Another pointless quarantine

Mystic of Holyhead (successor to Lynn Rival)
Rachel and Paul Chandler
Sat 24 Oct 2020 13:41
Our final week in Portugal was spent on the Atlantic coast.  South of Lisbon and north of the Algarve, the area between Vila Nova de Milfonte and Odeceixe is pleasantly undeveloped with ample opportunity for walking along wind-swept cliff-tops and almost empty beaches.  The Rota Vicentina trail follows the coast right down to Cape St Vincent.


It's almost 100m down to the water


Let's get our vitamin D levels back up (OK - I know there should be a gap between shorts and socks)


The coastal trail takes us past many almost inaccessible sandy beaches . . .


. . . and the occasional fishermen's harbour


Vila Nova de Milfonte, on the river Mira estuary, has sheltered beaches . . .


. . . and a 'playpen' area


Back to the cliffs - black and white rocks, with scale indicator


. . . and on to the next crowded beach (Odeceixe, at the mouth of the river Seixe)


The Elusive Stork's nest

Most people we met were relaxed, though in the last few days mask-wearing became more apparent.  Like elsewhere in Europe, Portugal's political class is experiencing a crisis of confidence and, despite all the evidence that lockdowns don't work and mask-wearing is ineffective, have once again declared a "state of calamity".  The reason?  Positive tests for Covid 19 have been rising again in some areas.  But hospitalisations and mortality are normal for this time of year.  Sounds familiar?  Just shows ours is not the only government determined to continue the unnecessary fear and destruction of our health, society and economy in the name of saving deaths "with Covid".  Why is a death with Covid any more important than one from flu, pneumonia, cancer, heart failure, let alone the increased domestic abuse and mental health suffering?  It is certainly the case when friends and family are prevented from being able to comfort and mourn them.  Is it any wonder the NHS has become a no-go area for those at risk of dying of non-Covid reasons?  The statistics clearly show that our government's cruel message has become: "Protect the NHS, die at home".   

Returning to the UK we spent two nights on the road in Spain, staying in almost empty hotels, served by robotic people wearing masks.  With mask-wearing compulsory outdoors, the atmosphere in Spain is sinister.  Sheeple in the street are grim and lifeless.  Smokers hide in corners, puffing away while watching out for the mask enforcers.  And, while the ferry from Santander to Plymouth was comfortable, there were few passengers for us to bump into, so the strict adherence to mask-wearing demanded by the staff was another sign of how dystopian Europe has become.  The pet pen on deck 9 was a sight to behold - dogs free to bark, smile and otherwise express their doggy selves with gay abandon; owners grim and fully muzzled

It was good to disembark at Plymouth and meet officials more concerned about illegal immigrants and drugs than masks.  Driving up the M5 the afternoon traffic levels suggested that much of the country is carrying on as normal?

Back in Evesham under house arrest quarantine we have time to reflect on the sorry state of our nation.  Our politicians continue to inflict great harm on our economy and society.  You don't have to be an epidemiologist to look at the data and see that the government is willfully manipulating the data to instill fear and irrational behaviour.  They are guilty of propagating lies, the most recent being the myth of the second wave. 
Our hospitals are nowhere near overwhelmed and many more people are dying at home than normal.  In fact the attempted cure is far, far worse than the disease.
 

When will the British public wake up to all this deceit?  It seems we are experiencing a pandemic of mental illness.  As Mark Twain said: "It's easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled". 

Some people call us selfish and accuse us of being irresponsible for speaking out against this madness.  But what has our society come to when we are not allowed to debate these issues rationally?  We abhor the finger-pointing at young people and snitching on neighbours trying to carry on as normal.  And who cares about elderly people imprisioned in their care homes indefinitely?  You have to ask yourself: where is this all heading?  Why are you doing this? Not in our names!