UP ILL AND DOWN DALE

DOCTORS used to consider a desire for travel to be an illness, describing it as pathological tourism.

They even gave it a name, dromomania – an uncontrollable desire to wander.

The most famous case was gas-fitter Jean-Albert Dadas, from Bordeaux, who would walk to cities as far as Prague with no memory of his travels afterwards.

BORIS Johnson will tomorrow outline his plans for the lifting of lockdown.

But which prime minister will we see in action?

Will it be the one who, on Wednesday, was stressing that his approach would be “cautious and prudent” and who seemed fixated on listing everything that could go wrong?

Or will it be the swashbuckling libertarian who defied the political odds and watched as his popularity soared, even after getting stuck on a zip wire or barging a 10-year-old boy to the ground in a game of rugby?

We must hope and pray it is the blond bombshell who re-emerges.

However, his insistence on being guided by “data not dates” is enough to give us all cause for concern, as this data will be supplied to and analysed by the experts and advisers who seem to have to held the PM in a tight grip since day one.

Consider this – we have met ALL the criteria we have been set to keep this pandemic under control. Initially it was to “save the NHS”. We did our bit, they did theirs superbly. We were then told we must get the “R number” – the rate of secondary infections – below one, which has been achieved, and significantly achieved in some parts of the country.

Then, it was that the number of deaths needed to fall. Mercifully that has happened too.

Next it was the number of cases that had to decline. Again, thankfully, that has also come to pass.

Frighteningly, earlier this month it was suggested the number of cases needed to fall below 1,000 before lockdown could be eased.

But seeing as the number of daily cases, as I write, is more than 12,000, that over-cautious line should be dropped.

At a briefing in November we were urged to listen for “the bugle of the scientific cavalry coming over the hill”. It was Boris at his best – inspiring us and managing to amuse us during one of our darkest hours.

Rumours are swirling about what he will announce, but possible dates for a return to normality keep getting put back amid fears the virus may mutate into new strains – but that’s what all viruses do.

More than 16million of us are now vaccinated and at the current rate all over-50s will have had at least one jab by the end of next month. Further lockdown means more economic devastation, more mental health problems and more jobs lost. Our PM is a fan of Classics, so I urge him this: “Carpe diem!”… “Seize the day.”