We must heed ‘experts’ …
Nowadays, It’s easy to believe six impossible things before breakfast. That famous quote is from ‘Through the Looking Glass’ (here), but amazingly, in the ongoing CV-19 Lockdown days, our journalists and politicians writing in ‘our MSM’ achieve this with no difficulties whatsoever.
If you look at the home pages of today’s broadsheets, the headlines alone illustrate this perfectly. There’s the usual guff from a politician who believes he needs to get back into the limelight of ‘public debate’. Sayid Javid thinks that cutting VAT will make us peasants go and shop until we drop.
Well, all those public servants who’ve been sitting at home on full pay might be able to do this. However, all those who’ve been furloughed on 80%, or who have had nothing thanks to being self-employed, who are losing their small business thanks to Lockdown or who have lost their jobs might not be ready to increase their credit card debts just to ‘save the High Street’. After all, ‘saving the NHS’ has already been extortionately expensive. It’s a nice headline though (here).
Then there are the usual suspects, ahem: experts, warning that ‘our children’ have become ‘collateral damage’:
“In an open letter seen by the Daily Telegraph, scores of medical experts demand immediate funding for 30 hours a week of summer holiday activities for every child in Britain, accusing the Government of prioritising DIY shops, theme parks, clothes buying, and fast-food above children’s education.” (link)
If ‘doctors’, that is: ‘national NHS heroes’, say so then it must be true. No word about teachers unions, and not the faintest idea where that money is going to come from. They don’t even realise that without some shops being open for business the government won’t have the money to pay for this. If it’s such heart-wringing priority, why don’t the lovely doctors club together and raise funds themselves?
I’m certain that ordinary citizens in cities, towns and villages will now get together and set up such schemes, voluntarily – just as they’ve set up schemes to collect rubbish from rivers, beaches, parks and our streets. Never mind that they and we are already paying our local councils to do this! I’ve often wondered why these fine people – they are fine, I’m not criticising their communal spirit and engagement – don’t get together to hold their local councillors to account for dereliction of duty.
There’s one other snag with that ‘demand’ by those doctors: the red tape created by Whitehall and Local Councils. That means that volunteers won’t be allowed to run such schemes because of legal requirements needing to be fulfilled, from criminal record checks to insurance and to special insurance for working with children. By the time this’ll be sorted it’ll be Christmas – or next summer and, if you believe the ‘experts’, by that time the NHS will have collapsed again and we’ll be in Lockdown because of that ‘second wave’ – unless ‘we’ get that track app.
On this subject The Times has two articles complementing each other – paywalled, of course, here and here. What is it with those Westminster Village denizens that they assume we plebs will believe any six impossible things before breakfast, provided an ‘expert’ or even ‘a professor’ says so? Do they not even notice that we who live outside their cushy bubble are like Alice and find this impossible?
There’s another little example of publishing complementary articles, this time in the DT. I give you the announcement that cinemas, museums and art galleries will be permitted to open, together with pubs – always provided they keep that social distancing rule (link). Personally, I find the use of the word ‘freedom’ in that headline rather disgusting. How can we be ‘free’ when our government produces Lockdown rule after Lockdown rule curtailing our freedom?
Never mind though – we plebs are too uncultured to value ‘culture’ as much as other European countries do (link). The proof? There’s much more government money being given to ‘culture’ in those countries. Let that critic and the good doctors fight it out as to what is more deserving: ‘culture’ or ‘children’!
I find it nauseating that those experts are always demanding more government money without the slightest thought of where that money is coming from: out of our pockets. I’m pretty certain they’d never dare to demand that all those “CEOs”, from local councils to NGOs to Whitehall and universities, museums etc, should have their salaries capped so that none of them ‘earn’ more than the PM. Not gonna happen, is it!
It’s encouraging though to see that there’s one pub-chain CEO who has come forth, gaining a ‘hearing’ in the DT. It seems that there are still some ‘normal’ people around:
“Ralph Findlay, chief executive of the 1,400 site pub chain [Marston’s], said the measures would be “impractical”, adding the notion that customers would willingly give the correct information to pubs was “bonkers”. […] Mr Findlay said: “It’s an infringement on people’s liberties and it will be very difficult to practically manage. I don’t understand why it would apply in pubs and restaurants and not every other single retail outlet across the country.” (link)
Mind you – if these remarks had come from any of us peasants they’d not have seen the light of day! This isn’t the only example illustrating how far removed our Westminster MSM are from us – that’s their continuing obsession with ‘summer holidays’ and where to go, here in Britain or the mediterranean countries.
Going on summer holidays means buying new holiday clothes: go shopping, dears, to help the economy. Never mind that there are too many of us who cannot afford this splurge. Even worse though: ‘beauty editors’ moan that there’s still no date to open hairdresser salons! This is vital, you know: the whole of the UK is now suffering from ‘bad hair day’ syndrome – and it’s all Johnson’s fault for not having sorted that yet (link).
But look: there’s light at the end of the Lockdown tunnel. Those who were deemed to be the most medically vulnerable can now look forward to having their restrictions eased, from next month. While the rest of the country had their restrictions eased, shielded people were still obliged to obey this:
“Until now, the only easing of lockdown for shielded people has been allowing them to go outside once a day with their household or, if they live alone, to meet one other person at a two-metre distance.” (link)
While the rest of the country is ‘allowed out’ from July onwards, to pubs and museums and shops, the ‘shielded’ still have to wait:
“From August 1 the easing of restrictions will go further still, as those deemed “clinically extremely vulnerable” will no longer be advised to shield as long as they continue strict social distancing measures.” (link)
While it’s somewhat gratifying to receive this acknowledgement from ‘government’: “Thanking those isolating for carrying the “burden” of shielding, Mr Hancock last night said their sacrifice had “been for a purpose” (link), I’m not sure it’ll actually happen because by that time there’s surely that ‘second wave’, and we shielders must keep sacrificing for ‘Our NHS’.
I do wonder if us ‘shielders’ will have our sacrifice acknowledged by the rest of the population who’ve been clapping for ‘Our NHS’. I doubt it though because the two million shielders haven’t moaned in ‘Our MSM’ about bad hair days, not being able to go on holidays, or being so disadvantaged because they’re ‘female’.
And finally! You’ll have noticed that the easing of the Lockdown restrictions seems to be akin to ‘government’ giving with one hand and taking away with the other. In that excellent blog ‘Lockdown Sceptics’ Toby Young quotes a letter which is worth reading in full. For me, these sentences hit the spot:
“I think I’ve worked out why the Government is ending lockdown in such a prolonged and plodding way. I had assumed it was because it was being wet, timorous and generally sheepish but now believe it’s actually because it can’t end any aspect of lockdown without having written the appropriate tidal wave of new regulations, recommendations and procedures. It must be very frustrating for Whitehall officials that the virus is disappearing faster than they can write all this stuff.” (link)
There’s of course also the little fact that most of those Whitehall civil serpents have been strictly isolating themselves, “working” from home. It must have been so hard and time-consuming to convene committees and meetings and more meetings to work out the rules with which to bind us!
Enjoy the sunshine but heed those rules, especially if you happen to live inside the M25 or indeed close to the Westminster Bubble: snitches are still alive and kicking, being encouraged to snitch.
KBO!
gotta remind all that Pres macron in locklift specifically allowed visits to old peoples homes.
Why does he want to go and listen to the Mrs ?
Could it be that Ralph Findlay spends all his time in “pubs and restaurants” and not in “every other single retail outlet across the country”? Even so, I would have thought someone smart enough to do the job he has would have found it to be blindingly obvious as why there is a difference.
I gather there are about 2million “Shielders”. It would be very interesting to know how many have been infected by Covid-19 and what were the outcomes. That data would give the answer as to whether it was the right thing to do.
Thanks Viv. I’m more sure every day that the majority of normal people are KBOing in spite of TPTB.
P.S. Shielding? What’s that? First I’ve heard of it !!
What a damned mess Vivian ! – The one instruction that makes sense, is to K.B.O. – Because we have to !
Damned mess is right Mike. Hopefully we are beginning to struggle out of it but oh it is TOO SLOW. There is always some Lefty do gooder finding a new objection.
Surely it should be teachers offering to run ”holiday activities” if not extra mural classes. These should not be funded out of the public purse when there is an army of so-called educators just waiting to spring into action, and many empty rooms in schools.
I don’t hear the sound of stampeding feet of teachers coming to step up to the plate. Or even the sound of their voices publicly demanding to be ”allowed” to ”work”, even if the Union says no.
PS I’ve just looked at the Lockdown Sceptics blog and seen the headline: ”Teachers Urged to Give Up Part of Six-Week Summer Holiday”. Rearrange these words: chance fat.
Given what we’ve been told about how deadly and infectious this CCP virus is, I’m rather surprised that during the [only] Black Lives Matter riots there occurred a pronounced paucity of policeman rushing around dishing out large fines to those contravening the lockdown regulations, especially with some rioters not even bothering to maintain their social distance while assaulting people. (Surely, to keep a safe distance, they should have been throwing bricks or something?) Indeed, if the main stream media are to be believed, the powers that be were largely in favour of these riots with some even bending a knee in submission.
I’m even more surprised that the reports of the BLM Riot spike have not been forthcoming.
Has the spike been kept quiet?
Or, could it be, that there was no spike because the CCP virus is a lot less deadly and infectious than we were told?
If so, could we forget all this nonsense and all get back to normal please.
Michael Keal. You are right of course. Wish all the BLM rioters had succumbed to the CCP virus here and USA.
Still, apparently not so damn well use our laws to stamp them out and for heavens sake get back to normal.
Yes the 3 weeks Lockdown to lower the curve is so yesterday – Departments that never knew such power and grandeur will keep Covid alive well into the next flu epidemic which so far records indicate are more deadly than the super hyped zombie apocalypse Covid – Back to normal means these elevated panjandrums will sink back into nonenterties so normal will not happen? – Our masters do seem to like these riots as long as they are not about the Lockdown – At least the current theme of the riots is not about Brexit and cliff edges which they would likely be if not for Floyd?- Heard a variation slogan even more contemporary ‘Infidels lives matter” – A sort of irony plus?
Whilst Britain was building its new collectivist Jerusalem after WW2 and expanding the state in every way imaginable Germany was rebuilding its economy. Six years after WW2 Germany was exporting more goods than Britain. Their economic miracle was well under way whilst the man in Whitehall was still handing out food rations in 1954. Just musing.
True enough Jake but you’ve left some things out like USA helped rebuild West Germany and the rationing did me no harm. I said before though, ‘The Left’ have done NO GOOD at all in Britain since then.
Pauline I am under the undestanding that when Britain expressed dismay at the disproportionate generosity of the USA toward Germany they were told in no uncertain terms that hard earned USA taxpayers money was not going to be spent on Britains socialist agenda. Personally speaking, I do not blame them not wanting to fund socialist projects.
The sad thing is that political parties change each other and the post war Labour victory changed the Tory party as they considered they needed to move to the centre left, which they did. They only briefly recovered some economic sanity during the 1980s but Major, Hague, Smith, Cameron and May were solidly centre left and Johnson will more than likely turn out to be the same.
Fully agree the Left have brought nothing but harm to the UK.
It left me with an abiding love of Spam and powdered milk
Yuk, TGS.
I guess every one coped differently. Father kept chickens, bottom of garden and grew potatoes, currents, rhubarb, greengages, tomatoes. I remember potato peelings went into the pigswill bin. But we had proper milk in glass bottles delivered daily. Mother’s mashed potatoes O.K. ‘cos had milk and butter in it. (She did do some things right.) It was only years later I realised school mash was reconstituted powder and therefor disgusting.
I couldn’t understand why friends went so overboard about sweets coming off ration. I really did not want any of those things!
Those were the days.