22nd May 2020

The UK’s coronavirus death toll has risen by 351, according to the latest government figures. The increase in the 24 hours up to 5 pm on Thursday brings the country’s official death toll across hospitals, care homes, and the community to 36,393.

Priti Patel has announced that from 8 June, a two-week quarantine will be imposed on new arrivals to the UK, with a £1,000 fine for anyone who breaches the measure. Passengers will be required to complete a form providing their contact and travel details for tracing purposes.

The rules will not apply to those arriving from Ireland, medical professionals tackling COVID-19 or seasonal agricultural workers. However, I anticipate that these regulations will soon change.

Over my morning coffee, I watched a rather informative video of the grossly uninformed. It is worth watching: Trump Supporters attending a Rally.

A very windy day. As the country began to ease lockdown, it was noticeable that there were significantly more people and traffic. I saw people playing tennis in the park, and as I completed my cycle ride through the town centre, I noticed that although the restaurants and fast food outlets remained closed, their lights were on and people were busy inside, seemingly preparing for something.

I believe the statistics mentioned earlier serve as a stark reminder that we shouldn’t be easing restrictions too hastily.

There was a small amount of rain overnight, but not enough to spare the vegetables a drink from the hose. The paths also received a much-needed mowing. Encouragingly, the grapevines appear to be stirring back to life; several buds have emerged among the crispy remnants of their last attempt at growth.

23rd May 2020

Britain today announced 180 more coronavirus deaths, bringing the official toll to 36,573.

Boris Johnson’s chief adviser has stated that he “obviously” will not resign, despite claims that he breached government restrictions by travelling to Durham during lockdown. Dominic Cummings defended his actions, insisting that he acted “reasonably and legally” when he travelled more than 260 miles from his London home, despite the nationwide travel restrictions in place.

While it is understandable that any parent would find themselves in a difficult situation when their partner falls ill and they are left to care for a small child, a man of Cummings’ connections, influence, and supposed intelligence could surely have arranged for his child to be kept safe from infection at home in London, without the need for all three to travel to his parents in Durham.

His actions are wrong on multiple levels, but the most egregious aspect is his sheer arrogance in refusing to acknowledge that he has broken the very guidance his government has repeatedly stressed. Accusations of hypocrisy have followed him throughout his career, a trait he has once again demonstrated. He has to go.

Today was Sarah’s birthday. Charlotte travelled to Newbold Verdon to spend time with her sister and enjoy some much-needed ‘girl time’, their first opportunity to do so since lockdown began.

Jamie and Ruth visited Bradgate Park and enjoyed a walk on a blustery, showery day.

Apart from Sue fetching the newspaper, we didn’t leave the house at all. I spent several frustrating hours wrestling with an issue with our internet connection, only managing to resolve it by mid-afternoon.

In the evening, we watched The Siege of Jadotville on Netflix, a gripping film based on the true story of Irish UN soldiers sent on a peacekeeping mission to Katanga, Africa, in 1961. The film details how they bravely defended their outpost against overwhelming odds. Outrageously, Charles de Gaulle sent French mercenaries to protect uranium mining interests in the Congo, leading to an attack on the Irish troops. Even more shocking, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was killed when his plane was shot down en route to negotiations. The entire affair was hushed up until 2004. A shocking but well-told true story.

 

24th May 2020

The UK’s official death toll from coronavirus has now reached 36,793, an increase of 118 from the previous day’s total of 36,675.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has continued to defend Dominic Cummings despite reports that he broke lockdown rules for a second time. Cummings’ background is certainly interesting; after earning a BA in History, he spent several years in post-Soviet Russia from 1994 to 1997. One does wonder what exactly he was up to during that time. Now, he serves as an adviser to a prime minister who seems willing to defend the indefensible simply to retain his influence.

Am I rumour-mongering, or does this have shades of another Guy Burgess scenario? Regardless, Cummings must go, if not for his actions, then for his sheer arrogance in refusing to acknowledge that, even if he technically stayed within the rules, he completely disregarded the spirit of the restrictions the rest of us were expected to follow.

The twelfth Sunday of lockdown was yet another quiet one at Willow Bank. Sue went shopping at Lidl before busying herself with preparing Sunday lunch.

I had a rather disrupted start to the day, having forgotten to switch off my mobile, I was rudely awakened by a series of ‘pings’ from the almighty Messenger as Sarah and Charlotte chatted away at 4 am! Unable to get back to sleep, I eventually gave in and made breakfast at 5  am. An hour later, I decided to return to bed and managed to sleep until 9:15 am. The rest of the morning was spent rather lethargically, planting beetroot and shifting the sprinkler around the garden.

After a thoroughly satisfying lunch, I finally tackled a job I’d been putting off for weeks, painting three fence panels. With what feels like several million still to go, I’ve resolved to do no more than three a day (on those occasions when I can’t find something more interesting to do). Yawn…

Charlotte and her family ventured deep into the wilds of Northamptonshire on a comfrey hunt to make liquid fertiliser. Rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, comfrey is an excellent (and free) plant feed, though it does smell utterly vile. Meanwhile, Sarah and Lee spent most of the day installing posts to support their freshly painted trellis. The task was made all the more arduous by the need to dig out the solid concrete bases of the previous posts. Given the sheer effort involved, I was half expecting that the baby Sarah was carrying might decide to make an early entrance into the world!