Another Ornament

It's rained steadily all night and all day, plus it's very cold. So looking for a blip inside, I didn't think I've blipped this family on its own before. I got it in 2019 at a local antiques fair. It was originally on something as its base is missing. I did a U3A Zoom quiz this afternoon which was a bit different and enjoyable. You could tell it was U3A, there was only 1 question in the last 40 years in the section on Popular Culture!

Terrible new from the World Meteorological Organization today, their report from consolidating data from 5 key agencies from around the World states that: av global temp was 14.9C (1.2C above the av 1850-1900); we've just seen the warmest decade on record; the warmest years have been the last 6: the top 3 are 2020, 2019 and 2016.

Day 305 / Day 10 of Lockdown 3 (for my record only)
UK deaths up 1,248 to 86,015 (revised basis), with 48,682 new cases, 36,797 patients in hospital (a new record), 3,626 on ventilation and 4,256 new admissions. 2.9m have now received their first dose of the vaccine. Travel to the UK has been banned from 4am on Friday from every country in South America, as well as Portugal, due to the new variant first identified from Brazil. Good news that cases have fallen in most Regions in England in the last week, but rates are still very high. A temporary morgue is now in use at RAF Coltishall, northeast of Norwich. A UK study has shown that people who've had the virus are likely to be protected from reinfection for at least 5 months, with a similar defence to people who've been vaccinated. Graphs on Peston last night showed we're reasonably compliant with regulations. 

There is concern about the uneven distribution of the vaccine across the England, I'm not surprised to see that the East of England had the lowest no. of over 80s receiving their first dose of the vaccine at 29.9%, the highest is NE & Yorkshire at 47.1%. I heard today something I hadn't heard before, per Drinkaware 'we advise that you don't drink any alcohol for at least 2 days before, and at least two weeks after, you've been vaccinated to ensure your immune system is at its best to respond to the virus and protect you.' 6 pharmacies started giving vaccines today, with the number going up to 200 in the next 2 weeks. The snow has caused problems with lots of people not being able to get to their appt today, with 1 vaccination centre closing in Yorkshire. 1 in 4 patients admitted via A&E are waiting over 4 hours for a bed to be found. 4.46m are now on the hospital waiting list for routine treatments. The number of people facing waits of over a year for routine treatments in hospital is now 192,000 120 times higher than before the pandemic. Some hospitals are cancelling urgent operations. Andy Murray has tested positive for Covid ahead of the Australian Open. The supermarket Iceland is recruiting 3,500 new temporary staff to cope with increased demand over lockdown.