Arty?

Since I’m not going out to the shops for flowers I went for a wander in the garden for some colour today. The Ards Man thinks this is a mallow plant; it came from his granny’s garden in Portaferry, a lovely walled garden that I remember as a very peaceful spot.

On the N Ireland news tonight we had a little glimpse of some positive coronavirus news. Professor Ultan Power (what a fabulous name!) is a molecular virologist at Queen’s University, Belfast. He said that he’d been looking at the covid19 stats in NI and concluded that it seems to be following the trend of South Korea, which is relatively slow rate. We do have a small population in NI (about 1.9 million) and our cities are probably a lot smaller than some in the rest of the UK, so perhaps we are more spread out! We also depend on private cars rather than public transport, since our rail infrastructure is almost non-existent. The reliance on our own cars is a negative thing in terms of sustainability, but perhaps has meant that we don’t travel in such close proximity to others.

Of course, we are also staying home! Saying that, I really must get out for a walk as I haven’t done that for 3 weeks. :(

Stay safe, blippers!