Westminstenders: Events...

[RedToothBrush]

Events have taken over. EU / UK negotiation have been put on ice due to covid-19.

The US has banned all travel from Europe - apart from to the uk and Ireland - in a manner which is highly political to drive wedges.

The effects of leaving the European Medicines Agency may be much more serious than anyone could have anticipated.

There's a oil price war going on between Saudi Arabia and Russia which has further driven market fears led by covid-19.

There the crisis in Turkey with Syrian refugees which is also distracting the EU.

We are facing lockdown and economic turmoil over the next weeks and months.

Johnson is having his leadership moment with deaths projected to possibly exceed UK WW2 deaths.

We are desperately trying to recruit negotiators as it's suddenly become apparent we don't have enough to carry out all the trade deals we want.

The civil service will be stretched to its limited by covid-19. Yet we also have Brexit to consider.

Where next? How bad are things going to get?

Oh, and two ambulances in the supermarket car park, one team of people in Tyvek suits and masks, and someone proclaiming in a very loud voice about “if you’re told to self isolate you should be bloody self isolating” (don’t know who that was, but was clearly pissed off).

Somehow I can’t see Brits pulling together in that good old Blighty Blitz Spirit way that Johnson and Hancock are trying to engender.

Of course they won't. They just won't. Been to town today (had to sadly) and saw many older folk milling about. What can you do??
Said this to dh last week.
I know several 70+ folk who will not self isolate despite having many serious comorbidities.
My mil is one of them!

Oh...sourdough starter...how does one do that??

BCF you asked about immunity and vaccines. The truth is that there are several "known unknowns".

1. How long does adaptive immunity to this virus last? Evidence from other coronaviruses is not promising. Months perhaps, not years.

2. Are there people who will not develop immunity at all, or harbour hidden infections like chickenpox > shingles?

3. Will the virus split into distinct strains? (Strain definition for these purposes means that immunity to one does not confer immunity to others.)

4. Will derived strains be more or less infectious? More or less serious disease? (There is evidence from SARS and now from SARS-Cov2 that deletion mutations in the ORF8 region of these two coronaviruses cause the virus to become attenuated, which means less virulent.)

5. Can a safe and effective vaccine be developed at all?

6. Will anti vaccine movements spring up if the vaccine is effective but more risky than say seasonal flu vaccine?

There are more that I didn't think of just now off the top of my head, and of course there are the "unknown unknowns".

We are seventy plus and isolating. Have planted four beds of potatoes, fed the strawberries and raspberries and started lots of seeds in the potting shed. Feels good to be outside and doing something positive.

I've also reported posts elsewhere on the board for conspiracy theories (e.g. "covid is a hoax" stuff). It's usually irritating, right now it's downright dangerous.

missclimpson
It must be horrible to have people pointing at you and telling you you're vulnerable :(
But its fact isn't it?

And good luck with the berries....we've never had much luck with them :(

RTB I think your gardening purchases are of an entirely appropriate volume, but will concede that you have mastered panic buying. Full marks for the coconut, a substance that no rational human being would dream of consuming

yoikes I’m trying this sourdough starter:

www.theclevercarrot.com/2019/03/beginner-sourdough-starter-recipe/

We are in France yoikes and Macron's speech was very reassuring about how older people would still be treated and cared for. I am 70 and four months and DH 73, but we are the young ones in our French village. We live in rural isolation in beautiful countryside all the time so we are lucky really.
DS and family are isolated inside their flat in Spain and DD and family still full-on with commuting and school in UK.
I feel cheerful most of the time.

I still have a tetrapak of desiccated coconut that has moved house with us at least twice.

Thanks for the list of unknowns, Mship 💐

missc sounds idyllic:) take care x

Thank you hen I'll try that.

I'm going to make flapjacks and lemon drizzle...or lemon poppy seed loaf?

Hmmmm

Full marks for the coconut, a substance that no rational human being would dream of consuming

Are you my DW (waves gingerly) ?

Coconut (as long as you don't mix any letters up ) is lush. And versatile. Something that may be worth squirrelling away in the old memory banks somewhere is that coconuts can be used as an improvised saline drip.

6) Will anti vaccine movements spring up if the vaccine is effective but more risky than say seasonal flu vaccine?

That's now a known unknown. It's a known known, with a resounding yes as the answer.

Although I do notice anti-vaxxers have been very quiet of late.

not a known unknown FFS.

Definitely not your wife, DGR!

Disliking coconut isn’t particularly unusual, surely? After all, isn’t it a universal phenomenon that the little Bountys are the last things left in any box of Celebrations?

Full marks for the coconut, a substance that no rational human being would dream of consuming

I'm glad you recognise that I'm not rational.

Daniel Hannan has gone into journalism since he lost his job as an MEP.

After all, isn’t it a universal phenomenon that the little Bountys are the last things left in any box of Celebrations?I have never witnessed this. It's always the Maltesers

Disliking coconut isn’t particularly unusual, surely? After all, isn’t it a universal phenomenon that the little Bountys are the last things left in any box of Celebrations?

We gave DS a box of Celebrations for his housemates for Xmas. Apparently none of them like coconut, so I had loads of mini bounties (whatever happened to the red ones ?) as a Dad treat

Anyway, the less people that like coconut, the more for me. Consider it payback for all the meals ruined by people putting onions in them.

Funnily enough I was chatting with DW having seen a clip of people putting their hands together (Gandhi style) in greeting, rather than shaking hands.

Which only reminds me that shaking hands itself is an acquired custom from days gone by when people carried weapons.

Social history (if that's what it's called ) is fascinating.

I'm finding the self-isolation timeline of Nadine Dorries confusing. Are we now saying that if you have a diagnosis, you only need to self-isolate for 7 days not 14? She talks about "we" i.e. her and her mother - but her mother was only diagnosed this week. And how is she so sure she had no contact with anyone who'd been abroad?

www.itv.com/news/2020-03-15/nadine-dorries-says-positive-covid-19-diagnosis-was-a-game-changer/

Anyway, seems the "Blitz spirit" might still be with us ..