.....but on balance I think I prefer them to being dead.  And it`s my determination for that preference to remain that I am doing what I can to comply with the government imploring us all to be sensible.  Just wish everyone was being sensible though.   There are reports and loads of images and videos on line showing the crass stupidity of people doing things they shouldn`t be.   Things like all going to the park, congregating in streets, desperately shopping for anything and everything and it all begins to make me wonder whether the human race deserves to survive after all.

OK, things are bad enough now but there is the expectation that they are all going to get a whole lot worse, which should reinforce the need to review the real priorities of life.  Suddenly things like football, which is a subject that has dominated these pages for years, become irrelevant;  going on holiday for us at least seems `dead in the water` - if you`ll forgive the untimely phrase - our week back home in the New Forest is under severe threat but I accept the fact that not going might well be the best option for us as well as the New Forest.

Fortunately we live in a small community where the spirit of neighbourliness is alive and well and there are already examples of help being offered especially to the elderly and the vulnerable in our community.  Something of a wartime spirit is happening and I for one really hope that we can come through this and have the opportunity - long overdue perhaps - of setting our lives back on a default basis where we recognise and understand what are the really important things in life rather than the endless trivia we have hitherto considered worthy of our time and attention.

So, to my readers out there, I hope you stay safe and stay well.