Stockpiling...

To start with I'm not a panicker, a picnicker yes, but panicker no. I go through life in this interesting world in these interesting times without worrying too much about stuff and always have. Nothing keeps me awake (well apart from my bladder and a good book sometimes) and I don't think about what might happen in terrorist terms (not that there are many terms with terrorists), plane crashes, food allergies, health checks, nuclear disaster, asteroids. You know all the stuff that keeps so many people awake at night, all night, every night, throughout the night (I do sometimes wonder - if they don't sleep as much as they claim not to - how they keep going).

Anyway, I stray from the subject.

I've never stockpiled anything (unless having a load of wine in for Christmas counts - Merry Christmas cheer everybody). I've never understood that Christmas over-filling the fridge thing, but there I go straying again, so back to the point. I am beginning to think that stockpiling a few things ain't such a bad idea at all. I know that everybody is playing down this Coronavirus thing (keep calm and carry on, wash your hands - happy birthday to you twice - and use a tissue or even your sleeve you dirty person you.) but the underlying message is that the government and medical organisations are (technical term coming) shit scared. Yes, shit scared and scared shitless to go with their clueless and without a clue.

Now, I don't want to go on about the virus (which is pretty rampant, just look at how quickly it's taken a hold in Italy and how they are dealing with it, and in China where they have literally sealed in whole areas, even welding closed apartment block doors to keep people in).  I'm not going to mention the 1918 Spanish Flu virus which killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide and infected at least half a billion. I'm not going to scaremonger with truths like we don't know very much about this virus, not where it developed (or was developed and by whom), how it spreads, how and if it mutates as it goes on its merry way (singing Happy Birthday, or should that be Deathday?), or the fact that we don't have a vaccine or any treatment (a year or so away I keep hearing) for it other than singing Happy Birthday whilst washing your hands.

I'm not going out to buy a Hazmat suit (not this week anyway), but I am going to go and buy some tinned stuff (quite a lot of tinned stuff I think), some staples like pasta, rice, sugar, tea, (and of course plenty of quinoa and craft gins darlings). I'm going to get a load of wine (obviously), a load of toilet rolls (obviously), bottled water, candles, a couple of bottles of Scotch (for emergencies only) a crossbow and a couple of tasers (not really, I'm just joking - but only about the quinoa and craft gin).

Perhaps I've been watching too many dystopian, end of the world, zombie, plague movies where everyone dies and the world is changed forever. Or perhaps I'm just being sensible and preparing for something that is looking quite likely (more likely with each report I hear, and the more the 'experts' predict), and what with the hints being dropped by smiling government ministers and organisations, plus the school closures, flight cancellations, talk of cancelling large events (including football matches thank God), the economic repercussions that are already happening... Well, more beans, please.

The truth is we don't know what is going to happen. It could be no more serious than flu or it could be as serious as the flu of the past that I haven't mentioned. The models are suggesting that the worse case is that 80% of the world population will get it and that will be an awful lot of 'bring out your deads'. Off course, I'm not saying that society will collapse for sure if that happens - but actually, sod it, I am. The health service won't cope, the economy will collapse, God knows what we'll do with all the bodies or feed the survivors, heat our homes, get our medicines, and on, and on, and on, and what about the Premier League? If I keep thinking about it then even I won't be able to sleep at night.

Anyway back to the point again, I'm going to buy a few bits and bobs just in case. I don't think that is panicking, I think that is being prepared (and I wasn't even a boy scout).

Now, go and wash your hands, that'll sort it (and don't forget to sing Happy Birthday).