There's an honest explanation, honest.

[davidgillon]

Anyone monitoring my webfeed over the past few days is potentially going to be concerned.

I'm back to working on my WIP post US-election, I've finally got a model for the political landscape that should work with however things finally turn out. Well, at least as long as it's short of absolute coup. And a major plus point is that it's one that works simply by changing the President's pronoun to 'she' (though it's only the Veep who makes it on stage). I'm at the point in the plot, neatly dropping exactly on midway, where terrorist attacks are escalating. Which means I've spent hours over the weekend looking at major US airports in Google Earth and Google Street View, and particularly at where their fuel-storage tank farms are. What's scary is how many are set right up against the perimeter fences, often right on the roads past the airport. Is there such a thing as your scenario being too believable?

In other news, I've started discussing the potential I won't make it home for Christmas with my family. My sister raised it first, and then it just came up by accident when chatting with my mother. If I don't make it it'll be the first time ever. As things stand, we won't know if I'll even be able to travel until the end of lockdown, and any change in Tier-based restrictions that replace that. Particularly as Durham is a hot spot - currently infections are 518/100k where they are, vs 234 where I am (though this is only 37 cases/week in their MSOA* vs 23/week in mine). And then for the six days after the end of lockdown (Dec 3rd to 9th), the students are supposed to head home, and there is absolutely no way I'm travelling until that's over. So if I do get home it's likely to be done in a rush. Must start doing some more practise in the chair, not going anywhere for 10 months means my pushing muscles are totally shot given I don't use it in the house. I'll definitely be travelling by train, the advantage of needing the wheelchair space is social-distancing is pretty much built in.

And in other Covid-related news, my sister is currently self-isolating. They had a teaching assistant test positive on Saturday, and while she hasn't spent any time around her, Andrea has had a chest-infection, so she got herself a test at a local site yesterday, and got the result at lunchtime today. Which was negative, but in the meantime she'd started running a temperature, so she rang 119** for advice and they've told her to continue isolating until it drops to normal. I'm not sure if I'm amused or exasperated that they told her they don't define what 'normal' is. So her school has now got an entire class out again, and I think it's four teaching staff on top of that currently self-isolating, plus a dinner lady who tested positive in the middle of last week. I'm not surprised the normally so mild-mannered she's ineffective head has started snapping at people.

* Census version of a postcode, about 2500 households.

** The Covid specific version of 111, our NHS helpline/triage service.