Yesterday I had a moan but today I’m starting with a clap or two. I’ve read that Poundland are rewarding their staff for their work during the current pandemic. The company will be giving employees an extra week’s holiday, they will be doubling staff discounts and will be closing all stores on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The MD Barry Williams said he wanted to thank employees because they were the real heroes of the business. Sounds good to me.
Tomorrow Tuesday 28th April there will be a one minute silence at 11 am in memory of all key workers who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve set my alarm and I hope you will too. Downing Street also announced that £60,000 will be paid to families of NHS and Social Care workers who have died of Covid-19. Elsewhere the Jenner Institute in Oxford will be testing their new coronavirus vaccine on more than 6,000 people. They had previously carried out trials on a vaccine for an earlier coronavirus and found it to be harmless to humans. The scientist at the Jenner Institute say that if they can get emergency approval ‘a few million doses of their vaccine could be available by September’. Tests have been carried out on monkeys at the National Institute of Health in Montana with positive results.
Kids in China are being made to wear one metre wide hats for school to help them maintain social distancing. They look like fun as parents seem to have been very creative. There were helicopters, helmets, cowboy hat but all with a wing sticking out either side. We could try that when we send ours back to school. In fact everyone could wear one when they leave their home.
Not much going right for Virgin lately as thousands of Virgin Media users went offline today. They keep offering me a line into my apartment, I’m glad I refused. A man in north east London has given himself a tattoo every day in lockdown. I’m sure it’s a little less painful to write a blog.
BoJo is back in office and appearing at the daily press conference. Until now the government representatives make their statements and then invite questions from the press via video link. From now on members of the public will be able to ask questions too. You or we will need to submit questions to the government web site, an independent polling organization will choose one question each day. The person who sent in the question will be contacted by 3pm and asked if you would like to record a short video of yourself asking the question which will be shown during live broadcast. I contacted Jeremy Vine a couple of times but never managed to speak to anyone. I’ve got a funny felling this will be even harder. I think I’d rather speak to JV anyway, I’ll keep trying.
Sorry to inform you that tomorrow will bring rain so maybe have a lie in as you won’t have to water your garden. I hope my son’s newly planted veggies don’t get washed away. Sleep tight, nighty night.