There is a certain Groundhog Day feel to the news these days: the rush pellmell towards a no-deal Brexit, the seemingly unstoppable rise of Covid19 just about all over Europe, or indeed the world, our testing problem in the UK, and now repeated stories of orcas attacking yachts - or maybe just being playful! Just being playful? If so, why is it happening now?
But there it is, the same stories cycling round and round.
By the way, if we are having so much trouble with Covid testing, how is it that I keep hearing reports of instant tests at Rome Fiumicino airport? And how about this report?
“Four Covid-19 sniffer dogs have begun work at Helsinki airport in a state-funded pilot scheme that Finnish researchers hope will provide a cheap, fast and effective alternative method of testing people for the virus.
A dog is capable of detecting the presence of the coronavirus within 10 seconds and the entire process takes less than a minute to complete, according to Anna Hielm-Björkman of the University of Helsinki, who is overseeing the trial.
“It’s very promising,” said Hielm-Björkman. “If it works, it could prove a good screening method in other places” such as hospitals, care homes and at sporting and cultural events.
After collecting their luggage, arriving international passengers are asked to dab their necks with a wipe. In a separate booth, the jar containing the wipe is then placed next to others containing different scents, and the dog starts sniffing.
If it indicates it has detected the virus – usually by yelping, pawing or lying down – the passenger is advised to take a free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test using a nasal swab to verify the dog’s verdict.
In the university’s preliminary tests, dogs – which have previously been used to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes – were able to identify the virus with nearly 100% accuracy, even days before before a patient developed symptoms.”
We need some of those clever dogs!
And now autumn appears to be upon us with a vengeance. I cycle along bridle paths strewn with beautifully coloured leaves and wonder why we haven’t come up with a use for them. Except, of course, that maybe their purpose is just to cheer us up as the days grow short and dull. The weathermen were right: it’s distinctly cooler now than it was few days ago. Briefly between 9.00 and 11.00 this morning it looked like a nice day, blue sky dotted with clouds, a fair bit of sunshine but it hasn’t really managed to keep going.
I spent some time this morning trying to phone our doctors’ surgery to make appointments for flu vaccinations. Yes, it’s that time of year again? After a considerable number of tries that only got me the engaged tone, I finally got onto a recorded message from one of the GPs, giving instructions about what to do if you need to see a doctor, what to do if you have Covid symptoms, what to do if you can’t access their website, and on and on for what seemed a long, long time. The first couple of times this happened I waited until he had finished before pressing button 1 to get through to reception. No good! So on the third occasion I pressed button 1 as soon as he started to speak: “Your call will be answered as soon as possible”, music, “your call is in a queue”, more music, “we will answer you very soon”, even more music ... but after about five minutes I managed to speak to the receptionist and made appointments for Phil and me. Then followed a series of instructions about arriving at the time given, to minimise queues, keeping social distancing, wearing face coverings and what to do if we develop Covid symptoms in the meantime! Oh, boy!
On the positive side, the rain finally stopped yesterday so that we could go for a walk, albeit a rather brief one, and today I managed to run round the village without getting rained on. And even the infamous mud-puddle had not developed sufficiently from yesterday’s rain to impede my progress. We are counting our blessings!
Old people have been in the news. Not old people in general, but specific old people. Captain Sir Tom Moore (or Major Tom as I will keep trying to promote him to - David Bowie has a lot to answer for!) has seemingly signed a film deal for a biopic. Now, I know he walked up and down his garden and raised vast amounts of money for the NHS. And I know he was one of the many heroes of the Second World War. And I know he has lived to a grand old age. But does that really mean that his life has been interesting enough to merit a biopic? Another old person in the news was an old lady in Ambleside who had her hundredth birthday yesterday. She has lived in the same house in Ambleside all her life. Her parents rented it and she has continued to do so. Oh, good grief! Her family must have paid for it several times over in 100 years. It’s time they gave it to her. In her youth she even got to take photos of a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on an official visit to Ambleside. She was very compos mentis and articulate and put her longevity down to healthy living and lots of fresh air. Maybe someone will get her to sign a contract for a biopic.
And finally there is the story of the little village of Aberhosan in Wales where they have had a problem with Internet for at least 18 months. At 7.00am every day their broadband signal simply vanished. Engineers finally tracked it down to an unnamed resident who had an ancient secondhand TV set which he switched on every day at 7.00am. This caused what the engineers call “electronic noise” and messed up everyone’s internet connection. The TV owner has agreed to throw it out! Happy endings!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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