Rich

I saw this on Farcebook yesterday, it makes for interesting reading. And yes, this chap really is a real doctor (google him, I did) and yes, he said this. Dr Mark Toshner, consultant physician and lecturer in clinical medicine (Royal Papworth Hospital Cambridge, and Cambridge University respectively) speaking out on social media about the coronavirus vaccine. "More on vaccines. I'm going to get boring and geeky on this (no apologies) on the 10 year thing. Vaccines 'normally take 10 years'. This is being used as a reason to be fearful (i.e. rushed job). I'm a clinical trials doc. I can tell you most of that time is spent doing nothing. It's spent submitting funding requests, then resubmitting them, then waiting, then submitting them somewhere else, then getting the money but the company changes it's mind or focus, then renegotiating then submitting ethics, then waiting for regulators... Then having problems with recruitment and having to open other sites, then dealing with more regulatory issues, then finally when you eventually get to the end of all of this you might have a therapy, or not. At this point it may not be deemed profitable or any number of other obstacles. However we have collectively now shown that with money no object, some clever and highly motivated people, an unlimited pool of altruistic volunteers and sensible regulators that we can do amazing things (necessity being the mother etc). These trials have been nothing short of miraculous, revolutionary but in the context perhaps it is not surprising given our ability to innovate when we REALLY need to and we really needed to. Safety hasn't been compromised. Hundreds of thousands of great people volunteered for experimental vaccines. The world watched closely. The press reported every serious adverse event. I am confident that when regulators and scientists pour [sic] over the safety data (and we will because we are a bit that way inclined) that vaccines will only be used if we are confident that the risk is definitively outweighed by the benefit. This should give you confidence too."'

My MP makes a chocolate teapot look like a model of usefulness. If you write anything critical to him, he either throws it into the square file or just weasel-words his way round it. I had to send three (might even have been four) emails to him regarding the Cummings eye-test affair before I got any sort of response, and then it was a slightly longer variation of 'yeah, whatever' that obviously came straight from the whips' office.

My god, there is some humanity left. That's wonderful.

Spread the Love - Kenny Chesney

I think with this lot it's the scale and the sheer brazenness of it. I cannot believe that it's not being shouted from the rooftops. Still, we'll be ok, I imagine there will be an inquiry headed by the UK's Anti-Corruption Champion, who is *checks notes* Dido Harding's husband.

I am overjoyed at the Oxford vaccine news -- I've been participating in the trial and it's brilliant to see results coming from all their hard work. The technical blurb they showed us is quite mind-boggling, I am in awe of these boffins' capabilities. I had an initial dose (couldn't tell you if it was full or half) followed by a second one later. No side effects to report yet, I still feel absoluhweojfdo fisdfnn jj*73kl;l=++k.

The Cheese Song - Rubber Brick

Crocodile Tears - Girls Aloud

San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie

Wriggle - Cosmo Sheldrake

Like a Hurricane - Neil Young

Are You Hearing What I Hear? - Level 42

Police and Thieves - Junior Murvin

Hey Fattie Bum Bum - Carl Malcolm

Love The Smiths, hate Morrissey.

Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley

Anything Martin Taylor does. Also, It Bites at the Astoria on the Once Around The World tour. Stunning gig.

It's ME on bass! Hashtag Spartacus.

Likewise. We used to cover that particular 'song' (as a segue with the Marvin Gaye original) and our frontlady rewrote the words to rip the vicious pish out of Thicke's dreadful misogyny.

Are You Still Here? - Smokey Robinson

Lola - Kinks

Galloping Home (Black Beauty Theme) - Denis King

Change - Tears for Fears

Disco Duck - Rick Dees

Burning Down the House - Talking Heads