Be Still

Beautiful Somerset
Photo by @kanyintheartist
Just….oh wow!

So, another week gone. It’s getting less frantic at work and I think I can say with full confidence that the lockdown is pretty much over. If there is no announcement of its end, phased or otherwise, in the coming week, well, you can colour me astonished. AlaraApothecary: we bring good tidings of great joy. It was great to have yesterday off, and it struck me that for most people the weekend is no longer ‘a thing’. Everyday is like the one that passed before it – the wisdom of the establishing ‘a sabbath’ makes sense more than ever. It saves us from our companies working us to death in the chase for the almighty dollar, euro, yen, yuan, whatever.

It’s nice to see people slowly becoming less fearful – whether you catch a virus or not, fear is always a complete hindrance. A lot of people have been telling me that they’ve been looking over their lives and grading themselves. I needn’t bother with that – I’m such a slacker that my grade is always ‘could do better’. Would that I felt bad about it as well! Unfortunately, I always let myself off with ‘time served’. I have been doing some reflecting in my lackadaisical fashion and I know I definitely take just about everything for granted, just going through life in a little ‘blessed bubble’ irrespective of what is happening. Must try harder. Today’s images are all about God’s creation, as opposed to my usual selection of shiny man-made baubles. Covid-19 madness has moved the focus from what I aim to achieve here (AlaraApothecary taking over Google 🙂 ), to what happens next. Even if I buy out Google, I won’t live forever. So, what happens next? The truth of the matter is that being a spoilt brat, I tend to think of God more as Father than as ‘God’ and I suspect that balance is askew and I shall be addressing it with His help. My prayer and desire for all of us is that we all find our way and our purpose.

Churches are still closed so my word for all readers today is from Ps 46: ‘Be still, and know that I am God’. No need to be afraid, no need to fret. It’s all under control. Apropos which, what do you think of NDEs? They’ve always fascinated me and I’m really looking forward to getting to heaven when I will know for sure (no sneering at the back, it’s not based on my merit, thank God! ) I found the video below while watching stuff on Youtube. I’d love to hear what you think – keep it clean….. 🙂 Have a blessed week, and see you on the other side of the lockdown by God’s grace. Pip pip.

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Message In A Bottle

Pietro Perugino, Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter 1481-1482
Euphrasius Basilica, Poreč. 6th Century

Another week has passed, and if you are reading this, you are alive, so trebles all round! To get the scaremongering info out of the way, the wretched media has led with the alleged 4000 ‘uncounted’ deaths in care homes which they describe as a cross between the Bates Motel and the Roach insect spray ad: ‘they check in, but don’t check out’. Ye gods and little fishes, there are 21,723 care homes in the UK (source: Oscar Research) with 473,000 residents in 2019 (source: Savills Market Analysis) and 21.8% of all deaths in the UK in 2018 occured in care homes (End of life care: www.gov.uk, Feb 2018).

If even one death per home is attributed to Covid-19 this winter, that final figure would be over 21000 so 4000 is not really all that alarming, given that the average age of care home residents is 83 years and most people only move into one when they are too frail or ill to look after themselves, hence the high mortality rate and prohibitive cost of care. Average life expectancy after moving into a care home? Just over 2 years. Excess winter deaths in 2017/2018 in the UK? 50,100 people, with 92% being 65 years + (source: Age UK) Do you know what we had in 2017/2018? A flu vaccine with a 10% efficacy rate in the 65+ age group. (yes 10%, figures from Public Health England). Please feel free to ignore the hysterical media-driven numbers- upmanship. Even better, switch off your TV. The 24-hour rolling corona-dirge is not doing any of us any good. Just say no.

In other news, as of yesterday Sweden has had a total of 1400 deaths and no lockdown, most of South America and Africa has deaths in single figures so we are all probably not dying in the next half hour. Maintaining the lockdown is pointless once the objective of getting the NHS ready for cases is achieved because you will get a spike of cases the minute people start to congregate again. However, if those people are mostly fit and young, most will shake it off without medical intervention. Hence Sweden. So the numbers will rise, then fall, and stay down. And a second wave? Pish, posh, there will be no second wave because it’s going to get warm and we will all be brimming with Vitamin D. As for the vaccine, if as expected it will be a ‘live vaccine’, have a look at the exclusion criteria for live vaccines. You can’t give it to anyone who is pregnant, immunocompromised or has had an allergy to a previous vaccine. As for the efficacy rate of vaccines and mutations ……… Let’s just say the governments need to be looking at all options. Encouragingly, anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that Covid has been circulating since Nov-Dec 2019, and a lot of people have had it and survived it but we thought it was a kind of superflu.Therefore we shouldn’t need to wreck the world’s economy every winter for the forseeable, or indeed establish a worldwide police state. To the Christians out there, today’s verse is: ‘ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.‘ To everyone else, that is Jesus-speak for: ‘Chillax, I’ve got this. Make the most of the time you’ve got’. I have paraphrased somewhat 🙂

The difference between the two artworks? Perspective. That’s what you and I need. Rather than the gloomsters’ terrifying numbers telling us that 162,000 have died worldwide of Covid-19 , remind yourself that 6,999,838,000 people have not died of Covid-19, and that if yesterday was an average day, 360,000 beautiful children were born yesterday alone. That does not minimise the sadness of these and other deaths but life has a 100% mortality rate. Carpe diem.

I leave you with the apposite ‘Message in a bottle’ by The Police, and just for fun, Levert’s awesome ‘Casanova’ Those clothes! And as for those dancing moves they’re busting… Epic. Funniest thing I’ve seen this week is on Reddit. Confused? You will be. Have a happy, healthy week.

  • EXACTLY WHAT IS THIS QUARANTINE?
  • Basically, you can’t leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can.
  • Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.
  • Stores are closed, except those that are open.
  • You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.
  • This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.
  • Gloves won’t help, but they can still help.
  • Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it’s important to GO OUT.
  • There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.
  • The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.
  • Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…
  • You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my God.
  • In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it’s better not to go out, well, but no…
  • It’s better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don’t go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).
  • You can’t go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.
  • If you are sick, you can’t go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.
  • You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn’t wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?
  • Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with ” I don’t want to trigger panic, but…”
  • You can’t see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.
  • You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don’t live under the same roof.
  • You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance.
  • The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn’t say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.
  • The virus stays in the air – well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.
  • We count the number of deaths but we don’t know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were “almost dead” to find out if that’s what they will die of…
  • We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications).
  • We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?

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Fear Is A Virus

If only it wasn’t so cramped in here.

First of all, don’t give in to fear. It causes stress which plays havoc with your immune system for starters. I’ll begin with some actual verifiable science.

According to PHE (Public Health England), “The average number of influenza deaths in England for the last five seasons, 2014/15 to 2018/19, was 17,000 deaths annually. This ranged from 1,692 deaths last season, 2018/19, to 28,330 deaths in 2014/15.” ( There were 26,408 deaths in 2018/2019. The flu season is six months long – September to March. That makes an average of 1000 deaths a week).

Total number of deaths in the UK for 2019? Approximately 500,000 (daily average 1,369). The provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales (not UK, note) in January 2020 was 56,706; this represents an increase of 9,237 deaths in comparison with the previous month and an increase of 2,796 deaths in comparison with the same month in 2019 (source: ons.gov.uk – Office of National Statistics.) Those figures are pre-Covid-19.

The 1968 pandemic was caused by an influenza A (H3N2) virus; The estimated number of deaths was 1 million worldwide and about 100,000 in the United States. (source: CDC)

In the spring of 2009, a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged. From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases, 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus. Additionally, CDC estimated that 151,700-575,400 people worldwide died from (H1N1)pdm09 virus infection during the first year the virus circulated. (source: CDC)

What was missing during all these viral outbreaks? A worldwide lockdown where the general public are treated exactly like prisoners: 23 hours lockdown with one hour of ‘yard exercise’. Only difference? You pay for your own imprisonment – you pay the rent, buy the food, police your own lockdown, and pay for your own Sky/Netflix. How bonkers is all this?

Another week of confusion and hysterical media coverage of Covid-19. We’ve had the police ordering people indoors from their own gardens, hospitals are still empty waiting for the mass influx of C-19 patients, no one seems to have a protocol for how to treat the disease – on one hand we need a million ventilators, on the other hand using ventilators may be killing patients as it turns out that if this indeed presents as pneumonia, it’s atypical. Oxygen failure is not the same as oxygen saturation loss; giving oxygen at the wrong pressure may actually be damaging lungs and killing patients. Meanwhile, if you can tell me who is running the country, I’d be grateful. MPs have been given a nice little earner of £10000 to stay home and keep quiet (we’re all in this together 🙂 ), the prime minister is in intensive care, the chancellor of the exchequer and minister for health have been in their jobs for 3 minutes. This scares me more than any virus, I can tell you.

While everyone is patting themselves on the back for ‘staying in and saving lives’, perhaps we should consider the effects of all those cancelled scans, operations, and hospital appointments. All hospital cancer treatments have been cancelled, all dental appointments have been cancelled (sucks to be you if you have any kind of fledgling oral/oesophageal cancer that a dentist might have picked up), maternity and antenatal services have been ‘condensed’ (that means cancelled to you and me). How many cases of heart failure (major symptom – breathlessness), liver failure, kidney failure, diabetes, cancers of all types, are not being diagnosed as the GPs barricade themselves in their surgeries and referrals are unavailable anyway? How many people will die as a direct result of this lockdown? I guess we’ll worry about all that in September by which time the world will be miraculously disease-free. To put this madness into perspective, Nigeria has 305 cases and 7 deaths to date, population 206,000,000. (source: WHO) The country is in lockdown. There are an estimated 100 million malaria cases with over 300,000 deaths per year in Nigeria. I’d laugh if it wasn’t so tragic.

In other news, the Archbishop of Canterbury will be celebrating Easter live from his kitchen. This is so ludicrous I can only suppose it’s fake news. Presumably he thinks this makes him seem humble and down with the kids, speaking to his fast-dwindling flock via Zoom. If only we had some big buildings where social distancing would not be an issue. We could call them cathedrals and churches.

Canterbury Cathedral. If only we had some room, compared to the nearby Tesco Local. Oh me, oh my.
Social distancing, guv? More than my job is worth. I just don’t see how we can make it work.

Absolute muppet. I can’t do justice to their incompetence so I will quote God instead: “Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror, declares the Lord. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” The CofE says they have closed the churches on ‘medical advice.’ Thank God that Jesus didn’t heed medical advice when he went about healing lepers. Apparently that ‘medical advice’ does not apply to hospital and community pharmacy staff who work closely with the public without PPE, not to mention supermarket and petrol station employees. God does indeed move in mysterious ways.

I don’t know how the lockdown can be safely removed; it’s not my job, that’s why I don’t get the big bucks. I do fear for the mental health of the entire nation if it is not removed, not to mention the devastation of the economy and the unemployment crisis that will follow. And if you believe the government can afford to pay people 80% of their salary to stay at home for the next few months, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you. What will happen is that a lot of jobs will be ‘consolidated’ and people will be made redundant en masse. £94 a week is a lot less attractive than £2500 a month, I think we can all agree. My aim for today, get some sun and top up my depleted Vitamin D, eat some more fruit and top up my Vitamin C, watch something completely anodyne and uplifting preferably recorded before 2000. It’s a toss-up between Blackadder and Monarch of The Glen. I recommend both highly. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Christ is risen. Happy Easter.

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Happy Palm Sunday

It’s been a funny week; two weeks into the lockdown and the initial confusion/giddiness of people who suddenly have a lot of time on their hands seems to be morphing into the depression of people who have a lot of time on their hands but find themselves trapped indoors. The memes and jokes are decreasing in number as we enter the period when reality begins to bite. Generally I’ve found that most people are just getting on with it but I think the younger people are finding it harder than the pensioners. We are the children who are used to instant gratification and constant distractions; when there is no ‘next new thing’ but just the insistent stream of our own inward thoughts it can be a true nightmare if you are not used to solitude. But be of good cheer, the lockdown will end. The world we find ourselves in will have altered but human resilience is worth betting on. At any rate we have now seen that the planet will survive without people. The question is, what is it worth without people? Walking through eerily empty streets on the way to work, it feels like all colour has been drained out of the world until I see another person. Beautiful as it is, the Earth is not worth a thing without people to admire its beauty. One in the eye for the overpopulation zealots.

As ever, I’m maintaining that the end of lockdown deadline is this weekend, based on my hope and prayer that the churches are up and running next week. The next two posts will be for my Christian brethren and sistren seeing as the pusillanimous CofE has downed tools (with the odd exception). Bear with us ; I’m sure secular UK will rear its head soon enough. Kudos to Rev. Pat Allerton of St. Peters, Notting Hill, who decided that if people can’t come to church, the church must go to the people. I guess all hope is not lost for the CofE afterall. Good man. I give you the Rev himself :

https://www.facebook.com/emma.peterswatson/videos/10156908679880685/UzpfSTUxMjUxNDA2NzoxMDE1ODY2Mjg4MDg1OTA2OA/

There are indications that the government will wish to extend the lockdown for the six months which of course fills us all with horror. All I can offer you is divine intervention – your MP can’t help you, your parents, doctors, lawyers, therapist etc etc, can’t lift the lockdown ……….. but I know a God who can stop all these sheenanigans in an instant. Pray, not least because we’re fresh out of options and you have nothing to lose. For the Christians here, if you can find a better prophecy describing the times we are in than Isaiah 24: 4-13, particularly 9-11, I’d like to see it. For the non-christians, be aware that the whole of this chapter is a terrifying prophecy of the end of the world so I caution the sensitive among you to tread lightly. If it’s any consolation, it’s not as scary as Revelations 🙂 Revelations terrifies me and I don’t scare easily. I console myself that hopefully I won’t be alive by the time that basket of worms is opened but who knows? Anyhoo, because this is AlaraApothecary and we sow only blessings, I leave you with a fabulous Nigerian/English mash- up (Yoruba to be precise) courtesy of my sister. Thanks BC! Hope it brightens your week. Stay safe, stay healthy. God bless and happy Palm Sunday.

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