Two years ago, I lived in an almost constant state of terror.
I’ve tried to repress the fear and during the first few months of the pandemic, when I was still regularly going to Broadcasting House to present Woman’s Hour, I was determined to keep going, refusing to broadcast from home and relying on the early morning temperature tests to reassure me I didn’t have the virus.
Then came working from home, endless lockdowns, missing friends and family and, as I’ve admitted before, drinking far more alcohol than was good for me.
Now, though, there’s hope. Many of my family members and friends, all ages, contracted Omicron. They felt a little grotty for a couple of days, but quickly recovered with no long-lasting side effects.
It’s time, surely, to abandon the word pandemic, accept the virus is now endemic and live with it, just as we do with flu.
Jenni Murray (pictured in UK) states that Covid isn’t scary to her and she believes it should be accepted as part of our daily lives.
The Prime Minister lifted Plan B Covid’s measures regarding working at home immediately. Covid passports are no longer required.
From my point of view, the ending of the horrible masks is the best news. I’ve hated them all the way through, loathing that sense of walking about, surrounded by people who look like criminals, hiding their faces from view.
This week I worked with a young film crew who’d been told they must wear their masks at all times.
They were jabbed, I think they tested negative, and were eager to protect my life. But I didn’t want them to wear masks. It was important for me to understand what they were saying. A mask makes lip reading impossible.
Hooray, there are no masks! There are no more work-shy people insisting that they have to work at home.
No more phone calls to an insurance company, a bank or a doctor and finding so-called customer service saying: ‘We are experiencing extremely high call volumes due to the Coronavirus pandemic and our wait times are longer than usual.’
Answer the phone and do your job.
There are some suspicions about teachers’ willingness to return to work.
One colleague had a letter from her child’s state primary school saying pupil attendance was back to pre-pandemic levels, but teacher attendance is not. It’s funny!
Then there’s the trains. Tomorrow, I will be traveling to Liverpool. There doesn’t seem to be any train to Liverpool, since railways in the country use the virus as an excuse for cutting back services.
The Prime Minister lifted Plan B Covid restrictions with working at home immediately. Covid passports are no longer required. Jenni Murray’s best news is that the masks have been scrapped
‘Until further notice’ is the official line. I was told by a commuter that her stationmaster said it would be a problem until summer. How are they all doing? Relaxing in your home with a train set and playing?
I won’t be scared by this virus anymore.
I’ll stay up-to-date with vaccination, just as I do with flu and meet and hug friends and family just as I used to.
All the signs on the doors of shops requesting the use of masks and warning us not to cross two metres from each other should be removed.
I’d like to go to a theater or cinema where complete strangers could sit together.
In the last years I have, I would like to think of fellow human beings not only as potentially lethal danger but as good friends.
It’s time for this fear of each other to stop dominating our social interaction and our work ethic. The only way to make the country run again is by doing this.
Sweet recipe to lose weight
To combat obesity, we want to reduce sugary snack consumption and promote eating more vegetables and fruits.
So why, as the Sunion — the sweet, non-teary onion — hits the shops, is there to be a new generation of genetically engineered fruit which promises to be juicier, seedless and sweeter than ever.
A sweet tooth should surely be discouraged and a wide range of flavours put on the plate — what fussy (and fat) eaters kids will become if sugar is the height of good taste.
Frank, a little fancy footwork!
Frank Lampard was photographed earlier this week at the wheel, holding a coffee and his phone.
I know Frank Lampard as a footballer was neat with his feet, but who’d have thought he was dexterous enough to drive his car safely with a phone in one hand and a coffee in the other?
He was unable to avoid a trial, even though the evidence seemed overwhelming.
Sure you don’t want praise for your frocks?
Holly Willoughby is a Daytime Television Presenter and she believes it is time to praise women for “things other then what they are wearing”.
The daytime TV presenter Holly Willoughby says: ‘It’s 2022. Now it’s time for women to be praised for things other than what they’re wearing.’
Bit rich given she seems to make a lot of cash promoting fashion brands, not least for M&S. Holly, we can admire your brain if you don’t mind putting on jeans and sweaters.
Bit rich given she seems to make a lot of cash promoting fashion brands, not least for M&S.
Holly, you can still be admired for your intellect if, on the other hand, you dress in jeans and sweaters and appear like everyone else.
Women must stop verbal violence
We’ve heard a lot of talk, but not much action, about the worrying rise in violence against women and girls.
What about the concerns regarding verbal violence towards women and girls?
Take Leigh Best, pictured. She made an error as a sales associate in a pet shop. She was shouted at by her boss and told, loudly, that she ‘must be in her menopause’.
After complaining, she was fired a month later. After complaining, she was able to get to a tribunal and it was determined that she was suffering from sexism as well as ageism. She was then awarded damages.
We are too timid to confront the men who make fun of us. One of my favorite topics is the topic of Menopause. ‘What is it, love, having a hot flush?’
Leigh Best, middle-aged shop worker won an age harassment case against her boss after he accused her having gone through menopause.
Menstruation is another: ‘What’s up love, time of the month?’ How dare they! When I was pregnant, in 1983, I experienced the worst of my experiences when I presented local news to TV viewers in Southampton.
My growing stature was no issue for me. Male viewers tended to agree. The letters flooded in: ‘What are you doing on TV in that disgusting state?’ ‘What are you doing taking a job from a man who needs it? Get off home.’
It is something we should all try to do. It’s tempting to fire back some insult but it’s not worth descending to their level. As Mrs Best discovered, it is worthwhile to threaten the perpetrators with the law.
A word about subscription versus licence fees for BBC Radio. For 43p per day, you can get Radios 1, 2, 4, 4 and 5 I’m the first to point out the BBC’s faults, but for so many of us, of whatever age, BBC radio is a comfort zone that keeps us company all day.