WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

Marvellous how quickly you get used to not touching anything when you are outside! You can't avoid everything of course but you can shorten the odds!
Small things amuse small minds, a tiny piston for the new beam engine, perfectly made, pleased me no end. Never gave infection a single thought while I was doing it.
This week's PE arrived. MD has done a full page on Covid19, well worth reading. Particularly strong pieces about the neglect of the NHS since 2010 and a good piece pointing out that having Jeremy Hunt as chair of the Commons Health committee looks a bit dodgy when it was he who presided over the loss of 8,000 beds and staff losses. One number crunch for you..."32 hospital beds per 10,000 population in Italy which is struggling to cope. 25 per 10,000 in the UK"
Trying out a Costa Rican coffee. Excellent but not as good as my usual Machu Pichu Organic.

[Marilyn]

I know this is a controversial thing to say...but the only people who did well during THE GREAT DEPRESSION were those that had resources of some kind and I am not talking money in the bank! Most well off were the hoarders and those who could turn their hand to anything and make the very best of nothing much. We have inklings of “possible depression” looming. I’m not trying to scare-monger...I’m just saying it is time to give that thought a passing glance. We are all in for a new world after the virus. At first we concentrate on surviving, but after that we realise the entire financial situation of the world may possibly have changed (while we were sleeping).

Oh my! Do I need a pill or something?

[Stanley]

I don't think that's controversial at all. It was true about the Inter-War depression when the value of hard assets like gold and commodities rose as the economy crumbled.
But, there is a difference with this crisis, see Beware the Banks are out to get you for the full SP but basically the markets are acting in a very peculiar manner and the suspicion is that this is because the stock market boom was financed with debt which is 60% higher now that in 2007.
Quantas have announced they are grounding all international flights except for repatriation from abroad. That endangers the jobs of about 20,000 people world wide.
I noted the government stating that a 'massive increase' of tests to 25,000 a day is to be done as soon as possible. Great! But I have been doing some sums..... If you assume the population of England is 55million and divide that by 25,000 you get 2240 days, just over 6 years. Of course my sums might be wrong but if they are right we need 250,000 extra to test everyone in less than a year.

[Marilyn]

I’m worried. I don’t often get worried. I am a glass half full person.
We seniors have all lived through times when government decisions turned overnight. Now they seem to fluctuate every half hour. When they talk about individual measures, they are talking large groups of people, and making changes that affect many lives. I am getting suspicious and that is not my character at all...
( might need to get in the camper and head off to the horizon)

[chinatyke]

I’m worried. ...
( might need to get in the camper and head off to the horizon)

What a lovely idea!

[Marilyn]

I had to laugh this afternoon. The private hospital that I had my spinal op in last year closed down soon afterwards. ( no wonder the paint was peeling off the walls, the meals were a misery and everything looked shabby, including the operating theatre...thought I was in a M.A.S.H. Unit, despite the cost). Anyway, announced today, that hospital will be a dedicated Coronavirus hospital for mild to moderate cases....good luck everyone. Right in the heart of the city where you can’t even find a free 5 min car park to drop your sick off at the door.

[plaques]

I’m worried. I don’t often get worried. I am a glass half full person.

It all depends where the bottle is situated.

All this lockdown stuff reminds me of the conduct of the trench warfare in WW1. If the troops kept in their trenches it took over 300 shells to kill one man. But to the authorities this looked like they were doing nothing a bit of action was needed, so they sent them over the top killing thousands for no gain. Here we are again in the 'do something' mode where all the popular knee jerk actions only add confusion and make the situation worse. The moral is to keep calm, use your loaf but carry on as normal.

[Stanley]

I've just experienced a time warp! I went to the Co-op for some milk and a few bits and pieces and was immediately transported back to 1940! No milk at all, no greengrocery and many shelves empty! Luckily most of my bits were available and I haven't tun out of milk, I always keep 4 pints in front. (God bless mother, she trained me well!)
How does someone stockpile milk? They are working under another handicap. The large roller shutter at the back of the store where deliveries come in is broken and jammed shut, all deliveries have to come in a small side door.
I'm fine of course but there must be some very frightened people out there!
I spent £18 and qualified for the £1.50 off voucher. First time they have ever done that to my knowledge and a funny time to do it.

[Marilyn]

Long life milk Stanley, but stocks will get low of that too.
Paracetamol stocks low here.
Ventolin stocks running low at chemists and folk being urged not to stock pile prescription meds.
( funny...as I found my non used Ventolin inhaler was 5 months out of date, so I was hoping to leave that at the Chemist for disposal and get a new one on Saturday). I was simply thinking ahead for the Winter months.

[plaques]

How does someone stockpile milk?

You can actually freeze modern milk. We tried it some months ago, always in front of the curve as they say, Its Ok but the cream tends to separate and become a bit lumpy. Putting it in a blender smooths it out but all in all its too much trouble. Unless you are confined to barracks with nobody to help you out its not worth the effort. .

[Marilyn]

I can’t stand long life milk. Always leaves me slightly queasy.

[Marilyn]

And cows keep giving...so where is the milk?

[Stanley]

Quite. I was talking to one of my neighbours and she is going to Aldi. She says that if they have it she'll bring me some milk.
It struck me that I was being forgetful this morning, there are a lot of people who can't afford to have stocks of food let alone stockpile. The Co-op this morning would not be a welcoming place....
When we used to holiday on Eigg it was all Long Life Milk and we got used to it. Remember paralysed milk? (Sorry, sterilised but in the trade we always called it paralysed!) A lot of people actually preferred that because being cooked at a higher temperature in the bottle it had a nutty flavour.

[Marilyn]

Long life milk just leaves me rubbing my tummy hours afterwards feeling not quite right. When we are away in the van, I avoid it apart from in tea or coffee, and I still don’t like it, and it still upsets my tummy.
That tells me to avoid it. ( I can take evaporated milk in coffee and tolerate that better). I must have had powdered milk at some point in my early life, but haven’t tried it as an adult.

[PanBiker]

We have our milk delivered by our local milkman, Mon, Wed and Friday with an odd top up from the supermarket if required.

[Gloria]

Sterilised milk was awful, couldn't stand the taste

[Marilyn]

Ha! No one has milk delivered here by a milkman anymore!
Gosh...haven’t had a doorstep milk delivery since the early ‘80s...

[PanBiker]

We have at least three milkmen operating in the town. We use Ian Greenwood, no problems in supply or delivery, all organised and paid for online.

[PanBiker]

Boom! we have won £25.00 on the Premium Bonds.

[Marilyn]

Yeeehah! How will you spend it? Dinner out?

[PanBiker]

Not in the current climate Maz, way things are going over here it may pay for a few toilet rolls if we can find any.

[Tizer]

I've just experienced a time warp! I went to the Co-op for some milk and a few bits and pieces and was immediately transported back to 1940! No milk at all, no greengrocery and many shelves empty! Luckily most of my bits were available and I haven't tun out of milk, I always keep 4 pints in front. (God bless mother, she trained me well!)
How does someone stockpile milk? They are working under another handicap. The large roller shutter at the back of the store where deliveries come in is broken and jammed shut, all deliveries have to come in a small side door.
I'm fine of course but there must be some very frightened people out there!
I spent £18 and qualified for the £1.50 off voucher. First time they have ever done that to my knowledge and a funny time to do it.

Now I know things have really got bad - Stanley has used 4 exclamation marks in one post.

[Big Kev]

Lots of supermarket jobs available at the moment, they're all advertising for delivery drivers and 'stock replenishment operatives' (that's shelf stackers to us normal folk). Hospitals are also advertising for patient support service people...
Hopefully no one need be out of a job unless they're 'isolated'.

[PanBiker]

Last nights extraordinary emergency Town Council meeting which was streamed live on YouTube. Basic upshot was to suspend Town Council meetings and delegate emergency powers to the Town Council Clerk to deal with ongoing financial matters. Cllr Tom Whipp was voted in as deputy Town Clerk to take over if the current incumbent of the role is incapacitated due to the virus. The other major decision taken was to cancel all Town Council run events so in the short term that includes St Georges Day celebrations and this years BOTS (Bands on the Square). A decision was also made to keep the toilets open with a more frequent cleaning rota. There was an item about the Civic Hall as well but I missed it. There was some discussion about using the now unused delegated entertainment budget to potentially help residents in lockdown in some way but I don't think a final decision was arrived at.

Nothing on social media yet but I suppose it will appear at some point.

[Stanley]

You're right Tiz, I did. I apologise and will be more careful in future!!!



I saw this in PE yesterday and was intrigued. It explains difficulties I have had with understanding coal formation over the years. Until I hear anything different I'll assume it's correct. Does it look kosher Tiz?
My lovely neighbour delivered 4 pints of semi-skimmed yesterday.... Aren't people nice.