Spikecollie

That's like a letter from a war zone bunker - the human fear in it is palpable, alarming and noteworthy - from professionals...

Sadly, I agree with you and I think this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I'm going to have a chat with my boss on Monday to see what plans they have for our organisation and more importantly our working patterns. We have contractually guaranteed hours per month, so I am pretty sure we will be paid regardless - at least for a while - but at the first sign of spread to my area I'm simply not going out to work with vulnerable people putting them (or myself) at risk...

The Paris marathon has been deferred until October. I know two people who were going to run in it in April - they'll just have to keep up the training.

423 cases now in France and one more death.

You should never starve your body when you are ill - a) when you have a high temperature your body needs extra calories to maintain that temperature to fight the infection - that's what fever is for; b) you need the macro and micro-nutrients in food to sustain your immune systems and other systems vital in fighting the illness; c) you'll feel weaker, sicker and psychologically less strong if you don't have food. The kind of food is the key. Broths, soups and other mushies in small quantities are best that you can swallow easily. Lots of fluids to counteract the fluid loss from sweating and if you fancy some confort foods like chocolate or cake (probably means you're getting better) then go ahead. Rehydration drinks are good when you have "the trots". (Personal knowledge backed up by Starve a Cold, Feed a Fever? Learn the Facts WWW.WEBMD.COM Do you starve a cold and feed a fever? Or is it the other way around? Learn the facts about eating well when you have a cold to speed your recovery. )

Get well soon, Snefnug

Get well soon, Snefnug

Donald Trump has declared live on television that, as a result of a hunch, he didn’t believe the World Health Organization’s assessment of the global death rate from coronavirus of 3.4%. “I think the 3.4% is really a false number,” he told Sean Hannity, one of his favorite conservative Fox News hosts, in a phone interview broadcast live. “Now, this is just my hunch,” Trump began, before continuing that “based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this, because a lot of people will have this, and it’s very mild – they’ll get better very rapidly, they don’t even see a doctor, they don’t even call a doctor.” He went on: “You never hear about those people, so you can’t put them down in the category of the overall population, in terms of this corona flu, and/or virus. So you just can’t do that.” (Source: Guardian live) The bold is mine. What leadership in a time of crisis, eh...

Do we know whether our bubbles are holding yet, Nick?

Get well soon and I'm sure your family will do and will continue to do, and great job of looking after you.

I forgot about that when I posted. Good reminder and bloody good practice!

It's a bit different here in France. People go to the doctor for everything and you never leave without a prescription for something! My doctor has an open surgery from 0800 to 1200 on a Monday (yes, just drop in and be seen) and he often over runs by an hour or so after midday. He then does house calls between 1200 and 2000. More to the point, he always has time for you. I'm afraid I have no idea about Italy - maybe there is more of a resistance to medical intervention among the elderly - anyone know?

Sorry, forgot that bit and need to give credit to the catchers! Doglets have always done that bit for me but I'd know what to do if needs must - always humanely!

Most people criticise "the boys". Take "willy" out, pee, put "willy" back and leave, touching the door handle on the way out. Women are not exempt from criticism. The number of women I have seen go into cubicles, some with kids, do their stuff and walk straight back out without even a glance at a sink is not insignificant. It's disgusting and it spreads whatever is out there...

No, people are not dim but they have lost any sense of how to take initiative in their lives and they lack the kind of resilience that resourcefulness brings. How many people really grow their own produce i.e. can live off what they grow, know how to prepare a freshly caught rabbit, can identify edible wild plants? How many kids have really had a proper hike in the countryside, not a toddle around the local country park? This modern mentality breeds a kind of dependency and this is what you see - "learned helplessness".

If someone dies and it is traceable back to that selfish individual then perhaps a manslaughter charge would be in order. That might stop that kind of reprehensible behaviour. I'm not a great fan of legislating for everything but that is ludicrous.

According to very reliable cultural profiling data (Hofstede, Trompenaars) the US is the most individualistic culture in the world with a distinctive bias against a collective consideration mentality. This is a very deep-rooted value set, reinforced by political, economic and social policy and strategy and something that is very hard to change. Just like I would never condemn another culture's food habits (like some have done with China and the "wet markets" in recent times) I cannot condemn the culture of the US. I might not like it but that is their culture. I've spent a lot of time in the US and it is a truly amazing country but no matter where I went I always felt an undercurrent of this individualism. Cultures, like individuals, can change - but as with individuals, sometimes a radical life event effects a very major change. I think it will be very interesting to see how this evolves in the US over the next months and years.

Perhaps the US will learn from this and there will be real social, political and economic change. Sometimes, just like individuals, nations have to learn the hard way and I am sadly sure that this is going to be a hard and steep learning curve for the US.

8300 masks and 1200 bottles of alcohol hand gel stolen, this time from a hospital in Paris. This is the kind of reprehensible behaviour that a phenomenon like this engenders in our fellow human beings

I know, Nick. How anyone could do that is beyond me. They'll probably be sold at hyperinflated prices to make money for some morally bereft sods...

You clearly had a totally different experience of business travel to mine. My trips were always designed and executed to make a contribution to knowledge, society and the wider global economy - and I damn well hope I made a contribution and that itcontinued in all spheres of business activity by people with a strong sense of ethics and a disposition to the greater good.

13 new cases in France. The total is now 204.

I know what it's like. Good old Sudafed usually does it for me. House dust makes me sneeze but mould sets it off really badly and my eyes end up looking like I've been chopping a hundred onions.

I get alcohol gel from work and there's normally a bottle left in every client's house, but I managed to buy 10 more bottles myself yesterday which I have squirrelled away under the sink.

On a human level - my Mum in law has just finished her latest round of chemotherapy for Lymphoma. She's 86 but was treated intensively because for her age, her health was very good. Her response has actually been very good, with a full remission at the moment. Dad in law has poor respiratory health due to lifelong asthma. OH spoke to them this evening and they are very worried. Needlessly, yes, for the moment, but all the news buzz really gets to vulnerable people like them. My sister in law has told them that if things get bad, they should just stay in but going shopping and the independence that just going out in the car brings to them is very important and they can be very resistant. I love them so much, they are my substitute Mum and Dad (mine died many years ago) and this is the saddest part of events like this...