I would like to put everyone’s minds at rest, by letting the world know that this news does not affect me in any way whatsoever.
I do not own, work for, or have any association with the Cath Kidston brand.
Just making it clear, as over the years so many people have confused my surname with Kidston.
As of last night, I have issued myself with a self-imposed ban from reading Twitter and watching Sky Sports News.
Yesterday, television, along with social media, experienced their biggest news day to date, where COVID-19 is concerned.
Further cases and deaths continue to be announced, although the breaking news yesterday morning was that the Premier League and Football League will be suspended until April.
Initially craving updates on how the suspension could affect Leeds United’s crucial end to the season, I watched far too much Sky Sports News. This, along with browsing Twitter for more coronavirus updates, clearly had a subconscious effect on me, as my brain suffered information overload.
It was when Somerset Live reported that for the first time, there are now cases local to me, my anxiety levels increased.
I have greater reason than many to be worried about contracting the virus. Due to underlying health conditions, I would be classified “at risk”.
Despite the recent news and my health concerns, I feel that I got a little carried away and became too worried.
I like to consider myself a calm and rational person, so yesterdays panic was somewhat out of character for me. I didn’t like it, but was thankfully able to realise that my worries were too much.
This was when I deleted the Twitter icon from my phone and switched the television channel.
I will use Twitter and watch Sky Sports again. This is far from a lifetime ban. I may even check one or both later today. However, while COVID-19 is as major news as it is, I’ll be doing my upmost to protect my mental state, by rationing my information intake on the subject.
Never have more appropriate words been spoken.
Well done, Mr Klopp – the world’s second best football manager (after Marcelo Bielsa).
I don’t think this is a moment where the thoughts of a football manager should be important, but I understand for our supporters they will want to hear from the team and I will front that.
First and foremost, all of us have to do whatever we can to protect one another. In society I mean. This should be the case all the time in life, but in this moment I think it matters more than ever.
I’ve said before that football always seems the most important of the least important things. Today, football and football matches really aren’t important at all.
Of course, we don’t want to play in front of an empty stadium and we don’t want games or competitions suspended, but if doing so helps one individual stay healthy – just one – we do it no questions asked.
If it’s a choice between football and the good of the wider society, it’s no contest. Really, it isn’t.
Today’s decision and announcement is being implemented with the motive of keeping people safe. Because of that we support it completely. We have seen members of teams we compete against become ill. This virus has shown that being involved in football offers no immunity. To our rival clubs and individuals who are affected and to those who later will become so, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
None of us know in this moment what the final outcome will be, but as a team we have to have belief that the authorities make decisions based on sound judgement and morality.
Yes, I am the manager of this team and club and therefore carry a leadership responsibility with regards to our future on the pitch. But I think in the present moment, with so many people around our city, the region, the country and the world facing anxiety and uncertainty, it would be entirely wrong to speak about anything other than advising people to follow expert advice and look after themselves and each other.
The message from the team to our supporters is only about your well-being. Put your health first. Don’t take any risk. Think about the vulnerable in our society and act where possible with compassion for them.
Please look after yourselves and look out for each other.
You’ll Never Walk Alone,
Jürgen
I read this touching story on the BBC website, about a man who recently died of lung cancer. He was taken far too early, aged just 66.
The reason that this story has become world news is because prior to his death, he wrote his own obituary, warning others of the dangers of smoking.
What a nice, selfless thing to do. The man, knowing he only had weeks to live, put pen to paper, writing his tale in the hope he may save others.
So kind.
RIP, good sir.
66-year-old man in New York state took it upon himself to write his own obituary as a cautionary tale warning others against smoking.
Geoffrey Turner died of lung cancer on 13 February after decades of smoking.
“I was an idiot who made the same stupid decision, day-after-day,” Mr Turner wrote. “If you’re a smoker – quit – now – your life depends on it.”
His daughter, Sarah, told the BBC she was extremely proud of her father’s last “selfless” act.
“I was a smoker and even though I knew it may eventually kill me, I chose to deny the truth to myself,” Mr Turner’s obituary in the Albany Times Union reads.
Mr Turner was diagnosed in November with stage four lung cancer that his doctor said was a direct result of his years of smoking.
“The pain and suffering I caused my family was not worth the perceived ‘satisfaction’ that really did nothing more than waste money, separate me from my family, and eventually destroyed my body.
“I lived a decent life, but there are so many events and milestones I will not be able to share with my loved ones,” he wrote. “The moral of this story – don’t be an idiot.
“Remember, life is good – don’t let it go up in smoke.”
Daughter Sarah Huiest told the BBC she was shocked when her father showed her the obituary.
“I told him that it was incredibly self-deprecating,” Mrs Huiest says. “He shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘it’s all true’.”
The response to the honest obituary has been very positive, according to his daughter.
“Friends and strangers have reached out to me to say how his words were what they wished they had heard from their own loved one,” Mrs Huiest says.
She told the BBC her grandmother first caught Mr Turner smoking cigarettes when he was just two-years-old – and her father himself remembered picking up the habit at age four.
Mr Turner initially stopped smoking after marrying Mrs Huiest’s mother, but once he picked it up again in the mid-90s during a business trip to London, he did not quit until his cancer diagnosis last year.
But he never smoked in front of his children, his daughter says.
“All while we grew up in the 80s and early 90s, he would speak out against smoking and urge us to never start.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US say that cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable disease and death in the country, with around half a million people dying from smoking-related conditions each year.
Mrs Huiest describes her father’s obituary as “by far the most significant thing he did in his life”.
“He always wanted ‘to do something big.’ I am extremely proud of the selfless act of this obituary. This is what he will be most widely known for and it is a great thing.”
Mr Turner is survived by his wife, five children and four grandchildren.
This coronavirus epidemic has well and truly started.
Leeds United have now put measures in place, ahead of this afternoons match against Huddersfield…
Following the advice from various governing bodies such as the EFL and NHS, Leeds United will be taking some precautionary measures at tomorrow’s game against Huddersfield Town as the numbers of reported cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the UK.
– Information will be posted on the big screen, concourses and bathrooms to promote good hygiene
– We actively encourage supporters to reconsider physical contact such as high fives, hugs etc
– Pre-match handshakes between both teams and officials will not take place
– The team bus will pull up at a new location on the West Stand allowing the players to enter the dressing room area directly
– After the game we will ask the players to return to their vehicles and leave the group as quickly as possible
We appreciate that these actions will disappoint some supporters due to the reduced access to the players and staff, however we feel a duty of care to our community to prevent the spread of the virus and ensure everyone feels safe.
Good luck with that one, Leeds – you’ll need it…
If Leeds score against Huddersfield, try telling the supporters not to hug each other. By the way, has anyone ever seen one fan high five another?
LEEDS SUPPORTERS! WATCH OUT!
The easiest thing for Leeds United to do is not score a single goal and lose 5-0. I’m certain they are capable of achieving that!
Should coronavirus still be prevalent towards the end of the football season and (by a miracle) Leeds end up getting promoted, a few fans hugging will be the least of the club’s worries…
There will be grown men snogging in the stands and penetrating on the pitch.
Too far? Sorry. I’ll warn you, this post is about to get even worse…
As for Huddersfield Town. There is an old joke (although there’s no smoke without fire) that their supporters are rather partial to certain activities with dogs. One would therefore assume that the self-named ‘Terriers’ are more concerned by other diseases than coronavirus.
HUDDERSFIELD FANS! TAKE PRECAUTIONS!
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.
