Having the jab won’t turn you into a monkey

It’s a whole world problem, so it demands a whole world solution.

Thankfully, wealthier countries are committing themselves to donating surplus vaccines to those less fortunate. This appears to be a clear route to dealing with the Covid pandemic. But sadly, the poorer countries are peopled by non-white populations - the very groups said to be suspicious of vaccines.

This is where the somewhat overworked cliché ‘until everybody’s safe, nobody’s safe’ becomes a reality.

We’ve all heard the multitude of reasons given for not having the jab. The one that had me laughing was ‘it changes your DNA and will turn you into a monkey.’

Some years ago, I complained in this column that the Outlet would be the nemesis that would eventually kill off the High Street.

Councillors to whom

I spoke said I was quite wrong - that a free bus from the Outlet would bring ‘millions’ of visitors a year to the town centre (I love saying ‘I told you so’ though, in this case, I’m not so happy).

And, speaking of the people who are supposed to be supporting our town centre, we have heard almost nothing except that the council has

‘plans’. This has included killing off the market and providing space for ever yet more bars and restaurants.

Okay, so the dread pandemic has put the lid on things for the foreseeable future but I wonder if the enforced delay has caused any kind of rethink - which it should have done - or whether the none-too-exciting plans have simply been shelved for the duration, ready to be dusted off and reintroduced when, or if, the world at large reverts to the old, unsatisfactory, normal.

Now our planners have turned the town into a housing estate, we have to wait for an influx of thousands of Londoners looking for cheap (!) homes, although it seems most are heading to places like Sevenoaks.

This is where the somewhat overworked cliché ‘until everybody’s safe, nobody’s safe’ becomes a reality