New infections - 100000 per day?

Maddyone, thank you. Yes many decisions have been very difficult and certainly not taken lightly and without a great deal of soul searching. Looking back, they were the right decisions and everyone involved is now happier than they would have been if nothing had changed. At the time it was lonely and painful. But my motto is ……you pick yourself up, dust yourself down and carry on.
Just for the record as people do seem to remember details, I am not a runner, never have been apart from being a reasonably decent sprinter at school. My passion is hiking and I do get out twice a day when I’m at home or long day walks with my hiking partner. I am lucky to live in a beautiful country area where I can walk alone for miles.
Oh and my darling wife freely admits that she is portly with dodgy knees. She proudly states that she loves her jelly belly as she grew it all herself!!

I'm always so disappointed when people (swiftly and eagerly) take credit for good health, good fortune and success, insisting they've 'earned' it - then criticise and blame the unfortunate, unhealthy 'losers' without a thought of 'There, but for the grace of God' etc.

Another alarming, yet very popular misconception is the conviction that, being strong, fit and healthy somehow guarantees avoiding Covid - or having a mild infection - simply not true.

Marydoll
Thank you .. sending a virtual hug back to you

Thank you to anyone who mentioned me in their posts and sending virtual hugs and good wishes to anyone who is struggling with anything health wise physical or emotional.

I do struggle with my weight too but long term steroid need make it very difficult to lose weight. I'm also disabled too which makes life increasingly difficult to exercise etc.

Emotionally difficult too, I have 4 grandchildren that I haven't seen in well over a year including one I've yet to meet.

This is why we need to be kind, you never know what others are going through. Life is hard enough with what we have to live with even pre-covid without tearing each other down too.

Gran16 I couldn't have put it better myself. ?
Steroids are indeed the work of the Devil, but a necessary evil. I once put on a stone in a few weeks, because of them.

Marydoll
Yes brilliant drug but awful side effects. My first stint on them was 18 months, hopefully this time will be shorter if the new drug they've put me on works. Fingers crossed

One thing that gives me the heaves is the fat police. There are a million reasons for being overweight and we have no right to judge. I stand by my original comment, it is all too much and too contradictory.

I have been very puzzled by the rapid growth in obesity over the last 2 or 3 decades and I have always believed that there was more to it than just blaming people for eating to much.

Recent work into the effect of eating ultra-processed foods, generally referred to as UPFs, and consumed as ready meals, and processed food of every kind, has begun to shed light on this connection www.soilassociation.org/media/21669/ultra-processed-foods_soil-association-report.pdf just one of many reputableorganisations researching this subject.

Unfortunately in this country we seem to have long lost a true respect for food. From the late 19th century onwards there seeems to have been a strange form of puritanism in Britain, that was uneasy about the pleasures of the table, where people seem to have developed a perverse pride in just how bad institutional, public and domestic cookery was, at the same time extolling the virtues of good plain cooking, but having a sneaking respect and toleration for those who boasted of their lack of culinary skills.

I think this why the last two generations have so quickly lost their ability to cook and taken to eating UPF foods to such an extent. We consume more UPFs than almost any other country (except possibly the US) and have the obesity to prove it.