More!

A trip out for a routine inspection of the SK which she always hates. I was going to sit in Waitrose car park. It’s closed!! Closed, I tell you! 
Much later we went up the road to babysit - a 5pm babysit for a change and the wee one was a bit harder work. I soon discovered that her favourite toy is the detachable tray on her low highchair. 
Later TV highlight was an excellent programme about Ivor Cutler by KT Tunstall - a perfect combination of his personal history, archive footage and some very touching interviews. Terrific.

Oh dear, it’s all getting close to getting locked down again. Don’t bother reading the rest! It’s covid stuff for my own use in the future (if I’m spared)..

The welsh supremo Mark Drakeford, has decided on a "fire-break” lockdown arguing it’s "needed to prevent thousands more deaths and the NHS becoming overwhelmed." This final point is the latest leverage of course - as one could be rather sceptical of lockdowns doing much more than kicking the can down the road and squeezing the last breath out of struggling businesses. If one was heartless and callous, I hasten to add. Not me, no. 
So I’ve added in an extra which was drawn to my attention on my daily meanderings on the twittersphere. 25 covid cases in ICU (includes 6 suspected and recovering), 127 non-covid and 106 vacant. These panjandrums aren’t stupid so I can only imagine this is worst case scenario planning?  

A similar situation in Ireland where Ireland's government has agreed to return the country to the highest level of coronavirus restrictions for six weeks from midnight on Wednesday. As Andrew Neil notes (after wryly commenting that Ireland’s average daily death toll from Covid has been 1 since mid-June),  Irish politicians’ defiance of scientific advisers lasted 10 days. Previously Varadkar held the line against tighter restrictions and denied there was a lack of hospital capacity. "The tánaiste said the government had added 800 hospital beds - 150 of which were being used by Covid-19 patients - and there were now an additional 60 ICU beds since the spring lockdown, bringing the total to 225, with 25 being used by Covid patients.
He said the country would be able to cope if there was a surge in coronavirus cases and was in a better position to do so than some other countries whose health services "get a better press”.”

So to Manchester where Andy Burnham is holding out for a better financial settlement before agreeing to a more severe lockdown - what does the Manchester Evening News say - "Both sides in the region’s war with ministers are using NHS data to make their own arguments. But getting the full information is easier said than done.”
And this Statement from Andy Burnham, and Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Health Lead:
"Finally, we are disappointed that the Government has today sought to raise public concern about the NHS in Greater Manchester with selective statistics.
Greater Manchester’s ICU occupancy rate is not abnormal for this time of year and is comparable to the occupancy rate in October 2019. Also, providing information about individual hospitals does not reflect that our hospitals work as a system to manage demand.
We are not complacent about the position in our hospitals and are monitoring the situation closely. But in the current situation, we believe it is essential that our residents are given clear, accurate information about the state of the NHS in Greater Manchester and that public fears are not raised unnecessarily.”

Spin and skullduggery!

And finally back to Ireland, from the Guardian, with a comment on Ireland that I found of interest .. "The divergence in rules between north and south, especially over schools and travel, will amplify calls for an all-island response.” Not applicable to this island though.