Village-wise the Queen's Head has shut down until further notice. One of the problems once the virus has gone will be the time taken for all the businesses and places of entertainment that have been shut down to get back to normal.
I really don't like the One Show on BBC. To me its half an hour of vacuous entertainment of a largely sycophantic nature. I do, however, like Gyles Brandreth. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea and can be a bit overbearing, but I love his enthusiasm for many things including the English language.
Towards the end of the current week, Gyles was giving his hints on how to survive the crisis if you are isolated at home. Have aims and find a routine and realise that this is a time to do some of the things you have never had time to do said Gyles pointing to the fact that he is learning short poems to help him with his hand washing regime (apparently the first verse of the Owl and the Pussycat is exactly the correct time needed for hand washing). He also said he was looking to learn Swedish, but this I feel was rather tongue in cheek.
One thing that did resonate with me was Gyles' suggestion that we don't listen to too much news. Listening to bulletins throughout the day is only likely to act to concern, worry and depression. I thoroughly agree that we should ration listening to news - taking a greatest hits package rather than an in depth listen. That's not ignoring what is going on but just saying at times you can have just too much information - a veritable overload.
Sadly once again the theory of the current situation doesn't match the reality. Politicians tell us that NHS frontliners will receive all the support and equipment that they need (that's the theory). The reality is, however, a succession of front line staff telling us on television that the equipment just isn't arriving. Some said they felt like canon fodder. This is worrying as this is one time when we cannot afford to have broken promises from politicians who just have to deliver. We need clear heads and clear directions from our leaders and direct answers to questions rather than the usual politicking. Yesterday we had a chief officer from the treasury ignoring a question about whether it was the employer or employees job to contact the Government over the decision to pay 80% of their wages. He obviously didn't have the answer but rather than admit this started prattling on about how much money had been poured into the scheme. Answer the question - that's what we deserve in these difficult times.
I am thinking of posting a quiz online in the near future that some people may enjoy now that we have time on our hands. Any takers?