On Thursday evening there was a rather fine sunset. Usually a good omen for weather to come.And Friday proved to be a warm and sunny day. Positively summery. Our sunbathing neighbours have continued to work on their tan. They now look as though they have been away on holiday somewhere exotic. All they seem to do is sit in the sun all day.
I could sit in the sun all day like that and would still not be that kind of tanned. I would only be burnt pink! That’s what comes of being born a redhead. I heard on a programme about genetics that redheads are programmed to absorb vitamin D easily, even under cloudy skies. This is why there are more redheads in northern places where the sun shines less often. However, as the climate changes it is likely that redheads, or at least the redhead gene, will diminish and ultimately disappear. Rather a sad loss in my humble opinion!
Another sign of the balmy, summery weather we have been having is the emergence of the little pipistrelle bat who flits around our back garden in the evening in the summer time. How long will this mild weather last? If it turns colder will the little bat go and hide away again?
Yesterday I mentioned Gaby Hinsliff’s article about “contact clustering. Today somebody drew my attention to this from The Metro:-
“Brits could be allowed to meet up with 10 of their closest family or friends under one idea to relax the coronavirus lockdown. It is understood that the UK government is considering letting people socialise outside of their households in small "bubbles" as it plans an exit strategy.
The move would widen the current "stay at home" advice to include meals and other social activities with close relatives and friends. It would also mean couples who do not live together can spend time together.
However, people would only be able to nominate one or two households to be part of their "cluster", and would not be able to mingle with anyone else.”
Of course, I could see this causing conflict within households as every member might want a different set of permitted contacts.
The latest POTUS thing about disinfectants reminds me of the old snake oil sellers that used to figure in cowboy stories:-
“The leader of the most prominent group in the US peddling potentially lethal industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for coronavirus wrote to Donald Trump at the White House this week. In his letter, Mark Grenon told Trump that chlorine dioxide – a powerful bleach used in industrial processes such as textile manufacturing that can have fatal side-effects when drunk – is “a wonderful detox that can kill 99% of the pathogens in the body”. He added that it “can rid the body of Covid-19”.
A few days after Grenon dispatched his letter, Trump went on national TV at his daily coronavirus briefing at the White House on Thursday and promoted the idea that disinfectant could be used as a treatment for the virus. To the astonishment of medical experts, the US president said that disinfectant “knocks it out in a minute. One minute!”
He went on to say: “Is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.””
And clearly the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing! There’s this:-
“Paradoxically, Trump’s outburst about the possible value of an “injection” of disinfectant into the lungs of Covid-19 sufferers came just days after a leading agency within the president’s own administration took action to shut down the peddling of bleach as a coronavirus cure around the US.”
Then came the inevitable denial with the suggestion that Mr Trump was being sarcastic or making a joke when he recommended ingesting disinfectant. Even if that were true, is it really appropriate for the President of the USA to make light of the crisis situation? The mind boggles!
Mind you, we have odd things going on here as well. To whit:-
“The prime minister’s chief political adviser, Dominic Cummings, and a data scientist he worked with on the Vote Leave campaign for Brexit are on the secret scientific group advising the government on the coronavirus pandemic, according to a list leaked to the Guardian.
It reveals that both Cummings and Ben Warner were among 23 attendees present at a crucial convening of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) on 23 March, the day Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown in a televised address.
Multiple attendees of Sage told the Guardian that both Cummings and Warner had been taking part in meetings of the group as far back as February. The inclusion of Downing Street advisers on Sage will raise questions about the independence of its scientific advice.”
Does Cummings have a scientific background? No. Clever bloke though. First class degree in Ancient and modern history from Oxford. But not a scientist!
It seems that everywhere political leaders have scientific advisers and choose what they want to believe from what the advisers say.
I also read somewhere that in France they have banned the sale of nicotine patches as people were stockpiling them in the belief that nicotine helped protect against the virus. More snake oil? As a smoking friend of mine commented, smoking might just possibly reduce your chances of catching the virus but if you do catch it smoking means that you are more likely to have a bad dose! Almost a catch 22 situation!
Today is another sunny day. I wonder how we would all be coping if we had had a month of rain.
On the menu today is tomato and lentil soup, scrambled eggs with ham and a nice salad. The remaining tagliatelle and tomato sauce, which is a bit like the magic porridge pot in its ability keep going, has gone into the freezer for another occasion. And we have apple and rhubarb pie for afters. All good.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.
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