Lockdown update

Last night saw the most extraordinary curtailment of everyday freedoms announced with the full backing of the large majority of people, something completely unthinkable at any time prior to this March. It is fair to say that there are many who hold the view the lockdown has come too late and continues to be too little in the face of the crisis which faces us.

The first day under the new guidelines comes during a period of settled and fine weather, a mixed blessing which has brought too many people outdoors at exactly the wrong time but such a relief after months of wet and windy weather, full of floods and weekend storms.

Having walked the dog, Maria and I got down to a morning of school work. She enjoyed her studies I think and spent the best part of three hours in focused effort using resources provided online by her teachers.

The attic is now virtually finished after the plasterers arrived despite the lockdown, much to our relief. They have been a good bunch in terms of being approachable and personable. We have the carpet arriving tomorrow which is extremely fortunate.

I got a 5 mile run in this afternoon and am looking forward to riding to the allotment tomorrow.

The virus has claimed many more lives in the UK today and the rate of infection is speeding up across the world with tens of thousands being diagnosed each day now, 67 days having been required to reach the first 100000 and barely 48 hours to jump from 300000 to 400000. The human cost is beginning to become more obvious and that is even after the stringent measures in place in a fifth of countries across the globe.