My sister lives in Salou, an area of Catalonia in Spain.
The entire country is currently on lockdown. I have been told places are deserted and resemble a film.
I know the coronavirus has hit Spain especially hard, but I do believe that this approach is the best way in fighting the outbreak.
If only our incompetent Prime Minister would take similar action in the UK, instead of his namby-pamby approach.
In Spain, you leave your villa or apartment at your peril. The local policía will catch you. That is if COVID-19 doesn’t get to you first.
and don’t even think about going to the beach.
With COVID-19 appearing to have taken over the planet and absolutely nothing else seemingly mattering to anyone anymore, I am struggling to find anything blogworthy.
As with some of my previous posts, for personal and historical purposes, I’ll give a brief summary of my current situation…
Before I start, sorry if the below comes across as me wallowing in self-pity. That is not my intention. I can’t stand defeatism.
THIS IS NOT ME.
I am aware that millions of people have been affected in one way or another by this outbreak and hundreds of thousands are unwell as a result. Many more have been told not to turn up to work – despite being fit and well – therefore receiving no income.
I am not infected. I have a nice house where I can self-isolate and continue to receive an income. Forgetting all my other health issues, I am one of the lucky ones…
- Claire is back at work and I am still off work. I am jealous she is able to do her job and I can’t. I also miss her.
- I cannot get downstairs without supervision, so have no choice but to lie in bed all day and all night. I feel like I am in hospital.
- The television in the bedroom is well and truly fudged, so I can’t even watch that.
- I was forced to use the commode yesterday. A ghastly ordeal and one which I had to do alone.
- Since returning to bed from using the commode, my left shoulder/upper arm has been giving me discomfort.
- I don’t believe the aches are from the site of the original break, but I am really scared that I have caused damage and set my recovery back months.
- There is not a cat in hell’s of me even considering going for an x ray. Due to the fact I am classed as ‘at risk’, it would be crazy to leave the house.
- As for going to A&E – I might as well French kiss an infected coronavirus patient and start digging myself a hole in the nearest cemetery.
- Thankfully, my dad is a retired GP and believes that my complaint is muscular, although wants me to contact my own GP if things do not improve.
Across the past few days, I have been waging a war. The enemy – individuals who are happy to put the lives of others in danger and make large profits from human tragedy.
The morally bankrupt scumbags that I am trying to bring down, are not a terrorist organisation or the mafia. They are every day people, like you or I – although like me, it is likely you have a conscience. My enemies do not.
You won’t need to have read my recent blog posts to be aware that it is impossible to buy soap, hand sanitiser or toilet tissue anywhere in the UK.
This is because of coronavirus and the resulting panic buying, from the ever-calm and rational British public. Unfortunately, this has given way to a small number of individuals, who I can only describe as ‘ghouls’, purchasing these much sought-after items in bulk, only to sell on eBay for an extortionate price.
I have seen one small bottle of hand gel, which normally retails at 95 pence, being advertised online for in excess of twenty pounds!
Take a look at these items on sale, at the time of me writing this blog…
Clearly I am not the only one to have taken offence to this immoral greed. Here are some of the many negative reviews left alongside the auctions…
I fully understand the anger of those who have written a review – although wishing COVID-19 upon somebody else’s family is going a little too far.
I took the liberty of contacting some of the sellers myself. While I wanted to shout at them “YOU FUCKING DISGUSTING C***S!”, I took a more tactful approach, hoping to pull at their heartstrings, in the hope that they may remove the offensive listings.
As you know, it is impossible to buy hand gel in shops, because people have bought these products in bulk.
As a result, people without these items are unable to buy just one bottle of the gel.
This includes people who fall into the “at risk” category – e.g. the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. To put it bluntly, these people could die if they contract COVID-19.
Many of these people are also suffering financially, so are unable to pay the prices listings like yours are charging.
I suffer from a health condition and am very worried that I cannot find hand sanitizer in any shops. Listings like yours make me upset and angry, as I feel you are profiting from a worldwide disaster that is affecting the health and risking the lives of people across the world.
If you see any more gel, soap, toilet roll at supermarkets etc in the future, please DON’T buy it in bulk. Save it for those who really need it. If you must sell these items on Ebay, at least do so at face value.
Thank you.
The plan to pull heartstrings failed. Apparently, you need to have a heart for that to work.
These are the two replies I received, although they massively missed my point – either through stupidity, or because they can’t face the fact that what they’re doing is immoral.
Thank you for getting in touch and I would agree with most of your points apart from the buying from the supermarket as the stock we hold was not purchased from the supermarket. The product you should know is limited now everywhere and we are selling a limited quantity off to who needs it at a price that reflects the economic situation, put simply supply and demand. I would like to buy in the quantities required in order to bring the price down but I am unable to compete with supermarkets, munufacturers and wholesalers.
Wish you well..
Good Afternoon,
What are you talking about, my items come from wholesalers not retailer???
Regards
At least they bothered to respond, unlike the ten or so others I messaged who ignored me.
I wasn’t done there. I contacted eBay…
… and have since been reporting sellers who are selling hand sanitisers and soap at highly inflated prices.
Why not do the same as me? Just hit that ‘Report’ button and completed the form…
Some may say that I have too much time on my hands. I am signed off work on longterm sick, so maybe I do.
However, am I wasting my time and carrying out a pointless exercise by reporting those profiting from disaster and tragedy? Absolutely not.
According to Take That, it only takes a minute to fall in love. The other thing that takes less than sixty seconds, is to report an immoral pig.
If all overpriced listings were taken down and banned, the result would be affordable hand hygiene products, available to all – potentially preventing the spread of COVID-19 and even saving lives.
THIS IS GARY.
GARY MAKES MONEY FROM TRAGEDY.
GARY IS SCUM.
DON’T BE LIKE GARY.
I think the telly in the bedroom is broken.
I can hear people talking on whatever channel may be on, but the screen is blank.
A sad day, but this could be “bye bye” 🙁
It is said that people learn fears. I didn’t believe that it was possible to catch fears, although it appears you can!
Anyone who knows me well or has read this blog for any length of time, will know that I suffer from a phobia of spiders.
I don’t know when this fear began. It was certainly many years before I started blogging in 2004. Incidentally, for those interested, my spider-related blogs stretch back 16 years!
I believe that I may have passed on my phobia, or at least some of it, onto Claire. Don’t get me wrong, my wife has never been a fan of creepy crawlies. Before leaving home to live with me, she would always call her dad, should she spot a ghastly, eight-legged creature.
Since we have lived together, all spider catching duties have been carried out by her. There is more chance of me entering and winning a marathon, than putting a glass over a house spider and sliding an old magazine underneath.
At the weekend, Claire had a close encounter with a spider. A little too close. She was cleaning out Roman’s cage. It was during this weekly chore that she let out a blood curdling scream of terror.
If Wes Craven is ever in need of a screamer for his next scary film, he need look no further than my wife.
I should be fair to Claire. If I was to have the same meeting with a spider as she did, I would have screamed too. Except mine would be louder and higher pitched.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes…
Claire let out a scream loud enough to awaken the dead. A horrible spider, with big, black, hairy legs was on her arm. As well as screeching, she flicked the creature off her body. Thankfully it missed me. It isn’t worth thinking about what would have happened had it landed on my lap!
I can fully sympathise with my wife’s reaction. During my early-teens, the same thing happened to me. I had just returned into the house from outside – coincidentally, after feeding my pet rabbit, Snowy. I felt something on my left hand, took a look, only to see one of those huge house spiders casually resting on me.
It showed absolutely no concern. Perfect proof, if it were needed, that we humans are more scared of spiders than they are of us.
LITTLE BASTARD.
Like Claire, I slapped the spider, sending it flying off my hand – not knowing or caring where it ended up. I am starting to wonder if this childhood experience is what triggered my arachnophobia.
As with my ordeal, Claire’s crawling tormentor also became lost and has not been seen since.
You may be interested to know that during my better hall’s moment of terror, our rabbit Roman was darting up and down his run in alarm. Once Claire’s screaming had ceased and the situation defused, Romy sat at the opposite side of his run, glaring at his human mummy, as if to say “how dare you make all that noise!”
This us rather cheeky by Roman. It is very likely that the spider that so viciously attacked my wife, had been residing in our bunny’s cage.
Roman clearly hadn’t read the lease agreement on his accommodation. If he did, he would have seen the section on keeping pets and livestock in his living quarters…
Section 15.2.1b
Not to keep any spider or other animal, arachnid or insect whatsoever in the premises that may cause a nuisance to your human parents or occupier of the other parts of the building.
Roman is a naughty boy. The nature of his punishment is yet to be confirmed.
HOW ABOUT A RELOCATION, ROMAN?
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
