The only way to cope with the constant flow of 'news' - which frankly is little more than air-time filling - is to mostly ignore it and go about your business as if we are back in situation normal. Anyone taking actual heed of these gloomy pronouncements would be in the arms of the nearest psychiatrist before you could say 'Protect the NHS' and as one of our MPs (I forget which one) opined this morning on Talk Radio, if we're going to sacrifice all our liberties in the name of protecting our healthcare system, then why have a healthcare system at all? Either it's fit for purpose or it isn't.
Enough of misquoting one of our elected representatives, however much sense they're making and on to more important issues like how am I going to put together a medieval outfit for an upcoming banquet without a paper pattern and which of the 600 odd photos of my gorgeous daughter's wedding do I want to print and keep forever, old-school, in a bound photo album? Life goes on indeed.
Our health secretary Matt Hancock was photographed snogging someone who isn't his wife, England are through to the semi-finals of the European Championship by beating Ukraine 4-0 and it looks likely that our government will finally give the go-ahead for removal of restrictions on 19th July.
The last time I wrote about the parlous state of our nation, I was saddened - but not surprised - by the lack of support from our so-called spiritual leaders and regrettably nothing has changed there. No pronouncements from the head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who seems to be on the longest holiday ever and zip from any other spiritual leader, unless you count the Reverend Richard Coles who can always be relied upon to say something marvelous to soothe your soul.
Nothing much has changed in the social media world either - sadly. The spiteful continue to spew hateful and horrible words onto any social media platform they can find (why?) and anyone who can see an opportunity to sew the seeds of division between good people, do so wherever and whenever they can.
However, we have good news and good stuff on our horizons. Most of the country has been vaccinated now which means that if we are unlucky enough to get coronavirus, we're unlikely to be hospitalised and likely to recover fairly quickly. We can visit our friends and families without feeling like criminals and it won't be long before we can get back to moaning about the weather, having to work for a living and what rubbish politicians we have. Life - as we knew it - becomes the 'norm'. Can't wait!
The UK rails against the alleged incompetence of the Conservative government who have 'allowed' the pandemic to get out of hand, berating ministers for their sloth at closing borders and at the same time fumes over the completion of Brexit which effectively takes us out of the European Union and puts us back in charge of... you guessed it ... our borders!
And while the middle classes are bleating about how much more their Waitrose avocados are going to cost and how much more difficult it will be to pop back and forth to their holiday home in the Algarve now we are out of the EU, families from all over the UK of all colours, races and creeds are struggling to find the money to feed their families and pay their bills as jobs go to the wall. Never has the gap between the haves and the have-nots been so great as in the covid-19 landscape where tempers fray and it's every Joe for himself.
So where is the inspiration from the church and other spiritual leaders to help the populace through this crisis? Where is the call to arms from the charities who are allegedly solely in existence to help others? It is in adversity that we find out the true meaning of love and kindness; where the real heroes of the hour stand up to be counted and the selfless shine their light in the darkest corners. Sadly, it is also where the mean-minded, the self-focused and the downright unkind are shown up for who they are while the rest of us look on in despair.
The lesson for us all is surely that we all need each other in times of crisis. We need our families, our friends and our loved ones for our sense of belonging. We need our doctors, nurses, teachers and carers for our health and well-being, and we need to be forgiving and understanding for those who fail whilst trying. If we are to survive and flourish, above all, we need love.