29th June 2020

UK coronavirus deaths have risen by 25, bringing the total to 43,575.

Parents in England could face fines if they fail to send their children back to school when they reopen in September, the Education Secretary has warned.

Greece has extended its ban on British tourists until 15th July, while Italy will prohibit all hand luggage on national and international flights from 26th July.

A dry, cold, and blustery day, perfect weather for disliking cycling, so I didn’t!

It was a frustrating day of shopping for Sue. Unwilling to join the long queues snaking along pavements, she resorted to ‘shop hopping,’ picking up what she needed from stores devoid of shuffling customers. Even so, she had to make a second trip in the late afternoon to collect the last few missing items from the morning’s harvest.

I had no such struggles in the garden. My obedient rows of broad beans were swiftly picked, while the onions and shallots seemed to welcome the hoe and watering can with a smile.

The afternoon was spent wrestling with the challenge of sending files larger than 25MB via email. Eventually, I found a solution using my Cloud account and successfully sent and received a 7GB test video. Meanwhile, Sue opted for a spot of weeding in the gravel at the back of the house, until a series of phone calls from friends and family put an end to her efforts.

Sarah took Alice and Mia for a walk to the little park in Barlestone, which Sue and I had visited last week. She also managed to locate the geocache hidden just off the wooden walkway, the one we had hunted down ourselves. It would have been an easy find, as Mia was with us at the time and would surely have remembered.

30th June 2020

The UK coronavirus death toll has risen by 155 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 43,730. In response to a surge in cases, the government is imposing new lockdown measures in the city of Leicester. The area has accounted for 10% of all new cases in the past week, with nearly 1,000 confirmed in the last fortnight.

Under the strict lockdown, all non-essential shops will close immediately, and schools will shut for most pupils by Thursday. The planned reopening of pubs and restaurants across England this weekend will now exclude Leicester. These new local measures will remain in place for at least two weeks before being reviewed.

Leicester is just 12 miles away, and many Harborough residents commute there for work. Let’s hope the virus isn’t imported into our little town over the coming fortnight.

Meanwhile, researchers in China have identified a new strain of swine flu with the potential to spread to humans and trigger another pandemic. Named G4 EA H1N1, the virus is similar to the strain that caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic and possesses “all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus,” according to the study’s authors.

As if the world needs another catastrophe! It’s about time China took responsibility, cooperating with the rest of the world and being honest. Likewise, leaders like Trump and Putin must put the well-being of the planet’s citizens ahead of their egos and thirst for power.

30th June 2020

The last day of June was dry and pleasantly sunny. Today, Sue and I went our separate ways. I set off for a walk with John Lee, starting in the little village of Somerby, while Sue visited Sarah in Newbold Verdon with Doreen.

After picking up Doreen from her apartment opposite the railway station in Harborough, their journey was plagued by road work diversions. Nevertheless, they eventually arrived and spent around four hours in the company of Alice, Sarah, and Lee.

Meanwhile, my journey to meet John outside the (locked-down) Stilton Cheese Inn took me along uninhibited and quiet country lanes. A cut on the side of my foot, sustained in the garden a few days ago, was feeling sore. In the past, we’ve tackled a much longer ramble from this village, but today I planned a shorter five-mile route because of the pain.

Our trek took us over the Iron Age hill fort of Burrough Hill, where we stopped for a picnic and enjoyed a bottle of local ale, taking in the sweeping countryside views for miles around.

I arrived home just minutes before Sue and Doreen. While they wandered around the garden admiring my beetroot and greenhouse, Charlotte arrived after finishing work and joined them for a while. I stepped outside to catch up on their news, and after donating some beetroot to Doreen and lettuce to Charlotte, Sue took Doreen home while Charlotte left to make tea for the family.

1st July 2020 

The UK’s coronavirus death toll has risen by 176 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 43,906.

Meanwhile, America has bought up almost the entire global supply of Remdesivir, one of the key drugs used to treat coronavirus, effectively depriving the rest of the world of it for around three months. The drug, produced by US pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences, has been priced at £1,892 per patient in wealthier nations. While lower- and middle-income countries can produce generic versions, they are unable to sell them in Europe due to Gilead’s patent restrictions. However, the UK government insists it has enough stocks.

I can’t think of a better way for America to alienate itself from the very nations it has relied upon to maintain the present world order. Russia, China, North Korea, the Taliban, and ISIS must be smirking at such a faux pas by the Trump administration.

As Gilead Sciences has proven to be less than even-handed in its dealings, I suspect that more developed nations, particularly in Europe, will now begin to rely on ‘in-house’ pharmaceutical companies for essential medical supplies. This could mark a shift in global health policy, where self-sufficiency becomes a priority over dependency on external suppliers.

It was a cool and showery day. I got wet on my morning bike ride, but on the bright side, I saw very few others on the route, which I prefer.

The rest of the morning was spent in fruitless online chats with Netflix, trying to figure out why Chromecast refused to play videos on the TV. After a couple of hours, I realised they had no idea what the problem was either, so I gave up.

In the afternoon, while Millie the cat sat watching, I planted two rows of runner beans and erected their supports.

After lunch, Sue tried to make a doctor’s appointment to discuss her osteoarthritis tablets, which she is due to stop taking. She was told that, as it is non-urgent, she should try again in one or two months. Until then, she has no choice but to continue taking them while waiting for an appointment.

In the evening, Jamie, Ruth, Joey, Rocky, and Nala came over to pick up some Euros I had ordered for them and to borrow suitcases that matched Ryanair’s strict luggage criteria for their upcoming holiday to Gran Canaria in nine days. They seem quite excited, though Ryanair’s regulations add an unnecessary layer of stress to the whole process.