I went running in the wind this morning. Very cold it was too. But it’s a much brighter day than yesterday, which was one of those days when it never seemed to get properly light. Today we have had periods of blue sky, courtesy no doubt of that chill wind blowing the clouds across the sky.
I popped into the coop for a couple of items and noticed that they seem to have got their act together and issued black face masks to all the staff. It’s a step on the way to encouraging customers to do the same.
According to The London Economic:
“Around four out of five passengers at major railway stations are complying with the rules on face coverings, according to Network Rail.
The Government-owned company said the figure was based on anecdotal evidence from its staff at stations.”
Not everyone is in favour of masks. Some are a little paranoid about it.,
Right wing journalist Quentin Letts tweeted - "I have a problem with masks... & my preference is not to wear these things... they've become instruments of control & I find them slightly sinister... there's something to do with thought control about this..."
I wonder if he feels the same about wearing a seat belt in his car, obeying traffic signals, and other such things.
Some people feel the same about vaccination.
MP Steve Baker, reluctant to tell people what to do, told the House of Commons:-
“This is a fundamental choice between heading towards heaven and heading towards hell. If we continue to react to these fears and uncertainties by taking the authoritarian course… then we are embarked on that downward course.”
Angela Rayner, in contrast, believes in wearing masks and told Sky News: ‘If you’re [in] an indoor setting, there’s no distinction between a pub, sitting in a pub, or sitting on a train, or sitting in a hospital. It’s still a venue that’s indoors and we should be taking the necessary measures to protect people around us.”
I would go a step further and say masks should be worn at football matches. I know they’re not strictly speaking indoor venues but all those people cheering and shouting are under shelter in the stands, not running about in the open air on the pitch!
As Christmas approaches, far more quickly than expected all of a sudden, and as I haven’t been out and about scanning shops for presents, I have reluctantly turned to Amazon. I try to avoid giving more money to that entity but there it is. But this week we’ve had some fun and games with Amazon.
First of all Phil received an email very early one morning telling him his parcel had been delivered. He wasn’t expecting a parcel. It seemed to be coming from Europe. Maybe it was a book or something else chess-related. So far we’ve not been able to find out what and where it is.
Then yesterday I received an email: “Your parcel has been delivered to your next door neighbour’s house.” But we were in. Why did they not ring the bell? This was a parcel I was expecting and this time I was able to locate it.
As I have ordered stuff - actually no more than three or four items - I have been offered a free trial of Amazon Prime, which gives faster and free delivery. Every time I turned it down, specifically saying I don’t want it and being prepared to accept a slower delivery and even a small delivery charge. Then yesterday I received an email saying they have started my free trial - rather cheeky, I thought! Amazon works on the inertia principle, hoping you will just let payments kick in at the end of the trial period. I’ll have to keep an eye on it and be sure to cancel.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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