Face masks. Getting back to work safely. Preventive measures. Getting enough to eat.

I ran round the village this morning, donning my face mask to pop into the coop store for some milk. So far I have seen precisely NO people wearing a mask in the village, apart from me that is. The chemist’s has a big notice in the window, however, advertising that they now have face masks and hand sanitiser on sale. (Marks and Spencer, by the way, has been getting some stick for selling bottles of hand sanitiser for £11.50, when similar sized bottles are on sale for around £4 elsewhere. Accusations of profiteering and taking advantage have been flying around!) I wonder how many masks they will sell.

When I go to Uppermill I see more people wearing masks, although still not a huge number, but then, Uppermill is bigger, practically a small town rather than a village any longer. Both in our village and in Uppermill the shops are being very careful to limit the numbers of customers allowed in. I have no idea what the situation is on buses as I have not been on a bus since early in March. Buses are still running in our area. I see them trundling along, mostly empty by the looks of things but presumably some people are still having to get up and use public transport to go to work.

Unlike cafes in larger Uppermill, Edna’s Cafe, the little cafe cum craft shop cum artists’ studio in our village shows no sign of preparing to open anytime soon. Mind you, they closed about a week before lockdown due to bereavement. I never managed to find out who had died - was it the eponymous Edna or her husband? - or what that person had died of. So I no longer stop for a chat with Edna sunning herself on the little terrace, if you can call the bit of pavement commandeered continental-style by the cafe, or with her husband who has spent time in Spain and swops stories with me.

We spent about an hour on the phone last night discussing options with our daughter, who is about the come to the end of her maternity leave just as the thorny question of primary schools reopening is under much discussion. Nearby Bury, another of the boroughs of Greater Manchester, has decided to defy the government and keep schools closed, as has neighbouring Rochdale. I read that since they reopened last week as many as 50 schools in France have been forced to close again after cases or suspected cases of covid-19 have been found. But our council is going ahead with the reopening and our daughter has been devising ways to juggle the time she will have to be in school and the amount of working from home she can incorporate into her week with managing to keep her two smallest out of nursery. She is being very noble and wants to do her bit but she has also become very union-savvy and is doing her best to keep ensure that her working life is as safe as possible. She’s always been union-savvy -she is OUR daughter after all - but I get the impression some of her primary school teacher colleagues have had a fairly steep learning curve.

Another person having to deal with unions is Jacob Rees Mogg, who is doing his best to insist that all MPs return to the House of Commons and give up on virtual voting. He seems to think that they should lead by example in returning to work but the House of Commons can only hold about 50 socially distancing MPs, not a full House by any means. Last Wednesday, Rees-Mogg told the Commons that MPs could not “hide away” while other workers returned to work, raising concerns that the government simply wished to avoid any bad PR they might get for not being seen to be at work. Reports say that the unions will argue that the government is at risk of breaching their own guidance to employers, which states that “employers will need to carry out Covid-19 risk assessments in consultation with their workers or trade unions”.

However some parliamentary veterans doubt Rees-Mogg is serious about a full return to parliament. They claim he is prepared to lose in a fight with the Speaker and the unions so ministers can blame them when questioned why MPs are allowed to work from home while others are told told return to work. “This is a canny move by Jacob, and it is probably done with the sanction of those close to No 10,” said one senior MP.

It would seem to be all about the politics!

Across the Atlantic Mr Trump is reported to be dosing himself with hydroxychloroquine, despite medical,and scientific advisors saying that there is no proof that it will prevent him from catching the virus. The US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed her concern: “He’s our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group ... morbidly obese, they say,” she said. But Mr Trump himself said: “I think it’s good. I’ve heard a lot of good stories. And if it’s not good, I’ll tell you right. I’m not going to get hurt by it. It’s been around for 40 years.” There you go!

Still in the USA, there is this story about culling poultry and animals such as pigs . It’s one of those strange anomalies that many families do not have enough to eat, many really suffering from hunger, but sources of food are being destroyed because of Covid-19 related slaughterhouse shutdowns. It’s a strange world!

On the subject of going hungry, I have read that our government has sneaked in a change to free school meals, meaning that from now on children aged 5 to 8 no longer have an automatic right to a free lunch. Another example of acting put of concern for children’s welfare I suppose!

Phil and I continue to eat well without problems, for which we are grateful. On the menu today is the chicken in tagine sauce dish which needs finishing off. No fancy dessert but there are blueberries. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!