Tag: Coronavirus
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Why? Because.
The current mask debate has come to epitomise the woeful society we now inhabit. Now, ever since the COVID question arose, there have been pro-maskers. After all, it is a natural response to don items of clothing for the purposes of protection against an environmental threat. A coat, a hat, a pair of gloves. Masking…
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First-Degree Burns
‘I am pleased to announce that I have graduated from High Street University with a first-class honours degree in [insert any lamentable toss here]…… Such announcements are popping up all over the shop on social media. LinkedIn degree-result fanfaronade appears to be today’s must-have accessory for the me-me-me gang. ‘I’m so grateful to my lecturers…
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I Spy…
Picture the scene of abject despondency in the Kremlin. The UK Government is strongly considering regulation for the espionage industry, with spies compelled to sign a register. There’s Mr Putin jumping on that crisis telekit with Mr Xi not knowing which card to lay down next. Talk about pulling the rug out from under the…
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24/7
On 23 June, the Government offered up a perspective on masks: ‘the evidence of the benefit of using a face covering to protect others is weak and the effect is likely to be small’. As we now know, the world can change very quickly. The new norm dictates that the same goes for science. Not…
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New Flack City
It looks like a fraught debate about cancel culture is raging. Now I’m sufficiently sage to appreciate the apocryphal source of the term, having watched New Jack City back in the day. I say back in the day; it was actually around 2008, when I had a penchant for the 4 ex-rental DVDs for £10…
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Fiscal Clear
Leicester, it seems, has drawn the short straw for ‘second wave’ lockdown regression, but is it all that clear-cut? You might argue that the UK never really went into lockdown in the first place. Of course, the Government issued its guidance and its regulations, and it shut businesses. Yet many pubs remained open, parties continued,…
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One Hundred and Eight…Eh?
There is something afoot with the number 108. The Government’s preparations for a no-deal Brexit and a contract awarded to Seaborne Freight at Dover? Worth £108m. The coronavirus contact-tracing contract awarded to Serco? Valued at £108m. The PPE contract awarded to Pestfix? Yup, £108m. Somebody even made an Freedom of Information request to the Department…
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Boxed In
So, what next for the protests? It’s a good question because the road ahead looks bleak. The Government has nestled back into that favoured standby of review/commission mode – that’s route 1 to easy street because it signifies a democratic response to concerns. You spoke and we listened. A good old review always takes away…
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Abracadabra!
The reaction to racism has sent the UK, along with much of the world, into gestural frenzy. Well, it’s less a reaction to racism and more a reaction to a fear of pointing fingers. Unless, of course, they had never have heard of racism before? Seems unlikely. Now, everybody seems to be checking themselves into…
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Statue of Limitations
So, the controversial statue of the merchant Edward Colston has been tugged down and thrown into Bristol Harbour. There had long been moves to have it either removed to be museum-bound or have a plaque added to its base to reflect his slave-trading past. Both options seemed fair – if there had been enough support…
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