Cowslip

A day of sunshine and heavy showers. This morning I did a bit of weeding in the garden and re-sowed my small wild flower garden. I thought the cowslip looked lovely in the sun, with some primroses in the background. 

Whilst sorting out recently, I came across some spare photobooks of family photos that I did years ago for myself and my older siblings (they were spare as they printed them with the wrong cover initially). I thought I'd give the spare copies to my nieces - now all grown up with teenage children, so hopefully more likely to be interested. So this afternoon I created a one sheet Word table to go with the photobook with who is in each photo and their relationship to my mum and dad and briefly anything else of interest about them. It took longer than I thought, not least as I had to check a few things with my eldest sister, which led on to her recounting other stories such as her memories of the day I was born and the day I was brought home (bizarrely she remembered it was a Wednesday and there was shepherd's pie for dinner!). 

Covid Update
The weekly ONS infection survey of private households up to w/e 13th Mar showed an estimated 1 in 40 with the virus in England (ONS says up, but no. is same); 1 in 40 in Scotland (uncertain); 1 in 40 in Wales (uncertain) and 1 in 70 in NI (uncertain). This is the last time that regular estimates are being published as the infection survey is being paused. The infection survey has run for nearly 3 years and as well as tracking the waves of the virus, it has also provided vital information on the emergence of new variants, antibody levels and long COVID. The participant group is not being disbanded and should be able to ramp up when necessary. 

A study at the UEA has found that women are more likely to suffer from long Covid, and that vaccination almost halves the risk. Overweight people, the over 40's, smokers and patients with asthma, diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and depression are also more likely to experience long Covid. The National Audit Office has said that just 1% of the estimated £1.1bn of losses to fraudulent or incorrect Covid business grants has been recovered. The NAO also said that prior to the pandemic 'no contingency plans existed between central and local government for supporting firms during a national emergency'. It just beggars belief!