We now wait until Wednesday. That's the day Parliament votes on the lockdown proposal. It's a joke. They can't even get on with a catastrophically delayed lockdown properly. There is no part of this that isn't an enormous shit show. What is the delay for? How many lives is that going to affect - on top of the number that will already be lost due to delaying a lockdown initially?
At this point it's tantamount to murder. They must know what they are doing; they are being told by the scientists. They are just choosing to ignore it. Fuck!
I went into Bristol today. For the first time in seven months. Bought a load of CD's which I then stupidly washed in a bowl of hot water thinking the shrinkwarp would protect it. Going to Bristol was a big step, after all the city centre region has a considerably covid rate. Highest in the city, though I wonder if that's because of the presence of the hospital.
Aside from the enormous queue outside Primark and the presence of masks (mostly, though, inexplicably, not totally), it was just the same as it always was. Tesco operating a limited entry system made it feel like walking into a nightclub. All it needed was a young student girl upselling perks and privileges. There were stalls inside the Galleries shopping centre as there usually are, as well as around Broadmead. I found that utterly incongruous, but business be business...
To be honest, it felt more like doing last minute Christmas shopping (though perhaps - thankfully - not quite as busy). Rush home before the shops close for the holiday. I thought I'd treat myself because if we're going into lockdown again, I sure as eggs don't want to be miserable (though I suspect that's wishful thinking). Not quite the holiday season though, more the looming lockdown which could well last thorughout winter. Especially with these clowns in charge.
What is frustrating is that the best shops are the ones in town which are likely going to be harder to reach during lockdown. Being limited to what's here, in this village, is problematic because, even factoring in bus fare, the choice is very limited and just as dear. The local Tesco express is needlessly overpriced and fairly unreliable, and quite limited. They don't for instance have the cheap ranges which make shopping in town more attractive.
In fact, now that I think, it might well be safer, during the lockdown, to travel to these shops, as they will be open. Presumably the buses will still be running, as before. If we are locking down then it stands to reason there will be less people around due to all non essential shops being closed. It might even be a good idea in general, get out into some fresh air, even if that's just a walk on the sea front or the habourside in Bristol. Upon reflection that might have been a good idea during the Spring/Summer for obvious reasons.
We don't know how long this period is going to last. A most uncertain Christmas. Yet people in town seemed to be acting as normal. Shopping, chatting, bimbling around. There was a certain energy to it, whether that's a false sense of security I don't know. Covid is invisible, after all. But it seems clear that the differences between being locked down in a relatively isolated rural area versus the big smoke is a very different proposition. People will still be in town, I'm sure of it. Some places will be open, not just Tesco. I guess it depends what they consider essential.
I won't be washing my Cd's again though. What a turkey (they are ok, just my pride, and some soggy inserts).
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