The Dominic Cummings affair continues to shock the nation.
Planks and specks come to mind. Working from home and for the first time you see what your neighbours are really up to.
What follows isn't a vigilante post. Neither is it a condemning or condoning. It just tries to point out the inconsistencies.
One near neighbour household simply cannot stay on their own property and they leave home several times a day, separately or together—sometimes within half-an-hour of returning. And, occasionally, two cars leave at once. This means they don't appear to be driving to County Durham but they certainly aren't staying put. Moreover, there is sometimes a "foreign" car bringing between one and three people visiting. At weekends, their adult son and family visits, sometimes more than once a day. Distancing doesn't seem to apply. All this well before Cummings.
Two other near neighbours have their respective families round and they both have ants in their pants, unable it seems to keep in. Two other households were taking exercise up to four times a day well before this was permitted.
I am sure each family can easily rationalise away why they are travelling but it puts them, you, me and the rest of us at higher risk. Their activity is, of course, their business and not mine. But contrast this with what follows.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are several older people who live on their own, one of whom leaves the house for a short period to walk her dog and occasionally to shop (judging by the bags). She has no visitors and someone even chalked "Happy Birthday" on the road outside her house rather than break the rules to knock, speak or enter. Her family cannot visit.
The second has no visits whatsoever other than for food deliveries. This is all the more sad because of her usually strong local support network of two sets of friends—none of whom can call any more. Neither can or does her more distant family. This is a true tragedy and is in total contrast to the selfishness of others, including Cummings. Neighbours may not be in power like Cummings but he is definitely not alone.
Meanwhile, each and every work phone call I take or make is now punctuated somehow by oblique or even direct references to Cummings, such is the feeling out there.
Planks and specks come to mind. Working from home and for the first time you see what your neighbours are really up to.What follows isn't a vigilante post. Neither is it a condemning or condoning. It just tries to point out the inconsistencies.
One near neighbour household simply cannot stay on their own property and they leave home several times a day, separately or together—sometimes within half-an-hour of returning. And, occasionally, two cars leave at once. This means they don't appear to be driving to County Durham but they certainly aren't staying put. Moreover, there is sometimes a "foreign" car bringing between one and three people visiting. At weekends, their adult son and family visits, sometimes more than once a day. Distancing doesn't seem to apply. All this well before Cummings.
Two other near neighbours have their respective families round and they both have ants in their pants, unable it seems to keep in. Two other households were taking exercise up to four times a day well before this was permitted.
I am sure each family can easily rationalise away why they are travelling but it puts them, you, me and the rest of us at higher risk. Their activity is, of course, their business and not mine. But contrast this with what follows.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are several older people who live on their own, one of whom leaves the house for a short period to walk her dog and occasionally to shop (judging by the bags). She has no visitors and someone even chalked "Happy Birthday" on the road outside her house rather than break the rules to knock, speak or enter. Her family cannot visit.
The second has no visits whatsoever other than for food deliveries. This is all the more sad because of her usually strong local support network of two sets of friends—none of whom can call any more. Neither can or does her more distant family. This is a true tragedy and is in total contrast to the selfishness of others, including Cummings. Neighbours may not be in power like Cummings but he is definitely not alone.
Meanwhile, each and every work phone call I take or make is now punctuated somehow by oblique or even direct references to Cummings, such is the feeling out there.
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Coronavirus