Covid - 19: How is it affecting you?

[probes]

Hear no weevil, see no weevil, speak no weevil.

- brilliant!

I hate to have learned the name for them in English.

[ian16th]

A well thought out instruction from a politician:

Australia's Prime Minister has told all foreign visitors and students to leave the country now.

But:

It is also unclear how exactly those who are supposed to leave, get home.

[Pontius Navigator]

STUFFED

Daughter arrived at 5 with big shop of meat, fresh and frozen bread and Big Roll.

At 5.30 neighbour brought sausages, bacon and chicken from a butcher in Oakham.

At 6 the other neighbour brought two huge dinners of fish and chips from the pub.

We are now well stocked with the next big shop not due for delivery until the 19th. We should have room by then.

[larsssnowpharter]

Another little sad story from all this and a spot of joy.

The joy:

You may recall that the Black Bitch can no longer visit the folks at our local care home. We took Probes' suggestion and would visit the outside of the place at our usual hours. The residents could see her from their common room and started calling to her and throwing her treats. Hound thought this a great game.

The really nice thing is that, today, the railings outside the building had been decorated with hundreds of yellow ribbons tied on by the local kids. Really quite lovely.

Sad:

One of the residents I know quite well and chat to him when I walk with the Sproglettes when he takes the 0737 bus into town. He is in an electric wheelchair and dressed in tie jacket etc. He changes buses in town traveling to another care home, specialising in dementia where his wife is resident. He does this every day despite the fact that she doesn't recognize him. He was a merchant seaman on arctic convoys during WW2 and his visits are, as he puts it, 'duty and love'.

He can no longer carry out his duty.

Bastard piece of RNA.

[Capetonian]

if you stand closer than 1.5 metres to other people in Germany....

So no doubt they will soon be looking for Lebensraum, but don't mention the war.

[John Hill]

U Plum, ditto re lambing 'mothering on' can indeed be very satisfying.

[Undried Plum]

I became a bit of a local hero this evening.

I stopped by a small supermarket on the way home, quite a bit off the way actually, to buy some victuals. It's the one which encourages people to co-operate with eachother. Absolute poison for Ben and his ilk, no doubt.

They've got a good system of marking the floor so as to enable the two metre separation thing.

A bulky bullet-headed bozo barged his way past me in the narrow aisle which had just been vacated for me by two women who had been shelf stacking. I kicked the backs of his knees and floored him, saying very loudly "Keep your distance". He got up and came at me as if to threaten me.

Though in my sixties and silver-haired, I'm still quite tall and some say that I still have a bit of what used to be called 'command presence'. I said, in a very loud stentorious voice, "If you come within my two metre zone again I will punch you in the face so **** hard that your teeth will come marching out of your arse like a row of ivory soldiers". He saw/heard that I meant it and he meekly went on his way.

The two shelfstackers had seen and heard the matter from the end of the aisle and they applauded. Evidently everyone else in the shop had heard me too and they joined in the applause. It was very gratifying, almost blushingly embarrassing actually.

The checkout girl said that she wished she could press a button to waive my bill.

[Smeagol]

Well done UP

[TheGreenGoblin]

I became a bit of a local hero this evening.

...

The checkout girl said that she wished she could press a button to waive my bill.

Good man...

[Boac]

your teeth will come marching out of your arse like a row of ivory soldiers

a veritable classic!

[Undried Plum]

I'd pinched that memorable line from a drill instructor at Cranditz. A Flight Sergeant or a WO, I can't remember.

He always suffixed his threats and insults with the syllable of "Sah". I didn't call the ****q in the supermarket sir.

If I hadn't been wearing RedWing boots at the time of my shopping sortie I'd have used another of his lines: I'll kick you up the arse so **** hard that you'll be **** Kiwi for the next nine months.

[PHXPhlyer]

I had an incident at the bank where they were trying to to implement social distancing using colored duct tape Xs on the lobby floor and sidewalk.
As I was parking in the lot a muscle car going opposite me honked. As I got out of my car he stopped and began yelling that I had almost hit him head on. Called me out asking if I wanted to have a go with him. I told him to f-off and got in line on my X on the sidewalk outside the entrance. A minute or so later, guy stepped around me and got in my face again berating me for having almost hit him. He challenged me to take the first swing, I declined ( he was about 20 years younger and a bit bigger than me). He sneered and said that he figured that I wouldn't. The branch manager and another lady were there trying to organize entry and the manager told him to get in line and calm down saying that I was nos doing anything untoward. He got in line six feet behind me and continued to berate me saying that I was probably drunk in addition to my other failings (9:30 AM). All the while the manager was trying, unsuccessfully, to calm him down. Another employee went in and out came a very large guy of Samoan persuasion. The guy asked the employee if he was security but it was obvious that he was there for his imposing presence.
After a rather lengthy transaction I went out to thank the manager for her attempt to deescalate the situation and apologize for her having to deal with it in the first place.
The manager informed me that he was still in the parking lot. I did not look for the guy and continued to chat with the manager. Eventually she indicated that he had left and I again thanked her.
Fortunately for the guy, the "crazy, drunk, poor driving old man" wasn't forced to use the concealed pistol he was legally carrying.
Where I live is a "stand your ground" state so given the Corona crisis I would probably been justified as he was in my face and could be a carrier.
On the other hand, I'm glad that I didn't have to find out.

PP

[Undried Plum]

**** we don't have the gun culture in civilised society.

[jimtherev]

I'm sure that RevJim will agree with me that one should count one's blessings, in Good times and in Bad.

Yup.
With the emphasis on should in my case sometimes.

Not all life forms are sacred. I'm sure RevJim will agree with me on that too.

Yup again. Though I would like it to be otherwise. But given that covid19 is a life form (to name but one) I can't think of anything sacred about that.

And btw, UP I'd like to add my congrats on your two reports today, to those already offered.

[TheGreenGoblin]

But given that covid19 is a life form (to name but one) I can't think of anything sacred about that.

And btw, UP I'd like to add my congrats on your two reports today, to those already offered.

You never know, earthly life might have emerged from an errant virus protected in the rocky bosom of some itinerant astroid or icy comet many billions of years ago...

The ways of the good Lord are wonderful to behold!

[Undried Plum]

I didn't wish to start or ignite a theology fight.

I spent half a year of my life in a ceramic 10' x 10' x 10' box, unlit other than a 24x7 lightbulb, as a result of disagreeing with a theology.

I've written about that here, though I can't be arsed to search for a link to that post here.

Theology fights are deeply silly.

[TheGreenGoblin]

I didn't wish to start or ignite a theology fight.

I spent half a year of my life in a ceramic 10' x 10' x 10' box, unlit other than a 24x7 lightbulb, as a result of disagreeing with a theology.

I've written about that here, though I can't be arsed to search for a link to that post here.

Theology fights are deeply silly.

I agree Undried Plum and wasn't seeking a disagreement with the good Rev. who strikes me as a decent, pragmatic man, as men of the cloth often are. I was just wryly admitting that as a wish-washy agnostic I do still wonder about the divine manipulator's role in these things!

[Undried Plum]

Here's a paste of what I wrote here about a religious experience I once had.

I was in Dhahran prison. As the charterer and boss of a work vessel in Saudi waters I was held jointly liable with the Captain and the Chief Engineer for the brewing and distilling of wines, beers and spirits aboard the vessel. I was guilty of knowing what was going on and was guilty of not disclosing what I knew and so was sentenced to 80 lashes and 18 months in pokey.

The lashes were carried out in weekly sessions spread across two months. My sentence was to be served in solitary.

The cell was 10 feet square with shiny white tiles on all surfaces. There was a French style two-footprint and a hole toilet in the corner, no windows and a single very bright light in an armoured cage on the ceiling which was never switched off. There was one meal a day, rice. On Fridays there was also either lamb or chicken or fish, all in very generous portions. Every day they gave me two two-litre bottles of mineral water, one for Arab-style left-handed ablutions and the other one was frozen for use as drinking water. The calls to prayer were the only clock one had.

On Fridays we were allowed an hour of association, all day for Muslims. Fajr and Isha were held in the cells, but Dhuhr, Asr, and Maghrib were held comunally with half an hour of association afterwards. There was no pressure for kufar to convert, but the opportunity to wash hands, face and feet three times without using up one's ration of water, together with free association with other prisoners was a very attractive proposition after the first week of continuous solitary. "Conversion" was a simple matter of memorising and reciting the Shahada and learning the prayer ritual.

The lashes were very painful. In theory the flogger is supposed to hold the Qur'an under the arm which he uses to swing the cane, but my guy was a sadist who liked to use full force. The most painful part was when the cane struck the back of your arms.

At association I struck up a friendship with a very civilised Saudi prisoner who had been at a well known public school in England. He was the son of a provincial Governor who had sentenced him to two years as punishment for an excessive fondness for blonde girls and Malt Whisky. We remain very good friends to this day. I am the godfather of his eldest son. Every Eid, ie twice a year, he sends me a case of 30 year old Macallan.

A deal was done behind the scenes and I was released very suddenly and unexpectedly after six months. Still in the same thobe that I had been wearing for half a year, and without even being allowed to have a shower, I was taken aboard a Gulf Air flight in handcuffs and sent on my way. I spent the whole of the very short flight to Bahrain having a strip wash and then put on some spare uniform clothes that the crew very kindly gave me. On arrival at the hotel I immediately had a shower, then a bath and then went down to dinner after a very emotional phone call to my beloved. I ordered a T-bone steak with all the trimmings. I stared at it for about half an hour. I just could not believe that it was real. My head was still in that prison cell that I'd been in only a couple of hours earlier.

[TheGreenGoblin]

The deserts of history seem to have excited the worst kinds of bigots, religious zealots and fools over the centuries, Muslims, Christians and Jews...

I am glad you seem to lack any obvious bitterness about this injustice and ill treatment at the hands of ignorant theocracy drunk savages and hypocrites. I also note your belief in the spirit of goodness and the belief in some men, Arabs or not...

Hate has not overcome you and you are clearly a better man for that.

punishment for an excessive fondness for blonde girls and Malt Whisky

Surely such a fine sin is ultimately punishment enough in itself...

[Undried Plum]

you are clearly a better man for that.

For me, having served a schoolboy lifetime at two boarding schools from the age of seven, and having served a seeming lifetime at the pleasure of a Saudi King, this lockdown is a piece o' piss.