Get in line

My colleague Emma told me about a website where you can plug in a few details and find out roughly when you’ll receive your Covid vaccine. I did it and was informed that in the UK there are between 29,573,905 and 37,544,593 people ahead of me in the queue. These figures factor in the 30% of people who will reject the opportunity to have the vaccine, so I could find myself waiting behind an even longer queue. Apparently I’ll be due for the first dose in September. I won’t hold my breath.

There is a furore today because Boris Johnson was spotted on a cycle ride seven miles from his house, and he’s being accused of not acting in the spirit of the lockdown exercise rules. Those two women who drove five miles to a reservoir in Derbyshire to walk around with cups of Starbucks peppermint tea have ensured this issue is high on the agenda. I don’t have a car so won’t comment on the pull of driving somewhere to exercise, but that distance on a bike isn’t particularly noteworthy. I cycled much longer distances last summer. For someone living in central London it must be necessary to get out of your neighbourhood at times.

It’s bad enough for Boris that he can’t go on a cycle ride without being surrounded by a gaggle of security guards. I don’t think it’s valuable media coverage to make a meal of this. I hereby close two paragraphs of sympathetic writing towards Boris Johnson’s latest predicament, which doesn’t happen often.

I followed an online yoga session in the evening, which was remarkable progress compared to recent slumping. It felt good, and credit must go to Hannah for recommending the latest series by Adriene, the online doyenne of yoga.

I continued my improved habits by snacking on something sweet, but I chose posh fairtrade chocolate as opposed to a bag of Haribo Giant Strawbs. Sold by the Coop, tonight’s choice was Milk Chocolate with Almond and Sicilian Sea Salt. It did lead Hannah and I to observe that when products are trying to be upmarket and appealing to the aspirational masses, that marketers reel us in with some very basic techniques. Red onion always has to be caramelised, malt vinegar has to be aged, and salt and lemons have to be tied to a geographical location (usually Sicily). I can report that Coop’s Milk Chocolate with Almond and Sicilian Sea Salt is moreish but quite over-powering in its saltiness. I wouldn’t gulp too much of the Mediterranean next time you’re on a Sicilian beach.

Hannah also made the false claim that dark chocolate could count as one of your ‘5 a day’. She was swiftly rebutted.