Panic On The Streets?

The TV news has been dealing out footage of town centres with nobody in them and empty stores with empty shelves...

Yesterday we were in Crawley. The Aldi in Manor Royal was crammed. The guy on our till said it had been madly busy all morning. The only items that seemed to be in short supply were packs of toilet rolls.

(Why- of all things- have we had this run on toilet rolls?)

Afterwards we went to Nymans to see the Spring flowers. Had people decided that visiting National Trust properties was a risky venture they were better off avoiding? Not at all. The car park was full, the café was full, there was a school party doing the rounds...

In Note Form

The last time we gritted our teeth like this was when Tony Blair invaded Iraq.

I'd rather be fighting germs than people.

The Internet is going slow. Ailz says it's because people are working from home, placing huge orders with supermarkets, communicating by video rather than face to face. And so on.

Bumping elbows is a jolly way of greeting people, but I prefer Prince Charles' choice: hands steepled, a slight bow from the waist. Namaste.

Football is over for the duration. The May elections have been cancelled.

Life as usual is on hold. As Gaby Hinsliff points out in the Guardian, we may well change our minds about some of the things we do "as usual" when we find they're unnecessary or even rather silly. Epidemics- like wars- speed up social change. The world will be a different place when all this comes to an end.