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Apologies for not replying sooner, Mike. Had things to do this afternoon. One example is my late sister's experience of living near one of the larger schools in the area. She found that attitude of the school's pupils reflected the attitude of the head teacher (and thus, by extension, the staff...

We have two wheelie bins and three recycling caddies. With no notice last week, collection of the green wheelie bin (garden) waste ceased to "allow efforts to be concentrated on household waste and recycling". According to the council's website, our local recycling centres are still open, though.

Yes, he's a biophysicist. His Nobel prize is in chemistry, though. Not sure how that works, but there it is.

Cause here for a little glimmer of cautious optimism. The Los Angeles Times reports that a Nobel Laureate chemist has been looking at the Coronavirus figures, and suggests that the pandemic may not be quite as serious or long-lasting as some of the doom mongers are predicting. He does say that...

The general population is supposed to be better educated, these days. I sometimes wonder, though. Teaching a few more "responsibilities" might not go amiss. Basic discipline in schools would be a good start. Edit to add - also true to say that basic human nature doesn't change much. You'd hope...

"Rights" are in the end pretty meaningless without "responsibilities". There are too many people banging on about their "rights" but not willing to exercise any "responsibility".

Did my weekly shop yesterday morning. No problems - just a couple of items on the list out of stock. Given the circumstances, I'll live with that. In fact, given the circumstances, I reckon that's pretty flippin' amazing. Been going to the same supermarket Saturday morning for years. Got to...

Always order more than you need - quite a bit more - there are plenty of small projects you can do with any left over, but coping with a shortage is much more of a problem! How much more rather depends on the particular timber (some are inherently more wasteful than others) and the job. For a...

One thing that does lift my spirits a bit is the contrast between the Facebook report of yobbery and the fact that an 11 year old on our street (with support of one of our public-spirited pensioners) has taken it upon herself to take steps to set up a Whattsapp group. Does give you a bit of hope...

Given the difficulty of obtaining them now, the box of paracetamol is genuinely thoughtful and generous. As to the alternatives, I'm not at all sure that anything is very clear. There seem to be a lot of people either laid off, dismissed or going on involuntary gardening leave, some of them not...

Has anybody given any thought to what the medium or longer term consequences of the current emergency and measures in place to address it might be, socially and economically? I rather hope that some of the social consequences might be positive. In our neck of the woods, the Parish Council is...

Ten pounds to a pinch of wotsit somebody already has. A trawl of 19th century patents would probably bring up several such 'ideas' in the UK, the US and across the continent. Something that does come pretty damn close is the Record StaySet, much as some dislike them.

I see what you're saying, and sympathise. But 'the rest of their life' could be very short indeed for an awful lot of vulnerable people (and not so vulnerable) if they contract it. Is this the right approach or the wrong one? Don't know. Don't suppose anyone knows. Don't think we'll know until...

Student - I'm not in any way trying to 'have a go' at you, what you posted contains much of value. However, I think there's a flaw. My mum, for example, has no computer or mobile phone. Keeping in touch with her means letter, landline or physically going round to see her, and I think many older...

The best thing is to cut out the knotty bits and work with the clear wood (o rwood having only smaller knots). That, of course, might not be possible, depending on how much stock you have, and how knotty it is. If it's old rafters and purlins, chances are it wasn't the best grade even when new...

There's always one, isn't there? I'm not surprised that the majority of the locals were positive (one aside) though - and good on you for doing something positive in the face of crisis.

*chuckle* The irony had crossed my mind, too! In our defence, M'Lud, we did all stand about six feet apart, and we weren't all talking together at the same time, so it wasn't a 'large social gathering'! That closes the case for the defence, M'Lud!

Along those lines, I spotted this article yesterday; https://unherd.com/2020/03/coronavirus- ... l-society/ The old country ain't done for yet, folks. Not by a long chalk.

In some parts of the country, quite a few people used to eat out several times a week. Now they're being told not to go to pubs and restaurants. Then all those children released from the tyranny of forced indoctrination will need feeding at lunchtime. There probably is some panicking going on...

Yesterday, I cut my front lawn. Mike from two doors down came back from work early, so we chewed the fat for a bit. Then I went back to cutting the lawn, and the lady of the house next door waved from her front window - so we chewed the fat for a bit. Then Jane next door t'other side came back...