After I got home this evening after a very busy day I discovered that the wrong date was on the only photos that I had taken.  So rather than go out in the rain for another flower I had to think what else I could do.  This morning I had visited the exhibition on the Plague and I found it very interesting seeing the remedies that were used to cure people of various plagues.  I couldn’t take any photos of any objects so these remind me of some of the “cures” mentioned in personal letters or books.
It was frequently believed that plagues were caused by bad air and doctors would wear a mask shaped like a beak and filled with herbs and sweet smelling flowers.  Sometimes people would carry herbs or a stone would be dipped into a holy spring and carried as a charm for healing or protection.  Others thought it was a punishment from God for sin and would beat themselves with a special belt.  Rubbing the skin with a live chicken or wearing a dead toad round the neck was believed to help.   Smoking tobacco or drinking strange concoctions was another preventative measure. 
A new report published today states that bacteria and diseases are becoming resistant to antibiotics which is going to cause a major crisis in future.  It is estimated by 2050 that more people will be killed by drug resistant superbugs than by cancer and while about seven per cent of deaths now are due to infections it could rise to forty per cent.   Routine operations could be more dangerous with untreatable infections. At the moment we rely heavily on antibiotics which are sometimes prescribed unnecessarily and insufficient research is being carried out into ensuring that effective new drugs are developed.
Fortunately our living conditions and knowledge has greatly improved so there is less risk of major plagues and If the superbugs continue to become drug resistance I am sure that none of the above “cures” will ever be used.