What is it about baked beans and a pandemic? Sadly I went into lockdown without a tin of baked beans. I’ve not managed to find any since. And I have looked.
Baked beans are not something I eat often, perhaps 4 or 5 times a year. However, they are one of those foods that on very rare occasions, I have a real hankering for. It’s that mushy sugary salty combo, one that I just can’t replicate with home cooking. I’ve not contacted my street’s WhatsApp group, that would be weird. I’ll keep looking.
However, I did contact my WhatsApp group on another matter today, and an important one. There was news out this morning that during lockdown, and during this pandemic, that cats should be kept indoors to prevent spread of the virus. I don’t have a cat. I live in a top floor flat with no access to a garden, and I don’t really have space for kitty litter. Instead, I’m the local cat whisperer. Yes, there are cats that come running, or at least meow, when they see me, and I’ll always stop and pat, and even give a belly rub if they’re so inclined. And no, I never feed them. I live alone. Social distancing means that the chance to pat a cat takes on even more meaning.
I was overly pleased when I saw on Twitter a statement from the British Veterinary Association making clear that the reporting was highly misleading. I was relieved.
It’s weird how not being able to find a tin of baked beans, or the risk I won’t be able to pat a cat for the next ‘however long this bloody well lasts for’, takes on such significance. Yes, it is mundane, and pretty much meaningless in the scheme of things, but it is what it is.
I spend a lot of time swinging between these mundane musings and following events. I even manage to get some work done in between.
Today marks 100 days since the World Health Organization was first alerted to this virus. It was as recent as 21 of February that that the first locally transmitted case was confirmed in Italy, in the Lombardy province of Lodi. I had already been keeping an eye on the John Hopkins tracker that provides figures for confirmed cases, deaths, and recoveries. I remember at one point the recovered made up over 50% of the total confirmed cases. There were I think about 80,000 cases at that point (but don’t quote me on that). The red dots on the map were focused on China, particularly Wuhan.
And those figures now climb at a terrifying rate. The red dots cover the globe. Today, the total recovered make up only about 20% of the confirmed cases.
The PM remains in intensive care. I don’t like the man, but I wish him well. I am getting a bit tired of the bollocks around ‘he’s strong, he’s a fighter blah blah’. It somehow suggests that those who have died of this bloody awful virus have done so because they’re ‘weak’ or ‘gave up’.
There are a further 938 deaths reported between 9am yesterday and 9am today, bringing the total to 7,097. No10 will not be reviewing the lockdown. It was meant to last for three weeks. No way of knowing how long it will be.
On the plus side, it seems the lockdown in the UK is starting to have an impact with respect to ‘flattening the curve’. Another plus point, on my walk through Dulwich Park today, there was some good social distancing taking place. I even spotted a dog that was maintaining a polite and sustained two metres from his owner.
So that’s it for Day 16. Stay safe, stay well, and stay home!