Coronavirus My Thoughts 22nd March 2020

[Dave]

Coronavirus My Thoughts 22nd March 2020

I have found as I have got older I have had to push the thoughts of dieing out of my mind on many occasions. The only thing we know for certain in this world is the day will come when we are no longer a part of it. Since my beautiful wife Carol passed away at just fifty two years old due to breast cancer, I have always tried to live life to the full for the both of us.

Putting on a happy face for the world every single day has not always been easy, but I have always told myself every single morning the world has me for another day at least and it is one more day than dear Carol had. One thing that is out of our control is how we die, in a perfect world we all might just go to sleep and not wake up the next morning, sadly that is not how it happens for so many people.

Peoples lives are so often cut short for a number of reasons, cancer other illnesses and tragic accidents, where being in the wrong place at the wrong time proved to be fatal. So many reasons that are beyond our control, it is so often down to the luck of the gods as they say.

Many people have been killed in needless wars and others by fellow humans due to greed or jealousy or the fact they were just evil people who did not care for others lives. But many people have lived through wars etc and come out the other side, many of those still alive now find themselves having to face a new kind of war that could also end up taking their life.

Most people here in UK and around the world for that matter, enjoyed a care free Christmas and had no idea what was about to happen in the world. Had no idea they were about to face an invisible killer that would claim many lives.

Even when the news of the new Coronavirus hit the news, most were not fearful of it as it was mainly in China and we just all went about our daily lives until the first case was confirmed her in the UK. I was out just doing my round for R D Johns when the news came over the radio that a number of schools in Paignton had just been closed due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 in one of them.

All but one of the schools reopened the next day and it was reported two people from Torbay had been taken to a hospital in Newcastle for treatment. We then learned a pharmacy and doctors were being closed in Torquay due to the COVID-19 virus, but people still went on with their daily lives living at that point in no real fear.

But around the world this virus was spreading fast and people were dieing from it, countries like Italy being hit very hard and the death toll is still rising there each and every single day. Here in the UK the numbers started to go up and then came the news of the first death in the UK from COVID-19, followed by growing numbers daily and still rising as I write this.

This is world war three only this time against an enemy we can not see, for me that makes it even more frightening and concerning as we all look for ways to try and stay safe and more importantly alive. Many people are staying at home now, afraid to go outside into a world that was once just full of the beauty nature had to offer. But many others have to go to work to help keep the country going and the NHS staff in particular treating all the infected people.

Home care workers putting themselves at risk as they tend to the daily needs of very old people who could not survive without them. People who are not asking for thanks, but feel they have a duty of care to help and protect those who are so vulnerable right now. The list of all the people playing their part to help us all get through this is endless and we will come out the other side if we all play our part as well.

Sadly such life events also can bring out the very worst in others and we have seen evidence of that in the UK and around the world. People stock pilling large amounts of food, striping the supermarket shelves bear leaving no food for others to buy. People drinking in pubs etc ignoring the advice of the government health experts.

Selfish people with the I am aright jack attitude not prepared to make any sacrifices for the good of us all, or the future on mankind for that matter. If we do not listen or take action we will all have only ourselves to blame in the end, going this way was not how we planned to leave planet earth.

I cried real tears yesterday as I called to deliver orders to Cafes and pubs etc that has not been cancelled on Friday evening after the Prime Minster ordered all these places to close down. They were there cleaning up and putting their business and lively hood into storage. I felt their pain and heartbreak, these were people I saw daily and shared a laugh and joke with and I do not know when I will see them again.

But I know this has had to happen, people need to keep apart right now to try and slow down the spread of COVID-19, but it does ago against who we are and what the human race is about. Until the scientists etc can maybe come up with a solution, this is the best and only weapon we have at our disposal.

We have to all believe this will be beaten, or what else would be the point of carrying on, but we all know it is going to take some time and life for now is not going to be the same. How many poor mums have not been taken out for their treat today on Mothers Sunday? But they will all know and fully understand the reasons why that is the case.

Sadly more people will die and many businesses will go under and jobs lost, but we can play our part in keeping the death total down and it is the British way to come back stronger and rebuild and we will do that. The weeks and months ahead are not going to be easy and the fear is not going to go away for some time, but keep believing and keep doing all the right things.

The company I work for has been growing and expanding a great deal over the last year, now it finds itself with hardly any customers left and a warehouse full of over 5000 product lines. As a company it wants to survive and also right now play its part in helping with the food shortages caused by the greedy and selfish people of the UK.

We are now offering a home delivery service to anyone who needs one, it will put our drivers at great risk calling at peoples homes, but as I have said all ready we all need to play our part in this terrible situation we find ourselves in. My hours and wages are going to drop considerably but I am not worried about that right now, all I want is for us all to come out the other side together. To once again see people going about their daily lives with a smile on their face and no longer living in fear. No longer afraid to give a hug to someone who needs one.

For me I have found the last few weeks so very strange, driving to beautiful Devon villages past fields with sheep and lambs in them and seeing with my own eyes the beauty of nature. But for ever mindful there was a killer out there somewhere my eyes could not see.

Stay strong, think of others and play your part, I still only want to die of very old age in my bed.

[Dave]

Sunday the 22nd March the sun came out in the UK and so did half the population it seems. Reports of parks and beaches packed with people all far closer to each other than they should be. Sadly so many people are failing to get the message that they really should be staying in doors unless they are going to work etc.

The number of infections and deaths will keep rising and we will not get on top of this virus if people continue to behave in this manner. Many are now calling on the government to put the UK in total lockdown, something I fully agree with as people are no longer responding to the government’s requests.

Pubs cafes gyms and many other places are now closed, even zoos have now closed as well and none of these places will be able to open again until we rid the UK of this virus. Is it not better to go through even more pain right now to help reduce the death rate and bring the day closer when we can get our lives back to normal?

Everyone even the young has a part to play in this, if this virus only killed young people, would not their grandparents do everything possible to protect them? The young and everyone else for that matter need to play their part to protect our older residents and those most at risk from this virus.

We also have a duty to protect ourselves as much as possible, we can do that by staying at home when we are not going to work or out for vital food shops etc. Yes we want to be out there enjoying the sun, going to places we enjoy going too, but are the risks really worth taking?

It is possible if you catch this virus that you will only have mild symptoms, but you will be a carrier and could pass it onto someone who might not be so lucky. Now more than ever it is time to think of others and the effect you might have on their lives, would you really want to be the one who infected them and as a result they passed away before their time?

We all want this to go away, we all no longer want to live in the fear this virus is generating, we all want to get life back to normal. It is not going to happen over night sadly, the numbers will keep going up long before they cone down, but by taking the right actions now, we will one day beat it.

Stay safe, do the right thing, you all know it makes sense.

[Dave]

On Monday the 23rd March 2020 at 8.30 pm the Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to the nation and brought in further sanctions. It was very clear the day before on Sunday people were simply not following the advice given to them by the government. Parks and beaches packed with people who had not seen the sun out for such a long time. But each and every one of them knew they really should have stayed in doors.

On my drive to work on Monday morning I was surprised how many cars were on the roads, where were all these people going, many cars were being driven by some very old ladies. It is no wonder most shops have now been forced to close, but on Tuesday there were still so many cars on the road.

Tuesday was a very strange day for me, the first time I found myself delivering food to houses and not pubs, cafes hotels etc, but as I did I was not aware how my day would end. On my return to work I had to go into the office and was asked if I was Ok with being put into furlough.

I had no choice really as the company has been hit so hard like so many other companies, at least this way for now I do get 80% of my wages but I do fear my working days are now over. The number getting this killer virus keep rising as does the number of lives it is claiming, today the 26th March 2020 115 people died bringing the UK total to 578, with the number of recorded cases rising to 11,658.

But in truth the number of cases is so much higher than that, some suggest there are 100.000 case here in the UK, but since testing was halted there is no way of really knowing the true total.

Sadly there are still people in the UK who have not got the message, or are choosing to ignore it, that is why the police are now on our streets checking why people are out and not at home. They have the power to fine people who do not have a good reason, but in my view the fines are far to low.

This killer virus does not move, people move and then so does the virus, if we do not move then the virus will not be able too and then it will eventually die. It is not rocket science and for now until scientists can come up with a solution, it’s the only science we have got.

I like most people do not want to be stuck indoors, but a big part of me is to scared to want to go out, I have worked the last few months in some appalling weather and now the sun decides to come out when we can’t go out and enjoy it.

But I would rather stay in doors until it is safe for us all to come out again, it will happen one day, we do not know when that will be, but if we do the right things now, we will taste again that freedom we all took for granted.

Tonight at 8pm on Thursday the 26th March 2020 nearly the whole country came out on their doorsteps and clapped and cheered for all the staff working in the NHS. It was such a moving event that not only had my in tears, it made me proud to be British.

We have a long way to go still, sadly many more people are going to lose their lives, but I still firmly believe we can bring an end to this sooner if we all play our part. Stay safe, stay indoors we can and will best this.

[graystar]

Well said Dave. Couldn't agree more.

[Dave]

If today’s figures do not wake up the UK population I do not know what will. A staggering 2921 new cases and 181 deaths, the total today that has the virus in the UK is 14579 with a 163 on them in a critical condition, 751 people have lost their lives to date.

I have watched videos taken in cities around the world this morning, empty of people and cars, yet the road outside my house today has been more like the M5 and they can’t all be essential journeys. People still think it is OK to jump in their car and drive to some beauty spot to walk their dog or take exercise, do they all have a death wish?

I would love nothing more on a sunny day like today, to be out there with my camera doing one of my photo shoots. Even better still get my drone up in the air that has had to stay in its case for a few months now mainly down to the poor winter weather and now this.

But I want to still be here when this is finally beaten, to be able to go out without fear in a world I can greet people walking by and not take the widest berth I can. If that means I have to stay indoors and just look out of the window then so be it.

The herd immunity idea from the government was in my mind absolute madness, it would have required 60% of the population contracting the virus. I firmly believe we are where we are now due to a lack of real action when the very first case was reported here in the UK.

As long as we have people who believe they won’t catch it and carry on their lives as normal, the longer all this is going to go on. It is time for a complete lockdown, people have been asked to stay at home, most have but not all. It is also time to close our boarders, stop anyone coming in or going out of the country.

I know we have always enjoyed our freedom in the UK, that is what makes staying in so hard, but what other weapon do we have to beat this virus? None what so ever so the best we can do to try and protect ourselves and our loved ones by greatly reduce the risk of contracting it.

Being a very positive person I can only believe we will beat it and when we do life for sometime will still not be the same. It will take time for us to feel confident walking near others, even going to a pub or restaurant will not be easy at first. The damage to our country might take years to fully repair; some companies could be lost forever.

The danger is mankind may not learn from this, will not make any changes to all the things that have done so much damaged to the earth we all share. But if they don’t I fear not only for future generations but the world itself.

Take good care and stay at home, you know it makes sense.

[Dave]

Saturday 28th March 2020



Another terrible day for the UK and the rest of the world all but one country if you choose to believe their figures. We now have 17.089 confirmed cases in the UK, but we know the real figure is much higher than that. 260 more people lost their lives bringing the total up to 1.019 and the numbers are only going to keep going up.

I find it hard to stomach the news that China closed its borders today as the new cases there have been imported according to them; they said they want to protect their own people. We do not want to see anyone lose their life, but only three people died in China today of this killer virus. The total number of deaths around the world as I write this is now 300.299. Have all these people died just because the Chinese enjoyed eating bats? Or is there more to this than that?

Once again like the M5 outside my house today, but I do live on a road that has five big food shops on it, I spent some time this morning car spotting. So many of the cars had three or four people in them, yes they may have been family members from the same household, but where were they going?

Only one person from any household should be going to do the shopping, we are told we must not drive to locations to exercise, so I wish someone would tell me why there were so many in a number of the cars.

Local facebook pages have been filled with photos taken today by people who said they were taken while out exercising, really? Not only really but why? Pictures of places we have all been to and taken photos of ourselves so many times. Some even post words like “some pictures from today for those who can’t get out” Well let me tell you this, many of us can get out, but we are following the governments advice and staying firmly indoors.

I read a piece yesterday by someone in Italy who said it takes a death from the virus in someone’s family to make them change their habits and follow the rules. Is that going to be the only way those just carrying on life as normal here in the UK are going to change? How high must the numbers get before some wake up and think hey there is a real problem here.

Crazy really, we can not see it but we know it is there and we do not know WHEN we will get rid of it. There are today over 25.000 people with the virus who are Serious or Critically ill, many of those will sadly die, but we must take hope from the fact 139.555 people have fully recovered. Over 455,649 (95% of the current cases) are classed as being in a Mild Condition who hopefully will all recover as well.

So there is good news, some positives to help us believe, but we have got to listen and do what is needed. What we need here in the UK is to start to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it will not be for awhile. When I thought about those words a light at the end of the tunnel, it took me back to a memory from ten years ago,

My late wife and I walked through the Shaugh Tunnel on the disused Plym Valley Line, a tunnel that once inside due to being curved you can not see the exit at the other end. But when we walked further into the tunnel there it was, still a fair way to walk to get to it, but we did. The story of that walk and photos can be seen on the link below; sadly the wonderful bench that can be seen in my photos was stolen and never recovered about six years ago.



davesworld.proboards.com/thread/58/shaugh-tunnel-plym-valley-line

[Dave]

Sunday 29th March 2020

I have been amazed by the number of comments I have read on social media sites that claim this virus is no worse than the normal winter flu. Well I have never known a winter flu that closed all the UK pubs, restaurants night clubs, cinemas, gyms and most of the high street shops into the bargain. I have never known a flu where a building in London had to be converted into a 4000 bed hospital. Or a flu that required us all to stay at home and only go out for food and not very often at that.

Sadly it is the very same people making such claims that are the ones ignoring all the advice the government is issuing and putting everyone else at risk. People have been getting into their cars and driving to places like Haldon and local parks to walk their dogs etc. The new rules could not be clearer; the car must only be used for essential journeys and walking the dog is not one of them, nor is going to a beauty spot to exercise.

Police have reported here today that children have been moved off some parks, I have heard a report people were out surfing today at Paignton and I have also seen a photo of children sitting on a bench in a field at Preston. When all this started we did see many people pulling together, that is still the case for most, but we are seeing a growing war of words on our local facebook pages.

My daughter sent me a photo taken today in Wales that appeared on her local facebook page, a beach car park that had been fenced off and signs saying it was closed were all removed and a good number of cars parked there. So it is not just around here people are just doing what they want and are putting up their fingers to all the rest of us.

I can see big divisions opening up very soon between those who are following the rules and those who are not; I do not know where that will end, but it could all end up getting very nasty.

But after just reading an article from the Daily Mail, I am beginning to wonder if all our efforts are going to be worthwhile in the end. The Daily mail claims to celebrate winning the battle over the coronavirus, China yesterday opened up its meat markets selling bats and scorpions etc for medicine and other uses. The very same meat markets that caused this entire problem in the world in the first place.

They are not going to learn, they will continue to be a major health threat to the rest of the world and maybe the world should come together and put an end to the Chinese meat markets for good for them. If all the mail said was true, it has put a bit of a dent in my hopes we will fully rid our country of this deadly virus.

I wonder what percentage of the human race could be classed as normal and sane that values human life and just wants to live a happy and as normal life as possible. What percentage does not care less, are happy to see others die and would never make any changes that would be for the good of all mankind. I know one thing, if I survive all of this; I will never buy anything again that says it was made in China.


On to today’s figures, Italy and Spain still recorded a very high number of deaths, but both down from yesterday, UK down from 260 on Saturday to 209 today and France also saw a very small drop in deaths. Yesterday 3.516 people around the world died of this virus, today’s total currently stands at 2.661.

Stay indoors and stay safe, you know it makes sense.

[Dave]

Monday 30th March 2020


Not everybody is able to accept change easily; I certainly fall into that category. If I was able to see a really good reason for any change and there was a real benefit that would make improvements, I usually could come to terms with it.

But during my working life that I fear might have come to an end now, I have had to deal with some management who were hell bent on making changes often to try and make a name for themselves. Changes that only made the job harder and in some case even less productive, changes made by people who really did not have a real clue what the job was about.

Changes that are made at our work place we mostly have no control over, we might well know before they are even put into place , that they won’t work and should not be made. So we end up doing the job with changes that end up just frustrating us and no longer really enjoying what we were doing.

Life constantly forces us into having to make changes we really wish we did not have to, it might be as a result of losing your job, or even someone in your life. When my wife passed away aged just 52 years old, I thought my world and my life were over as well, I really could see no point in carrying on with life, I had lost my very best friend, my soul mate and the most perfect human being I had ever known.

But I got through those very dark days, I slowly made the changes one by one I needed to and did my very best to try and be as happy as possible. I never pretended life would ever be the same again, how could be? When I thought I had the most perfect life before.

They say that time is healer, while that is true to an extent as you try and bury the pain as deep as you can; the wound will never fully heal. Another event in life or even something you saw in a TV program can open up the wounds again; it is what makes us human I suppose.

Each and everyone one us right now are having massive changes made to the way we live, changes we would not choose if we really had a choice, but the plain facts are we don’t really have one. Well not if we want to play our part in trying to rid our country of this killer virus.

We are making these changes based on trust; we are not doctors, scientists and have never had to deal with anything like this in our life before. We are taking the word of our government that the actions we are taking will help slow down the spread of the virus.

Those changes that were made in our work place were noticeable the day they were made, better or worse, but we are going to have to wait some time to see if the changes we are making right now, really are going to work. I firmly believe they will and we all must play our part.

Onto today’s figures and one concerning piece of news, I read that there would be a spike in tomorrow’s figures when causalities outside of the hospitals are revelled for the first time. I am not sure what to read into that statement, could it mean only the deaths that occurred in the hospitals have been recorded so far?


Total deaths in the UK today from the virus was 180 with 2.619 reported new cases. That is 29 less deaths than yesterday, but 186 more cases than yesterdays total which was 2,433, but more tests are being carried out and that might be the reason for the increase.

Today we are one day closer to the end of this than we were yesterday, stay safe, stay indoors, we have got this.

[Dave]

Tuesday 31st March 2020


I reported yesterday that there would be a spike today in the number of people who had lost their lives to this killer virus. 381 in total, up from 180 on Monday. What has not been made clear if that was the real total of deaths today, or if the numbers were swelled due to deaths that have happened outside of the hospital during this outbreak have now been added today.

New cases in the UK today have been reported as being 3.009, up from 2.619 on Monday, but that is only the number of cases that have been confirmed after being tested. We could easily have over 100.000 people with the virus in the UK that is why it is even more important to stay at home if you can.

One person who died today was just 19 years and more worryingly had no underline health issues, if that is not a wake up call for all young people in the UK, I don’t know what is. The rest of the world has not faired to well today either, so we know we are in this for the long haul, but we will get there in the end.

I talked yesterday about changes in our lives and how we mostly learn to adapt to them. What was once maybe strange to us ends up being the morn. We are able to adapt to all the changes right now, we will get used to having to stay indoors but safe in the knowledge it won’t be forever.

Older people are more fearful of this virus and will be the ones taking all the precautions they can to prevent catching it. I spoke over the fence from a safe distance yesterday to the young man in his 20’s that lives next door, a young man who first played in my garden when he was just 5 years old.

A sensible young man who had much more fear in him than I would have expected, he even told me his younger sister would not even go into their garden choosing to stay indoors where she felt the most safest. Not the way for any young person to live let alone us much older folk.

We all have different fears and at different levels, some people even seem fearless where we might only see real danger. It is what makes us all different and sadly some are still not taking the real danger we are in as seriously as they should be doing.

The road outside of my house was even busier today than it was yesterday, where are all these people going? They can’t all be going to work or the supermarket. I admit I had to go out to day to pick up some medication for someone and then popped into a very empty Morrison’s, to pick up a few things that will mean I won’t need to go for another week at least.

I have to be honest and say just like you I hate the way the world is right now, it is highlighter just how bad it is when you do go into a supermarket. Every single person in there afraid of everyone else, wondering if they have the virus or not and so afraid to get to close which is the right thing to do right now.

Being the comedian I am, I had the checkout girl in fits of laughter, the ability to laugh and make others laugh is something we must not lose. Nor must we let our minds run away with us and try our very best to keep thinking positively and think about things we will be able to look forward too.

I have always been describe as a peoples person, so not having contact with others is something I find so very hard, but I cope with it by telling myself doing the right things now will mean the day will come when I can be that person again that I was before and not the recluse I am today.


My daughter up in Wales downloaded some images for her three children to colour in today, once done they were laminated and placed in the windows of her house. She has given me permission to share the photo below with you all.

Stay indoors; stay safe, you know it make sense.

[Dave]

Wednesday 1st April 2020

If we thought the deaths in the UK yesterday from this killer virus were bad enough, they sadly got worse today, I will come to those figures shortly. Yesterday by 8pm 3639 people around the world died due to this virus. So I thought I would look at some other figures to see how they compared.

By 8pm around the world 133.865 had died and there were 318.890 new births meaning the world population grew by 185.025 yesterday. I was very surprised to learn just how many people actually die every day on planet earth; it is something we never really think about.

563 deaths and 4.324 new cases in the UK today and the death total are only the deaths that have taken place in a hospital so I am sure the figure is higher. Total number of deaths now up to 2.352 with 29.474 recorded cases. I expect this is a trend we are going to see for a few more weeks, but I have to ask if enough is really being done to stop the spread?

Tube trains still packed to the rafters in London, flights from other counties still flying into the UK with no checks being done on the people who get off them, why is that? Why say it is now OK to jump in you car and drive somewhere to exercise, should the advice really be stay in unless you really have to go out.

I understand the concerns for peoples mental health, the risk of domestic abuse rising, but is staying alive not so much more important? I have found things to keep me busy, yes I will run out of jobs to do in the end, but then I will start from the beginning again and do that as long as it takes until I know it is safe to get back to my normal life again.

I am fast coming to the opinion that we are not being told the whole truth; you do not create 4000 bed emergency hospitals just in case you might need them. A temporary mortuary using refrigerated lorry containers set up close to Torbay Hospital at the former John Craxford Ltd yard on the rural fringes between Torbay and Teignbridge, close to the A380 Devon Expressway. A number of refrigerated lorry containers have been seen arriving there.

I find that very scary indeed and I am sure the fear factor is rising in so many of us. Yet still there are people who seem to think this is some kind of joke, you only need to read some comments on facebook to know that. Maybe these people are even more scared than the rest of us and are just burying their heads in the sand and hope it is just going to go away.

People who think we have done one week in a sort of soft lockdown and only have two more weeks to go when we can lift all of the restrictions placed on us. Do people really believe that? Well some on facebook certainly do rather foolishly in my opinion.

I will and I hope you will as well, continue to remain positive, keep doing everything in you power to stay safe and keep you loved ones safe as well. It is no good preaching to those who will not listen; they may well have to learn the hard way in the end.

Nature is saying thank you right now, Co2 emissions have been greatly reduced for a start but I am not sure our seagull’s are. There are always so many flying around where I live, but not today and I wonder why that is. One reason might be they are no longer able to get the food they were eating and grabbing of us.

History has a way of repeating itself, people have been here before I will leave you with these words spoken by Samuel Pepys in 1664

[Dave]

Friday 2rd April 2020






I did not update this thread yesterday for a number of reasons. The first one being that I wanted to create a stills video with music I could share on some of the local facebook pages I am a member on. I do not know if was just the memories that many of the photos I used brought back to me, or the music I used. I only recently discovered the song Only Time by Enya after watching a drone video in one of the groups for drone flying I belong to. But I became over whelmed with emotion, so much so I was not in the best place to write anything.

I just feel so sad for the whole world and everyone who lives in it, so many heart breaking stories that would make any grown man cry, let alone a big softy like me. I still tell myself every morning I wake up that we are all a day closer to this being over, but we are still all looking so hard for any sign of that light at the end of the tunnel.

I was shocked to see the total of deaths in France yesterday, they recorded 1.355 but I have since found out that figure included 884 additional deaths that have occurred in nursing homes over the past days and weeks that were never added to their daily total that had only included deaths in their hospitals.

Here in the UK yesterday our numbers went up again, 4.244 new cases and 569 deaths. Sadly they were up again today, 4.450 new cases and 684 deaths. How high do we need to get before reach the peak? That is a very worrying question no one can answer.

There are still people claiming this is no worse than the flu, do these people actually watch the news of what is going on here in the UK and over 200 hundred other countries around the world. What about the parents who are sill letting their kids out who meet up with their friends in local parks, do they not realise no one is safe from this virus.

I try to understand what is going on and what has happened so far, but it is not an easy task with so many conflicting stories. I was the first to shout praise for our Prime Minster when he took very decisive action, but now feel action should have been taken much earlier. So why wasn’t it?

Many other countries were shocked with the UK approach of herd immunity, were the government really prepared to let over 60% of the UK population get this killer virus? Well they must have been the case as we were being told back then this was the way to beat it.

Some where along the line that changed, but I am beginning to feel that as not enough was done at the very beginning when the UK had its first recorded case, the government know now they can’t control the spread and are letting the herd immunity develop.

We daily here the news the NHS is still short of the safety equipment they need to stay safe themselves, we keep getting told it is all in hand but is that really the case, or just words and empty promises. We have to be honest here and say we are not the only country short of vital equipment but we have factories here who could make masks etc who are still waiting to hear from the government.

With rising death totals in the UK, why has there been no further restrictions? Why no complete lockdown and why such confusing information from the government. One day being told by them to only exercise where you live and not use the car to get there and then being told yes you can use your car to get to a place to exercise. It is no wonder there are so many arguments of facebook pages going on right now.

Torbay Council has today closed off the road to Paignton seafront to stop people driving there, we learn that Exeter’s WestPoint Arena is going to be turned into a temporary hospital, I believe the government know far more than they are telling us.

So many cars on the road again here today, but then it is a Friday and that is a shopping day and I have five big supermarkets up the road from me. But I have watched out the window as cars passed by and was shocked how many of the cars had far more than one person in them.

I personally can cope with staying at home, but then I have spent a lifetime out on the road and would have liked to have been able to spend more time in my home. I do it because I still firmly believe it will help to slow the spread down and help us all get to a time when life can be normal again.

I will never accept that this can’t be beaten, it will be but it is going to take a long time. It shows how more complicated nature is that we might have imagined. Think of all the things man has been able to invent, we live in such a technological time in earths history, but as yet we are unable to find a way to defeat this killer virus.

Stay safe stay indoors, we will get through this

Below is the video I made yesterday.

[Dave]

Saturday 4th April 2020

When I was no longer able to cover local football matches due to the first time in my life having to work on Saturdays, I often posted that Saturdays were meant to be football days and not work days. What a beautiful day weather wise today, just perfect to go out and enjoy a great game of football.

But as we all know due to this killer virus there is no football taking place or any other sporting event, life for now is so different to what we have always known. Well it is for those who are really taking this all seriously

The war of words continues on our local facebook pages and to be honest I have been shocked by some people’s ignorance or real lack of knowledge. People who think we can all come out and play again next week, or state there are not many cases here in Torbay, so it is safe to carry on with life as normal.

Today I have seen a photo posted on facebook of a person sun bathing one of our local beaches, some of the peoples posts were supporting such action, others very strongly against it. The problem is if you are one of the people staying in trying to help stop the spread and you see others out sun bathing on a beach, it is going to make you feel a bit angry.

The real problem is others will start to feel if it is alright for one then it is alright for them as well and soon we will see more and more people flocking to beaches and beauty spots. If that were to happen then the curve would never be flattened and the numbers would just keep going up and up.

My daughter in Wales sent me a link to a video today that was an interview with a doctor who works in an intensive care unit in Gwent. He spoke with a real lump in his throat as he talked about the number of patients on ventilators that were under 50 years old, the youngest being just 22, people who were all fit and healthy before.

He was open and honest about the way people were dieing from the virus, what really happened that was to finally take away their lives. He also said how upset he was that people were dieing and not able to have their family around them when they did.

A doctor who himself has had the virus and thankfully recovered and still wants to do all he can to try and save other people. It is when you watch something like that, you do get angry at all those people who still will not follow the governments instructions as that is what they are now.

708 deaths in the UK in the last 24 hours from this virus, 4.313 deaths in total and no end remotely in sight. I will tell you what else has made me angry, our death toll is now a 1000 more than died in China, the place all this started from, that is if they have been telling the rest of the world the truth.

I do find many of the figures around the world confusing, take China who state they have had 81.629 cases of which 76.755 have fully recovered. The UK total of cases as of today is 41.903 and we are only showing that 135 have fully recovered. Germany has 92.150 cases and a death total of 1.330. Here in the UK the total is 41.903 cases with a death total of 4.313, why are so many dieing here in the UK?

This is a nightmare we are all unable to wake up from right now, a real threat that we must take seriously, I know staying in might just save me, but I really want to come back out when this is over with you all still there.

Stay at home, stay safe, we will not let this wipe of us this earth.

[Dave]

Sunday 5th April 2020


For the last three years Sunday was often my only day off work, now every day is a day off and it is getting harder to even know what day of the week it is. I am a realist and I know there are so many more days ahead I will need to fill and do my best to remain not only safe, but sane as well.

I was reading a medical article yesterday that stated we breathe in over 100,000,000 viruses a day, but our antibodies help our immune system fight back and mostly prevent us from getting ill. I started reading deeper into how our body was able to fight back and I soon realised just how wonderful and complicated the human body really is.

We are totally incredible; a work of engineering that is far beyond our understanding and we do not really know how we even got here. That does not really matter now; it is only where we are going we need to be concerned about.

They say man is the master of his own destiny but that is not really the case right now, our destiny lies in the hands of scientist, doctors and nurses and fellow human beings all playing their part in this great fight.

But sadly we are still being let down by some of our fellow humans, Lambeth Council have been forced to close Brockwell Park after 3000 people were there yesterday sunbathing and sitting around in groups. Incredible when you think how many people have the virus in London and are dieing from it.

Reports locally today of a large group of youths at Fairy Cove, if that is true then I have to ask the same question, do they all really believe they are immune and can’t catch it?

Our Devon police were trying to reassure us they won’t let people come here who shouldn’t be doing so. They told us how they stopped a motor home trying to enter Devon from Birmingham. It was turned around and sent back home. So how come a group of travellers have arrived and set up in Exeter? Is this a case of selective policing?

They have set up in a place locals were using to get their daily exercise; I do not expect them to be so keen to go there now. They will be in the closed Broadsands car park next, I can see that happening in a week or so, that will really upset the locals here who are no longer able to park there and can only get there if they are able to walk that far.

I have talked about the lack of seagulls around where I live recently, well the strangest thing happened last night. I went out into the back garden around 7.30pm to get some fresh air. I sat on my garden bench facing the Totnes direction.

For over half an hour hundreds of birds flew over my garden all coming from the Totnes direction. Firstly a flock of over 100 seagulls, followed by 100s of blackbirds might have been crows. Then more seagulls and more blackbirds and this went on and on. It was like a scene from the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds. I have never in my life seen the sky so full of birds and for such a long time.

It is fast becoming a strange world in more ways than one. Some say what is going on is nature fighting back, I am not sure I see it that way, but there are many things like air quality that has greatly improved recently.

Will be see the government step up and make this into a full lockdown? Many people are asking for that to happen as things continue to get worse day by day. There may well have been less recorded deaths today (only hospital deaths figures) down from 708 yesterday to 621 today, but that is not the whole picture.

New cases today were 5.903 yesterday there were 3.735 new cases but there is a more worrying figure. Yesterday 163 people were reported to be in a seriously critical condition, today that figure is 1.559. If that figure is correct then sadly the death totals will shoot up in the coming days.


There is good news, both Italy’s and Spain’s daily death totals have continued to keep falling, sadly ours are now higher than both of those countries so we have a bit further to go yet.

Stay Indoors Keep Safe You Know It Makes Sense

[Dave]

Tuesday 7th April 2020



I did not update this thread yesterday as I wanted to try and have at least one day where my mind was not full of the coronavirus. That was because I remembered when holding my late wife’s hand as she battled cancer, the words she had spoken to me. She did not want the cancer to become our whole life, only something that was unfortunately a part of it.

Sadly as much as I tried I was unable to get the coronavirus out of my head for most of the day, none of us have ever had such a large and frightening cloud hanging over us. The day got even more scarier when we learned Boris Johnson our Prime Minster who had been in isolation for over ten days after it was announced he had the coronavirus and then ended up being admitted to hospital on Sunday, was moved into intensive care on Monday evening.

Boris has been our Winston Churchill, the one we have looked to in our desperate hope to rid our country of this terrible killer virus. All we can do is hope and pray he is able to make a full recovery and lead us through all this.

I felt this sad news might finally wake some more people up to the real danger we are all in, but the road outside my house has been as busy as ever all day long. Maybe it was yesterdays lower UK death total of 439 that somehow made them feel we were coming out the other side.

If that was the case today’s total of 854 deaths taking the UK total up to 6.227 must surly make them sit up and take notice? The USA figures and a few other countries are not in yet as I write this, but I will not be surprised if we have the second highest total deaths in the last 24 hours in the whole world after the USA.

We have to stay in lockdown much longer and we need it to be enforced much better than it is, far to many people are just carrying on with their lives as normal. The council closed Broadsands car park to stop people driving there, so they still drive there and park in all the residential streets nearby.


Stick a police car there and check if those using that road live there and if not issue the fines we have all heard about, trust me when it gets onto local facebook pages they will stop then. Yes I know it is rather boring having to stay at home, but is there a safer place?

There are two main things to think about here, one is by staying at home you greatly reduce the risks of catching it, the second thing is a complete unknown, if we got it just how will it effect us. Could we be one of the lucky ones who only ends up with mild symptoms, or would we be an unlucky one who ended up on a respirator fighting for our life?

We have all heard what that is like, in there on our own, no loved one to hold our hand, no one we love to be there to say goodbye if the worst was to happen. Just the very thought of that alone is enough to make sure I stay at home and only go out when I really have to and then it is only a short walk up to Asda.

While sat in the garden today I closed my eyes and pictured how the world might look today if we humans had never lived on it. Sparking waterfalls, river and streams, wonderful unspoilt colour everywhere and air so pure to breathe, that is what I saw.

Now I do not for one second believe this the end of mankind on planet earth, but if it was and you closed your eyes again and pictured the world after we had left it what would you see. An earth stripped of so many of its natural resources, the surface scarred by bricks and concrete everywhere and a heavily polluted atmosphere.

We do have a lot to answer for as far as doing our best to destroy plant earth, will any lessons be learnt from all of this. Below is a picture I took last year while walking at Man Sands Beach, it seems to ring true today.

Stay home, stay safe you know it makes sense.

[Dave]

Wednesday 8th April 2020



Sometimes you end up with a song in your head you keep singing over and over and that was the case today for me. “There are more questions than answers” that is what I have been singing and only those words as I could not remember any others from that song.

Problem is we all have so many questions and do not have one single answer for any of them. When will this nightmare end? What will be left after it? Just two of over thirty questions I keep asking myself. As each day passes I feel even stronger that there is so much we are not being told. Is that to try and keep the fear level down or maybe to try and prevent mass disorder on our streets and in towns and cities?

We need straighter talking and stronger actions, and things not just left to an under manned police service to try and enforce the rules. Far to many people are still treating it like a summer holiday here in the Bay and around the country as a whole.

We have heard them telling us that Devon and Cornwall is closed and we do not want people travelling here from other parts of the country. You will be fined and turned around we heard, yet a caravan overturned on the M5 today which was said to be part of a convoy.

If you really wanted to stop people coming here who should be staying at home where they live, you would have to put up proper road blocks and stop and check every single vehicle, could you see that happening? It would not work anyway as I know for a fact there has been posts on a number of sites up country that shows roads that would get you into Devon and Cornwall that would more than likely not be policed.

We humans have very strong survival instincts, we judge danger mostly by our life experience, what we know our own capabilities are and then decide how risky any given situation might be before we make any decision or take any action.

But how can we evaluate the danger we are in right now, none of us have any experience of this and so maybe all we could do was to look were we might be the safest. At the moment as least that would be the Westcountry, if you lived in a virus hotspot then you might want to try and get away from it at all costs.

This is the real extra danger we face here, people coming here that might bring the virus with them, not only would we then see the number of cases and deaths rise higher than they might have, our hospitals here would never cope.

Update on the M5 caravan crash, it very much looks like the convoy was a group of travellers, the last thing we need, three people were arrested and taken into custody at the crash scene, but we have not been told what happened to the rest that were in the convey, so expect them to turn up possibly in the Bay soon.

Our highest daily death total so far, 936 meaning so far in the UK 7172 have lost their lives to this killer virus. So why did the government today not say the lockdown will continue, we know it has too, Wales have said it will there, today with such a high number of deaths was the time to try and ram the message home that people really must stay at home.

The new cases may not be rocketing that fast, but there were 3.634 yesterday and 5.491 today so they are still going up and we have not reached any peak yet.

Stay Safe, Stay At Home, There Will Be Another Easter Next Year

Parkfield Road Torquay