate of extreme righteousness over the use of words and phrases.

Man1904As every Grandad will have now discovered some language that was in widespread use when they were at school is not just banned now but is being put on a par with serious crime. And considering how much serious crime goes unpunished it could be argued that wrong-speak is more likely than theft or violence to land the perpetrator in trouble.

The classic example is the ... lives matter slogan. If completed with the word black - then it’s fully woke-compliant. If completed with the words white or all - then it’s right-wing, racist and a sacking offence. If completed with some other colour or simply left blank - then it’s either an unfunny joke at best or the same as ‘all’ at worst - depending on the audience.

The British public have a long history of freedom of speech but today the only approved options are repeating the woke-speak slogans or staying silent. Echoes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot ...

tags: silent, silenced, 1984, thought, police

 

31-May-2020

Spring Has Really Sprung

The last day of Spring marks the end of a quarter the like of which no one living today has ever seen before.

SunBaby1aThe virus that escaped from somewhere around Wuhan in China has been devastating. Not in the way that the two world wars were - but in its impact on our economies and way of life. It has become the unseen threat that could be hiding on every person and point of contact. The silent bullet that is not felt until days after it has hit its random target.

The nature of the virus and its infection process has fed two contradicting fears - huge death tolls and - overreacting to a minor health issue. And even though the 38,000 UK deaths to date are a shocking statistic the economic impact of the government measures - such as paying the wages of millions to stay at home - will hold the nation back for decades. So arguments are rife that lock-downs are being lifted too soon or not quickly enough. And that the virus is either a major threat to the nation or nothing worse than seasonal flu. Arguments that have now taken on political dimensions. With Labour supporters generally taking the opposite view to the Conservative ones. Hardly conducive to achieving the best outcome.

But politics, rules and regulations aside Mother Nature seems to taken notice of the lack of emissions from factories, motor vehicles and aviation. With reduced exhaust gases and the absence of con trails clouding the skies Spring has been a new experience for everyone here in middle England. Record sunshine hours, number of dry days and above average temperatures have pushed the time at home to new levels of outdoor activity.

It’s just a pity that most of us have not been able to share the glorious weather with friends and relatives ...

tags: quarantine, virus, safety, threat, weather

 

6-May-2020

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Question - what do these world cities have in common; New York, Ahmedabad, San Francisco, Hanoi, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Guangzhou, Bahrain, Amman, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Dhaka, Islamabad, Jeddah, Hong Kong, Delhi and Colombo?

Man1907Answer - they all still have direct flights into London Heathrow.

And that’s just some of the flights arriving today.

Now the experts sound convinced when they say this daily traffic has no significant effect on the Covid-19 infection rates in the UK. But there are two points that seem worth making.

First there are still thousands of new cases being reported each day (4,406 yesterday) despite 43 days of UK lock-down. They must be coming from somewhere - and places like New York are exceptionally risky locations to have on any flight path.

Second there is a notable absence of any flights from Australia and New Zealand. Places that normally would have lots of flights. And both are countries that have contained the spread of the virus very well. In contrast to the UK’s loss of over 600 more lives yesterday Australia has limited deaths to around 100 - in total - since the start of the pandemic. And popular tourist destinations like Queensland have recorded just 6 deaths in total while the UK is still averaging 6 deaths every 14 minutes - according to yesterday’s official figures.

So no scientific proof of anything - but where would you prefer your family and friends to be living today - London or Brisbane?

tags: quarantine, virus, safety, threat, travel

 

28-Apr-2020

Still Here

As the days of anti-virus lock-down drift into weeks and then months and the number of national fatalities grows by hundreds with every passing day the question Are you OK? becomes the new normal. Luckily our friends and family still are but there is that element of concern that one day our collective luck will run out.

man6So what are Grandads doing to fill their free time now that going out for leisure is off the agenda?

Judging by the queues at DIY stores there is plenty of catching up on home repairs and improvements in progress. While lots more have been boosting their domestic comms technology to contact everything from school lessons to government support schemes. And if the garden centres re-open (and if the public are allowed to visit) there will be a big boost in garden activity - perhaps with more grow your own fruit and veg efforts.

Additionally long neglected hobbies are being brought out of retirement to help fill the time spent in virtual house arrest. And status that could apply for all of 2020!

But to repeat the answer to that recurring key question - Yes we are still here ...

tags: quarantine, virus, safety, threat

 

12-Apr-2020

Easter Silence

Today the most important date in the Christian calendar seems to be played out in a sort of eerie silence - almost as if the whole population is waiting for some bombs to go off or some races to start.

Certainly in Rome the Easter ceremonies have been devoid of pilgrims and locals alike. A situation that may not have been experienced since before the reign of the Emperor Constantine one thousand seven hundred years ago. Even the Black Death and many plagues of the middle ages could not have such an impact on the attendance of the faithful.

DadsArmyDoomed3Easter celebrations aside the ongoing restrictions mean that there is very little to report. Most Grandads have been limited to local travel for groceries and medicine - hardly newsworthy highlights. True our Prime Minister did have a brush with death but now seems to be on the road to recovery. And the Westminster Labour Party have appointed a new leader and shadow cabinet. Yet any chance of them being in power - or even a meaningful contributor - is years away at best.

As for that unseen enemy, the Covid-19 virus spread worldwide from Wuhan, it is still claiming a rapidly escalating victim count - and pushing many national economies to breaking point. There is little point in quoting today’s infection figures here as they are already widely published but it is worth wishing that we never experience the doomsday scenarios that some are predicting ...

tags virus, pneumonia, financial meltdown, defenceless

 

3-Apr-2020

Viral Pandemic

Two months ago at our first posting the Wuhan virus was a distant threat. Now it’s spreading all around the world; with Europe being the first directly impacted once the virus had left Asia.

Heckerslyke_160Trying to keep up with the ever increasing counts of infections and deaths for make depressing reading - but for the record Italy has had at least 13,915 deaths, Spain 10,935 and the UK has now reached a total of 3,605 - officially. Sadly the figures for the USA seem set to dwarf those of Europe - and looking ahead much of Africa lacks the infrastructure to cope; especially if aid from developed countries is diverted into over-stretched health care services back home.

All the points about the financial impact have already been said - but the numbers just keep getting larger and larger. Businesses from the smallest trader to the mega corporation are facing complete collapse has virtually every sector outside of food, power and health care is shut down either by government order or by lack of customers. Everything from tourism to sport - pop concerts to voting - has been stopped. For example the mega-millions normally circulating in the world of TV broadcasting rights has evaporated. The Grand National, Wimbledon, even the Olympic Games will not happen until normality returns. If it ever does.

The year 2020 will be remembered for a long time - by the survivors ...

tags virus, economy, history lesson, pneumonia, financial meltdown, defenceless

 

24-Mar-2020

Extinguished Rebellion

Ten more days of spiralling into the corona virus black hole and many countries have already resorted to extreme measures. In Europe national borders and interests are back in control - along with extreme financial measures that are making the 2008 financial crash look like small beer.

Man1And at the personal level the number of deaths continues to grow - despite the increasingly draconian restrictions on movement and personal contacts. With 6,077 deaths in Italy and 2,300 in Spain the figure of 335 for the UK seems low - but we face many more yet in the months ahead. And it looks like UK Grandads will be the demographic with the highest mortality.

Here the over 70’s are already in isolation until June. But when the survivors emerge the virus will not have disappeared. They will become victims then rather than now - unless a cure has been found. Since no one has a natural immunity the virus will continue to infect the population for years - possibly re-infecting those that have survived the previous waves. And we already have several strains of the corona virus indicating that it could adapt over time and evolve into something even worse.

Back at the international finance level the desperate measures are creating vast debts as governments strain to prop-up essential services - healthcare, education, police, fire, ambulance, military, public transport, fuel, water, etc - and the vast numbers of unemployed. All against a backdrop of collapsing government taxation income and falling asset values.

But it’s not entirely bad news. The huge falls in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have already resulted in clearer skys and climate benefits - sooner than even the most ardent activists could have reasonably expected.

While on the political front the people of Scotland will be well aware that their country could not have faced the current challenge on its own. And those that want to extend the UK-EU trade negotiations are having to face-up to the fact that the world economy has already been reset. The trade agreement fine print has been reduced to irrelevance. The people that survive this will need the essentials of life to be traded as safely and efficiently as possible - with no room for artificial barriers created by bureaucrats and civil servants.

tags virus, economy, history lesson, pneumonia, financial meltdown, defenceless

 

14-Mar-2020

Viral Threat 2

Five weeks on from Grandad’s last posting and the Wuhan Virus now has a new name - plus has expanded world-wide. In the UK Covid-19 has now claimed 21 lives but that may well have increased even before this posting appears online.

BruegelReaperElsewhere in Europe the situation has deteriorated rapidly with worst-case Italy reporting yesterday that 1,016 deaths had been identified as Covid-19 related. And many of these were senior citizens.

If the compounding growth rate of infections continues the next few weeks will see the number of deaths grow every day - claiming mainly the elderly and the already vulnerable. The short-term prospects are to prepare for bad news.

But even if the virus has no direct impact on your friends and family, the financial chaos that is being created almost certainly will.

Take cities like Oxford, Cambridge, York and even Edinburgh that depend upon tourism and overseas students for a large percentage of their turnover. Hotels, restaurants, retailers, airlines, coach and train companies are all going to experience drastic cuts to their incomes. Jobs will go and businesses will fail - even if there is billions in government support. And away from these high profile examples there will still be major disruptions and life-changing events. Take football - where many clubs below the Premier League depend upon gate receipts and local corporate sponsors. If both income streams stop then closure can be the only outcome.

The hope is that the numbers of new infections will start to decline by summer - and allow some of the restrictions to be lifted; so letting trade slowly return. However the UK, along with other major economies, was far from being financially healthy before Covid-19 appeared. This is why we have had such low interest rates - and why the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, cut interest rates to 0.25% before the Budget last week. Quite a way to leave office - tomorrow!

How will this all turn out? Who knows. But Grandad is off to read-up about Spanish Flu and check that his will is still valid ...

tags: virus, economy, history lesson, pneumonia

 

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FOOTNOTES

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