Once again, I find myself writing about the Corona Virus and my frustrations and confusions. I have mentioned the medication I am taking that has helped me with my mood swings, it is still doing the job it was prescribed to do, keeping me as I call it ‘very level.’ And it is a good thing because with this level life it has meant very, very little anxiety in my life. I wish I had never thrown the medication away when it was first prescribed some eight years ago; however, we are where we are, and where we are is quite a good place.
There has been a couple of occasions that it has popped up to say hello, but it has been minimal. Maybe a two or three on my one to ten scale.
However, there are two things; how would I be feeling if I had never gone to the doctors and hadn’t been prescribed this medication? We are in unprecedented times, and it does get to me at times, our social life like nearly everyone else’s has disappeared, and it frustrates me.
Would it have affected me more had I not had the medication, would my moods have been worse, would depression have crept in, I can’t help thinking it would have. Still, I’m okay, so I will say again that whilst people, myself included in the early days, are against taking medication, it works and helps. And if I could take this medication for the rest of my life, and it guaranteed me that my mood swings or anxiety would never return, I would take it. But it shows there are other ways to deal with our issues, and it will normally mean being prepared to sit in front of your GP and open your heart to them.
I don’t let my frustrations come out too much, but recently here are the things that have ‘irritated’ me. The first is that people, MP’s included are wanting a lockdown ending strategy from Boris Johnson. Now I wouldn’t say I like how he and his Government have dealt with a lot of this crisis, first and foremost with their lack of control of our borders. They should have been closed from minute one, except for returning citizens, or essential work purposes, and I don’t mean as a cleaner in a hotel, no disrespect to hotel cleaners intended, but you get my drift. I’m talking health workers, engineers, and the like, but working after an enforced quarantine period, and at their expense! If you want to come to our country to earn a wage, we need to pay our way (see Singapore below.)
But how can we have a strategy when we don’t know what is going to happen. I would have a weekly press conference covering the week past, and the ‘foreseeable future.’ For example, did anyone predict the second strain, because I don’t think they did? Can anyone remember the scientific advisers standing up at the daily briefs last June telling us to be prepared for the second strain in December, of course not? So whilst I feel for Johnson on this one, I think the way they communicate to the country is wrong, as are some of their decisions.
Other countries are so different, our death level is 0.015% of our population, by comparison with a death total of 0.0035% what has Australia done differently? Well I do believe closing their borders was a major contributing factor, and 30,000 people will be allowed at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament each day starting next week. We can’t even have any fans in a football stadium that holds 80,000 people, and there are no fans at major outdoor events.
While they only have a population of just under six million, Singapore have had just twenty-nine deaths from COVID and here’s why? They just don’t let people in, and if you have to go, you must quarantine, and at your expense! I also heard that you go directly from the airport to your hotel ‘chosen for you,’ when you quarantine you don’t get out, food and clean bedding is brought to your room. And that is why they have such a low death rate; you have no contact with anyone.
By comparison, we allow anyone in from anywhere, and we ‘ask’ them to quarantine, what a difference, but then what a difference in the death rate!
But whilst I believe the Government has blood on their hands, how many of
the MP’s involved in the decision making have had to deal with anything like this in their lives, I think the obvious answer is none of them? It can’t be easy and who would want to be a part of that committee making decisions for sixty-seven million people, well as strange as this sounds I certainly would, I believe they need to add ‘common sense’ into the equation?
But as bad as some of the Government decisions have been how about 
decisions from the public and our people, the people responsible for spreading the disease, and here are some examples from the press. In my opinion, it is just absolutely senseless, and I have to start with the wedding attended by four hundred guests and why? Yes, people want a special day to remember, well they won’t forget this one for sure, and I hope the Bride and Groom were the ones fined £10,000 as the organisers. Why not wait until this is all over and have your special day without the restrictions of COVID?
What about the people sledging in London. Do we get so desperate to go sledging we will put ourselves in a situation like this just to have two minutes of adrenalin going fast down a hill? If so, it is, in my opinion, quite sad, look at the closeness of the people, just not caring for a bit of fun. And what about the people who can’t do with a hairdo or a game of poker, again, in my opinion, it is senseless and madness that we have to do these
things whilst we have a pandemic going on. No-one, including me, is enjoying this. I am missing my friends, my social life, my bookmakers and pubs, and just not being able to go where I want, especially going to Scotland to see my elderly parents and my family. But there is a pandemic amongst us, and it is killing us, and people in these examples above will be spreading the virus and killing people. Still, it seems that those weddings, haircuts, sledging and poker games are more important than life. Imagine being one of the people at these events and then seeing family and friends of Gary Matthews to explain why you did it?
It annoys me to the extent, and for the first time since this started, I had a go at a young man in my local store last week. Standing at the end of an
aisle shopping, he walked the wrong way up the one-way system towards me, with his face mask around his neck. I couldn’t help myself, and whilst pointing the right way I said ‘you’re going the wrong way and can you put your mask on properly please?’ He said something which I believe was a genuine apology and turned around and off he went the correct way, a cup of coffee in each hand.
Some fifteen seconds later he returned walking the same wrong way back towards me, and once again I pointed out the error of his ways (no pun intended), and he said ‘I need to get to the cash machine,’ whilst pointing in its direction with a handful of a coffee cup! But I just said, ‘follow the arrows on the floor, and it will take you there, it’s not rocket science.’ And in all fairness again he turned around and off he went the correct way. But why am I doing it, where are the shop staff pointing these things out?
It’s okay saying it’s not their job, but the shop has a duty of care, just like 
when the same shop didn’t say anything when a young lad was doing his shopping on one of those electric scooters! Once again, just frustrating. If I slip on a puddle of water in a shop and break my leg, I can only imagine that a couple of thousand pounds would boost my saving account. How much would I get if the young lad on the scooter bumped into me and broke my leg, pretty much the same, but with a good lawyer maybe even more, so what is the difference? None, it is still because they failed in their ‘duty of care,’ so how much would I get if I could prove beyond doubt I caught the virus in their shop. Depending on the outcome certainly as much as the slip, but as they probably know and one reason they possibly don’t try to control it is that no-one could ever prove that is where they caught it!
Duty of care thanks to educare.co.uk –
‘Duty of Care is about individual wellbeing, welfare, compliance and good practice.
All workplaces, whether a school, a business, or a voluntary organisation have a moral and a legal obligation to ensure that everyone associated with the establishment, whether employee, volunteer, student, tradesperson or the general public, is fully protected from any personal physical and/or emotional harm, either on the premises or when engaged in activities relating to the establishment.’
But the best example was still the lady in my local bakers who apologised to all in hearing distance, myself included whilst standing outside at the open door. She had forgotten her face mask and was in the shop covering her face with her hand. So as she had a scarf around her neck, I said ‘why not use your scarf?’ Her reply astounded me, ‘I can’t do that’ she replied ‘I might get makeup on it and you have no idea how much it cost me?’ Really? I don’t care if it cost her £10,000, cover your face and wash your scarf if your silly piece of clothing is more important than the pandemic and the virus, vanity before a deadly virus.
These are examples of why I despair at people’s attitude to this pandemic, and why people see their own needs as more important than a disease that can kill people. But it also pretty much sums up many people in today’s ‘can’t do without’ society.
I understand they are quite strong views, but I can’t apologise for them, mainly because of the strong opinions people have on completely disregarding other people (and themselves) during this virus, a virus that kills, both strangers and loved ones.
Thank you for reading and stay safe