These are the lunatics running your Govt. Yet the morons voted for it, so serves them right. This country and the US both deserve to be top of the table of global laughing stock

.@pacquep I’m of course aware of the EU argument about proximity, but it’s a red herring. In the modern world of international commerce and trade, geography is irrelevant. It’s just the EU excuse to keep us in its orbit.

— Robbie Gibb (@RobbieGibb) May 9, 2020

It is hardly empirical but European countries which locked down early (France, Spain and, to a lesser extent, Italy) have fared considerably better than others (er, the UK). What is more concerning is that infections in this country appear to be plateauing while they are falling elsewhere and I suspect this may be because the lockdown has frayed considerably here. As I said, this is not anything like empirical but it suggests to me that lockdowns have worked.

In the garden centres that I have been dragged kicking and screaming to in the recent past,  plants and other horticultural merchandise seems almost peripheral to the business model. They look more like out-of-town department stores. If garden centres are to be opened then why not department stores (not there are many of those left now)?

Opening them will make social distancing a distant memory. People will meet up with others they haven't seen for months and stop to have a good natter and the queues will be horrific.

Agreed. My local one sells books, kitchenwares, food, fresh meats, clothes, greetings cards etc, booze! 

Yes, the café is the main hub, but I assume the same people will still come to have a look around for people they know to say hello

I've been buying my plants online so no need to visit one anytime soon. Hopefully they'll quieten down after a couple of weeks and then I can have a peruse....

I've just been to do a shop in Weymouth Aldi. Something I've never seen before driving on the esplanade. 

5 ocean liners anchored in the bay and looking incredible in the Corona morning light.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-2.369/centery:50.606/zoom:14

Aurora

Arcadia

Oceana

Queen Mary

Ventura

In this part of the world, it is the elderly (and Popular Jo's motley crew of saggy male tag teamsters) who are ignoring the lockdown. They think it is all a big joke that younger people are 'too frightened to go out'. I imagine the garden centres will be visions of hell when they open. I pity anybody who works at one.

I think the biggest among a number of failures in the UK has been the care home scandal. In terms of wider society I don't think we've done any worse than France, Italy or Spain. Other countries with less strict lockdowns have fared better both with the virus itself and the devastating effect on the economy. 

The crucial question regarding infection rates is what percentage are in hospitals/care homes and what are in wider society? If the majority are in the former groups then it's less worrying: if they're not...

https://www.cruisehive.com/almost-a-dozen-cruise-ships-anchored-in-manila-bay-in-one-day/39401

I can understand your concerns but if they implement the same rules as the supermarkets and only allow limited numbers into the store, with a one-way system and the restaurants still shut then the risks are containable.

Is ridiculous and grossly unfair that some places are still selling gardening stuff: supermarkets and farm shops for example. It is illogical to force garden centres to shut but allow identical produce to be sold from other retail outlets.

Hay fever, sneezing, lovely place to be in right now!

Yes, it is unfair. I agree with you there. Supermarkets and DIY superstores should not be allowed to sell gardening stuff during this crisis. Farm shops are another matter as most are independent.

On your other point, I have my doubts about the effectiveness of implementing the same rules at garden centres. People will be interested in the same stuff because it is so seasonal and so will naturally congregate around veg plants, certain bedding plants, etc. I think it will be a clusterf*ck no matter what rules the shops apply. 

I bet that does look impressive. 

I have no idea of infection rates if any in the one below but had this email yesterday from the care home my 94 year old mother is in.

Hi .......,

I hope you are keeping safe and well.

We have had even more donations of PPE this week and have some more coming next week, which is really helping us stay stocked up!

The residents and staff held a birthday party for me this week which was lovely, we all enjoyed some dominoes pizza and chocolate cake made by ......! (From the Philippines)

Today we are celebrating VE day and will be having another tea party with some sing-alongs, as well as having the TV on in the background with VE day celebrations and speeches.

The residents have been enjoying the lovely weather in the garden again this week! 

The staff morale has been boosted by some lovely veg selection and meat selection boxes provided by ......!

.... (my Mum) is on her second course of antibiotics as she is still not herself, she also has had a number of falls in the last 24 hours. The GP has been made aware and has prescribed a 3rd course of antibiotics which is stronger. She is always on a fluid chart anyway but I just wanted to let you know this is in place so we can monitor how often she is being encouraged to drink and whether or not she is accepting a drink. She is currently on half hourly checks due to the number of falls she is having.

Kind regards,

And then this one from my brother this morning.

I  had a call earlier from ............. to say that Mum had a another fall during the night. She had hurt and gashed her leg, so they have taken her to Poole Hospital. I was half expecting that the next call would be about a fall and was waiting for the phone to ring.

Maybe this is it. I haven't seen my mum since before Christmas last year. I have been prepared for when she does depart for a long time now. 

So, that is what it is like in one particular care home. Doesn't say where the donations actually come from private or govt.

Nick

Not business as usual in SK...

Seoul shuts down nightclubs, bars due to a new cluster of cases 

No more clubbing for people in Seoul as authorities in the South Korea capital shut down more than 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos.

The move came after all but one of 18 new cases were linked to a 29-year-old clubgoer who went out last weekend in the popular neighborhood of Itaewon as the country relaxed physical distancing guidelines.

"We are put to the test," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, vowing to mobilise all resources to contain a further spread of the new coronavirus.

He said South Korea's quarantine success or failure will depend on whether the country can stop a further spread of infections linked to clubs in Seoul.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/japan-backs-coronavirus-drug-moscow-lockdown-live-updates-200508232257831.html

I'm inclined to agree.

We have some rather nice plant nurseries round  here that  open to the public but don't have the array of "tatt" garden Centres have.  I feel bad for them because they have lost their main market through a large chunk of the "gardening season"  (supplying Garden Centres).  At the same time, I'm petty sure they won't be able to open up to the public.  They have no facilities  and  the undercover  areas have very narrow walkways (the sort you get in a normal Greenhouse).  I can see a lot of these businesses going TU to be honest

Thank you for that Michael.

I will pass it on to my two who often talk about the times we are living in. The important thing is they are very positive about life.

Nick

https://iwradio.co.uk/2020/04/21/cruiseliners-take-shelter-off-the-isle-of-wight-at-sandown-bay/

Yes, I would love to see a photo as the sheer size of some of the ships is amazing.

Up here we quite often get a number of offshore oil-related vessels anchored up off the coast. There seem to be a few more than usual at the moment https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-2.051/centery:57.189/zoom:12 

Surprised those kind of places were open, but hats off to them for taking quick action. On our high infection rates here still, there was a mention at one of the last updates "well we are looking into this". You need to look at this as a matter of urgency because we should not relax anything until we understand what is driving this. Even some investigations may quickly lead to a trend, a suggestion on why the rate is not coming down. Okay there is more testing but+4k a day is nowhere near any good. On that high base number as a starting point we would soon be in total lockdown.

The PM's speech tomorrow needs to have very strong caveats for his roadmap. In the scheme of things, are plants that important at this time?

I don't know how it will work out. Maybe one way would be a timed entry with say half an hour to get what you want, limited numbers in the place at any time and queues outside?. When someone leaves another enters?

It may be the last year some of these places will exist in their current form. Or perhaps that's too negative.

Absolutely right.  The Times is quite critical of the government this morning. Matthew Parris is worth a read. He thinks Johnson isn't up to the job. He's right.