Monthly Musings: June 2020

An overview of opinions and observations for the month.

01/06/2020 @10:53
"2.1 million patients are awaiting screening appointments for breast, cervical and bowel cancer while a further 290,000 have not had referrals for tumours. It is also estimated that about 21,600 patients have had surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy postponed in the past nine weeks."
[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/missing-cancer-tests-hit-2-4m-because-of-pandemic-backlog-zxgg5pps2]

01/06/2020 @11:55
"The NHS will retain the non-anonymised sensitive data of UK citizens engaged as part of the Test and Trace programme for up to 20 years, despite not having fully examined the data protection risks involved. The data collected under the scheme include full names, dates of birth, sex, NHS numbers, home postcodes and house numbers, telephone numbers and email addresses, and COVID-19 symptoms." Welp. Given the ongoing concerns over the app failing security tests (https://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2020/05/nhs-app-security-concerns/), it sounds like your PII will be publicly available soon enough.
[https://www.itpro.co.uk/policy-legislation/data-protection/355835/nhs-yet-to-understand-the-risks-of-holding-test-and-trace]

02/06/2020 @08:47
Lmao say it ain't so 😂🙏

02/06/2020 @10:24
I will no longer be answering calls from unknown numbers in case it's someone from Track & Trace telling me I need to self isolate for 14 days "as a precaution". Lock-down has already personally cost me almost £2,000. I aren't going onto fucking SSP for 2 weeks and losing another £850.

04/06/2020 @10:09
"The professor whose grim warning that 500,000 Brits may die from Covid-19 without action triggered lockdown has admitted Sweden may have suppressed its outbreak as well as Britain - without imposing the draconian measures. Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, revealed he had the 'greatest respect' for the Scandinavian nation, which has managed to suffer fewer deaths per capita than the UK." Lol, imagine my surprise.
[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8379769/Professor-Lockdown-Neil-Ferguson-admits-greatest-respect-Sweden.html]

04/06/2020 @10:36
This is why we need to reduce the "2m" distancing to "1m" so that the hospitality industry doesn't collapse under its inability to operate at 30% capacity due to social distancing guidance.

04/06/2020 @14:49
Despite what the media say, in UK the infection rate is down, the hospitalisation rate is down, and the death rate is down. Hopefully normality is on the horizon before we fuck the economy and everyone's lives up further.

04/06/2020 @20:36
This. All of this.

05/06/2020 @00:23
Stoked for this! Hope it's on PlayStation! One of my favourite underrated games of all time! ❤️🙏
[https://www.gamebyte.com/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-remaster-coming-this-summer/]

05/06/2020 @08:57
This knocks heavy 💯 

05/06/2020 @08:59
🙌 miss your face Georgina! ❤️

05/06/2020 @09:02
what kind of sadist books me in for a meeting at 9:30am on a Friday fml

05/06/2020 @14:50
Yesterday they tested 220,057 people for Covid-19; of those just 1,805 positive. That's 0.82% positive IFR. (The preceding days were 1.09%, 1.19%, 1.72%. 1.58%, 1.59%, 1.91%, 1.67%, 1.22%... you get the point). Now bare in mind that to qualify for a test you either have to be at high risk of exposure (i.e. NHS worker) or displaying symptoms. So on reflection, most people who have the symptoms of "Covid-19" and qualify for a test, don't even have the actual virus and receive negative tests. Now consider that "having the symptoms" is justification enough for the authorities to classify a death as being caused by Covid-19 even without a positive test being received... See where I'm going with this?

06/06/2020 @11:44
We've had Brexit, Covid, Murder Hornets, Race Riots... can't wait to see what's next. An unwanted pregnancy? AIDS? Cancer? WW3? Aliens? Tune in next month to find out! The fun never stops in 2020!

06/06/2020 @12:00
Happy Birthday to my beautiful bestie 🥰 hope you have a wonderful day full of laughter and love despite all this nonsense going on! Can't wait to see your face & have a good catch up and gossip soon! Miss you lots! x
[with Georgina Bailey]

06/06/2020 @13:14
Hmm, may see if Lysh fancies going down park since it's nice out... Aaaaaand it's raining.

06/06/2020 @16:48
"They don't want to see us unite.../
All they want us to do is keep on fussing and fighting.../
They don't want to see us live together.../
All they want us to do is keep on killing one another..."

06/06/2020 @17:54
Swear if I went off the portion sizes on packaging my total calorie intake would be 400 a day and I'd be dead of starvation within a month.

06/06/2020 @23:03
Scientists: "There won't be a second wave or another spike of Covid in UK because we've done so well with social distancing. Cases are dropping fast, and we should be soon clear of this devilish virus."
Protesters: "Hold my beer."

06/06/2020 @23:18
Entirely sincere question; forgive my ignorance if I'm not seeing all the pieces yet. What is the purpose of these BLM protests? As in, what is the end goal? What is the aim? What is the goal that needs to be met for the protesters to be appeased and feel they've achieved their aim? At the moment it seems the intended goal is akin to The Purge. Deface War memorials, damage innocent peoples property, steal property for personal gain, ruin businesses who's owners have worked hard to build them from nothing, and kill or defund the police entirely (even those that aren't racist and work hard to protect communities from criminals). Is that the actual purpose? Is this what the protests are intended to achieve? I don't think so, but I could be wrong. I'd assumed (perhaps naively) that it was about holding police (mainly racist ones) accountable for their excessive use of force, and to honour the deaths of victims of aforementioned police brutality. As an additional layer of purpose, to open the worlds eyes to any systemic racism that still lingers in shadows. Please, enlighten me. At the moment the purpose (which I'd assumed it was for) has been largely lost amidst the reports of rioting, looting and general anarchy. 🤷‍♂️

07/06/2020 @12:10
💯

07/06/2020 @14:43
Happy Birthday Big Chief Wigwam! Hope you have a great day with your beautiful family. Lots of love, from Fantasy Man x
[with Paul Steele]

07/06/2020 @23:14
WHO DID THIS? 😂😂😂

08/06/2020 @12:09
"The degree of economic shutdown, the extent of dampened demand, the fear of travel and engagement on which much of the global economy runs, the simultaneous 'recessing' or 'depressing' of economic indicators worldwide and across virtually all sectors, the exceptional demands on liquidity and debt financing and already strained social nets, the literal extinction of businesses who cannot operate without revenue for months that were pillars of various communities, can be temporarily postponed from consideration perhaps. At least we can try to avoid thinking about all this while a furlough check or government stimulus payment arrives, or evictions are deferred, and a palliative binge of cheap wine and Netflix and hand-wringing at spurious panic porn headlines can serve as chloroform. But this is excruciatingly temporary."
[https://medium.com/@oksensei66/what-exactly-have-we-locked-down-58783b258678]

08/06/2020 @13:48
Cutting season 🔪
I was 17st 12lbs in Feb 🙌

08/06/2020 @19:08
Can I go hug my Mum? No, Covid-19.
Can I go protest with 14,999 strangers? Yes.

09/06/2020 @13:28
Back in hypochondriac mode. My RHR has fallen to 59bpm which is classed as bradycardia. My HR spikes to almost Max HR during moderate intensity exercise. My sleeping RH suggest I may have sleep apnea. 😒

09/06/2020 @20:34
Love this! ❤️

10/06/2020 @10:04
"Think if it were you. You’re an epidemiologist and the prime minister calls to ask you how many will die if we don’t have a lockdown. What do you tell him? You can’t just look up the number. The pandemic is only now taking off and your knowledge of it is correspondingly sketchy. It’s hard to say. Every number is a guess. If you give the prime minister a low number, there will be no lockdown. What if he accepts your low number and we have no lockdown? Maybe everything will be fine. But maybe there will be many more deaths than you predicted. You will get blamed. People will shame you as a bad scientist. And, because you are a good and decent person, you will feel guilty. Blame, shame, and guilt. This is a bad outcome. If you give him a high number, there will be lockdown. No one will ever be able to say that your estimate was too high, because your estimate assumed no lockdown. Even if a lot of people die during the lockdown you can say, “See? Think how much worse it would have been without the lockdown.” Thus, if you give the prime minister a high number, you will get credit for saving lives. You will be able to take pride in your sterling reputation as a scientist. And you won’t have to feel guilty about lost lives. Praise, pride, and innocence. This is a good outcome. The logic of the situation is clear. You have every incentive to predict doom and gloom if no lockdown is ordered."
- Professor of Finance, Roger Koppl from Syracuse

10/06/2020 @22:02
If you believe "mandatory facemasks on public transport" is anything other than a vanity exercise, you're deluded. First PMT's official guidance on compliance directs you to the Gov website where it explains how to cut a rectangle out of an old t-shirt and attach some strings to it. If you believe that constitutes a sufficient facemask to prevent transmission of allegedly highly contagious microscopic droplets then LOL.

10/06/2020 @13:51
Preach 🙌
[https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/uk-could-see-day-zero-4210319]

10/06/2020 @14:48
The latest round of good news from the Lockdown (that's not been proven to have saved any lives); 3,100,000 new claims for Universal Credit so far since Lockdown started. Over 9,000,000 jobs are at risk for furloughed employees when the new changes to the scheme come into force next week despite their work not being able to open. Quiz has gone into administration. 82 stores set to close. Monsoon Accessorize has gone into administration. 35 store closures, and 545 layoffs. Frankie & Benny's permanently closing 125 branches. Emirates layoff 600 pilots just two weeks after laying off 580 trainee pilots and cabin crew. Samaritans report 2,300 contact them daily with lockdown related mental health issues. 🥴

11/06/2020 @21:23
🙌💯

11/06/2020 @22:28
🥴🍆

12/06/2020 @13:19
👀

13/06/2020 @18:49
Powerful.

13/06/2020 @21:29
🤦🏻‍♂️

14/06/2020 @09:37
Wanted a lie-in 😪🥱

14/06/2020 @16:37
💯👏

15/06/2020 @15:59
"Why I Don't See My GP" A short story by Ben Scott.
08:00: Rang the doctors, got through to reception on eighth attempt. Tell them my issue, they say someone will call me back 'within an hour'.
08:05: Need get ready for work so I jump into the shower quick.
08:06: Get a missed call from the doctors as I can't get to the phone fast enough before it cuts off.
08:40: Ring the doctors again to make sure they're gonna call back and haven't just erased me from the list. They confirm someone will be in touch within an hour.
09:20: a triage nurse calls, goes over my symptoms, and says the GP will call me at 14:30 to discuss.
14:30: ...
14:45: ...
15:00: ...
15:15: I ring back and ask if the doctor has forgotten about me. The receptionist tells me he's rang me 3x and left a voicemail. No, he hasn't is my rebuttal. I ask if I can speak to him now since I'm on the phone. Receptionist says nope, he'll have to call me back tomorrow at 09:40. Awesome. Thanks. 🥴🖕

15/06/2020 @23:31
Weather is on crack. Pass it on.

16/06/2020 @09:25
😂😂😂

16/06/2020 @09:26
Bring on the Rereckoning! [with Chris Downs]

16/06/2020 @11:16
Even before lockdown and it's devastating impact on mental health, suicide was already the leading cause of death in 5-19 year old's in England. Just let that sink in.

16/06/2020 @14:00
👀🥴

16/06/2020 @16:10
Spoke to my doctor this morning; he wants me to have a FBC test, a resting ECG and a 24hr ECG. The Dr tells me to ring back this afternoon to reception & request the forms I need, and they'll email them across. I ring back this afternoon. The receptionist tells me they can't email them, I need to go and collect them in person. I challenge her on this, and after pissing about going to "check", she suddenly realises she can email them over. Which she does. I ring up the number on the ECG referral form to book in an appointment. After being on hold for 20 minutes I get through. "We aren't doing ECG's atm due to Covid". Oh, right. Well... like, so what do I do now? "You'll just have to wait until we open the clinics back up for ECG's." Oh, cool. Awesome. I ring up the phlebotomy number to book in for my FBC test; "sorry all our team are busy, please try again later". I've heard that 12x so far. Why the fuck isn't there a queuing system and call waiting?? Ugh. If I die of a heart attack, don't let them list my death as COVID-19. Thanks.

16/06/2020 @18:05
Announced today that "A&E may become an appointment service" after Covid passes to help them manage demand and provide a smoother service 🤔
🤕 "Hi, I've had an accident, I've slit my carotid artery and have lost a lot of blood..."
🧏 "Okay, we have a slot available next Tuesday at 14:30." 

17/06/2020 @18:46
We're gonna have a problem here 😅 Turns out that as a result of the roofer rotating the drainpipe on Sunday, my neighbours kitchen flooded and blew out their electric. Also the sheer volume of water tore the guttering off the side of the pitched room. My neighbours aren't happy. Just checked, and they've rotated the spout back onto my side 😐 idk if they have noticed it had been rotated, or whether they've just had a dodgy roofer out too who's tried to implement a quick fix 🙃 Already messaged the roofer to let him know...

17/06/2020 @20:56
Been on Google about my HR issue. Come across something called Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia (IST) that is a loose fit for my symptoms. Be interesting to see if this is what it's diagnosed as when I can finally get an ECG once Covid has subsided and primary care can return for other health risks and issues 🙃 Wondering if past years of heavy cocaine use are a contributing factor 🤔
[https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/conditions-we-treat/inappropriate-sinus-tachycardia]

19/06/2020 @09:49
Little embarrassing, massively reassuring. I'm beginning to think my heart rate issue isn't actually a heart issue at all, and is actually just a dodgy heart rate sensor on my Fitbit. I've been continually speaking with others, scouring forums and reading up medical journals about heart issues. Nothing whatsoever fits my profile perfectly. There isn't a single like-for-like comparison with anything previously identified anywhere on the internet. So today I tried a field test with my Fitbit. I secured it perfectly to my arm to ensure the sensor was receiving a continuous reading; then I walked to work with my arm held static in the same position to ensure the Fitbit didn't move or pick up any "noise". Not only that, but I walked at a brisk pace the entire way to work; actually walked faster than I typically would in truth, just to see what the reading came back as. It peaked at 143bpm. My health anxiety/hypochondria is a real pain in the ass at times. Always convinced I'm gonna drop dead at any given moment. I guess when you love your life, and your biggest fear is dying and leaving your child without a Dad, you tend to panic more about your health. Still gonna go through the tests for confirmation, may as well put my mind at ease over it all but it's a weight off my mind to have reassurance already that it's just me being a massive tool. 

19/06/2020 @14:10
You walk into a room and see a bed. On the bed, there are 2 dogs, 4 cats, a giraffe, 5 cows and a duck. There are also 3 chickens flying above the chair. How many legs are on the floor? I won against Caroline Louise Hendoe

19/06/2020 @16:09
It will no doubt be revised up by late reporting, but for now, guess how many people have died of Covid-19 in UK hospitals in the last 24hrs? TWO.

20/06/2020 @11:46
Lay in bed this morning, Lysh comes & hops in. "Dad you're too thin now, you should have a fat belly cause it means you're eating properly. That's what my Mum says when I call her fatty." Wow, okay 😬😂 Half hour later, I'm in the shower. Lysh comes in to ask me something. "Oh, you do still have a bit of a fat belly actually." Cheers kiddo 😐😂

20/06/2020 @12:00
Anyone know anybody selling an X-Box One S? Thinking of getting Lysh one if I can find one going cheap since won't be taking her abroad this year.

21/06/2020 @10:52
Happy Father's Day to all the great Dad's out there ❤️ today is our day, enjoy it and cherish those precious moments with your children. To those who can't see their kids today through no fault of their own, stay positive & have faith that things will work out. For those who can't see their kids because of their own dumb selfish choices, give your head a wobble! And for those who's kids are no longer here, remember the memories you made together & honour them today ❤️

22/06/2020 @08:38
211lbs right now 💯💪

22/06/2020 @15:16
Boris Johnson was right the first time. He resisted lockdown for as long as he could, regarding it as a draconian, untested experiment that might cause far more harm than good. Far better, he thought, to ask people to keep their distance, work from home, self-isolate if anyone in their household fell sick. Why pass needless laws and ask the police to pursue workers, lovers and dog-walkers? It’s better, he said, to level with people. Give them the facts, offer advice and trust them to do what’s right. Only now do we know how well this was working. Most people were staying home on government advice (and their own concern). The virus seems to have peaked by lockdown on 23 March. None of this was known at the time. Instead, we had panic and Prof Neil Ferguson saying that 250,000 would die unless rules were mandatory. So politically, the Prime Minister had no choice. He has since remarked to colleagues how surprised he has been both at how easy it was, in the end, to take away people’s freedom - and how hard it is, now, to give it back.
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/06/18/threat-has-passed-civil-liberties-still-suspended/]

23/06/2020 @14:59
"Pubs, hairdressers, hotels, campsites, restaurants, cinemas, museums and galleries will be allowed to open in England from July 4."

23/06/2020 @21:45
Still as amazing today as it was at the time 😂😂😂

24/06/2020 @08:40
"just a touch of your love is enough to knock me off of my feet all week" 🎶
sorry not sorry, this tune is awesome 😂
[feeling motivated.]

24/06/2020 @14:48
Hands up if you've already booked in with your barber for a trim 🙋‍♂️

25/06/2020
Police showed solidarity with the BLM movement by taking a knee. It didn't garner any respect, it just made them look weak. For their next show of unity, the Police should attack each other, smash up their own vehicles and protest in favour of defunding and killing themselves. [https://www.lbc.co.uk/crime/brixton-party-chaos-as-police-assaulted-and-threatened-with-sword/]

25/06/2020 @10:30
The question we are all thinking and judging from all the bags I saw piled up outside this morning I'm optimistic... are you reopening on July 4th? 🙏
[at Moorland Inn]

25/06/2020 @10:45
😂😂😂

25/06/2020 @11:29
Just tried ring up get my blood test results; "Test results are available between 2pm and 6pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday" Lmao. Of course they are, fuck sake.

25/06/2020 @14:03
Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? Yeah, am up for that today. Fuck me. Melting.

26/06/2020 @08:58
i look at my reflection sometimes & think, you ain't a bad looking lad so why can't you get a decent missus? then I remember, the mirror doesn't show my shit personality 😂💁🏻‍♂️

26/06/2020 @12:36
Everything is transient; cherish life.

26/06/2020 @13:51
"I spent my time watching the spaces that had grown between us /
and I cut my mind on second best, oh the scars that come with the greenness /
and I gave my eyes to the boredom, still the seabed wouldn't let me in /
and I tried my best to embrace the darkness in which I swim"
💯

26/06/2020 @14:57
Got my blood test results back; nothing of concern & they tested for pretty much everything going ♥ only one abnormal marker was a low Eosinophil count but they say it's nothing to worry about so 💁‍♂️

27/06/2020 @10:11
Learn to respect other people's choices and views, even if you don't understand or agree with them. Acceptance is the foundation of inner peace ❤️

27/06/2020 @10:15
man, the things we used to take for granted. being able just fuck off across the planet on a plane for a break from normality. this lockdown is a prison on planet bullshit!

27/06/2020 @22:16
Have you ever realised what a blessing it is to be bored? Like, your life is really that simple and you have that much free time that you really have nothing better to do than sit around acknowledging that you have nothing better to do. And, no I haven't been smoking weed.

28/06/2020 @09:52
They say money can't buy you happiness, yet cognac, cocaine and hooker's cheer me up 🤷🏻‍♂️

28/06/2020 @10:52
As I grew up, I walked to school and our tea time was at 5pm. Eating out at a restaurant was a huge deal, that only really happened when a relative got married or it was a birthday 🙄. Fast food was fish and chips and having a bottle of panda pop from the sweet shop was a real treat. You took your school clothes off as soon as you got home and put on your ‘home’ clothes. There was no taking or picking you up in the car, you walked or rode your bike! And bunked off too!!! Our house phone had a cord attached, so there was no such things as private conversations or cell phones! We didn’t have Cable, Sky or Netflix, we had only 4 channels to watch. We played Knock a Door Run, British Bull Dog, Manhunt, Kiss Chase, Hide & Seek, Tag, Kurby, Football and Rode Bikes 😁 Staying in the house was a PUNISHMENT and the only thing we knew about "bored" was --- "You better find something to do before I find it for you!" We ate what mum made for tea or we ate nothing at all. If we asked what it was and she was snarky, the reply would be shit with sugar on and we believed her. Bottled water was a luxury; we drank from the tap. Frozen cups of juice were our alternative to ice lollies. We watched cartoons on Saturday mornings, and played football or sport for hours and ran around. We weren't AFRAID OF ANYTHING. We played till dark... sunset was our alarm. If someone had a fight, that's what it was and we were friends again a week later, if not SOONER. We watched our MOUTHS around our elders because ALL of our aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, AND our parents' best friends were all extensions of our PARENTS and you didn't want them telling your parents if you misbehaved! Or they would give you something to cry about. These were the good days. So many kids today will never know how it feels to be a real kid 😁 I loved my childhood and all the Mates I hung around with ❤️

28/06/2020 @22:52
🙌💯

29/06/2020 @08:35
You rat bastard! 😂😂

29/06/2020 @15:00
A week from now, I'll have had my haircut. Lowkey fucking gassed 😂🥴

29/06/2020 @20:07
Funniest video I've seen in ages 😂😂

30/06/2020 @09:55
Happy Birthday little brother ♥ hope you have a good 25th birthday! Can't believe you're growing up so fast, it seems like just yesterday you were 16!? Where does the time go!? ♥ xxx
[with Jay Scott]

30/06/2020 @21:37
"Shadows shifted deceptively as the bloodthirsty screeches continued unrelentingly. The Windwalkers began spacing out into a formation resembling a diamond; pockets stationed outward, facing into the eternal night. In the centre of the formation, the hum of ancient magic stirred. Warm orange light flickered across the faces of the companions, as Gaibhrn's hands ignited with the powerful Flare. With a casual flick of his wrist, a fireball cut through the darkness like a firework blazing it's trail through the air. A warning shot to what lingered nearby that this would not be another Flood of Shadows. It wasn't deterrent enough. A scream rung out from the West. Heads turned to see the Windwalkers' severed arm tumble to the ground as a Shadebringer swiped ferociously from the darkness. His brothers scrambled to pull him back into the protection of the group, but as they dropped their guards, more claws lashed out from the shadows cutting into armour and flesh alike. Gaibhrn shoved a group of Windwalkers aside aggressively and launched a volley of fireballs into the blackness where they collided heavily with the recoiling disfigured creatures. The Shadebringers shrieked louder still. Gaibhrn responded with more infernos."
[The Aeska Saga, Chapter XV: Gaca]