Fiddleheads!

That's both a description of what's in my main photo and an expression of my irritation at my bad timing. During lockdown I next to never drove my car, and have only driven it on a few occasions in the last few weeks. I started to wonder if it was driving right (or if my driving was rusty), but it was definitely not right today as I drove to Fakenham, ironically to the VW showroom where I wanted to look at buying an ID3 electric car. I suspect it's unfortunately my clutch, so the Nissan garage will take it for a drive on Tues. What bad timing as a replacement clutch will cost a LOT of money! 

I wasn't impressed by the VW website or the garage. On the website you can't just look at the specs of each model, you have to 'build your car' - a bit difficult when the brief description of each starting option doesn't include its range, my key requirement. The showroom didn't have an ID3 to look at, nor do VW have a brochure to take away. I asked only a few  questions, which they couldn't answer - including how long would the battery last before it needs replacing, how much would range drop off as the battery ages, and how much would it cost to replace the battery. 

I had a lovely walk at Pensthorpe with G, JohnRH and W - what a glorious sunny and warm day for a walk around park. I've added a few more photos as an extra. 

Day 403 /  Day 12 of Step 2 of Roadmap Easing (for my record only)
UK deaths up 40 to 127,385 (revised basis), with 2,678 new cases, 1,879 patients in hospital, 261 on ventilation and 174 new admissions. The R no. in Eng has risen to 0.8-1.0, with a daily infection growth rate of -5% to -1% (the R rate in the East of England is now 0.8 - 1.2, at only the 12th day since visitors were allowed back). ONS figures suggest 1 in 610 people in the UK have the virus. 33.4m have now received their first dose of the vaccine and 11.6m have had their second dose. Another 55 cases of the India double mutation variant have been found in the UK, taking the total to 132 - India was finally put on the red list from today. Lots of reports now of hospitals in India reaching full capacity and being at risk of running out of oxygen, with the Govt sending oxygen tankers on special trains. Another 70 cases of the South African variant have also been found in the UK, taking the total to 670. Cat owners with Covid are warned to avoid close contact with their pets and to wear a mask when preparing their food, as scientists have found that people can infect their cats. Govt borrowing in the year to March was £303.1bn, £250bn higher than the previous 12 months. That is 14.5% of GDP, the highest since just after the end of the war in 1946 (15.2%). Tokyo has declared a third state of emergency three months before the Olympics are due to take place.