BY EFFIE DEANS Scotland entered lockdown at exactly the same time as the other parts of Britain. We did so because we were following the advice that had been given to the British Government by the SAGE committee of scientific experts. Boris Johnson announced a very cautious easing of this lockdown some time ago, but Nicola Sturgeon decided that nothing would change in Scotland. Why? … Continue reading Jockdown
BY AMELIA CROSBY It feels like forever since lock-down started and as with any turbulent or stressful moment that comes into our lives, everyone reacts differently. Analysis from King’s College London has revealed that our individual responses to the Covid-19 lock-down can be sorted into three distinct groups: the accepting, the suffering, and the resisting. The analysis based on an Ipsos MORI survey conducted in … Continue reading Which Lockdown Personality Are You?
BY ALEXIA JAMES It must be said that mainstream media has become extraordinarily unalluring during this pandemic. People are learning to live without. On a Zoom business call just yesterday one of those present asked if anyone had seen Boris’ latest Coronavirus press conference and four out of six on the video call admitted they had not bothered tuning into even one. Meanwhile the newspapers … Continue reading Covidian Nonexistence
CSM EDITORIAL A pandemic such as Covid 19 does not actually threaten our political freedoms. Political freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy and with having rights and the civil liberties with which to exercise them without undue interference by the state. Freedom is balanced by moral responsibility and, in the case of Covid, it is our moral responsibility to not kill others by, … Continue reading Freedom with Responsibility
BY JIM WEBSTER Whilst people are trapped by the virus, agriculture continues to march to the beat of a different drum. Almost certainly having had the virus means that here we’re mentally in a different place to a lot of people but I went into town yesterday and had to go into one establishment to deal with a couple of issues. I’m somebody who hasn’t … Continue reading A World Apart
Ingredients: 1 large apple 1 large egg, lightly beaten 15g fresh parsley, chopped 10g fresh sage, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 560g lean minced pork 60ml olive oil Method: Peel and grate apple; place apple in a colander over a plate. Let stand 15 minutes. Squeeze and blot dry with paper towels. … Continue reading Apple Sage Pork Patties
BY TARQUIN SUTHERLAND There has been much in the news of late to perturb the deeper thinker – regardless of so-called ‘conspiracy theories’. It does not really matter what one might think of David Icke, but his recent banning from social media platforms should worry all and any that consider the notion of Freedom of Speech an inalienable right. It appears that we are staggering … Continue reading Snitchers’ Paradise
BY QUENTIN PIGG Watching other people walk on grass whilst they themselves are stuck with concrete and tarmac has aroused an envy in Britain’s urbanites. Lock-downed townies have convinced themselves that it is the life of concrete and tarmac that we should pity. Those living under the hypnosis of concrete melancholy – for whom Nature must seem a distant stranger and urban sprawl a relentless … Continue reading Pity the Life of Grey
BY EFFIE DEANS We are in the midst of one of the greatest disasters of modern times. It may be a natural disaster, or it may have been caused by human error. It is crucial that we learn from previous disasters. It is partly for this reason that I began watching the 2019 TV series on Chernobyl. I accept that it is drama and that … Continue reading From Chernobyl to Covid
BY JIM WEBSTER When I looked across at this view this morning whilst I was feeding heifers, it did strike me that I’ve not got a bad place to be ‘self-isolated’ in. Looking east across Morecambe Bay towards the hills of the Pennines. I really can’t grumble. Nonetheless, on one of my rare forays onto social media today, somebody had posted something along the lines … Continue reading Define Key
BY EFFIE DEANS Twenty or thirty years after the invention of the printing press most people still couldn’t read and few books were printed anyway. So too while the Internet has changed life considerably in the past decades it hasn’t really changed how most of us have worked. We still got up early in the morning and got into cars, trains or buses and travelled … Continue reading The Covidian Revolution
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are keeping well and that You and Your family are well-protected from getting Coronavirus. I know every day seems like a Monday but please try and remember that today is a Sunday and spend it thus. The original novelty of lock-down has now worn off. Those of us with gardens are wondering what should … Continue reading A Prayer for Light
BY DAVID EYLES For the last four years or so, We, the Great British Public, have been subjected to a storm of hysteria from the political, media and commentating classes. And then finally Brexit was all over (bar a few negotiations over trade) and the hysteria subsided into an occasional drizzle. At last the country prepared to draw a collective sigh of relief. And then … Continue reading Grandma Knows Best
BY PHIL DEEKS We’re stuck. There’s no way around it. Agree with the lock-down or argue in favour of the economy, clap for the NHS or wring your hands, we’re stuck, and that’s the way it is. Question is: How best to cope? My answer is simple: we adapt – or “improvise; adapt; overcome” to quote Bear Grylls. We may hate our situation, but it’s … Continue reading Stuck
BY EFFIE DEANS There are essentially three positions on the lock-down: 1. We should get out sooner (Hawks). 2. We should get out later (Doves). 3. There should not be a lock down at all (Enzas). Which is correct? We just don’t know. The correct decision depends on knowing how many people have been infected with Covid 19 around the world and what percentage have … Continue reading Enza?
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your families are well, that You are staying occupied and healthy. If You are one of the key workers, please take special care. You must stay safe. Covid 19 is a virus that We should really seek to avoid, almost as if it were dreamt up in a laboratory by those with evil … Continue reading Sunday Prayer
CSM EDITORIAL The gossip spreading around the internet about China since the Coronavirus outbreak hitting the West should be enough to make the Chinese Communist Party take stock. Some of the chatter associated with the virus has been nonsense – on a par with the 5G rubbish emanating from Ickeians and Gab wingnuts. Increasingly China is seen to have hatched the virus in a lab … Continue reading Zero Sum
BY EFFIE DEANS It is clear now that Covid 19 originated in Wuhan China sometime in November or early December 2019. It might have been stopped if the Chinese Government had taken the necessary steps early enough. Instead they tried to prevent Chinese doctors from telling the truth about the illness and repeatedly lied to the rest of the world about its nature, the danger … Continue reading Lies Now Costing Lives
BY NICK PEARCE Police have issued a stark warning to those who choose to walk their dogs in the countryside as lambing season begins on farms across Wiltshire. Dog owners with the countryside on their doorsteps are able to enjoy it despite the coronavirus lockdown laws, meaning the risk of livestock being attacked by dogs is less likely, but still possible. Police in Cirencester, just … Continue reading Dog Walkers Warned
CSM EDITORIAL The Covid-19 crisis has now gone global. Of course there will be those who exploit the chaos and today there are reports of bogus companies selling non-existent products like masks and sanitisers. These entities tend to be set up by criminals in West Africa who have set up hundreds of these scam websites in the last month, targeting businesses, hospitals and care homes … Continue reading Fake News & Fake Cures
