I read the news today, oh boy!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

article courtesy of The Independent (UK) that more people will go bankrupt from Coronavirus than die from it:

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/cor...spartandhp

[Jerome]

Biggest peak of cases in Europe so far. Not good.

[Jerome]

Just got a flyer through the mail. A painting company advertising it's services with the slogan 'We finish what your husband started!' - very funny.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

that's the Irish humour to a T.

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Jerome.
you've been to Italy, I haven't.
why do you think they have more cases (and deaths) from Corona than the rest of Europe??
would it be a cultural thing with the extended family living?
the sharing of food/drink?
or something else??

[Ruby]

^I have a friend who's living in Italy for two years and my daughter is in Malta - fortunately on Gozo where there are no reported cases yet - 18 on the main island so far. The Italians are having a terrible time - trying to rise above it all in spirit though - the Carabinieri are making sure people don't overstep proximity boundaries and slapping huge fines on anyone that does. From what I've been able to tell, they have an aging population and this virus is more dangerous for older people than anyone else - also, apparently, they are reporting with accuracy and I'm not convinced everyone else is, or has been doing that up to now - could be wrong. Some of the numbers seem strange. It's a tragedy - they can't cope with the caseload. Terrifying and so sad.

(Edit - this seems to be an informative article - https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/italys-n...lWKt7HYC0o)

Our numbers are on the rise, 38 to date, but we didn't get the toilet paper memo. No idea what that's all about!! Crazy. All I've stocked up on is Vitamin C and Zinc tablets - hoping to keep the immune system in good shape. Hand sanitizer is long gone - we did get that memo!! Authorities are attempting to trace and isolate as fast as possible and everyone's being checked at the airports - I'm actually quite surprised that they are acting so quickly - mind you if/when this hits the informal settlements and sprawling townships, there will be utter mayhem. I think we'll have a travel shutdown shortly - no ways we can cope with the medical load - all cases to date as a result of exposure in other countries. Also expecting schools to close soon and the president has called an emergency cabinet meeting tomorrow - we'll see. The snowball effect is pretty scary. A great leveler all of this - unfortunately. The planet gets some time out which has been long time coming - at such heavy cost though. 

Stay safe out there people!!

[Jerome]

Of course Ruby has it down to a T once again. Must get to meet you once all this shit is over. Zinc is a very effective way of protecting oneself. And sunlight. To try and answer your question Crazy, a hell of a lot of Chinese people travel to Italy for holidays. Why not. It's one of the most beautiful places on the planet. My favourite spot is Ravello on the Amalfi coast. Reminds me a bit of what Cape Town used to be. The Italian nurses deserve a bloody medal for what they have done to date. They are working themselves to the point of exhaustion.  


And on a lighter much more pleasant note - my local shop ran out of my favourite plonk. So I had to choose something else called 'Rare Vineyards' - Malbec of course. Had a snooze this afternoon after consuming a number of glasses (I'm not telling how many) - and I had a very vivid, erotic dream about a woman I once worked with many moons ago. It had a happy ending.

I am ordering a truckload of this stuff for next week.....

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
thanks for the responses folks....

Ruby,
has your daughter been to visit that little Catholic church just outside of Valetta yet, the one with the German WWII bomb embedded int he aisles??? - well, assuming its still there.
story behind it is that the Germans bombed the island for the air and all the locals hid in the church and prayed when one of their huge bombs came crashing though the roof. it didn't explode.
after the War the Maltese asked British bomb expert to make sue it was disarmed but wanted the actual bomb to remain as a reminder of "the power of prayer".

Jerome,
maybe you should stockpile your Malbec in case you need (or want to) isolate yourself from the world until this crap is over LOL.
on Malbec, I asked my dad about it, pretty sure he had a bottle or two many years ago.
he said he did, bought it my mistake though, got complacent and picked up what he thought was his usual Cab-Sav, same colour,same label...
BTW, he loved it, seems to remember the bottle he bought having a distinct blackcurrant flavour if his memory serves him correct.
never bought another bottle though, is/was a creature of habit, back to The Brown Brothers - Cab Sav

[Jerome]

Europe has come to a standstill. Number of Covid-19 cases increasing at an alarming rate. Here in Ireland some morons still going to the pubs. On Thursday the number was 126000 - it's now 156000 and climbing. That's 30000 new cases in 4 days. Major shit in store for us all. They had better get a vaccine sorted a.s.a.p. A friend of mine has a daughter living in the UK who has just been diagnosed as positive. She's having a rough time.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
our biggest supermarket chain is trialing opening one hour earlier mon-fri as a trial this week and the only people allowed to shop during that time are the elderly and those on disability pensions.
my prediction:
the elderly and those with disabilities will be assaulted/robbed in supermarket carparks over the next week.

[Ruby]

^^
thanks for the responses folks....

Ruby,
has your daughter been to visit that little Catholic church just outside of Valetta yet, the one with the German WWII bomb embedded int he aisles??? -  well, assuming its still there.
story behind it is that the Germans bombed the island for the air and all the locals hid in the church and prayed when one of their huge bombs came crashing though the roof. it didn't explode.
after the War the Maltese asked British bomb expert to make sue it was disarmed but wanted the actual bomb to remain as a reminder of "the power of prayer".

Jerome,
maybe you should stockpile your Malbec in case you need (or want to) isolate yourself from the world until this crap is over LOL.
on Malbec, I asked my dad about it, pretty sure he had a bottle or two many years ago.
he said he did, bought it my mistake though, got complacent and picked up what he thought was his usual Cab-Sav, same colour,same label...
BTW, he loved it, seems to remember the bottle he bought having a distinct blackcurrant flavour if his memory serves him correct.
never bought another bottle though, is/was a creature of habit, back to The Brown Brothers - Cab Sav

Sorry CH - missed this. No she hasn't - I will ask her to go when she can get off Gozo again. 

On the alcohol front - there are no sales of it, at all, since lockdown - I'll be eking out my wine supply! I get the ban on alcohol sales, but people are also struggling to find cigarettes, which doesn't seem fair (I suppose it's aimed at stopping them from nipping out to wherever to get a pack when we are supposed to go out only to get essentials, not to mention reducing coughing and spluttering and sharing, OMG - doesn't bear thinking about in terms of spreading this thing around ...), not that it affects me but I remember what it felt like to run out of smokes and don't wish that stress on anyone right now! There's quite enough as it is. Tough one! 

Food items only available at the shops which I won't be going anywhere near. Never has the saying 'to be avoided like the plague' been more apt!