When news that the government is considering a complete lock down of the over fifties leaked recently, ministers started backpedalling and insisting that it was not being ‘actively considered.’ But the fact that it was considered at all, actively or otherwise is disturbing evidence of the madness and panic which has engulfed this hapless government since March.

Ministers have apparently been so surprised by the pandemic despite repeated warnings, they have lost all sense of proportion. How else would they even begin to entertain the notion that millions of we folk over fifty should be put under indefinite house arrest?

I disagreed with the lockdown from the start but gave the government the benefit of the doubt because nobody, including the so-called ‘experts’ seemed quite certain of what we were dealing with.

Since then, however, the messages coming from Bunter and his gang have been increasingly incoherent and inconsistent. There appears to be no logical thinking at all. For weeks, we have suffered contradiction after ridiculous contradiction. For instance, the chancellor happily subsidises hamburgers and pizzas, while at the same time increasing spending on gastric-band surgery to combat obesity.

Ministers urge people in the private sector to get back to their desks, but cave in to the Civil Service and teaching unions who refuse to tell their members to go back to work, citing bogus ‘safety’ concerns.

Last Monday was supposed to be the day Britain got back down to business, but office blocks and transport hubs were practically deserted, while restaurants and fast-food joints were doing a roaring trade knocking out half-price meal deals, courtesy of Rishi Sunak pouring money at them – money that Britain doesn’t have! The suburbs are teeming with people spilling out of pubs and cafes, yet city centres still slumber, as if in permanent hibernation.

As long as the Treasury continues to top up the salaries of some nine million people on furlough, there’s no incentive for anyone to go back to the office. Perhaps it is time ministers and private employers followed the example of Charlie Mullins, the boss of Pimlico Plumbers and started sacking anyone who refuses to return to work.

Instead, they’re considering a crazy scheme to force everyone over fifty to stay indoors,’ just to be on the safe side.’

Hell, I am in the latter half of my seventy sixth year so I have probably been around long enough to work out the risks or otherwise of catching the Coronabug and living suitably to avoid it. I am not going to bow down to this bunch of overgrown schoolchildren if they do decide to lock us up again.

Being over fifty does not mean that one is decrepit or suffering from a loss of marbles. In fact many of us still feel that we are in our prime. I am well aware that the older I get, the closer I am to turning my toes up and I also know that age increases the chances of succumbing to the bug, but the same goes for any illness damnit! Heart disease, cancer and a host of other medical conditions work the same way and none of them are being treated properly by our ‘Amazing’ NHS who seem to have followed the government line by giving up looking at anything other than the ruddy Coronabug

I am sure I speak for many if not all of my generation when I say that I have no intention of shutting my door and waiting helplessly for my wheels to fall off. I might be somewhat long in the tooth but I still have some living to do and the goons in government are not going to stop that.

For Bunter and his clowns even to be considering a lockdown on the over fifties is proof positive that this government has lost the plot on a truly staggering level. It would be economic suicide at a time when the country is already teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Over fifties pay more tax than most and are relatively big spenders on everything from leisure to financial services.

They are the backbone of Britain damnit! The ‘Bank of Mum and Dad,’ the carers for elderly relatives; babysitters for grandchildren. Many are running their own successful businesses, creating wealth and much-needed employment.

All this, the Government appears willing to put into deep freeze because of an irrational fear of a virus we are learning more about each day.

Yes I know that the Coronabug had a hellish impact on Society to start with. It has killed thousands of frail elderly folk – most over eighty five – as well as those who are morbidly obese or afflicted with serious underlying health problems. I probably sound callous, but many of these people would have died sooner rather than later anyway.

Looking at the international league table of new Covid infections, Britain is way down the list. Most of those contracting the virus now are asymptomatic and surviving.

So why then has the government gone into another panic, cancelling at the last minute plans to reopen everything from beauty parlours to casinos and considering a ludicrous proposal to quarantine millions of allegedly vulnerable over fifties – many of whom – like me – will not comply this time?

From the outset, ministers have paid too much attention to the ‘science.’ They have been unwilling to challenge the assertions of tunnel-vision experts like the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, who appears to have been our unelected Prime Minister these past few months.

I honestly feel that many of the more contentious decisions are based not on what is best for Britain, but what will protect individual politicians and their advisers when the inevitable public inquiry is held. Risk-aversion is the order of the day. There is no boldness, no willingness to trust us with detailed information so we can assess the dangers for ourselves. Bunter Johnson claims to be an admirer of Churchill, but Churchill made decisions and stuck to his guns so there is no comparison I’m afraid.

Much of the fatuous guff coming out of Whitehall at the moment seems to have been made up on the hoof, such as the stupid suggestion that if the schools are to reopen in September, then the pubs will have to shut. I’m afraid I can see no connection between the two. Yes, I appreciate that under-age drinking can be a problem – but surely things aren’t that bad? 

The Coronabug has infantilised the nation and caused a complete melt down of common sense among our so called leaders. Policy is made in private by unaccountable committees and scientists.3

With most MPs content to stay home in their constituencies since March, Westminster has been virtually abandoned. There has been no proper scrutiny of the Government’s handling of the crisis. And now, after the sweaty exertions of all those Zoom sessions, Parliament is in recess as MPs enjoy six weeks’ paid holiday.

Why for God’s sake? Britain needs government and scrutiny of government. The Commons should be recalled immediately. If it is safe for holidaymakers to sit cheek-by-jowl on aeroplanes or on beaches or even dare I say it, on huge demonstrations for BLM or other anarchic causes, and if it is safe for diners to enjoy cut-price piri-piri chicken and chips in state-subsidised restaurants, it should be safe enough for socially distanced MPs to reoccupy the green benches at Westminster.

Politicians should be leading by example, not relaxing on the beaches while our increasingly erratic leaders tinker with deranged schemes such as placing everyone over fifty under house arrest.

In the end, we are all going to die of something. We cannot spend the rest of our lives trying to postpone the inevitable. Short of an effective vaccine, we will have to learn to live with the Coronabug in a grown-up fashion for the foreseeable future – not keep stumbling from one emergency lockdown to another.

Let us please get on with life Mr Johnson.

I found it difficult to believe when I read it initially but I checked up and it is true. A woman has been fined £120 for ‘littering’ in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.

Her crime was to throw a few crumbs from her Gregg’s sausage roll to the pigeons.

Kerris Fenn, who was visiting from Cardiff, was confronted by private security guards from the firm 3GS. By the time they gave her a penalty notice, which would rise to £150 if not paid within ten days, the birds had finished up all the crumbs.

When she appealed to the council, her plea fell on deaf ears. Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, who describes himself as Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, said: ‘While we take no pleasure in handing out Fixed Penalty Notices’ (difficult to believe I’m afraid) ‘feeding the pigeons is littering, pure and simple.’ 

There speaks the authentic voice of your typical jumped-up local government desk jockey. Warden Hodges of Dads Army fame is alive and well and living in Manchester. When you give someone a modicum of power, they will always abuse it. The poor ruddy sausage roll was a vegan one too but after that, I would think it turned to ashes in Miss Fenn’s mouth.