Records. We’re all in this together. Criticising government. Appearances.

Today is a day for recorded highs. UK meteorologists have confirmed that this April just finished was the sunniest on record: an unusually dry and remarkably warm month with an average 224.5 hours of sunshine, apparently. What they have not confirmed is whether that sunny and warm month was in fact 2020 summer, which would be ironic given that we are pretty certain not to be heading off to warmer climes, not even those who have friends who can offer them accommodation in exotic island locations!

The other record is more unfortunate: Highest Coronavirus death rate in Europe! Perhaps we can take some small comfort from the fact that at least our politicians seem to get on, even if they are in different parties. Some of us even go so far as to criticise Kier Starmer for praising the government’s handling of the crisis. One gets the impression that there is a conspiracy of don’t-rock-the-boat-ism going on. Apologies to those who notice that I went on a bit about this yesterday as well.

In Spain on the other hand some politicians seem to be using the crisis as yet another stick to beat their government with. They can’t agree on whether to extend the state of emergency. And Pedro Sanchez’s government has been criticised for allowing huge marches to go on around the country to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th, just before it became obvious that lockdown was needed. (The Spanish always march on International Women’s Day and we in the Uk should not be critical: after all we let horse racing carry on with crowds of spectators.) But maybe, like our government, they did react a little too slowly to events.

There are some oddly amusing stories about the party political arguments. It turns out that some separatist Catalan politicians have accused the central government of sending 1,714,000 facemasks to the region in a barbed reference to the fall of Barcelona at the end of the Spanish war of succession in 1714. Really! How far back does bitter memory go, for goodness sake? That’s 300 years ago.

The same politicians also suggested that there would have been fewer Covid-19 deaths in an independent Catalonia. I don’t know how they worked that out.

There have also been embarrassing photos coming to light of Mariano Rajoy, former prime minister, former leader of the Partido Popular, apparently ignoring lockdown rules and going out for walks weeks before outdoor exercise was allowed in Spain. Oops! It might be time to find a fridge to hide in.

A German friend of mine has been going on a little about Angela Merkel managing to get a haircut during the crisis, at a time when salons are closed nobody is suppose to be going to the hairdresser’s. I have not seen a photos of the haircut so I cannot comment, although I suspect she has a team of Cornavirus-tested people to maintain her image. I have similar suspicions about Emily Maitlis on BBC 2’s Newsnight. She appears beautifully coiffed and immaculately turned out. And what is she doing working in the studio anyway? Does she have a flat in the BBC? And then there are all those technicians, and possibly make-up artists. Will we be clapping for essential media-workers next?

I was listening to discussion of life after lockdown and suggestions about travel.

• Fewer people will need to commute as more can work from home. So with staggered start times for workplaces, maybe pressure on public transport can be eased a little, making social distancing more possible on buses, trams and trains. 
• Maybe the charge for driving in London could be suspended so that people can commute safely in private cars — oops! That removes all the benefits to the air quality we have seen during the lockdown. 
• Cycle lanes need improving and extending - this has been happening to some extent. 

We have a perhaps unusual situation with commuting in British cities. City life in European cities is different as more people live in the centre, whereas in the UK we live more in the outskirts.

Meanwhile in a bit of craziness, other kinds of travel are hoping to get going again. Carnival Cruise Line has announced plans to resume operations at the beginning of August despite dozens of deaths on cruise ships during the Covid-19 pandemic. Well! What can I say?

And here is a nice take on social distancing from this article about Canada.  It has nice cartoons to demonstrate the distances.

“As Canada’s Yukon territory braces for the coronavirus, residents have been asked keep one caribou’s length apart from each another. (For those not familiar with the dimensions of the reindeer, that’s roughly equivalent to two husky lengths or eight loaves of sourdough bread.)

The light-hearted advice is part of a viral public health awareness campaign that seeks to inform residents and pay homage to the region’s cultural history. The guidelines from Yukon’s department of health also advised residents that keeping the distance of four ravens – the official bird of the territory – will help prevent transmission of the virus.”

Rooting about in my freezer, I discovered I had some frozen turkey meat that needs using. So on the menu today we have a turkey hotpot with green beans. Salad is still supplemented with dandelion leaves!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!