28th May 2020

The total UK death toll from the coronavirus reached 37,837 on Thursday, with 377 more deaths confirmed in the past 24 hours. Boris Johnson announced that from Monday, groups of up to six people in England would be allowed to meet in outdoor spaces. Meanwhile, the UK’s test and trace system went live, only to descend into chaos on its first day, with many NHS staff unable to access the system.

An investigation by Durham Police concluded that Dominic Cummings may have broken lockdown rules when he made a 50-mile journey to Barnard Castle. However, no further action would be taken. Hmmm.

It’s difficult to remain optimistic about beating this pandemic anytime soon when you consider the above. While the overall death rate is trending downward (despite fluctuations), surely in a law-abiding country like ours, we should expect figures at least comparable to other European nations, especially given that we were roughly two weeks behind in the outbreak’s timeline.

Recriminations should wait until the battle is won and the dust has settled, but it’s clear that politics is now interfering, to the detriment of our efforts to fight this virus. Rushing through an untested system erodes public confidence, as does allowing members of the establishment to sidestep rules that the rest of us are expected to follow. The British public is largely disciplined; we obey laws, queue without complaint, and pride ourselves on our generosity. But we also have a long history of pushing back against inequality. There cannot be one rule for some and another for everyone else. That is not leadership; that is a betrayal of trust.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been in contact via email with Mark Keane, who lives in Florida. His parents, Linda and Paddy, were visiting from Harborough when they got caught in lockdown. Today, they finally flew back to the UK. Since they’ll have to self-isolate for two weeks, Mark asked if we could help with groceries and general support. Sue did some shopping in the morning in readiness for their return and left a note in their letterbox asking them to call when they arrived. They rang early in the afternoon, grateful for the food, and promised to send a shopping list tomorrow. After a rather convoluted journey home, they were exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

Yesterday, I spoke with Jim and Bridget in Cyprus. Their house sale is going ahead, and if all goes to plan, they should be back in the UK by 24th July, fingers crossed. Lockdown on the island seems to be easing completely, with bars and restaurants reopening, hotels preparing for business, and a date set for the return of tourists. If they have any sense, they’ll block entry from countries where the virus is still rampant. Unfortunately, that would include the UK.

Not much happened at Willow Bank apart from the usual gardening, cooking, and cleaning. The one distraction was Jamie, Ruth, Joey, Rocky, and Nala dropping by late afternoon to borrow the canoe again, leaving the two dogs with Sue and me. We were just about to have tea when they arrived, so both dogs settled under the table, tongues out, ever hopeful for scraps. After dinner, Rocky kept me company in the garden while I dug up spent tulip bulbs, and tiny Nala stayed with Sue in the kitchen.

29th May 2020
The official UK Covid-19 death toll rose by 324 overnight to 38,161. It seems we weren’t the only country caught unprepared: The Times reports that as the coronavirus swept through France this winter, army staff in the east of the country were busy burning hundreds of thousands of face masks. It turns out this was part of a cost-saving program that had been running down France’s stockpile of 1.7 billion protective masks since 2011. After false alarms with SARS and swine flu, ministers had decided not to keep protective equipment in reserve, only to find themselves scrambling to buy masks on the open market when the real pandemic hit. Oops!

Meanwhile, President Trump has announced that the US will be disbanding its relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO), right in the middle of a global pandemic. Perhaps he thinks that will make it all go away? Sadly, he seems more focused on nefariously rigging the November election than on considering the health and well-being of his nation.

Another fine day in Harborough. Sue spent the morning shopping for bargains at Fosters factory shop, while I took my bike out for an early ride at 7 a.m. To my surprise, I came across an awful lot of runners pounding along tracks I usually have to myself. If there’s one positive thing to come out of this pandemic, it’s that so many people have taken up running. In the early days, most were just jogging in slacks and a T-shirt, but now they’ve upgraded, designer running gear, mobile phones strapped to their arms with apps logging their progress, and Fitbits being checked every few minutes. Hopefully, the investment in gear will strengthen their resolve to keep at it long after the virus has run its course!

Much of my time is now occupied with watering flowers, vegetables, and fruit. We haven’t had rain for several weeks, and there’s none in the forecast for the foreseeable future. The soil is hard, cracked, and dry; I imagine farmers must be getting rather concerned. In May, Scotland and the north seemed to monopolise the weather systems that bring rain, receiving 50% more precipitation than usual. Surely, rather than spending billions on HS2 or another runway for Heathrow, wouldn’t it make more sense to build an aqueduct, channelling water from the very wet north to the parched southeast? A far better use of funds and resources.

Back in early March, I ordered an apricot tree online to replace the Victoria plum that didn’t survive the winter. It was due to arrive a couple of weeks ago, but never did. I cancelled the order and, today, drove to a garden centre near Braybrooke to see if they had one. No luck. I briefly considered buying a strawberry tree (Arbutus) instead, but after seeing the length of the queue at checkout, I decided against it. Life is too short! I know queueing is a necessary hassle these days, but it’s still frustrating, and I suspect it’ll only become more so as time goes on.

Harry had a trip to the vet after badly ripping his claw. £110 later, he’ll hopefully be feeling better soon.

30th May 2020
The UK’s coronavirus death toll has risen by 215, bringing the total across hospitals, care homes, and the wider community to 38,376. Despite warnings not to pre-empt further relaxations of lockdown measures, Brits have been flocking to beauty spots this weekend. Meanwhile, Prince Joachim, nephew of Belgium’s King Philippe, has tested positive for coronavirus after attending a party in Spain, one that reportedly broke lockdown rules due to the number of guests. Serves him right.

Since easing its lockdown, Italy has seen an increase in COVID-19 deaths, rising from 87 on Friday to 111 on Saturday. In Romania, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban paid a 3,000-lei fine ($690) on Saturday for breaking his own coronavirus restrictions, being caught without a face mask and smoking indoors. If only Johnson and Cummings could take a lesson from this: when you break your own rules, put your hand up, take the punishment, and you might just retain some respect.

This morning, Sue did a Sainsbury’s shop for Linda and Paddy, leaving it on their doorstep as they continue their isolation after returning from the U.S. Afterwards, we drove to Newbold Verdon to collect Mia. Sarah is due to give birth on Sunday, so we’re taking care of Mia for now. We only stayed briefly before heading back to Harborough. There was noticeably more traffic on the road today, and the parks were packed with people enjoying the sun and having picnics.

The afternoon was spent taking Mia for walks, watering the lawn, and wrestling with a Google Home issue that stubbornly refused to play the news on command.

Meanwhile, Lee and Sarah, still unsure, visited the hospital. They checked the baby’s heartbeat, confirmed the head was well down, and ensured she was moving as expected. Everything looked fine, and an appointment was set for 8 a.m. tomorrow to discuss options, unless, of course, the baby has other plans!

In the evening, most of the Palmer tribe gathered in their respective gardens, watching the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch on tablets and laptops. Sue and I, veterans of the moon landings, opted instead for a film: Kajaki: The True Story. A harrowing account of a British paratrooper unit in Afghanistan, it follows their devastating ordeal after unwittingly venturing into a wadi littered with landmines. Graphic, gripping, and well worth watching. Later, at precisely 10:15 p.m., the whole Palmer clan managed to spot the Dragon capsule tracking west to east, low in the night sky.

Then there was King Trump. When he tweeted, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” in response to protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he may not have regretted his choice of words, but many of his citizens, and particularly his law enforcement agencies, certainly did. Does the buffoon not grasp that every word he utters has real-world consequences? Come election day, let’s hope he finally learns that even he is not immune to consequences.