So the great leader has decreed that schools will open as normal in January. In October 2020 the German government spent £452 million improving ventilation systems in schools. The cost to the UK government would be £140 million plus add on costs for mates. New York City has provided 100000 HEPA purifiers for classrooms. UK govt has provided CO2 monitors and told teachers to open windows!
PLASTIC
Can we make 2022 the year we finally reduce our use of plastic. I was a very grateful recipient of Fresh-Lock Lids which can replace cling-film and tin-foil. The packaging says they stretch to 3 times their original size which I have got no where near – but I will never buy cling-film again. I suspect these are still plastic but can be used thousands of times. Single use plastic needs to be phased out asap.
We have wheelie bins for waste – but why put everything in a black plastic bag first? Food waste also has to be put in bags first.
All my clothes are now bamboo. Toothbrushes wooden and bamboo. Razor bamboo – but with metal!!!
CLIMATE CHANGE – A PLEA
There are many scientists and others studying climate change. Can we have a monthly bulletin with statistics – I am not sure people understand them but they are influenced by them. Sea level rise, global temperatures, renewable energy generation, electric car sales, butterfly counts, etc. just keep the topic at the forefront of peoples minds.
TAKING STOCK
When they say they are taking stock of the situation before introducing new measures what they really mean is they are testing public opinion. An overwhelmed NHS would be bad politically, but the anti-restriction brigade is swelling with support from the trash press. The ‘we have to live with it’ opinion is growing.
NEW YEARS HONOURS
COVID
OFNS estimated 1 in 35 with covid 7 days ago i.e. before the surge in cases. Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have introduced further measures, Johnson has not. I do understand the need to try and keep all businesses going, but Public Health is vital too. NHS staff absences due to sickness were 40% up on the week. In some ways Xmas is beneficial in that many people are off work anyway. Unfortunately the hospitality industry has been hammered again.
CHRISTMAS 2021
James Webb
The $10bn James Webb telescope has left Earth on its mission to show the first stars to light up the Universe. Amongst the dark days of winter clouded by covid it is a beacon of light. Human beings have the potential to make the world a better place. Happy Xmas.
PET CULL
I had not heard of this slaughter of 700000 pets at start of WW2.
A CHRISTMAS QUIZ
1. Christmas in the UK was cancelled in what year?
2. In 1571 it became compulsory, on a fine of 3 shillings and 4 pence, to wear what?
3. Where was Doggerland?
4. Britains shortest war was with whom?
5. What did Joseph Bazalgette do for the UK?
6. Name the longest London Underground Line.
7. Winston Churchill ordered British Gunboats up which estuary in 1911?
8. Malawi was formerly called what under the British Empire?
9. Jordgubb is Swedish for which fruit?
10. Which founder member of the football league is no longer a member?
11. In which country did lacrosse originate?
12. Mace is the shell of which better known spice?
13. Flageolet and mung are types of what foodstuff?
14. Betelgeuse is a bright star in which constellation?
15. Who won crickets county championship in 2020?
16. What was El Gordo, the Spanish lotteries top prize this week?
17. Who is the new face on the £50 note?
18. In 2015 the government finished paying off a 182 year old loan (£2.1 billion in todays money). What was the loan for?
19. What did Thomas Blood try and nick?
20. Which state of the USA is known as the 1st state?
21. Scott Boland makes his debut for Australia v England at cricket and is the second. Who was the first?
22. How many countries have England/UK been at war with?
23. County Mayo is in which Irish Province?
24.