or the scientific advice has changed. It seems that they did new modelling over the weekend which dramatically worsened the potential outlook. Or both.
Just been shopping, down to M&S on the Parade, where you can’t park so I thought would be decently stocked. Very patchy, lots of empty shelves, including fresh food. A couple of bottle blond middle aged women were loading their trolley with every bit of chicken, fresh and packaged, in the shop. Lots of it. I would have challenged them, but I have, since the end of last year, avoided doing this when I see bad behaviour in public, because I don’t want to get thumped or stabbed and such is the level of bad temper in this country that this is becoming increasingly likely. Admittedly, this pair did not look that threatening, but might well have shouted and screamed and make the shop workers lives difficult, and they don’t deserve that. So I just politely asked if they intended to freeze the chicken, and when they said yes, told them that, as a microbiologist, I would advise against that as it tripled the chances of salmonella and E. coli on defrosting (I think it’s I threw in Legionnaires Disease as well, they didn’t look like they would spot that you get that from air conditioning). I walked on as they fell into panicked discussion. I know you shouldn’t lie, but I feel that my integrity is intact, this was a zen like gesture. When I walked back down that aisle at least some of the chicken had been put back.
What we need the boffins to do now is invent an algorithm which tells us when greedy, selfish ****s have stockpiled to the extent that every nook, cranny and crevice of their homes is engorged like a foie Gras goose’s liver, and the rest of us decent people can get back to shopping for the next couple of days and getting stuff in for our neighbours who may be isolating.
Thank you for your attention.
