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Monday 23rd
March 2020
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07:43 GMT
The weather forecast was predicting that
yesterday would be sunny. In the end it was, but
it took a long time for enough cloud to clear to
give long periods of sunshine. Even then, I don't
recall the mostly clear sky, and fiercely burning
sun that the forecast predicted. If I recall
correctly there were just long sunny periods in
the afternoon. It did stay dry, and the
temperature did reach 9° C (possibly even 9.5° C),
but it still felt rather cool.
It seems sacrilegious to say it, but there
are rare times when sunshine can be a nuisance -
and right now is one, but I can't condemn it that
much. Right now, as I write these words, the sun
is pouring through my bedroom windows, passing
over my left shoulder, and showing up every speck
of dust, or greasy smear on my PC monitor. A
quarter of my back, and my left shoulder are
feeling very slightly too warm while the unlit
parts almost feel chilly. This is unusually
completely in accordance with the weather
forecast. It looks like the wind is going to be
much weaker today, and the forecast 11° C could
feel nice in the sunshine. The only downside to
the clear sky is that I think we had a touch of
frost earlier this morning, and may do so again in
the early hours of tomorrow. This is not good for
my plants. Tomorrow is predicted to be an even
warmer, aka less cold, version of today with the
temperature possibly hitting 14° C.
I wasn't keen on going out for a walk
yesterday. I was feeling a bit creaky, and I even
wondered if I had the energy, let alone the
enthusiasm to go on a long walk. With talk of a
possible even harsher lockdown, that would even
limit exercise, in a somewhat pointless exercise
to contain the Covid-19 virus, I decided I just
had to push myself to get out regardless of how I
felt. I set myself the challenge to walk up to the
top of Mountsfield Park, and take some pictures of
the view over some of central London.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, but
definitely handily, my walk was curtailed when I
noticed something interesting. I seemed to be
walking OK, but I still was not sure I wanted to
go the distance when I noticed that Aldi was not
packed with shoppers. I must admit that I did come
prepared for it, even though I did not expect it.
The store was quieter than some times in mid week.
I did have two particular things in mind when I
went in there. As I went to get those things I
noticed that most of the shelves had some sort of
stock on them, and I am sure I saw some toilet
paper on the shelf.
There is very wide condemnation of panic
buying, and hoarding, but there are times when it
has to be done. The Mattress Toppers were one of
Aldi's "when they're gone, they're gone" specials.
I had seen some in there the previous time I did
some shopping in there (a week ago if I recall
correctly). For some reason I had a delusion, that
may turn out not to be a delusion, that these
Mattress Toppers might be better in some way from
the ones they sell in Poundstretcher. They
certainly come in a physically bigger carrier, and
so maybe are thicker. I just had to have one, and
yesterday was a great opportunity to buy one.
Maybe I should not have panicked
because stuff like this seems to be low on most
peoples shopping lists right now. They may well
appear as reduced price items in the not too
distant future - in which case I might by a spare
if this first one turns out to be OK. I'll put it
on my mattress when I change the sheets again. The
Mattress Topper comes in a package with a carrying
strap to easily carry it one handed. That meant I
needed something to balance the load. It seemed
the perfect time to buy a 12 bottle case of Corona
beer. It was one of just three left. I have heard
it is being temporarily discontinued, or suspended
because stupid people get confused, or are angered
by the name. Some hard to believe reports say some
believe you can catch Covid-19, the coronavirus,
from the bottles or beer in them. Even now many
people do not realise that Covid-19, actually a
close relative to the SARS virus, is just one of a
whole heap of Corona viruses - name for their
shape - round and spiky !
When I got home I did feel sort of bad in a
way that I can't define. Probably the worst thing
was some aches from my rib cage (which I say to
differentiate it from chest pain which could have
more serious consequences). The much more general,
except still rather vague thing, was a sort of
tiredness that was probably biassed towards
sleepiness as much as fatigue. I was also feeling
a bit hungry. Ideally I would have done the same
as the day before, and fasted until dinner time,
but I gave in and prepared a lunch that turned out
to be actually my dinner.
I had grilled sausages with grilled giant
mushrooms, and Heinz "Spanish flavoured" baked
beans. Those beans are nice, but have two negative
effects. At the moment one is not worth worrying
about while I am isolated from all friends, and
that is farting. The other, and more serious, is
that these baked beans, or actually the special
sauce they come in, do raise my blood glucose a
bit. I would like to say that I really enjoyed my
early afternoon dinner, but there is a problem. My
sense of taste seems very attenuated at the
moment. This could be an early sign of Covid-19
infection, but is more likely some sort of mild
sinus problem.
I have been living with what seems to be
just hay fever for a week or more now. It has
improved lately. A week ago, when I walked to
Lower Sydenham and back, my nose was really itchy,
and if it wasn't just imagination, I could feel
the pollen from some trees stinging my eyes. I
always have had a small reaction to spring tree
pollen, but this seemed worse. The itchyness has
gone from my nose, but I still often feel bunged
up even though my nose is actually clear, or
mostly clear. I still have to blow it every now
and again, and more often when outside, and
walking in the park. Hopefully that explains my
lack of taste.
It is a very toxic time with regard to
Covid-19. Virtually all mainstream media reporting
of it's progress is biassed towards shock
headlines. Such reporting gets people very
twitchy. I am not immune to it, but at least I am
aware that when I instantly diagnose Covid-19 for
any cough, or itch, or unexplained ache, I know
that at other times I would have different
explanations. Fortunately I was lucky enough to
see a Swiss (I believe) report that includes a
more detailed look at the figures, and most
importantly shows the missing figures - things
like survival rates, People surviving probably
doesn't sell newspapers - only deaths do that.
This report tells a very different story.
"Professor Sucharit Bhakdi has called lockdown
measures „useless“, „self-destructive“ and a
„collective suicide“. Thus the extremely
troubling question arises as to what extent the
increased mortality of these elderly, isolated,
highly stressed people with multiple
pre-existing health conditions may in fact be
caused by the weeks-long lockdown measures still
in force. If so, it may be one of those cases
where the treatment is worse than the disease."
There is a danger that these quote come
from people not qualified to make them, but the
website (whose address I didn't note) had been
running for over 6 years, and so at least I know
that it is not one that has sprung up over night
to spread false information. A lot of the web page
concerned figures from Italy and Spain who are a
couple of week in advance of the UK, and have
mandated a rather severe lockdown with harsh
penalties for people breaking the rules. The level
of mental stress that causes has probably caused
some bad medical problems by itself.
"A model from Imperial College
London predicted between 250,000 and 500,000
deaths in the UK „from“ Covid-19, but the
authors of the study have now conceded that many
of these deaths would not be in addition to, but
rather part of the normal annual mortality rate,
which in the UK is about 600,000 people per
year. In other words, excess mortality would
remain low." This part of the report is of
particular interest because it refers specifically
to the UK. It is one of several reports that say
in sometimes slightly different ways, that
mortality rates from Civid-19 are barely making a
mark on the statistics of deaths by any cause per
day or per year.
I have just been trying to find the
original article, and provide a link, but using
the professors name in the first quote above. I
haven't found the article I am looking for, but I
have found what appears to be proof the professor
is a genuine person with the needed expertise to
make valid comments - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sucharit_Bhakdi.
There is always the worry that anything on the
internet is often just cut-n-pasted from another
web site with no checking. I have found a
different web site which says much the same as the
one I can't seem to find again. However there are
important differences in the way some extracts of
other reports are shown. That adds some confidence
that this stuff is genuine. I won't look for the
original web site any more because this one says
it all - https://faith-and-politics.com/2020/03/21/coronavirus-lockdown-useless-grotesque-collective-suicide-world-renowned-virologist/
Much of yesterday was rather boring. I sat
at my PC for far too long, and that just made me
feel physically worse - nothing nasty, but sort of
creaky. The problem with boredom is that it would
probably have been less bad for me than having an
official dinner instead of all this bits of this
that and the other that I ate. My blood glucose is
high again this morning, but not as bad as some
recent mornings, and I can probably blame too much
bottled beer yesterday. I think today I'll be
drowning my sorrows with whisky instead.
I did feel a bit tired last night, but I
did not to to bed until about 11:30pm, and even
then it was more boredom that drew me to bed. As I
lay in bed, with many thoughts spinning around in
my head, I didn't really expect to fall asleep for
ages, but I doubt it was more than five minutes
after I turned the light out that I was fast
asleep. Apart from waking up far earlier than
desired, I probably slept well. I know I had some
dreams, one about going to a supermarket, and
having to wear rubber gloves (actually this may
possibly happen), but all other details quickly
evaporated on waking.
It wasn't long before I found out why I had
woken up, and got up, not long after sunrise. I
had some mild discomfort that needed a couple of
visits to the toilet to calm down. What a waste of
toilet paper when toilet paper is now so valuable
that people are joking about using it as currency.
A few hours later and I am unsure how I feel. My
blood pressure and blood glucose are both a bit
high this morning, and both together do suggest I
am fighting some sort of infection. The blood
glucose being high I have already blamed on the
bottled beer I was drinking, and the high blood
pressure may have been because I was trying to
take it straight after a session sitting on the
toilet. Of course there is always the possibility
that I am about to die, but I'll analyse that
after it's happened. There is no point rushing
these things.
What I really need is to push myself to go
for the walk I should have done yesterday. There
is one possible problem with that. The diabetic
problem of an old boil on my right inner thigh
refilling with blood has been causing a bit of a
mess on occasions when blood leaks from it. That
seems to have stopped for now, and hopefully it is
drying up - although until I can consistently get
my blood glucose down by at least a whole point,
it is unlikely. The worst thing about it is that
it is feeling a bit sore now, and could make
walking uncomfortable. That is a bit of a dilemma
because a good walk would go a long way to curing
it, and yet the discomfort could stop the walk !
Probably best to put my brain in neutral for now,
and report back tomorrow what I finally might have
done today.
One final thing. I meant to show this
picture yesterday. It is the fan heater that
failed on me during the night, and caused me to
wake up shivering as if I had a bad fever. The
picture doesn't really show much apart from the
date I bought it, and it is not worth showing it,
but on the other hand I went to the trouble of
taking and preparing the picture, and so...
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