Jabs centre was not socially distanced
Channel 4, 10pm
MY experience, on the streets of Bath, is that most people have little idea of what two-metre distance is.
Two metres is the minimum distance I should be from any other person outside my household or bubble, indoors or in the open air.
That we in Britain have one of the world’s highest number of fatalities per head of population is no surprise if we observe how people behave.
But attending the NHS
Vaccination Centre in the Pavilion in Bath was an unexpected surprise. My expectation was that here I would experience how “social distancing” should be done.
I did not have a measuring tape but as a qualified architect I have a pretty accurate perception of distances. The three rows of chairs set out for individuals to rest on after receiving their jab were not two metres apart! They were more like one and a half metres apart.
As I took this in, a manager was giving instructions to three helpers about to go for their lunch break.
The manager was not two metres away from his three colleagues, he was more like a metre away and the three helpers were more like 30 centimetres from each other. I was standing waiting to go into my allocated cubicle to have my jab and staff, going about their business, were rarely the full two metres away from one another!
So, after I had my vaccination, I mentioned my concerns. The vaccine administrator slipped out for a moment and returned with another lady whom she introduced as a manager. We were all standing outside the cubicle and the manager was NOT two metres’ distance from me! As I backed away I looked round and noticed that the chairs in the waiting area were being rearranged further apart!
I had expected to see how social distancing should be done at this NHS vaccination centre. Instead, it fell to me to point out that they were not following their own rules! Christian Thal-Jantzen
By email
THE pound soared towards a three-year high amid a retreat in the dollar and trader hopes surrounding the UK’s rapid vaccine rollout.
Global markets were cautious throughout the trading session, with traders turning towards robust currencies once again.
The pound increased by 0.2% versus the US dollar to 1.384 and was up 0.12% against the euro at 1.141.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “It remained an exceedingly quiet session, with the Western markets in various states of retreat as the day went on.
“Sterling finds itself in the sweet spot between stimulus-led dollar bearishness, and an underlying swell of positivity surrounding the robust and... successful vaccine rollout in the UK.
“The pound’s strength – it also added against the euro, continuing to hover around nine-month highs – once again forced the FTSE back towards 6,500.”
The London markets dropped as multinationals were impacted by the strong pound. The FTSE 100 closed 7.2 points, or 0.11%, lower at 6,524.36 at the close.
In the US, the Dow Jones dipped from its recent record highs as the stimulus package continued to grind through the bill-passing procedure.
Europe’s largest markets were also marginally lower as they were impacted by wider cautious sentiment. The German Dax was 0.57% lower and the French Cac moved 0.36% lower.
Housebuilders were broadly in the red on yesterday after the Housing Secretary announced a £3.5 billion package aimed at ending the cladding scandal which will partly be funded by taxes on developers.
He said the Government is imposing a new levy on developers of certain high buildings in England and a £2 billion UK-wide tax on the residential development sector, sending Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley and Barratt lower.
Persimmon also saw it share price slump, with it jumping the gun on its rivals to declare plans to hand over £75 million to resolve legacy cladding issues. Shares in the housing giant finished 79p lower at 2,704p.
In other company news, Ocado was the
FTSE 100’s biggest loser as downbeat reports from analysts, including HSBC, weighed further on investor pessimism. Shares slid by 189p to 2,511p, adding to the decline in value it saw on Tuesday, when it revealed a pre-tax loss of £44 million for the year to November.
Dunelm shares jumped after the homeware retailer reported a pre-tax profit which soared more than a third to £112.4 million in the six months to December. It closed up 78p at 1,339p.
The price of oil was jolted higher by the EIA report which showed that US oil inventories fell by 6.6 million barrels, catching traders offguard after they predicted an increase. The price of Brent crude oil increased by 0.62% to 61.47 dollars per barrel.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Anglo American, up 123p at 2,713p, Glencore, up 7.1p at 270.5p, Rio Tinto, up 152p at 5,922p, and DS Smith, up 7.6p at 370.5p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado, down 189p at 2,511p, Compass Group, down 71p at 1,398p, Berkeley, down 199p at 4,193p, and Taylor Wimpey, down 6.95p at 158.95p.
ANOTHER cracking episode, beginning as Stephen (David Mitchell) tries to defend his drinking to ex-wife Alison (Olivia Poulet). But it’s a tricky thing to do in a pub while ordering a Merlot.
“This is Britain, we all drink too much,” he insists. “And do you know what? I’m good at drinking too much.”
Meanwhile, Alison has other concerns as she notices that Andrew (Robert Webb) is busy getting ever closer to her parents. He’s helping her mum with her computer problems and stargazing with her dad. What does it all mean?
Of course, Stephen has a fair idea. In another funny plotline, The Barleycorn has been asked to host a pub quiz. But one of the last things to happen before Stephen’s father died is that he organised a pub quiz, then never forgave Stephen after he fumbled the jackpot question and lost the prize.
Can Stephen face his demons and face another quiz? It’s tense.