Social Distancing.

A little brighter today with strong icy winds.

I had another early start to my day, and set off in good time to walk to town. Much quieter than usual, Friday is the main market day in the Pannier market but as can be seen above it was almost deserted. Whenever I can I try to support the farmers' tables and today I bought a cauliflower which is being cooked for supper. These tables, usually run by Mrs. Farmer hold a few things either home baked/made or grown. The table I visited just had half a dozen cauliflowers and some baskets of sprouting broccoli. While the numbers of people in general had lessened there were quite a few elderly people ignoring the stay at home advice.

There's a large on emphasis on everybody employing social distancing though the distance we should stay apart varies from 1m to 2m. This afternoon I spotted a couple of my neighbours having a chat outside standing 2m apart. All the shops I visited had signs up reminding people to keep apart and also requesting restraint when buying items. People in queues did stand farther apart and even further where the person in front was elderly. In the Pound Shop they had stuck down tape on the floor to keep the queue spread out. I looked but didn't find any paracetamol before I had to pick up a prescription at Boots which as usual took ages. First I waited behind 6 people in the queue and then was asked to come back a bit later which entailed another long wait.

About half the charity shops were closed. In the others the staff wore latex gloves and there were signs asking people to pay by card if possible. I don't have a contactless card so that would still involve touching the number pad. Today I paid with cash. I didn't find any suitable beach themed items but I did buy this trinket box for £4. The little books are A6 size and it was quite heavy in my backpack along with a bottle of milk. To go with my generous cauliflower I also had a white cabbage in my bag and in my other hand was a bag with 2 outdoor chair cushions for our small wood and metal chairs. One has been scribbled on and I'm trying some carpet cleaner to remove the red and green marks though I shall make new removable covers anyway. I also had to go to the bank to pay some bills including a large one for the central heating; oil tank, boiler and radiators.

Social Distancing involves a lot more than not standing too close to people. Right now pubs, restaurants, gyms, sports facilities and any form of entertainment have been told to close and the general advice is to avoid any contact where possible. Today we've been told that this will continue for at least 12 months with the degree of social distancing being reduced and then increased so that the number of severe cases needing ICU beds doesn't number more than the beds we have. That's the theory but I suspect the practice may not be so simple. Because so many people are in danger of losing their jobs the govt. has announced a scheme where 80% of wages of threatened workers will be paid by the govt. Otherwise it will be total chaos. Transportation is also being closed down. Yesterday London which is weeks ahead of the rest of the country in terms of infection, began to close down the buses and trains. 40% of train stations were closed and buses reduced to weekend levels. Today the train service for the rest of the country has begun to be reduced as well. Usually when we listen to/watch The News it's from a point of observation but now what we hear is having a direct impact on our lives. Very different indeed.