Four Tier Could Save Christmas

I beg to differ. Look, Christmas can be a lovely old time, but why heap all this pressure on it when you’re honestly at this point just setting yourself up for a whole lot of disappointment? Besides, there’s all that pressure when you’re forced to be in close confines with your assorted relatives over the course of the festive period. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a get out of jail card to use, guilt-free?

If you’re on your own for Christmas as a household, that means you’ll get to do the whole thing your own way. That is to say, properly. It might depend on what the general opinions are within your little bubble (Mr Ros and I have been brought up with conflicting on when the Christmas meal ought to be and yet we haven’t even let it come between us). Other communities managed a locked down Eid, I think we can all bear to do the same for the mainstream holidays.

At any rate, the message seems to be sinking in at long last that the patchwork blanket of lukewarm measures isn’t doing the trick in immediately bringing down those pesky exponential growth curves. In not at all predictable fashion, the efforts to spare the economy have tracked straight onto the need for a far more brutal and lengthier lockdown situation than might have been otherwise necessary. It’s the endless carping on about Christmas that has put it straight into jeopardy.

It’s all fairly worrisome, not least because there’s no one in sight equipped with the level of competence required to steer us through this time of crisis. No, all we’ve got is a bunch of petty children running around, irritated by the fact that leaks mean they’re forced to push out their already far too late plans a whole couple of days early. Unreasonable worst case indeed.

Battle for Labour Civil War

Ah yes, the former leader of the opposition, that is absolutely who should be slapped over all the front pages at the moment. It’s almost as if there is something of a teeny tiny bias out there in the media and we’re all desperate for a change in the overall narrative. You know, because holding the government to account for mismanagement of public funds during a health crisis, winging out contracts to their mates with zero scrutiny and refusing to feed hungry children is so passe.

But no, let’s talk about the EHRC report. It would have been so very simple to accept the recommendations and try and reach out the hand of friendship to a marginalised community (which is indeed what Keir Starmer’s trying to do). And yet Corbyn feels the need to qualify, to add a but to his statement. And that’s not good enough. So, I’m glad he’s been suspended from the Labour party. There’s not a whole lot else that could be done.

I’m conflicted about it all, but not very. There are plenty of Corbyn’s policies that I like. A lot. In my naïve, not particularly informed way, I believe in socialism. I would love to live in a society less wed to the crushing grind of capitalism, that weaves a wider safety net that’s harder to fall through. But that doesn’t mean that racism (and it is racism, replace the community with any other marginalised group and it becomes a lot simpler. The thinking that they’re punching up at a shadowy elite is part of the problem) can be tolerated.

We’re not out of the woods, not even close. There’s some nasty toxic stuff floating about right now and a non zero risk that the broad coalition on the left is going to splinter. There no easy answers, no matter what the right try to peddle and I’m doing all sorts of wishing on shooting stars and that for the progressives to sort themselves out before the next election.

Scientists Hope for Blood Money

Well, anything else would be a waste of the wish on the monkey’s paw, now wouldn’t it? There’s got to be a certain amount of realism, but also knowledge of how the deliberately unwritten rules work is important. If you start wishing for another lockdown or a sensible government strategy, the hope is going to turn around and bite you. That’s why you either have to drill down to such minute detail that all the fun is taken out of the wishing process and there’s no fun in doing it in the first place or go to the dark side already.

If the genie wishes to subvert your impulses, the seemingly dark desire will come out good or you’ll have already crossed over to villainry, have realised how excellent a place to be it is when the world is already on fire and the bad guys are running around nicking everything, so you won’t really care that you’ve joined the immoral team. Where was I? Yes, science.

Things could have been different. We’d still be in a scary covid-stricken reality, but we might have managed the situation a whole lot better, with proper lockdowns and an outcome that’s just a bit more New Zealand. But no, politicians didn’t like the sound of having to do things the hard way, hoped that betting on the economy would come good (after every other time they’ve done so, quantitative easing, anyone?). So, we are where we are and all the science boffins are getting downright miffed about being continually sidelined.

Some of the test tube investigators are tired with your nonsense, have started taking names and injecting other sorts of thrills into their humdrum existences. It’s time for the age of the mad scientists, holding the world to ransom and getting theirs, it’s why they donned the lab coats in the first place.

Calls for Coronavirus Exit Strategy

Enduring our way out of this just isn’t halfway to a legitimate strategy. Maybe the word ‘exit’ is striking too hopeful a note here. Anyhow, the homespun quilt of a local lockdown system started showing cracks before it was implemented and ‘Tier 1+’ is being met with the derision it deserves. We seem to be looking at a flatter curve than last time around but it’s hard to do too much cheering when that still means over two hundred lives lost a day to this menace.

Of course, expecting any kind of coherent long term planning out of Johnson and his cohort is like expecting a kitten to sort out your taxes when all you’ve handed him is a random number generator and outsized expectations based on where he went to school. Our PM is more of a riding out the decision directly in front of him kind of guy than anyone with much of a handle on what’s going to happen months or even weeks down the line (which is working out beautifully, we all ought to recognise, what with him plunging into the ‘let impoverished kids go hungry’ side of the argument twice in a row).

But what’s the point in planning when it’s all going to go to pieces in the next five minutes anyway? Pretending that there’s any kind of thought going into decisions would be downright disingenuous and if we can expect anything from our leaders, it’s honesty. Running out the clock is a definite thing and if the fabled vaccine doesn’t turn out quite as expected, that’s a bridge they’ll cross if (when) they come to it. Stop being so negative. It’s like you want the virus to win or have some shreds of humanity and care for some reason that hundreds of people are dying every day and nothing substantial seems to be done about it. Or something.

Immunity Only Lasts for Hungry Kids

Now all the pieces slide into place! It’s not an act of wanton stubbornness, denying the meagre funds required to make sure the nation’s poorest tiny tots are kept in hot food for the holidays, it’s a bid to make them immune from the pesky virus. They’ll never show gratitude for such benevolence though. Even when they’re put to work down the mines or whatever the next point on the plan inevitably turns out to be, they’ll find something to complain about.

Let’s back up. Sure, it was a somewhat odd test for the boffins to look at over the course of their vaccine research but it was a quick thing to squeeze in before lunch. And if we’ve been taught anything about the science of discovery, it’s the unexpected mistakes that lead to breakthroughs, like forgetting to clean your petri dishes or getting bopped on the head by an apple at just the right time. It’s got nothing to do with industry or endeavour. So it was this time. Being hungry staves off the rona. The mind having something else to focus on, like a rumbling tummy, means that it squeezes everything else out of the system, leaving you sparkling and ready for your nutritious plate of beans.

Like in so many of its recent efforts, it would seem that our government is just ahead of the curve. They tried to make it happen first by encouraging everyone to get fit and healthy, not just running about but also eating less, but that didn’t work because the lazy bums decided that staying inside and not getting infected was more important. Which meant that the Tories had to take it to another level, starving the kids to keep them healthy. They’ve totally got the data to support them. Somewhere. Probably. It’s definitely not just spite fuelling their policies, honest.

Twelve Minute Covid Test: The Pride of Britain

Excellent, your friendly neighbourhood pharmacy is cracking out a whistle-stop test that will provide anyone, the symptomless worried folk who’ve mingled with a stealthy cougher, those who don’t want to be accused of bumping off Nana by infecting her via negligence and those who can’t bear the idea of not bundling into a pub or whatnot in time for the holiday season, with the security that can only come from the knowledge of being covid-free. For £120 a pop.

Sure, it’s new technology, there’s a test and trace system already up and running (*laughs hysterically for five minutes straight, has a cup of tea and a biscuit to calm down, sits back at keyboard, re-reads last sentence, does a massive spit-take and giggle descend again) and blah, blah, blah. Thing is though, we’re living in 2020, a time when disposable income for many is a thing of the past. Plenty of people would dearly love to know if they have covid, but a three-figure sum to get the answer in a hurry just isn’t going to be possible.

It’s a time of jumbled principles and priorities, where we’re told, mistakenly or otherwise, that period pads just aren’t essential in a firebreak and that the povertous folk of this nation simply aren’t budgeting effectively (all the while magically forgetting that there’s a lot more that goes into feeding a family than the raw ingredients themselves, that hours and wages for certain segments of working folk have been slashed to the bone but rent and utilities haven’t). It’s always reassuring the ways in which people with power and privilege are happy to throw their weight about informing everyone that they’ve only themselves to blame for their poor life choices rather than a system eternally gamed against them.

Yeah, probably won’t be shelling out that much on a 12-minute covid test.

Christmas Virus Rebels Could Be Halved

I mean, if our government had any remaining vestiges of credibility, there might be no need for rebellion at all. I’ll bet they’ll be having all sorts of Christmas parties down in New Zealand (seriously, if we could do a PM swap with them, even if it were only for a fortnight, I’m convinced it could us the power of good. NZ might never forgive us for inflicting Johnson on them for any period of time, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it).

Anyway, we’ve already missed the opportunity to emulate those success stories. Fine. We’re not going to get back to the way things were when we’re already barrelling towards winter. But that doesn’t mean we should give up the fight already. The PM (our one, sadly), put the idea of Christmas into people’s heads along with the possibility that folk might be able to get together. Not unlike the way he’s done with Mothers’ Day and summer. It’s a bit of a habit.

There are two different routes forward. Either sort out the situation to the point that there are fewer people (you know, around half of the current numbers) under restrictions or cow them all into submission. Given the track record of the current cabinet, I think they may well go for the latter option. Because sorting out test and trace, installing more effective lockdown measures, restoring trust with local leaders, listening to the scientists and actually implementing their suggestions to cut infection rates, well, all of those are hard, man.

On the other hand, you don’t have to pour quite so many precious resources into fear. All you need to do is mount your podium and play the blame game. The silly general public refused to wear their masks, it’s not our fault that case rates are out of control. Oh, and impose some extortionate fines, they like that.

We Can Kill Off Home Loan Boom

Obviously, the best time to restrict the number of people who can get roofs of their own over their heads is in the midst of a pandemic and general economic destruction. Of course, anyone in a position to be able to afford to buy a house probably aren’t in the same category as those more concerned about where the next hot meal for their children is coming from. But it does all form something of a pattern though, doesn’t it? In this time of crisis, the rich get richer and those with less will get shafted, one way or another.

It’s a frustrating situation, one that isn’t exactly anything new but increasingly disappointing with each new hat it pops on its unappealing head. The Tories wanted to encourage movement in the housing market, so limited their tax intake to increase already buoyant demand. Now the branches of the magic money tree have been stripped a little more bare so there’s just nothing in the coffers for free schools meals (plenty still in the pot for assorted kickbacks for their friends and donors, but that’s definitely far beside the point).

I know, the banks are antsy about another crash. That’s why they made it harder in general for folk to get mortgages. It might be obvious to all and sundry that I’m no economist, but even I know that. But none of that meant that anyone was compelled to fritter their deposit money away on avocado toast or what have you. Larger proportions getting devoted to rent doesn’t exactly spell great news for the disposable income markets. But yes, let’s absolutely shut up shop to make sure that the little bankers can all sleep a bit more soundly in their beds. That’s far more important than anything else at the moment and we should never forget it.

Compassion Does Not Stop Virus

No duh. There’s no getting around the fact that one single tool (and that’s not just the PM or any one of his phalanx of competent advisors) is enough to get this pandemic situation sorted. I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face (and that’s not just the covid talking), but lockdowns are crude measures taken to buy time, nothing more than that. We wouldn’t need to be doing that sort of thing now if the other tools were sharpened while we all hid behind our closed doors.

Not just that, but the pandemic is laying certain undeniable truths bare. We have a north south divide in this country and I’m saying this from a cushy position in the south east. Case numbers never went down all that far in certain areas and so when all the taps were turned back on in the summer, the starting position was a hell of a lot higher. Plenty of people out there don’t have the money, the security, the space to be able to isolate or stay out of dangerous situations. I’m a middle class office worker, able to work from home and I don’t have to worry about feeding anyone other than myself (Mr Ros is more than capable of securing his own table scraps). Others aren’t in that kind of relaxed situation.

So, compassion on its own isn’t going to be enough to sort the situation out. Me feeling sorry for those in the north won’t change anything. Decent test and trace, better provision for self isolation, stringent lockdown measures that actually make any sense, a handful of those might go some of the way towards making an impact. Then again, that’s not to say that there isn’t a place for compassion. Meals for schoolkids. Bit of an easy win that the government’s completely skirting, no?

Cruel Immoral Plan

Sums up much of the government’s current efforts, right? There’s the whole reluctance-to-feed-kids-during-the-holidays thing which is just fundamentally not a good look. Sure, it would be excellent if in one of the richest countries on the globe (and slipping further down the pecking order by the day, but that’s another issue) all parents were able to afford to feed their children. But we do have a housing crisis, austerity has cut services to the bone and an explosion in the number of people needing to visit food banks.

This is not a new issue and we are, I might remind you, in the middle of a freaking pandemic. People have lost jobs or hours, making it that much harder to keep up with the bills that keep on coming. And these are children, if they’re hungry, they should be fed. I thought we were living in unprecedented times, why is the first concern that such a move would lead poor kids to expect that anyone at the top is at all on their side? I can’t believe this is controversial. It would be (somewhat) easier to swallow if they weren’t whacking out huge government contracts to their mates with zero tender process and bugger all scrutiny. There’s plenty of money to bribe people into packing themselves into restaurants, but not if said folk are too poor to go out to eat in the first place.

But wait, there’s more. Remember that altruistic move of making sure that rough sleepers weren’t able to contribute to spreading the virus by putting them up in hotels? Well, those heady days of April(?) are long gone. No, let’s roll up two problems into one by deporting anyone who might not be from here. Land of opportunity, out you go. I wish I had it in me to be disappointed or even shocked. I have never felt less represented.