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Thought I’d post this Guardian front page, not because of the disgraceful headline about Boris – standing up for the leader who saved the world from fascism does not constitute “stoking fear and division” – but because of the red line showing the fall in Britain’s output in April. The worst recession in 300 years!
How instrumental was the lockdown in causing this economic woe? We can’t blame it entirely on the Government’s decision to place us all under virtual house arrest on March 23rd since the more modest containment measures introduced on March 16th would have had a negative impact on the economy absent a lockdown and, even if they hadn’t been imposed, people would have naturally adapted to the presence of the virus in ways that would have harmed the economy. But the lockdown increased that harm by an order of magnitude. Sweden’s economy, for instance, is expected to shrink by just 7% in 2020. The eminent financial journalist who contributes anonymously to this site used the Blavatnik School of Government’s tool for ranking different countries according to whether or not they locked down and how severely they locked down and found there was a positive correlation between that and how much their economies are predicted to shrink by.
The Government will claim that when it took the decision to lock us all up on March 23rd it was merely “following the science”, and that’s the subject of my op ed in today’s Telegraph. Here’s how it begins:
According to the WHO, there are two pandemics raging across the world. The first is the one we’re all familiar with, but the second is more insidious – the explosion of fake news about the virus. “We’re not just fighting an epidemic,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on February 15th. “We’re fighting an infodemic.”
This theme was taken up by the UK Press Gazette which launched a “Fight the Infodemic” campaign on June 3rd. “The aim is stop key platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter from promoting misinformation about vital issues like Covid-19 and instead to favour evidence-based journalism from bona fide outlets,” wrote the editor Dominic Ponsford.
What surprised me about this is that the biggest fake news about the virus has been disseminated by the mainstream media. I’m thinking of the myth that the Government’s scientific advisors urged Boris Johnson to impose a full lockdown long before March 23rd and it was only because he ignored them that Britain has one of the highest Covid death tolls globally.
As I point out, this is the exact opposite of the truth: Boris didn’t turn a deaf ear to the scientists urging him to lock down. Rather, he ignored their advice to tread carefully and rushed into one of the worst decisions in our history.
That claim is based on an analysis of the SAGE meeting minutes in the period leading up to the lockdown that readers of this site will be familiar with:
Various different social distancing measures were discussed by SAGE, but no one in the group recommended quarantining the entire population. The measures talked about were home isolation of symptomatic individuals and the cocooning of the over 70s – both of which were introduced by the government on March 16.
The penultimate SAGE meeting before the lockdown was on March 18 where it was noted that the impact of the measures introduced so far would not be known for two or three weeks. According to the minutes, the boffins said it was too early to say whether additional measures – such as closing pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues – would be necessary.
In short, Boris Johnson and his Cabinet were not “following the science” when they took the decision to place everyone under virtual house arrest, and nor were they ignoring it by not doing so earlier. On the contrary, their scientific advisors were urging a more cautious approach.
In the SAGE meeting on March 23, the day lockdown was announced, the attendees flagged up the negative impact of the containment measures. “Actuarial analysis is required to estimate deaths caused indirectly by Covid-19, including those caused by the social interventions,” says one of the minutes. Another says: “Given the clear links between poverty and long-term ill health, health impacts associated with the economic consequences of interventions also need to be investigated.”
I also nail the calumny, put about by Neil Ferguson and others, that the UK would have a lower death toll if Boris had locked us all down a week earlier.
Simon Wood, professor of statistical science at Bristol University, published a paper on June 1 showing that the R number in England and Wales was less than 1 before March 23rd. The same conclusion has been reached by Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford.
In other words, the containment measures introduced on March 16 were more than sufficient to halt the spread of the virus. The government’s scientific advisors did not urge the Prime Minister to go any further, and they were right not to do so. I’m convinced that the decision to place the entire country in suspended animation on March 23 will end up costing more lives than the pandemic.
Former French Health Minister Issues Warning About Big Pharma
This is rather remarkable. Philippe Douste-Blazy, Cardiology MD, the former French Health Minister and at one point a candidate for Director-General of the WHO, has revealed that in a recent closed-door meeting, the editors of the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine expressed their concerns about the criminal pressures of BigPharma on their publications. Things are so bad that it is not science any longer. You can watch the video of Philippe Douste-Blazy being interviewed about this meeting here and a reader has kindly produced a transcript.
Apolline de Malherbe [French broadcaster]: But it’s hard to understand why scientists would voluntarily give bias to studies
Dr. Philippe Douste-Blazy: Exactly! That’s the great question. That’s the great question we are all asking ourselves, finally, and you know those Chatham House lectures in London.
AdM: Remind us what is this all about? This is extremely interesting.
P D-B: These are meetings that are completely behind closed doors, only with experts. No one can record, no one is taking any pictures. It’s only between experts.
AdM: Top secret.
P D-B: Top secret. But still, there was a meeting the other day, of the directors of scientific journals, like the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine…
AdM: The Lancet, which is that journal which published this study we are talking about…
P D-B: These are extraordinary journals. When it’s written in Lancet, it’s “written in Lancet”. So that’s why… Here, we’re talking about something very important this discussion that happened. And it ended up leaked: the Lancet’s boss, Horton, said: “Now we are not going to be able to, basically, if this continues, publish any more clinical research data, because the pharmaceutical companies are so financially powerful today and are able to use such methodologies, as to have us accept papers which are apparently methodologically perfect but which, in reality, manage to conclude what they want to conclude…” This is very, very serious!
AdM: But what you are telling us is very serious! That would mean that it is the pharmaceutical companies that are putting pressure on, including financial pressure, I guess on the scientific results! But you understand, who can we trust anymore today?
P D-B: Indeed, that’s why I allow myself to tell you about it, because it is one of the greatest subjects… never anyone could have believed. I have been doing research for 20 years in my life. I never thought the boss of the Lancet could say that and the boss of the New England Journal of Medicine too. He even said it was “criminal”, the word was used by them. That is, if you will, when there is an outbreak like the COVID, in reality, there are people… us, we see “mortality”, when you are a doctor or yourself, you see “suffering”. And there are people who see “dollars”, that’s it.
Sceptical is Second Favourite at Royal Ascot
Anyone fancy a flutter at Royal Ascot next Saturday? ‘Sceptical’, a four year-old gelding, is second favourite for the Diamond Jubilee stakes. He’s trained in Ireland by Denis Hogan and will be ridden by Frankie Dettori. I’ve put a tenner on…
Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Great story on the Isle of Wight Radio site. A Cowes man called John Corby has taken it upon himself to wash away all the two-metre distancing street markers the local council has painted on his street, which he describes as “council-sanctioned vandalism”. He told the radio station:
The dots will not save any lives but undoubtedly reduce the vital charm of the high street just when we need to be encouraging people to go shopping again.
Basically council sanctioned vandalism projecting an image of fear, the last thing we need right now.
All I did was remove three dots in front of my house as a sign of defiance against a dystopian Orwellian future which we all seem to be sleepwalking towards.
A “dystopian Orwellian future”! Sounds like Mr Corby is a reader of Lockdown Sceptics.
Well done, Sir.
The Taliban: An Apology
A brilliant piece of satire by Sahil Mahtani has just been published in the Spectator called “The Taliban: An apology“. The idea is we were wrong to condemn Mullah Omar and his shock troops when the Taliban started destroying ancient artefacts to erase the past. “As it turns out, they appreciated sensitivities that we did not recognise at the time: the threat that cultural history poses to the present,” he writes.
The Taliban worked out – in a way that Britain was slow to – that public statues are not politically neutral. They are statements about who and what we honour as a society. They carry the power structures of one age into another. Every collective generation has the right to ensure their values are reflected in the statues they pass. Modernity means that the aperture narrows. Five years ago it was Rhodes must fall. Today it is Churchill must fall. It turns out there was a slippery slope—to utopia
Worth reading in full.
The Free Speech Union Litigation Fund
As you watch the protests today, worth bearing in mind that what the demonstrators are trying to do to statues they’ve done to dozens of living people – cancelled them, that is. The Free Speech Union, which I helped set up in February, has launched a fighting fund on GoFundMe so we can stand up for freedom of expression in the courts. You can find it here. Please give anything you can and share it on your social media feeds. Free speech has never been in greater peril since the man in the box defeated the Nazis.
Round-Up
And on to the round-up of all the stories I’ve noticed, or which have been been brought to my attention, in the last 24 hours:
- ‘Ghanaian footballer ‘stranded at Mumbai airport for 74 days’ thanks to coronavirus‘ – Anyone seen The Terminal? Here’s the sequel
- ‘Universities could see up to ten per cent of British students defer places, Ucas chief says‘ – As few as that?
- ‘Before Catching Coronavirus, Some People’s Immune Systems Are Already Primed to Fight It‘ – More evidence that some people have natural immunity
- ‘How New York’s Coronavirus Response Made the Pandemic Worse‘ – Not just New York, obviously
- ‘We cannot sit in our own little bubbles forever‘ – Robert Dingwall, member of NERVTAG, with a refreshingly dissenting point of view in Spiked
- ‘Cricket fears lost generation as clubs stare into financial abyss‘ – It is game over for cricket, asks the Times?
- ‘Brilliant Seinfeld spoof‘ – Fans will remember the episode when Kramer is shamed for not wearing an AIDS ribbon. Someone has updated it with subtitles so this time he’s being shamed for not sticking a BLM black box on his Instagram account
Theme Tune Suggestion From Readers
Just the one suggestion today: “How Long Will it Last?” by the Jackson Southernaires.
Small Businesses That Have Reoponed
A few weeks ago, Lockdown Sceptics launched a searchable directory of open businesses across the UK. The idea is to celebrate those retail and hospitality businesses that have reopened, as well as help people find out what has opened in their area. But we need your help to build it, so we’ve created a form you can fill out to tell us about those businesses that have opened near you. Please visit the page and let us know about those brave folk who are doing their bit to get our country back on its feet.
Shameless Begging Bit
Thanks as always to those of you who made a donation in the last 24 hours to pay for the upkeep of this site. It takes me many hours every day, which doesn’t leave much time for other work. If you feel like donating, however small the amount, please click here. And if you want to flag up any stories or links I should include in future updates, email me here.
And Finally…
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Howdy, friends, happy Saturday!
I’m looking for an artist or cartoonist. I’m totally useless at drawing and I want a picture of the Welsh dragon bound, gagged and rolled ignominiously on its back, which accurately represents the current situation in Gulag Wales. Can anybody oblige? Am willing to pay whatever is the going rate for humiliated dragons.
Try fiver.com
I will, thank you.
You’re right, it is a Gulag. You can tell socialists are in charge. Fortunately I can walk across the border from where I live, and frequently do so.
Wish I could!
peter soakell fine art murals, google it for contact details)
07598 198657 text
Many thanks, sounds promising!
I’ve been banned from visiting my offspring since March. If it wasnt for skype I wouldnt see him at all. He lives in South Wales, having started a new job recently. I’m in England. What is the Severn now, the new Berlin Wall?
More or less. But the horrible, anglophobic Cymruzombies like it this way. Came across a Twitter thread the other day called #Walesisclosed. Nearly gave me apoplexy.
Wish Edward I would rise again.
There was an article in the Daily Post about how hotels are begging to open this summer so that they can still have some summer trade but it seems the stupid ministers at the Welsh Assembly are refusing to listen.
Major Welsh tourist attractions warned the same imbeciles that they were on the point of collapse. They received no reply.
That Guardian graph is pretty eye-watering. And yet I actually think it still won’t shock the masses awake, because it just reinforces the incorrect view that the economy is ‘just a load of graphs’, that it’s abstract, that it won’t actually affect people’s standard of living, their health, their personal finances, the prices of their food and bills, how easy it will be for them to get a job.
They’re in for a rude awakening.
Talking about the price of food, interesting that since the lockdown supermarkets have vastly reduced the amount of BOGOFs type offers, even after the shelves have been fully restocked.
May seem like a little thing but I have noticed this affects the overall cost of shopping.
Inflation in plain sight.
Few pounds here and there, may not seem a lot, but over time it does build up.
Yes – and I haven’t seen any 25% off offers for 6-or-more wine bottles. Not that I am a great drinker of course, but,you know what they say, every litre helps!
Shop in Aldi or Lidl instead. They have never done three for two or whatever it is but simply keep their prices low, (cream 89p in Aldi, around £1.10 in Tesco, even more in the outrageously expensive Co Op.) I might sound like a I work for them – I don’t! but they really are much better value and their products match the rest of the supermarkets in quality, and sometimes surpass them, especially fresh meat.
Totally agree!
Yeah, our grocery bill has gone up.
To be fair- if you used to have sandwiches or coffees or whatever, out of your house, you may not add that to your weekly grocery bill- i think you may well spend less but not realise it.
It’s inflation that won’t get picked up by RPI, CPI or any other official way of measuring it.
No need to entice the punters when all they can buy is food.
And yes, food is booming because of demand. But wait til reduced supply really pushes things up…
It won’t ,don’t worry! There is no food shortage.
Being in the manufacturing industry, the reason there are no deals is because at the beginning of lock down, demand was higher than ever and there was no need to entice shoppers to multi-buy.
The economy isn’t numbers. It is people doing things for other people.
But try telling that to most Lefties!
I am left-wing.
I agree, and fewer people are doing fewer things for others because businesses were forced to close over lockdown and 11 million people are now effectively being paid by the government, rather than paid by ‘other people’.
The government doesn’t have any “money” – money is simply a token representing the fact that the bearer has done something for someone else and is thereby entitled to exchange the token for someone to do something for them.
Also known as money
Wow, just wow
Actually it’s our money, which they take from us by force and squander.
Yes. Thousands of pounds spent defacing our high streets with ugly distancing graffiti.
The Government controls, as far as it can, the production of money. Who else controls it? And it doesn’t necessarily denote you’ve done something for someone else. Welfare payments are not made in recognition of something you’ve done. Neither is pocket money or an inheritance or a charitable donation.
Money is essentially a voucher that can be used to claim a share of future production or economic activity e.g. services. The voucher may come into your hands by many routes.
Pretty sure it’s central banks that control the production of money.
You don’t think central banks are part of government? Whatever it might say on the tin, they are.
You have it backwards – but are otherwise spot on.
“Who else controls it [money]?”
Actually the majority of the money in circulation has been created by private finance capitalists. They create it out of nothing.
Poppy, you seem like a switched on girl, take a look at the ‘capatalists at work’ blog for a more rounded view;- I’m totally ignorant of finance and still learning and I am 50)
Research “fractional reserve banking”, that will be an eye opener as it is the banking and money system w use now that we do not follow the gold standard.
That’s a bit like saying traffic congestion isn’t about numbers, it’s about people getting from A to B.
Rampant stagflation.
Unfortunately you still get a load of people who believe that its “people not profit” and that they’re not going to be affected.
I think the next few months might jolt them out of their zombie induced torpor.
Economics is not that complicated At heart. If it were, most economists couldn’t do it.
I don’t understand why so many people just can’t grasp even the basics. As far as I can tell, they must be being stupid on purpose.
Unfortunately even intelligent people become stupid when it comes to economics and money.
My late mother-in-law, God bless her was very intelligent in her field (Scandinavian women’s literature) but unfortunately had a fervent belief in the existence of the Magic Money Tree and would never listen to the view that such a tree doesn’t exist.
A lot of things are fairly straightforward and can be approached in fairly simplistic terms. “Experts” in the respective fields tend to overcomplicate things in order to justify the need for said experts.
More destabilising bile from the Guardian.
i read this on their site today:
”The Guardian’s independence means we can set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Our journalism is free from commercial and political bias – never influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders”
Who tops the list of the Guardian’s philanthropic partners?
https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/oct/02/philanthropic-partnerships-at-the-guardian
It would make you laugh if it didn’t make you weep! The Guardian is one of the worst offenders as it tries to pretend it’s not a corporation. You’d think it was a charity, wouldn’t you?
I have also mentioned several times on this site that the government took out an advertising contract with the press before the lockdown in order to make sure SPI-B’s fear message to ensure compliance hit home and, with a few ‘allowed’ dissenting voices e.g. Hitchens, Daley, Pearson, Jenkins that is exactly what has happened.
https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/coronavirus/2020/04/newspaper-industry-partners-government-covid-19-campaign
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/882722/25-options-for-increasing-adherence-to-social-distancing-measures-22032020.pdf
https://www.ukcolumn.org/article/covid-coercion-boris-johnsons-psychological-attack-uk-public
Thanks, UK Column is consistently doing good work on the politics behind this whole disaster.
Excellent article. Hope Simon Dolan sees it.
Can someone send it to him via his Twitter feed or ask Toby to?
He describes the process as criminal. I agree.
Roll on, Coronaberg Trials.
NuremBoJo Trials
It isn’t just BoJo, it’s the whole horrible, nauseating, moronic lot of them. We might have to consider trying them in batches, as they did during the French Revolution.
Also this section on the Guardian’s website
https://www.theguardian.com/all-in-all-together
All together – Paid for by the UK government
The Guardian has to change its corporate mantra to reflect current reality – that it USED to be independent, but now is just a mouthpiece for its Saudi owner and the pharmaceutical industry. I’m not surprised to see Bill Gates is a sponsor.
‘Philanthropy’ is a code word for genocide through well crafted sophistry to make it appear as benign.
The Guardian is inciting so much violence and hatred, with no restraint, that its Scott Trust board and key editors should be arrested for their multiple crimes. Fortunately more and more people are seeing it for what it is, so its globalist agenda becomes counter productive.
All this talk of statues when really it should be #theGuardianmustfall
Including:
https://order-order.com/2020/06/10/guardian-must-fall/
“Guardian columnists are revelling in the destruction of imperfect historical figures, perhaps unaware their employer’s past is one rooted in being on the side of the US Confederacy and opposition to Abraham Lincoln. Will Black Lives Matter protestors begin marching towards 90 York Way?
Back in the 1860s, The Manchester Guardian gave unqualified support to the confederacy during the American civil war; even reprinting confederate propaganda against the slaves’ liberator Abraham Lincoln.
“it was an evil day both for America and the world when he was chosen President of the United States”
– Manchester Guardian, 10th October 1862”
Perhaps that explains why the Lincoln statue was attacked.
The Grad has been shamelessly begging all week. The appeal for donations was confined to top or bottom of pages but has recently started popping up, in quantity, among the articles.
Coincides with some uncomfortable questions suddenly being asked in the Mail. Torygraph etc.
Methinks the government
bribegrant has run out. Maybe now we’ll start to see some journalism instead of blatant propaganda, at last.The Grad front page graph is a welcome start, despite being disguised by Boris the smokescreen.
Excuse my French, but I hope all the b’stids in the MSM go bust! Shameless, panic-mongering, lying b’stids.
Shitting nora. That made my blood run cold.
Hi, I thought everyone would enjoy this one:
On a point of info, however, it is now thought that slaves were NOT used to build the pyramids. Indeed, at least to some extent they seem to have been an early job creation scheme!
Whatevs, really. It’s supposed to be joke. 🙂
It was aliens!
That’s ok so long as they were black aliens.
They also saw the first recorded strike when craftsmen downed tools. So I think they are safe for the moment.
And it would seem that all those years ago they were paid about the same as the minimum wage in Egypt today:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36160368
4,500 years without a pay rise!
I don’t think ‘It is now thought that…’ is likely to cut any ice with the mob. How about ‘It is now thought that Bristol would be a tiny, pointless village without the philanthropy of Edward Colston’, for instance?
Donated. And since this is very relevant to the topic of free speech I’ll repost it here, although I had just posted it on yesterday’s Sceptics: Tucker Carson has been good on the coronapanic and fantastic on the BLM nonsense, so it’s no surprise that there is a renewed push to silence him. Of course, the businesses involved will claim they are genuinely socially concerned, or if they are feeling more honest, that they are just “protecting their brands”, but in reality decisions like this are made by individuals or pushed on corporate boards by groups of individuals, and these companies are either influenced by individuals within them who dislike Carlson’s political positions or kowtowing to threats of campaigns against them. These kinds of things become tests of strength, and if Carson were to be quieted that would be another disastrous sign of weakness in the face of the menace of the race-baiting ideologues. That said, they’ve been after him for a while and haven’t got him yet. Fox News Host Tucker Carlson Loses More Advertisers Disney, Papa John’s, Poshmark and T-Mobile backed away from “Tucker Carlson Tonight” after the host’s comments about Black Lives Matter… Read more »
If Fox News dumped Carlson, they would lose their most popular newsreader and they would lose many of their viewers. Carlson could start an independent You Tube channel and he would get millions of subscribers, so Fox wont drop him.
Except YouTube would take his videos down.
Worse, it would just demonetise him, shadow ban him and refuse to justify their actions.
Indeed. They will be coming for Fox and any non conformist voice on the internet after that
In anger and rage and a wish to get away from BLM and the iconoclasts and vandals I started reading Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh. Guy Crouchback’s reaction to the Russo-German pact suits my mood: “The enemy at last was plain in view, huge and hateful, all disguise cast off. It was the modern age in arms. Whatever the outcome there was a place for him in that battle.”
Not, overall, a particularly optimistic parallel….
Great book though.
For the last 75 years the Guardian has been lecturing us, telling us that economic depression inevitably leads to fascism. Indeed, I think they are correct. It’s just this time round the fascism is going to be the of the Far Left variety. By the way, a prize for anyone who ever hears a BBC, Sky or ITV presenter or jornalist use the word non-ironically, of their own volition.
Sorry I meant use the words “Far Left” …
Fascism was of the far Left variety last time too. It’s one of the big lies of the last century and the Left that the National Socialist Workers Party of Germany was far right:
https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/haken32.htm
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ICLowIihTZU
Dinesh D’Souza Talks about the ‘Big Lie’ at UM 10/10/2017
(The Nazi roots of the Democrat party)
“We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history. The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations,” the prime minister wrote.
Curses! This means that there are now 2 things Johnson has said in the last n years with which I’m forced to agree!
The other one was about cycling safety. I am a former cycling instructor and his advice to cyclists approaching red traffic lights to overtake on the right – absolutely not on the left!! – and get to the front of the queue was bang-on and, ironically, a life-saver.
Meanwhile I draw a veil over just about everything else he’s ever said except what he was recorded saying to Darius Guppy – something the MSM and CPS has never gone near.
Any particular reason cyclists should wait at the front, Miriam, rather than where they were in the stream of traffic ?
In case Miriam doesn’t see this — it’s to stop yourself from getting crushed by a left-turning lorry. Standard advice to urban cyclists is to “own the lane”, rather than hugging the kerb; this ensures you are visible. Obviously the speed of the motor traffic has to be taken into account. Fast-moving traffic is best avoided if possible.
BTW, to all fellow cyclists out there: a rear-view mirror can save your life.
Not sure you’ve understood, Simon. Why not ‘own the lane’ in the stream of traffic where you were before stopping at the lights ?
(Everyone knows why one shouldn’t overtake on the left).
I think Simon does understand, JohnB. Please see my longer answer to you in which I (hope) I explain that the front is better but staying in the traffic stream is OK if that’s not possible. The big deal is to stay visible to drivers and your position on the road is how you do that.
Sadly, I do not think that everyone does know that you shouldn’t overtake on the left. With the massive increase in cycling that is going on, I see people doing this everyday and I fear for them. Also, nobody has told them that they need to learn how to look behind them before changing their position.
If that’s difficult, I suggest following Simon’s suggestion and get a mirror for your handlebars.
I used to cycle to school (several miles, big city, lots of traffic even back then) and we never worried about coming up inside a stationary queue of cars. Mind you we had more sense than to come up inside a long wheel base vehicle that might turn, and we knew to make sure anyone who might set off and turn knew we were there.
Of course, risk perceptions are relative. It probably didn’t seem particularly dangerous to us because we’d usually just been slipstreaming a bus….
or just do what the cyclists do round my way… use the pavements – much safer and pedestrians are nice and soft when you hit them
More-or-less snap (we must have posted at the same time). I have never been into mirrors but, given the silence of so many modern cars, I am re-thinking this.
I strongly recommend mirrors. Useful in high winds AND for making eye contact with drivers.
Yes, if you are able to overtake, it means you can get to the advanced stop line which is supposed to be solely for cyclists to enable them to get away first. Nobody else, including motorbikes and scooters should be in it (!) You will be visible to other road-users where they are used to expecting to see other traffic. Finally, you will be breathing in less pollution from exhausts. You can stay in line if the above is not possible e.g. there is not enough time before the lights change. If so, you should make sure to ‘take the lane’ i.e. stay in the middle of the lane, again for maximum visibility. Road positioning is the greater part of safety for cyclists, much more effective even than hi-viz jackets etc. This may seem counter-intuitive to some people but to stay in the gutter is the worst thing you can do, however ‘safe’ this might feel. You may well get cut up by a driver turning left in front of you or get squeezed into the kerb. Also, drivers sometimes let out passengers at lights and they will not be looking out for a cyclist coming up the… Read more »
Hmm, two long replies – and I’m just off to do some illegal socialising. 🙂 🙂
Most junctions round here do not have ‘advance stop lines’. I’m not saying overtake on the left. I’m not saying sit in the gutter.
There are few things more irritating than being behind the same cyclist twice in 10 seconds, because for unexplained reasons, they (the slower moving vehicles) feel justified in jumping the queue.
Yet again, why ?
Speaking as a cyclist AND a driver (as most cyclists are these days), I tend to sit in a line of traffic if we’re going to be stop go, stop go. I can usually get up to a faster speed than most motorists in heavy traffic, so it’s them holding me up, rather than the other way about. But then, I’m still alive and have never been knocked off or bumped. Anticipation and defensive riding in heavy traffic have stood me in good stead for decades.
Enjoy your illegal!
BTW, cyclists like to get to the front of the queue because there’s less chance of getting squashed into the gutter by a larger vehicle.
Another thing to consider is that a lot of drivers don’t sit in stationary traffic with their indicators on. And a lot forget – or never bother – to check their near side mirror before moving off or turning left from a stationary start. Because they should, it doesn’t mean they will. Avoid the bruises!
As you say, own the lane.
Not even the letter-box line about burkas?
Hi all
https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/deathsfrominfluenzabyagegroupin2020
I’m confused about this response to a FOI request on the ONS website.
In particular this paragraph:-
The accompanying bulletin for deaths registered weekly in England and Wales reports the number of deaths involving influenza and pneumonia (where COVID-19 was not also on the death certificate) in Figure 1. Additionally, the bulletin reports the total deaths involving influenza and pneumonia (but not COVID-19), in England and Wales for 2020, as at 1 May (latest available data) is 44,240 deaths. This total includes all deaths where influenza and pneumonia were mentioned somewhere on the death certificate and COVID-19 was not mentioned.
But I can’t see the figures in the actual bulletin? Am I missing something? And is this correct?
That chimes with the data I looked at a couple of weeks ago, from the ONS site. It’s freely available, but I came across it by accident.
I wonder about the iconoclasts. They pulled down a statue of a long dead slaver because slavery is bad, but they seem completely content to collude in the contemporary child slavery and forced labour the is fundamental to the production of chocolate. There is no such thing as guaranteed child labour free chocolate.
Ash Sarkar seems quite happy with modern Vietnamese nail bar slavery judging by her nails.
Sky seem untroubled (indeed unaware of, they would like you to believe) by the modern Chinese slave gangs employed throughout Northern Italy, despite the clear link with the spread of Covid-19.
The Guardian seem quite happy with systematic grooming, to use the polite word, up and down the country by certain social groups.
The BBC don’t seem to have a problem with a certain slaver being a revered religious leader, believed to be the “perfect example” for all humans to follow. .
No one ever mentions that slavery in China was not abolished till 1910. Why no reparations for Chinese slaves?
Arab-run and African slavery are of no interest to LBC.
Two years ago Piers Morgan was completely opposed to the toppling of statues. Now he fully supports the toppling of statues. No one appears to want to ask him why he changed his mind.
What mind?
“No one appears to want to ask him why he changed his mind”
Because nobody wants to talk to him…?
No mention of the millions of Europeans enslaved by Barbary pirates either. Incidentally African rulers profited from black slavery, Europeans derived no such benefits. So given that Barbary is in North Africa perhaps the reparations should go the other way.
If they were really bothered about black slavery, they’d be protesting against the current slat markets in Libya.
Some African countries had slavery into the last century.
Instead they protest against the country that stopped it, not only the Atlantic trade, but the Barbary coast pirates who took slaves, and of course the rest of the world.
From U.K. Column this week:
Modern Slavery
£130 Billion Profit
21 Million victims worldwide
54% Sexual Exploitation
38% Forced Labour
8% Other (organs)
https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/deathsfrominfluenzabyagegroupin2020
There is a FOI request response on the ONS website but I don’t understand it.
The accompanying bulletin for deaths registered weekly in England and Wales reports the number of deaths involving influenza and pneumonia (where COVID-19 was not also on the death certificate) in Figure 1. Additionally, the bulletin reports the total deaths involving influenza and pneumonia (but not COVID-19), in England and Wales for 2020, as at 1 May (latest available data) is 44,240 deaths. This total includes all deaths where influenza and pneumonia were mentioned somewhere on the death certificate and COVID-19 was not mentioned.
Anyone else able to decipher this? I don’t understand this 44,240 figure or am I reading this wrong?
I have no doubt that Big Pharma is ultimately responsible for many health scandals. They are not interested in whatever cures unless it’s something they can patent. If they can’t do that they take steps to create negative publicity about the remedies. There is huge evidence for the curative properties of vitamins for example but Big Pharma have tried to severely restrict their availability to the public via lobbying at the EU (fortunately they didn’t prevail). With the Coronavirus it can be shown that sunlight and Vitamin D3 in large doses are massive boosts to the immune system and so are strongly preventative, forget vaccination. Naturally this isn’t allowed to garner too much publicity.
https://taked3.com/
BIg Pharma does good and bad in equal measure I expect! Their push to vaccinate for every disease known to humanity is clearly going to do us great harm, since it is our immune systems that keep us alive, not vaccinations. Our immune system is seeing off threats every minute – no, second – of every day. For instance, the average healthy person has 10s of thousands of cancer cells in their blood at any one time that the body deals with. With good housing, clean water, a good diet, clean air and exercise, there is little for anyone aged under 60 to fear in our modern world, in terms of disease – unless they have some underlying health condition such as diabetes.
And without good housing, clean water, a good diet an exercise? Which is lacking in much of the world? Look up carriage of Hib and incidence of meningitis post vaccination. Or cervical cancer. Or reductions in fatal cerebral malaria in children. Vaccination has brought greater benefit to human health than any other intervention. All on the back of trying to get the immune system to do more and be better prepared when needed. Ever had shingles? Well guess what? Sometimes your immune system can do with a little boost to keep that virus that’s inside your nervous system under control. Particularly as one ages.
We need a balanced approach to mass vaccination…not the hysterical sort of non-evidence based approach you adopt. Do you know how many children die each year from food allergies and asthma? A lot more than die from measles. There are many doctors who think multiple vaccinations have played a part in the rise of allergies and asthma – it’s just they’re not allowed on our screens.
Absolute nonsense. Measles accounts for 140,000 child deaths per annum worldwide (2018). And that is with 86% of all children worldwide receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. In the U.K. over a 10 year period only 8 children died of food allergies. Paediatric deaths from status asthmaticus in the U.K. is about one every couple of years (I worked on severe asthma a for years). If you extrapolate the U.K. experience to global – where food allergy is rarer, it’s about 1/1000 of the deaths from measles annually.
If your going to post opinion state it as such. Otherwise point to some facts.
Sauce.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles
https://adc.bmj.com/content/86/4/236
A fact – UK (ONS) measles deaths for the last ten years shows either 0 or 1 per year.
Looks like good housing, clean water, a good diet, and exercise, do the job.
Average us child gets about 30 somethimg vaccines(some combined), average uk child get about 20 something again combined and average japanese and israeli childer get about 10 something..what does this tell you? Are japan and israel infection ridden countries no actually they are very healthy…so you dont need that much of vaccines. Old vaccines measels, polio etc were not huarmfull yet are still used in those countries too but even this difference shows we don’t need a vaccine for every microbe out there.
What are you saying? That vaccines are the answer to immune deficiency?
There are safer, more sensible ways to support and boost your immune system!
Herd immunity is the answer to immune deficiency. If others can pass the infection onto you then even though you may be immunocompromised, you gain some protection from others not carrying the pathogen. Some people have no options to boost their immune system. That includes many people with autoimmune diseases and almost anyone undergoing cancer treatment.
The Chief Scientific Officer is Patrick Vallance, the former R&D President for GlaxoSmithKline until 2018
Jeremy Farrar is a director of the Wellcome Trust and is a representative of SAGE
The corruption is hidden in plain sight and stinks to high heaven
I think the patent system is a big problem across many industries, it does create quite perverse incentives and hinders progress. We might need a new way to fund some aspects of drug development but if we all then had access to the resultant drugs and the incentive to not use non patentable remedies was removed we would all benefit.
The BMJ is more honest than the Lancet. A recent paper authored by highly respected Danish scientist Peter Aaby questioned the relatively short 2 year testing period of vaccines in Africa – because Aaby found that all-cause infant mortality more than doubled after the introduction of the DTP vaccination. The mainstream scientific community remained silent and UNICEF and other African nations ignored an ICAN legal challenge to stop distributing the vaccine. Why? UNICEF like the WHO has major funding from Bill Gates and most African nations rely on grants from them to fund their HIV and other health programmes. Yes, I agree with the editor of the NEJM – it is criminal.
https://www.jeffereyjaxen.com/blog/why-you-should-know-about-peter-aaby
There’s much less money in cures – and if it works, you automatically lose the customer.
”wash, rinse, repeat”
Weak political leadership and a media with a unified agenda has allowed the extreme left to take the initiatitive.
When the extreme of either wing escapes things, historically, can end up messy.
The aim of the extreme left and righ (twins, but they don’t know it) is to divide the silent majority.
With the ‘nasty cold’ BS and the upcoming economic storm we are in dangerous waters.
Maybe we silent majority, just getting on with life, no time for political activism, have had it too good for too long.
I hope someone takes control of the situation.
A good start would be getting Cummings hand outa Bozo’s arse, he can go get his Big Pharma payout, and maybe a real ‘Chirchill’ type can sort the job out.
Professor of common Sense (not spelling)
Fascism might well be preferable to the cowboys and Indians we have for a government now…
Whoops, did i just say that out loud?
Nope. I am with the sainted Winston on that one: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…”
The problem we have is that democracy is being eroded by several contemporary trends: disruption of campaigning with physical attacks (milk shake throwing etc), preventing public meetings taking place (UKIP suffered this), electoral malpractice (overt corruption, double voting and misuse of postal ballots), gross media bias (including by the state-funded BBC), general attacks on free speech, judicial activism, and social media interference by PC billionaires or hostile states (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran etc). All these egregious examples could be tackled but the Government has done nothing.
Saint Winston…… I’d go along with that.
You are duly canonised.
If anyone else, like me, is furious at the state of affairs in Wales, have a look at North Wales Police Twitter account. Yesterday they tweeted:
The region has been noticeably busier since lockdown rules were relaxed but legislation states that we must continue to #StayLocal
Then this morning they tweeted:
The message is clear #StayLocal whenever you can and keep your distance from each other….
So which is it? Yesterday it was legislation, today you only have to stay local ‘whenever you can’ i.e. it is only guidance.
Total utter madness.
‘…because the pharmaceutical companies are so financially powerful today and are able to use such methodologies, as to have us accept papers which are apparently methodologically perfect but which, in reality, manage to conclude what they want to conclude…”
This has been going on since God was in short trousers. The French behind the times as usual.
At least the French allow people to talk about Pharma’s undue influence on medical journals on national TV, unlike the rest of the world that just goes along with it. None of the UK’s MSM would ever accept an interview of this kind, even if it was a former Health minister.
Robert Dingwall speaks a lot of sense:
“We can probably manage to live with a recurrent infection that will be relatively minor in most of the people who contract it and will have significant consequences for others. The numbers of those who get seriously ill can remain within the capacity of a health system that has had time and investment to deal with it. If we have done that, we may come back and ask how much we really need to restructure everyday life around a public-health model, as opposed to a more social and economic model.”
Thanks for the horse picture! Sceptical is one beautiful mass of lean muscle!
Some calculations from U.S. data:
If the whole USA had the per capita death toll of the average per-cap toll of the 17 least affected states, there would’ve been 20,443 deaths nationwide by now.
For the middle third of states, it is 48,460.
If all states were all affected like the most affected 17 states, it would be 259,518.
Obviously the last category includes New York, which is a major outlier even among the worst-affected states. Note that COVID is most deadly in blue states, and in states with the strictest lockdown/social distancing measures. Of course, many propose that New York got hit with an especially deadly strain….
‘Sweden’s economy, for instance, is expected to shrink by just 7% in 2020.’
The difference being Sweden has not piled itself high with debt by paying peoples’ wages, and making hand-outs to companies inactive during lockdown, or spent mega-money on hospitals not needed, ventilators not needed, recalled clinical staff not needed, track&trace software and personnel not only not needed but useless.
Further, since in Sweden most retail outlets, bars, restos remained open, business did not drop to zero and since it never shut does not have to go from a cold start. People kept on working and know they have jobs, many now in the UK don’t know if they will still have their old jobs when the UK starts up again… if ever!
It is not just about how much the economy shrunk, but how quickly it can recover. Sweden’s economy was ticking over so still had momentum so much easier to gear up. UK economy came to a complete stop. Restarting and coping with the debt will make it harder and longer to recover.
If you shut down vast swathes of the economy, the longer it goes on, the more problems pile up. An issue I pointed out in another comment a major possible problem a lockdown creates is that disputes could occur. For instance, pubs, restaurants and shops pay rent to landlords. On the one hand landlords need revenue from rent and on the other hand tenants may feel why should they pay rent for periods when they can’t operate. If the government provides help for landlords to cover lost rent, the issue is resolved but what happens if this help is not available. I have annual gym membership. As gyms can’t operate I am paying for membership for something I can’t use. Would the gym be obliged to extend my membership to cover the period it couldn’t operate.
Are businesses going to find their suppliers going bust. A factor which could hit businesses is people not going back to old habits. We have gone almost three months where people can’t eat out, go to pubs, visit barbers and hairdressers or shop in most shops. Will people become so used to not doing these things, they will not return to these habits.
Only a few months ago, a friend who lives in a posh hamlet miles from the nearest shop,turned her nose up at online food shopping because she likes to choose stuff for herself. Three months of lockdown and she was celebrating the fact that she might never have to go shopping again. This morning, a different friend and I were lampooning the ridiculous rules that must be followed when shops open on Monday. (Bear in mind that the compulsory indoor mask-wearing may already have been added to the list of insults, making this even more of a ghastly experience.) She loves to shop and we unraveled the scenario for clothes shopping in a local big indoor shopping mall. It goes like this: You have to queue 2m apart and wait to be allowed into the shop of choice. Given that this applies to all the other units in the mall, window shoping is out of the question and social distancing in the various queues will soon be impossible. At last you enter the shop, to find you are not allowed to try the clothes on but must purchase them and try at home. Being rich, or with a… Read more »
The measures shop are bringing in will take away the advantages shops have over online businesses. An advantage of clothes shops you can try clothes in the shops and return in store if they don’t fit which can’t be done if you shop online. This advantage is lost if fitting rooms can’t be used. Who wants the hassle of queuing to get in shops.
I have also heard that clothes that get returned have to be in some way ‘decontaminated’ before being put out again, so that will further lead to stock depletion. I think the government secretly want all shops to close, and for all shopping to be done online; they just won’t say so.
It does look suspiciously deliberate, doesn’t it?!
Sweden has actually had a furlough scheme, but it is already being tapered off now. Not as extensive as the UK though. They did construct a field hospital in the Stockholm area, but it did not get used! Retail businesses have remained open, but with reduced footfall most have reduced their opening hours (opening an hour later and shutting an hour earlier, and some have shut at lunchtime, which they do not normally do).
Little tip for those who don’t want to wait in a queue at the supermarket. Pick a store that has an optician and just walk up to the front, tell the person working there ( it could be me) say you’ve an appointment at the optician they’ll let you in no question asked.
Does this also work with the fish counter?
Once you’re in, you’re in.
Have you written any more poems?
There once was a virus called covid 19
that made all the shop workers hide behind a screen
then along came some negro’s
who all wanted to be hero’s
and pissed on a statue of the Queen
it’s possible but my whore of mother won’t tell me who my father is but if i had to choose it would be Ant, or is it Dec? I can’t tell
Sneaky, I tip my cap at the audacious flexing of the lockdown!!!
An ethical issue for the day, and for the FSU:
Should we be concerned to protect or help individuals who themselves have been shamelessly hypocritical and high profile members of the political correctness mobs, if they ultimately fall foul of them. themselves?
Guten Morgan Britain
(Just posted by @mjr on yesterday’s page.)
Not disputing, by the way, the utterly pathetic absurdity of condemning people for wearing costumes, including blackface.
I can answer that one. No.
Yes, yes we should. Because the right to free speech is the right to free speech, so if we make exceptions based on what is said and who has said it, then you end up right back where we are today.
Hard to feel much sympathy, but if asked I’d say that the same standards should apply to everyone, even him.
But he wouldn’t be top of my priority list, if for no other reason than he’s rich and famous and will probably have other defenders and friends, and fall on his feet.
Yes, because free speech is free speech. But only after we’ve all had a good laugh first.
I defend your right to say anything you like. As long as you respect my right to laugh at you for saying it.
Of course. Same rule for everyone.
(We can however still bask in the schadenfreude every time a former collaborator gets their just desserts when the mob finally turns on them- it always does – and feel smug as we stick up for them)
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-taliban-an-apology
I don’t think this is very funny. The Taliban blew up statues of the Buddha. Activists are tearing down statues of slaveowners, and one defaced a statue of Churchill, who was no Gautama Buddha.
Well, the Buddha was born into an aristocratic family. He would have been a beneficiary of slavery. That would be enough for the Far Left fascists.
Yes, Churchill was much better.
On a dark desert highway, COVID in the air No smell of colitas could I sense anywhere Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My brow grew fevered and my cough was dry I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway I heard the Thursday clap And I was thinking to myself “This could be Heaven, or could be a trap” Then she cranked up the model and she showed me the R There were voices down the corridor I heard them from afar Welcome to the Hotel Lock-ya-downia Such a lovely scene (Such a lovely scene) For your quarantine Furloughin’s good at the Hotel Lock-ya-downia Any time of year (Any time of year) You’ll get free cash here Her mind is socially distanced, she got an improvised mask She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she can ask To wash their hands in the fountain, soap makes them clean Some sing Happy Birthday, some sing of Jolene So I called up the Captain “Wine, or I’ll parch” He said, “We haven’t had a pub round here since twenty-third of March.” And still that choir is calling for… Read more »
Saturday night in the Bigg Market after a North East derby. Northumbria Police waiting in the wings. How do we think some of today’s protesters hell-bent on pulling down statues would fair?
Sorry ‘fare’!
Escaping the Bigg Market on a Saturday night with all of your teeth is an achievement at the best of times.
You were pretty safe in Ricks Cocktail bar, less so in Legends or Robinsons!
Ah, Legends!
There’s a reason I stayed in other parts of town most weekend evenings.
Were you too young for Grobbs (it was raided and only three people were over 18!) and Tuxedo Junction (the ‘in place’ before the Princess)?
The boat was about my era, sorry to say.
If you could have found even 3 people in there over 18 in 1992 I’d be amazed (I was not over 18 in 992)
Grobbs shut down around 1982, then re-opened as a 21’s club. My friend was there when it was raided (she was 6 weeks or so from her 18th birthday, and got a ‘ticket’), but luckily I was not. Did you do The Royal in Whitley – for anyone else listening in, it was the NE equivalent of Annabel’s (lots of young ladies with their uncles!!).
Yes… before my time.
Didn’t spend much time in Whitley Bay. A bit too close to mum’s work!
Re the Lockdown Economic Crisis. This is of unprecedented proportions. We need to think about how we get out of this. As long as it can be seen we are returning at a brisk pace to normality, I think it will be credible to simply write off the debt generated over the last few months. That will not be without its consequences (a sharp rise in inflation can be expected I guess), but sticking with the debt will also have huge, huge consequences on public finances for many years to come. The government normally creates money (QE) by creating keystroke money to buy bank bonds. It might be better if it bought company bonds throughout the economy, since it’s production that needs to get moving. I think the Government should also encourage a spending bonanza. As the Japanese government did, it should provide token cards to spend x amount within say three months. Yes.this will be more money creation, but it will help dig us out of a hole, not dig us further into one. We also need specific relief on pubs and restaurants, reduce the duty paid on alcohol in those establishments, and pay for it… Read more »
I like your thinking, sir. Little chance of course with the current bunch of monkeys in charge!
Good idea. However for the muppets in our government and the civil service – its too easy and too much common sense.
You do not seem to understand how money works. Except for banknotes and coins, it is not created by the government but by the banks.
International hedge funds are at the apex of the pyramid. Beneath them are the central banks, principally the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, which was the first to be created. Then come the investment and retail banks and the multinational corporations. Subject to the whims of their overlords is the so-called Deep State; in Britain this is controlled by Mark Sedwill. Next come the politicians, who are lackeys providing theatre to convince us mugs that we have any influence over events and persuade us that we are not being farmed. The fruits of the common people’s labour are directed up the pyramid.
The financial system never recovered from the crash in 2008 and by last autumn was teetering on the verge of collapse. One of the objects of the “pandemic” is to precipitate that collapse and supply a scapegoat: hence the lockdown. There are other, more sinister, objects, but the financial collapse was the most pressing.
This film explains fiat money for the layman and is well worth anyone’s time.
Why get into the debate about how many centimetres “social distancing” is allowed.
Let’s get back to acting like human beings!
Email from Argos,the latest company to lose the plot,
‘Safety is our absolute priority and our colleagues have been working hard to get everything ready and to make sure you can shop with us safely. All Argos stores will continue to work on a click and collect basis for the time being. We hope to reintroduce shopping in stores in the coming weeks, but until then you will need to order your items before you arrive at the store. There might be a queue to get into the store as we will be limiting the number of customers allowed in store at any one time. Our colleagues will be on hand to make sure we have a safe number of people inside the store and to help with social distancing while queuing. All stores will have perspex safety screens at the tills and our colleagues will be following social distancing guidelines at all times, including when they collect items from the warehouse and bring them to the collection counter. This might mean it takes them a little longer than usual to serve you ‘
I’ve found shopping there a dismal experience at the best of times,so another shop to add to my avoid list.
I’m not an Argos regular but the times I have been I would have struggled to get within 2 metres of anyone. Of all the shops you’d think would be able to cope with distancing, it’s them.
Most of these stores will be shut by xmas if this bull shit continues
Not even Christmas, at the bare minimum those already in trouble might go under before this month is over.
You have to watch for the quarter days – next one 24 June – when rent is due for many retail businesses (see wiki):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_days
Which is not long to go now….
They (shops) could all afford the March quarter day rent as they’d had the best part of a quarter’s trading pre l-d.
Nobody can afford the June quarter day rent – there’s no income to pay it from.
A bloodbath for the property companies and another tightening of the screw on the economy.
They won’t be able to last that long under the crazy regs.
I find myself sort of hoping that from when the shops open there will be several weeks of continuous rain during opening hours… let’s see how their sales go then…No one will queue long in pouring rain..
I believe that the long range forecast does include rain which won’t only affect shops but the likes of National Trust and English Heritage properties as well as Blenheim, Chatsworth, etc – won’t be surprised if they will be kept busy refunding tickets over the phone or online as visitors will cancel due to the bad weather.
Covid did do one good thing though, it ended the DFS eternal sale.
I once heard Theresa May’s negotiating style summed up as “she’s the kind of woman who could walk into DFS and come out with a full price sofa”. Forget who said it, but perfect.
‘Super Fergie – Shagger of The Year’, fixed it….
In case you missed this petition to end social distancing, here it is again: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/320079
Please sign and share. Thanks.
Done. Does this mean it’s been approved now?
Following up from Paul’s comment about Argos, here’s the one I received from John Lewis: We’re pleased to let you know that from Monday 15 June, we’ll begin to reopen some of our shops, and we can’t wait to welcome you back. We’re taking a cautious approach to reopening, starting with a small number of shops from next week. Our top priority is keeping you and our Partners safe whilst shopping with us, so we’re taking great care to put comprehensive social distancing and cleaning measures in place. MAKING SHOPPING WITH US SIMPLE AND SAFE Our shops will look a little different for a while, but you can find out exactly what to expect below: KEEPING YOUR DISTANCE Help us to keep everyone safe by keeping a 2-metre distance from others and shopping alone where possible. YOU MAY NEED TO QUEUE You may have to queue to enter the shop, so that we can limit the number of customers in the store at one time. ENHANCED CLEANING We will be sanitising baskets after every use and regularly cleaning touch points around our shops. We’ll also be providing hand sanitiser for you to use. PAYMENTS AND COLLECTIONS We’ve installed protective screens at tills and… Read more »
Other than supermarkets, I’ve vowed never to enter another shop until all this socialist distancing madness has stopped and we’re back to normal – the old normal. BTW, why is “partner” capitalised in the garbage from John Lewis?
My husband and I have come to the same conclusion as well – we’ll be confining ourselves to supermarkets and are boycotting the high street until this madness is over.
I have no idea but according to a work colleague who used to have a Saturday job at Waitrose all employees are called “partners”
I used to work for Waitrose. The ‘partnership’ is just a scam to avoid staff unionising.
Shopping will also be far less fun if you are always expected to shop alone..
Exactly. Shopping is also a leisure activity and meant to be social as well, especially with clothes there are times you want to bring along someone to get a second opinion.
I think they forgot to mention they will be putting their prices up to pay for all of this nonsense.
Yep. The cynical of us have already cottoned on to that.
Times today reports that one store chain has spent £75,000 per store on making their premises ‘ Covid compliant’. That’s a lot of extra dosh to be extracted from customers – if they get any.
I can’t believe that someone has put that together with a straight face and thought ‘yes this will get the customers flooding back’.It’s like the script for a sketch in Not The Nine O’clock News ! (that gives my age away a bit !).
I had the same thought and wonder if they seriously believe that people will eagerly flock to their shops by recreating East Germany or the USSR.
I think they’re doing the best they can. I won’t credit them for it, because a business the size of JLP should feel confident enough to stand up, lobby and voice their concerns, but they desperately need to survive and if they have to follow the rules, so as not to be officially shut down and so that can attract customers who are terrified, they’re going to have to produce marketing material trying to make it sound as upbeat as possible.
When new rules come in, it’s always the big beasts that are targeted as an example for breaking them. John Lewis must be very worried about that.
Agree. It’s a case of damned if they do damned if they don’t.
Someone on this blog can’t remember who, said that perhaps the retail sector will regain their voice as these regulations put customers off from coming through their doors. These shops have made little to no money during the last three months, they cannot afford to lose anymore.
It’s difficult, because I really don’t like online shopping and I desperately don’t want to see the high street die a slow and painful death. I’ve always loved the experience of actually going into town on a shopping trip and making a day of it with a stop at a café/restaurant as well, but all these dreadful measures make me want to boycott every establishment that implements them.
I’m the same as well. I’m not fond of shopping (especially clothes) but I always make a day of it by slotting in browsing at a bookshop then going to a cafe or restaurant. Also I have a rather awkward body shape and have to try on clothes before buying them hence why I never liked shopping online for them.
That’s why I’m doing a public transport and high street boycott – no to muzzle wearing and no to antisocial distancing.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8417061/One-five-Covid-19-patients-caught-virus-hospital-say-scientists.html
“One in five hospital Covid patients caught killer bug on a ward”
What gets me is this is what worries them most about it:
“The new data has fuelled concern that NHS trusts, alongside care homes, are causing Covid-19 to ‘re-seed’ into the community, making it difficult to lift lockdown restrictions”
And then this:
“It comes as the reproduction rate of the coronavirus could be as high as 1.1 in the South West of England, officials have warned, meaning the virus is on the brink of surging out of control in the rural region”
Micro analysing the R number is like day trading on the stock market. Are we meant to lockdown on the basis of random fluctuations or is it wiser to wait to see some sort of trend?
I guess at least it is positive that the MSM are reporting that the increase is due to nosocomial infections rather than blaming the public for not obeying the social distancing ‘rules’..
I don’t see it as positive. It’s an excuse to increase the draconian measures, rather than removing them.
They seem determined to brainwash people to believe a second wave is inevitable – which it probably is, though I’m sure it will be a complete fabrication.
A second wave won’t be allowed to happen. The fear of a second wave is enough. They can impose a lockdown simply based on the R number. No second wave would be necessary.
Winston Churchill: A man so awesome that, even today, his statues have to be restrained in steel boxes.