23 March

Inordinately pleased to find two packets of pasta and some potatoes in Sainsburys and a small bottle of liquid soap in Boots. Also stocked up on Laughing Cow low-fat cheese which is the only kind I am allowed to eat. Amused to see the majority of people walking up Whiteladies load with 16 packs of toilet paper. Since Sainsburys is selling them in packets of 16 I suppose this does not count as hoarding.

Email from doctor saying my blood pressure test next week will be conducted over the phone.


Prime Minister Johnson speaks to the nation. I suppose we have to set partisan prejudices aside and say that he made a very good speech under the circumstances: he came to the right decision; explained it clearly and robustly; and made it clear what they were trying to achieve and how long they expected it to take. From now no-one is allowed to leave the house except to buy food, go to work if they really can't work from home, and once a day for exercise. This is as close to a lock-down as it gets: the police are going to enforce it but we are not (for example) going to need document or passes to prove we have a right to be out. I wonder if my "10,000 steps a day" would be deemed legitimate exercise? I can walk a long way in that time. (Four and half miles, apparently.)

[Inappropriate comments removed. I retract and apologize without qualification for offensive remarks.]