A homeopathic "doctor" passing out sugar pills and pretending that they trigger an immune response. It's entirely possible that this particular quack thinks they do - I know several people who swear by homeopathic sugar pills, and they're not charlatans - they're just foolish and gullible.
In California, a naturopathic "doctor" may write prescriptions for actual medicine, but only when under the supervision of an MD or DO. They may deliver any of the actual authorized Covid-19 vaccines if they have undergone the training offered by the state (which is mostly about record-keeping). I don't know whether the training explicitly says "don't pass out a sugar pill and call it the Moderna vaccine" but I suspect it is at least rather strongly implied.
If they take a box of Moderna vaccine to administer, then give out sugar pills ... does that mean that not only are their patients not protected against the virus (because, sugar pills don't do that) but that a box of vaccine is sitting on a shelf where it's doing no good (and if not stored properly going to waste when so many are desperate to have those doses in their arms).
Re children's snuffles...In our state* in Australia, we had a lockdown of a few weeks last year, complete with schools and childcare centres being both closed . (Schools went online for the duration, which was a bit tricky for one grandson who was still learning to read.) But the youngest (then aged nearly 3) was isolated from his friends for that period and was remarkably healthy. But as soon as the lockdown ceased and he went back to childcare, lo and behold!, he succumbed to the various minor infections that run round all such places.
What puzzled us is where had all those germs been lurking while the lockdown was in place.
After that our state was free of COVID for 12 months, until delta escaped from our neighbouring state, thanks to their government's insistence on prioritising the 'economy' and refusing any form of lockdown for 2 weeks, relying only on track and trace (which had worked the previous year but could not cope on its own against the more infectious delta).
So we are back in lockdown, with one of the few exemptions from 'stay at home' being to get a COVID test or vaccination. Thus the Marama and I secured our second jab yesterday. It was AZ, to which she had the common 48 hour side effects (nausea, headaches etc) the first time, but only much milder this time.
(*) Actually we are officially not a state but a territory, analagous to Washington DC.
The delta variant was bound to “escape” irrespective of ( New South Wales) governmental action or inaction. You are not considering the human factor: the clueless, the selfish, the ignorant, the deniers. People will still do what they want to do, irrespective of what is mandated. Why the hell do you think we have a major oubreak ( for the size of the town) in Wilcannia? ( for the benefit of non-Antipodeans Wilcannia is a town of 760-90% Indigenous- in far NW New South Wales with 100+ cases recorded). No-one has said so but likely started with a funeral.
The continuing explosion of cases in SW Sydney is hardly surprising: multi-generational households, a high percentage of under-16s, and ( until recently) a high level of vaccine reluctance/ suspicion.
Meanwhile those of us at the coal face keep on keeping on. One of my HIV+ patients ended up in ICU with raging COVID 2 days after his first jab ( merry hell for the vaccination centre) but thank God is safely home after 13 days in hospital. Very grateful to the wonderful staff at Hospital X ( as opposed to workplace Y) who kept me posted.
There is a big Funeral Mass at Our Place on Monday morning - a member of the congregation, with lots of friends and family - and I said I would attend. However, if the church appears to me to be too crowded (which is possible, albeit unlikely, as we do have plenty of room), I shall pay my respects and leave, once the Corpse has arrived.
There are strict limits here. At the moment, the limit is that in much of Sydney, only spouse, de facto partner, parent, child or sibling of the deceased person can attend. Then there's a limit of 10 plus those conducting and preparing the service. Churches cannot be opened for a funeral at all.
There comes a point where whether or not you think sugar and magic water work, the fact the science says they don't still makes you a charlatan if you practice as a medic using them. You know damned well they are not properly trialled interventions with an evidence base to support them. Or you ought to, and are equally culpable for failing to apply your critical thinking.
There is a big Funeral Mass at Our Place on Monday morning - a member of the congregation, with lots of friends and family - and I said I would attend. However, if the church appears to me to be too crowded (which is possible, albeit unlikely, as we do have plenty of room), I shall pay my respects and leave, once the Corpse has arrived.
There are strict limits here. At the moment, the limit is that in much of Sydney, only spouse, de facto partner, parent, child or sibling of the deceased person can attend. Then there's a limit of 10 plus those conducting and preparing the service. Churches cannot be opened for a funeral at all.
Well, I went to the church. Not too crowded, although many people were sitting far too close together IMHO - but, to be fair, they were mostly family groups. There must have been 60-70 present, more than twice the size of our usual Sunday congregation.
Very few - apart from the older people - wore masks (the pallbearers did, of course, sport matching black masks).
For other reasons, unconnected with Ye Plague, I left just after the arrival of the Corpse, so I don't know how Communion was managed (it was a full-on Funeral Mass).
One way to "cope" in times of COVID-required restrictions is to simply say "the rules don't apply to me because I'm important". One notable case was that of Dominic Cummins (chief adviser to PM Johnston in the UK) .
And now we have the Prime Minister of Australia doing likewise (link) , although to be fair he did at least apply for (and was granted) a specific exemption as an "essential worker".
There are two intersecting classifications regarding workers and self-isolation
1. Is the work essential, such that there will be significant problems if the work is not done (or, not done at this time)? I would say that the work of politicians is essential work, especially at a time of national emergency. Whether they are actually working, or whether what they are doing is the best work in the situation, are different questions.
2. Can the work only be done at a particular location, or can it be carried out from home? I would say that the work of politicians is mostly talking with other people, reading and writing reports and letters etc. These are things which can be done at least adequately from home.
In relation to lock-down self-isolation then essential work that can only be done at a particular place of work (eg: running PCR analyses on tests can only be done in a laboratory, treating patients can only be done in a hospital, providing groceries are on shop shelves can only be done at shops and warehouses and driving trucks) has to happen and those workers need to be exempt from stay-at-home orders for the purposes of work. Any work that can be done from home should continue (regardless of whether it's essential). The only work that needs to stop is non-essential work that can't be done at home.
Alan just FYI treating patients can be done outside the hospital setting in general practice or community health settings. It can also be done by telehealth ( much as I hate it) with the assistance of phone/ fax/ email.
Yes, but not all patients. We're not in the situation where in a health emergency we can send all our doctors and nurses home to treat all their patients at home via telehealth.
The only work that needs to stop is non-essential work that can't be done at home.
There you go using common sense again.
With respect to Mr. Morrison, I don't imagine "I didn't need permission to go to Sydney, so I went" would go down very well with the employers of any normal people who work in ACT, and want to visit their families in Sydney, and then found themselves unable to work because of quarantine requirements.
It should go without saying that politicians should take care to follow the spirit of the law, not acquire privileges for themselves that other people don't get by virtue of exploiting their positions.
Of course, if what you've got for politicians is a bunch of venal pond scum...
Yes, but not all patients. We're not in the situation where in a health emergency we can send all our doctors and nurses home to treat all their patients at home via telehealth.
Yes, Alan, I’m well aware ( off to see patients shortly). Can’t treat gonorrhoea from home, really.
Speaking of venal pond scum politicians the current Leader of of the Opposition here has accused an epidemiologist of being a fat liar. One of those cases where the three fingers pointing back are more accurate.
With respect to Mr. Morrison, I don't imagine "I didn't need permission to go to Sydney, so I went" would go down very well with the employers of any normal people who work in ACT, and want to visit their families in Sydney, and then found themselves unable to work because of quarantine requirements.
The good news is that his little journey has gone down well with no-one, including those who would previously have supported him. I wonder what happens if he gets kicked out. Will he be able to remain in The Lodge? Will he be forced to return to Sydney?
Speaking of venal pond scum politicians the current Leader of of the Opposition here has accused an epidemiologist of being a fat liar. One of those cases where the three fingers pointing back are more accurate.
O dear, and there was I with the impression that NZ politics was a rather more civilised affair than in this benighted *Freedom Island*...
The party in Government in NZ is; I don't know anything about their Loyal Opposition, but if they're the opposite of Jacinda, they're probably Not Very Good, like our lot.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles, has benefitted from Judith Collins inaccurate and unkind remarks. She is a microbiologist* at Auckland University and people have been donating towards her research, some of them using Judith Collins name, to make their support obvious.
Siouxsie is an excellent communicator and she teamed up with a cartoonist, Toby Morris ,
to publish her explanations about Covid in The Spinoff a NZ online news site (no pay wall). They were published under creative commons and some have been used internationally by the World Heath Organisation.
To admit my own bias -which I know is obvious, I have been very grateful for her work, when new research has been published she has translated the science into language I can understand, which lessens my panic.
The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert in front of an audience since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, outside the main entrance of Groote Schuur Hospital on Wednesday. The concert was to show gratitude and support for health workers in the hospital. 9Scroll down for live video.)
A lovely occasion! Looks as though the audience really appreciated it.
Today sees the start of three days of loud and IMHO very unpleasant live music from our local Castle grounds, and I hear that tickets are pretty well all spoken for.
The organisers' website is so replete with Covid and other instructions that attending a concert is a bit like planning a military operation, but they are, of course, trying to keep it all as safe as possible. Happily, the wind is set fair to blow the noise away from the Ark, at least until later on Saturday - the venue is over a mile away, but the sound carries...
The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert in front of an audience since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, outside the main entrance of Groote Schuur Hospital on Wednesday. The concert was to show gratitude and support for health workers in the hospital. 9Scroll down for live video.)
The choir is to return to singing at the second service, wearing some kind of special mask. I am curious what that may be.
I have a kid who sings in a school choir. They have all been given matching "special" masks, which are shaped to leave a bit of an air pocket around the mouth. I have heard the claim that this air pocket makes it easier to sing in to that a mask closer to your mouth, and also that it means that there's no chance of your mask accidentally entering your mouth while you sing.
Today we were finally able to return to Lunch Club, which we run in our lovely Church Centre once a fortnight. The lady who is the prime mover calls every attendee once a week to enquire after their health (which, given that they are all giving Methusaleh a run for his money, must be a challenge to say the least). Mr S has also got involved, helping with lift-giving and washing-up (I'm in the kitchen) so it's grrrrrreat to be back, as Tony the Tiger might say.
We've been in some form of work-from-home for the last 18 months. Our rule is now "come in if you need to, but if you're just going to sit at your desk, you can sit at home". I've just had the first instance of someone showing up to a zoom meeting naked in bed.
I've just had the first instance of someone showing up to a zoom meeting naked in bed.
How did you know they were naked? (Inquiring minds, you know.)
Well, technically I only know topless: fortunately the camera didn't go that far down. And "lying down with phone / laptop propped on his chest" was obvious from the relative angles of head and chest. I'll grant that I assumed bed based on the (lack of) clothing and the pose: zoom's virtual background feature is quite good, so it's possible that the background it was hiding was a sofa rather than a bed.
Master S got pinged early last week, after a weekend of socialising, and tested positive. No-on else, including wife, mother-in-law, mother, sisters or brothers-in-law tested positive, hooray. So, he's in isolation in the back bedroom and only using the downstairs cloakroom, while his wife deals with the Little Red-Headed Welsh Cousin (their daughter, aged 2 and a real handful) and TIG#3, 3 months.
They managed to rearrange the holiday they were due to go on on Monday, and we were just beginning to wonder if it had been a false positive, when he lost his sense of taste and smell last night. So, the self-isolation resets to 10 days from now.
And I daren't go down to help out because Miss S and her family are allowing me to accompany them to Legoland on Saturday and Sunday! so I mustn't do anything to jeopardise that.
Sorry to hear that @The Intrepid Mrs S , I hope Master S's case is mild and is not shared with the rest of the Intrepid Welsh Family.
A lot of this now is about working round plans, I find. Mr Nen is away this weekend and I sent him off with instructions to be really careful. We have quite a lot happening in the next few weeks, most importantly a couple of days away to start a course I've been waiting for for years and I'd be pretty devastated if anything jeopardised that. (First world problems...)
Today I went to church in person for the first time since March 2020. I thought I'd find it quite emotional, but the social distancing and masks meant that it still didn't feel "normal." About half the congregation were attending via Zoom.
And that @North East Quine , is exactly why I had a lie- in today and did not take myself off to the local place of worship. I can’t pick up most things said from behind a mask, so all that casual contact is lost on me. Singing is out. Nope. I just know it would not be a time of help or community.
If inside a public building I do mask up, absolutely no problems with doing that. But I am having a bit of difficulty with separating out folk who don’t mask for utterly understandable reasons & those who don’t mask because they just don’t want to. And by the time I have worked out which is which, there has been an incident leaving me concerned.
The very last thing my Aged Parent needs is me Not turning up for a weekly visit. And I am not at all convinced that with a pre existing lung condition that now is the time to end up in hospital.
So I’m still out. And our lovely pre recorded services have stopped too.
Folk are beginning to wonder why I m not back in person / in church yet, but not quite ready to ask Me. So they are getting Mr Alba’s answers, which are merely diplomatically kind. I guess,
“ I don’t know if I can trust people”, is a bit harsh.
So maybe Mr Alba can keep murmuring bland excuses for now.
We decided several months back that our pre-recorded services will continue. Indefinitely, even after everything is back to normal there'll still be folk who aren't able to come to church (there were several who couldn't come before the pandemic).
Our Sunday Mass is no longer livestreamed on a regular basis (lack of volunteers), but FatherInCharge hopes to be able to livestream services on special occasions.
Meanwhile, a number of people (mostly young families) have returned, but the congregation is still missing the older members (myself among them), who don't really feel all that safe, despite social distancing and masking being encouraged. Neither of those is now mandatory in the C of E.
Coffee time after Mass has recommenced, but very few avail themselves of it - the service is so long and wordy, with lots of commentaries and add-ons, that most people just want to get home/get to work/get the children fed etc. etc.
I very much think it would be good for hybrid events to become the norm now. Not doing hybrid excludes people with disabilities, people with vulnerabilities to Covid, people who're sick or temporarily injured and those who for whatever reason can't travel.
Then there's the green reasons why people should have an alternative to travel if they can't use active or environmentally friendly travel methods.
I missed out on what should have been an important professional event for me this weekend because the heritage organisation involved put it in a nice old building in a difficult to access place where they didn't have proper IT running to allow a hybrid event. I was unwell but not so much that I couldn't have participated remotely. It brings it home to you how we're all just one unlucky bit of bad health away from being shut out of so many things.
We're still livestreaming but I have to confess to having stopped burning the service to DVD for those without internet afterwards. The logistics of getting it distributed were just proving too onerous, given that I'm also responsible for music and tech.
I very much think it would be good for hybrid events to become the norm now. Not doing hybrid excludes people with disabilities, people with vulnerabilities to Covid, people who're sick or temporarily injured and those who for whatever reason can't travel.
Then there's the green reasons why people should have an alternative to travel if they can't use active or environmentally friendly travel methods.
I missed out on what should have been an important professional event for me this weekend because the heritage organisation involved put it in a nice old building in a difficult to access place where they didn't have proper IT running to allow a hybrid event. I was unwell but not so much that I couldn't have participated remotely. It brings it home to you how we're all just one unlucky bit of bad health away from being shut out of so many things.
Good points.
I know FatherInCharge would like to continue livestreaming services, but at the moment there isn't anyone willing to commit to doing the filming on a regular basis - the three people who shared the task in recent months all have Real Lives which impinge on church time.
That said, some sort of pre-recorded offering, with (say) a Bible reading, a short time of prayer, an even shorter *homilette*, and a couple of hymns - all linking in with the Sunday theme/readings - might be possible.
I'm really pleased that some folk concerts are remaining streamed - because I'm caring I wouldn't otherwise get to them. This week I saw The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff streamed - sorry, last performance last night.
And a lot of folk artists (and comedy) are adding a concert on Live to Your Living Room (link) as part of their tours. The LTYLR team have made Zoom work and attract an international audience; there's a Q&A as part of the sessions - questions posted in chat. And the folk artists taking part are saying this is worth keeping, although the clapping is a bit odd, they can see the people on screen.
I'm rather more irritated that some of the things I was watching online (and paying for) have stopped.
We're finally back to mandatory masks after open season for 8 weeks. Also reversed a week ago is vaccine cards. The gov't angrily yelled against both, had instituted both. Contingency plan is now operational: hospitals will inform family members that there's no ICU bed or breathing machine and they'll make a loved one comfortable until they die. There's no choice. They have a protocol to assesses patients, scoring them. The cut off score between life and death will be decided on resources. ICUs in our province are already 210% over beds with the expansion at its limits due to no equipment and not enough staff. You will not get your cancer or any other surgery.
20% of cases are double vaccinated. For long Covid, the group is dominantly in their late 30s to mid-60s.
More people back in church today. We had a little "start of new season" gathering on the lawn outside afterwards, to give people a chance to chat and mingle in a reasonably safe fashion. I was admiring the Covid haircuts on display by the majority of the male attendees - two hairstyles now dominate: the "I do it myself with clippers" buzz cut, and "just grow it long and tie it back". I don't expect many of the men have seen a hair professional in the last 18 months - a significant change from their prior behaviour.
I already cut Mr Dragon's hair, but I discovered that I could successfully cut Dragonlet 1's without it going horribly wrong, despite him being an utter fidget.
Because I normally go to the barber every 3-4 months, it's now closer to 2 years than 18 months since I had a proper hair cut. I've just been trimming to keep it not too untidy - which is what I tended to do for the period between needing it cut and having some time to get out of work for an hour to get it trimmed. It seems that the trimming works for a longer time than I initially thought.
Now in California, if you work in elder care you must be vaccinated. I live in a senior mobile home park and was just told by the new owners that their new managers and park employees will not be required to be vaccinated. The owners live in Flordia. I have called our governor and voiced my concern. I think people who work in senior housing should be required to be vaccinated as well. I do not expect any change but at least I had my say.
Mr F has been offered a booster shot, though it'll mean a 12 mile drive to Ingliston. His specialist says Goferit - and ask for a flu jab at the same time.
Comments
In California, a naturopathic "doctor" may write prescriptions for actual medicine, but only when under the supervision of an MD or DO. They may deliver any of the actual authorized Covid-19 vaccines if they have undergone the training offered by the state (which is mostly about record-keeping). I don't know whether the training explicitly says "don't pass out a sugar pill and call it the Moderna vaccine" but I suspect it is at least rather strongly implied.
What puzzled us is where had all those germs been lurking while the lockdown was in place.
After that our state was free of COVID for 12 months, until delta escaped from our neighbouring state, thanks to their government's insistence on prioritising the 'economy' and refusing any form of lockdown for 2 weeks, relying only on track and trace (which had worked the previous year but could not cope on its own against the more infectious delta).
So we are back in lockdown, with one of the few exemptions from 'stay at home' being to get a COVID test or vaccination. Thus the Marama and I secured our second jab yesterday. It was AZ, to which she had the common 48 hour side effects (nausea, headaches etc) the first time, but only much milder this time.
(*) Actually we are officially not a state but a territory, analagous to Washington DC.
The continuing explosion of cases in SW Sydney is hardly surprising: multi-generational households, a high percentage of under-16s, and ( until recently) a high level of vaccine reluctance/ suspicion.
Meanwhile those of us at the coal face keep on keeping on. One of my HIV+ patients ended up in ICU with raging COVID 2 days after his first jab ( merry hell for the vaccination centre) but thank God is safely home after 13 days in hospital. Very grateful to the wonderful staff at Hospital X ( as opposed to workplace Y) who kept me posted.
There are strict limits here. At the moment, the limit is that in much of Sydney, only spouse, de facto partner, parent, child or sibling of the deceased person can attend. Then there's a limit of 10 plus those conducting and preparing the service. Churches cannot be opened for a funeral at all.
I can get quite Tim Minchin about this.
https://youtu.be/UB_htqDCP-s
Well, I went to the church. Not too crowded, although many people were sitting far too close together IMHO - but, to be fair, they were mostly family groups. There must have been 60-70 present, more than twice the size of our usual Sunday congregation.
Very few - apart from the older people - wore masks (the pallbearers did, of course, sport matching black masks).
For other reasons, unconnected with Ye Plague, I left just after the arrival of the Corpse, so I don't know how Communion was managed (it was a full-on Funeral Mass).
https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/06/i-find-being-a-cartoonist-exhausting-so-imagine-having-a-real-job-in-a-pandemic
First Dog On The Moon usually applies mostly to Oz, but this one is, as it were, universal.
And now we have the Prime Minister of Australia doing likewise
(link) , although to be fair he did at least apply for (and was granted) a specific exemption as an "essential worker".
Neither of those words can correctly be applied to our Beloved Leader, Mr Johnson.
However, you make a valid point. I'll give it a try - *Don't you know WHO I AM??* etc.
1. Is the work essential, such that there will be significant problems if the work is not done (or, not done at this time)? I would say that the work of politicians is essential work, especially at a time of national emergency. Whether they are actually working, or whether what they are doing is the best work in the situation, are different questions.
2. Can the work only be done at a particular location, or can it be carried out from home? I would say that the work of politicians is mostly talking with other people, reading and writing reports and letters etc. These are things which can be done at least adequately from home.
In relation to lock-down self-isolation then essential work that can only be done at a particular place of work (eg: running PCR analyses on tests can only be done in a laboratory, treating patients can only be done in a hospital, providing groceries are on shop shelves can only be done at shops and warehouses and driving trucks) has to happen and those workers need to be exempt from stay-at-home orders for the purposes of work. Any work that can be done from home should continue (regardless of whether it's essential). The only work that needs to stop is non-essential work that can't be done at home.
Alan just FYI treating patients can be done outside the hospital setting in general practice or community health settings. It can also be done by telehealth ( much as I hate it) with the assistance of phone/ fax/ email.
There you go using common sense again.
With respect to Mr. Morrison, I don't imagine "I didn't need permission to go to Sydney, so I went" would go down very well with the employers of any normal people who work in ACT, and want to visit their families in Sydney, and then found themselves unable to work because of quarantine requirements.
It should go without saying that politicians should take care to follow the spirit of the law, not acquire privileges for themselves that other people don't get by virtue of exploiting their positions.
Of course, if what you've got for politicians is a bunch of venal pond scum...
Yes, Alan, I’m well aware ( off to see patients shortly). Can’t treat gonorrhoea from home, really.
The good news is that his little journey has gone down well with no-one, including those who would previously have supported him. I wonder what happens if he gets kicked out. Will he be able to remain in The Lodge? Will he be forced to return to Sydney?
O dear, and there was I with the impression that NZ politics was a rather more civilised affair than in this benighted *Freedom Island*...
Siouxsie is an excellent communicator and she teamed up with a cartoonist, Toby Morris ,
to publish her explanations about Covid in The Spinoff a NZ online news site (no pay wall). They were published under creative commons and some have been used internationally by the World Heath Organisation.
To admit my own bias -which I know is obvious, I have been very grateful for her work, when new research has been published she has translated the science into language I can understand, which lessens my panic.
* Not an epidemiologist.
Today sees the start of three days of loud and IMHO very unpleasant live music from our local Castle grounds, and I hear that tickets are pretty well all spoken for.
The organisers' website is so replete with Covid and other instructions that attending a concert is a bit like planning a military operation, but they are, of course, trying to keep it all as safe as possible. Happily, the wind is set fair to blow the noise away from the Ark, at least until later on Saturday - the venue is over a mile away, but the sound carries...
What a lovely thing to do!
I have a kid who sings in a school choir. They have all been given matching "special" masks, which are shaped to leave a bit of an air pocket around the mouth. I have heard the claim that this air pocket makes it easier to sing in to that a mask closer to your mouth, and also that it means that there's no chance of your mask accidentally entering your mouth while you sing.
How did you know they were naked? (Inquiring minds, you know.)
Well, technically I only know topless: fortunately the camera didn't go that far down. And "lying down with phone / laptop propped on his chest" was obvious from the relative angles of head and chest. I'll grant that I assumed bed based on the (lack of) clothing and the pose: zoom's virtual background feature is quite good, so it's possible that the background it was hiding was a sofa rather than a bed.
They managed to rearrange the holiday they were due to go on on Monday, and we were just beginning to wonder if it had been a false positive, when he lost his sense of taste and smell last night. So, the self-isolation resets to 10 days from now.
And I daren't go down to help out because Miss S and her family are allowing me to accompany them to Legoland on Saturday and Sunday! so I mustn't do anything to jeopardise that.
A lot of this now is about working round plans, I find. Mr Nen is away this weekend and I sent him off with instructions to be really careful. We have quite a lot happening in the next few weeks, most importantly a couple of days away to start a course I've been waiting for for years and I'd be pretty devastated if anything jeopardised that. (First world problems...)
If inside a public building I do mask up, absolutely no problems with doing that. But I am having a bit of difficulty with separating out folk who don’t mask for utterly understandable reasons & those who don’t mask because they just don’t want to. And by the time I have worked out which is which, there has been an incident leaving me concerned.
The very last thing my Aged Parent needs is me Not turning up for a weekly visit. And I am not at all convinced that with a pre existing lung condition that now is the time to end up in hospital.
So I’m still out. And our lovely pre recorded services have stopped too.
Folk are beginning to wonder why I m not back in person / in church yet, but not quite ready to ask Me. So they are getting Mr Alba’s answers, which are merely diplomatically kind. I guess,
“ I don’t know if I can trust people”, is a bit harsh.
So maybe Mr Alba can keep murmuring bland excuses for now.
Meanwhile, a number of people (mostly young families) have returned, but the congregation is still missing the older members (myself among them), who don't really feel all that safe, despite social distancing and masking being encouraged. Neither of those is now mandatory in the C of E.
Coffee time after Mass has recommenced, but very few avail themselves of it - the service is so long and wordy, with lots of commentaries and add-ons, that most people just want to get home/get to work/get the children fed etc. etc.
Then there's the green reasons why people should have an alternative to travel if they can't use active or environmentally friendly travel methods.
I missed out on what should have been an important professional event for me this weekend because the heritage organisation involved put it in a nice old building in a difficult to access place where they didn't have proper IT running to allow a hybrid event. I was unwell but not so much that I couldn't have participated remotely. It brings it home to you how we're all just one unlucky bit of bad health away from being shut out of so many things.
Good points.
I know FatherInCharge would like to continue livestreaming services, but at the moment there isn't anyone willing to commit to doing the filming on a regular basis - the three people who shared the task in recent months all have Real Lives which impinge on church time.
That said, some sort of pre-recorded offering, with (say) a Bible reading, a short time of prayer, an even shorter *homilette*, and a couple of hymns - all linking in with the Sunday theme/readings - might be possible.
If anyone is interested The Globe has a streamed performance in October (link).
And a lot of folk artists (and comedy) are adding a concert on Live to Your Living Room (link) as part of their tours. The LTYLR team have made Zoom work and attract an international audience; there's a Q&A as part of the sessions - questions posted in chat. And the folk artists taking part are saying this is worth keeping, although the clapping is a bit odd, they can see the people on screen.
I'm rather more irritated that some of the things I was watching online (and paying for) have stopped.
20% of cases are double vaccinated. For long Covid, the group is dominantly in their late 30s to mid-60s.
The gov't here has been insane.
It made me smile.