The Easter weekend looms ominous. Normally, a weekend to look forward to but this year it’s different. It brings fear that too many people will venture out to enjoy the sunshine, and the rise in temperature that has coincided with the weekend. When the weather changed a while ago, far too many people acted as if nothing was going on. Brighton seafront was one place shamed on the news. Worse was that the police claimed that they didn’t have enough manpower to police places that encourage gatherings.

Now with a prolonged Bank holiday weekend and soaring temperatures it threatens to happen again. Easter is family time however we tend to celebrate it, but family time is different at the moment if you are separated from them. Yes, social media can help but it’s not the same. This year it has to be different, we need to consider the safety of ourselves and others and, at the moment, there is no greater responsibility.

Don’t go out people unless it’s really necessary. The death figures are still increasing, how much more warning does it take to get through to those stubborn individuals that persistently break the guidance given? In the grand scheme of things, a few weeks lockdown is nothing compared to the rest of our lives and things will change when it’s lifted. In the meantime, stay inside where it is safe for you and the family members you live with.

Wherever you are stay safe.

The absence of sport on the TV is strange. It would be fair to say that sport dominates many a television and is and has been a bone of contention between males and females for a long time. Many of us follow a sport, a team or an individual and that leaves a gap in our competitive natures. Certainly, as I have got older I’m quite happy for others to engage in sport on my behalf, especially those I cannot partake in myself.  Though I don’t compete myself, I can still feel the rush through the competitive natures of others in sports I love. But this, for the moment, no longer exists and I, for one, miss it. Conversations around sport are becoming less as everything shuts down for the immediate future.

So, we need to find a substitute for sport to gain our fill. I know that some of us still go out running and can compete against themselves, but that’s now beyond me. My son’s partner recently organised a quiz night for the family and everybody face timed on their phones. The competition was fierce and the competitive nature of all was apparent. It went on for an hour or more, was fun and each of us could compete on an even field.

We are no different from any other species of animal who compete to survive. The need to compete is a basic need within most of us, and on many different levels. With so much of our life in tatters at the moment, and being forced into lock down with others for a long period, the need for finding ways to adjust to this and other social needs paramount. All our basic needs have to be in balance to keep us feeling and acting normal, and finding alternatives  to the things we’ve temporary lost can help.

Wherever you are, stay safe.

There has been a lot of talk about a vaccine to end the epidemic. With it comes all the speculation, promises that can’t possibly be met for certain and the wonder if anything were hearing about it is true. The need for a vaccine cannot be underestimated. Without it there will be no end to social distancing and lack of trusting about the health of others. I’ve read reports that target a vaccine within the next eighteen months. Is that actually possible, without missing stages of testing? I might not be an expert in these matters but even I know that it normally takes a lot longer to produce than that. If that is achievable, will we be able to trust it?

There are problems associated with finding a vaccine, with testing it over a shorter time frame, producing it and distributing. I’m not convinced that’s possible and yet I have to hope that I can be proved wrong. It’s not right going through prolonged periods without being able to hug my grandchildren or any other family member and that eighteen month period, or even longer, seems so long. I’ve stated this before but when we get the immune system check, we need something to say that we’ve had it and are safe in the work environment. Our economy needs starting again as soon as possible and the health among us should be the first to return to work.

Wherever you are, stay safe.

 With our Prime Minister in hospital, members of the royal family in isolation, it’s quite clear that this virus takes no prisoners and doesn’t differentiate between its victims. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from or how much money you have; this virus doesn’t care. Anybody can fall victim to the spread of it, and at any time. Many have been in contact with others who have it and gone home to somebody they live with. As a social status leveller, this virus is second to none.

And yet with all this going on, people still flout the lockdown, like I said yesterday. Come on people, read the newspapers, watch the news, read about the countries that are ahead of us, like China and Italy, see what the common people have said, listen to their warnings and for goodness sake make the responsible decision to stay at home. So, it’s hard, difficult, tough and we should not be like prisoners. Get over it, surely it’s better than dying and I’d bet good money that many of the NHS wish that they had the opportunity to stay at home.

It’s very easy to fall in the trap of visiting supermarkets more than once a week. But think hard about a second or third trip in any one week. Sure, we might run out of something, but can we manage without it? Most of us should be able do a weeks shop in one visit. If ever there was an unsafe place to visit, despite all the staffs effort, it has to be supermarkets, it’s the only place where people are congregating now, and it’s very hard to keep two metres apart in aisles that are scarcely that wide in some of the smaller shops. Again, think about it before you go, think smart.

Wherever you are stay safe