Post Lockdown Dub

Jah Wobble posted his latest lockdown tune, this one titled Post Lockdown Dub, the most upbeat of the eight songs he's written and recorded since mid- March. It's a great little song with a sprightly tempo, horns, uplifting piano and keys and a nice bubbling bassline.

Despite my love of the tune I'm not sure if the optimism is that well placed. The lockdown has seemed over for a lot of people since Dominic Cummins got busted and Johnson defended his senior adviser's right to do what he liked. Now it looks like for many people it's over completely. Shops may be set up for social distancing but on the streets and in public places it looks like many people think it doesn't apply to them. We are still shielding so for us very little has changed. When everyone was in the same boat it seemed much easier. Now through loosening the lockdown and the government's mixed messages and incompetence everyone is in different boats. The UK has the highest death toll in Europe which ever way you slice the figures, whichever set of statistics you use, and the third highest in the world. Countries that looked like they had beaten the virus are now reporting outbreaks again and having to reintroduce measures- New Zealand, Germany, China. The criticism for not prioritising schools is being deflected onto the teaching unions and the Labour Party (schools have had guidelines from government about social distancing- the government's own guidelines are why they've been unable to re- open). The UK's supposedly 'world beating' track and trace system won't work fully until the autumn and the government has gone on to prioritise re- opening the economy over public health. Queues formed early on Monday morning as non- essential shops re- opened. Talk of reducing the 2 metre guideline to 1 metre is giving out the message that getting pubs and restaurants serving again is more important than controlling the virus.

Eat out. Forget the virus. Fuck the NHS.

Maybe everything will be ok.