I have not written here for a while (Equinox - 22 September). A reflection on the fact I have been occupied elsewhere. Also, it's sad to say that nothing really has changed. We lurch from one government policy to the next. Nobody has any idea how we are going to get out of this situation.
We are all back to work, trying to adjust to the new normal. Quite predictably, there has been a significant rise in infections over the previous weeks. The number of people carrying the disease now is apparently higher than it was in May (when we were all in "lock-down").
The UK government introduced a new system of classifying the local risk. There are a series of tiers, 1 through 3. The lowest level (1) is "medium risk", then "high" and ultimately "very high". I guess they forgot to mention "Tier zero" to describe the areas that have no need to worry. Each area is assigned a Tier with restrictions according to that the risk level
Many people ignore the guidance for preventing the spread of the disease; they feel the restrictions are an infringement on their liberties and ineffective in controlling the disease. Wales also ignored the tier structure and placed itself in a higher risk level, locking everyone down again. Scotland has done similar. England has created a new "Tier 4" to go above Tier 3.
We are not a very "united kingdom" right now.
I recently built a shelter to sit in the garden. The idea is that we can provide somewhere we can socialise outside. There is just about room for 4 people and a small table under the roof.