It has been exactly three weeks since the official UK “lockdown”  but 29 days since we voluntarily “self isolated”. It has passed quickly and there are more weeks of the same challenges to come. The number of deaths has had another lower day today but without recording and reporting the non hospital deaths, we can take nothing for granted.

Amongst the 11000+ that have died from the virus, we heard yesterday of the sad loss of  Tim Brooke-Taylor, comedian, comic actor, writer and all round nice bloke. We had the pleasure of seeing what turns out to be one of his last stage perfomances at The City Hall in Hull as a panelist on the live “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue” touring show. Tim had been a panelist on the radio show since it started in 1972 with other original panelists, Barry Cryer, Graham Garden and Willy Rushton and pianist Colin Sell. We have been lucky enough to also see Barry Cryer at the Hull Truck Theatre and Colin Sell at The East Riding Theatre, Beverley. Classic performers all.

We are still fine as are all our family. We are eating well and getting excercise through daily walking. We have discovered “ZOOM”. an app which allows for conference calls with multiple participants on screen. Today, Sally and JIm organised such a call by sending me a link and we had four screens on my tablet with us two on one quarter of the screen, Sally and Jim in Romania on another. Jims parents and sister in Croyden on the third and finally Richard filled the fourth quarter as he was transmitting from his own bedroom. A wonderful thing for families and friends to use in these times when we have no physical contact. I dont know how many can take part but I think it is alot.

We are watching the BBC series “Spooks”which first in appeared in 2002. It was and still is a very watchable series but it is so interesting to see how technology has progressed. Much of what goes on in the series with large main frame computers is now on a mobile phone. I remember reading alot of Arthur C. Clarke science ficiton books as a teenager and into my 20s, in which he predicted the internet and World Wide Web. I loved his stories and regarded them as pure fantasy. How wrong  I was and how right he proved to be.

UK deaths Sunday 12th April    778

UK deaths Today 13th April    761