There were twelve of us at St Catherine's this morning for the Eucharist of Epiphany day. So glad we were able to keep the feast in church. I understand some parishes have returned to on-line only services in the light of heightened risk, but we haven't been ordered to close churches so far. We just have to be extra careful about everything we can do when we're out of the house.
Journalists are getting fidgety, asking questions about the pace of delivering doses of the new Oxford /AZ covid vaccine, so we are hearing more about the procedure of manufacture, batch production of the vaccine in individual vials, and quality testing rather than the logistics of delivery.
It's hard to understand what editors and reporters are up to. All this information has been publicly available for weeks, and since last week, concern about global shortages of manufactured vials - billions extra are needed urgently. It was in the best interests of the public to have an explanation of the total procedure entailed in manufacture and distribution of the vaccine very early on, not just the distribution. It takes longer to ramp up production than it does distribution. The mechanisms for the latter are well known and efficient, and with military aid, capable of rapid expansion.
It would have been better for people to know more about the pace of production, to forestall anxiety about delays which aren't delays, except in the minds of magical thinking people. The oft maligned pharma industry is working with scientific care and precision at an astonishing pace for the common good, in a way which would have been unthinkable forty years ago, thanks to technological innovation. In the end, the pace is set by natural growth processes which are at the heart of making any vaccine.
I received an amazing short video from my sister June this morning of virtual flash mob of a choir, soloists and a baroque orchestra singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. It's set in the fourteenth century Basilica of Nuestra Senora del Mar in Barcelona. Individual singers, then orchestra members pop up as projections inside the nave, and as numbers grow the images develop into a tiled mosaic of video images of singers decorating the walls, vaults and pillars. It's a kind of video art installation which really exploits what can be done to widely available editing tools today - just like the carols Clare was involved in singing with the Carnival Band, just before Christmas. A great way to lift the spirits and a challenging piece of work to keep creative minds active.
In the United States, the formal congressional confirmation of Joe Biden's election as president has been violently disrupted by an invasion of the building and even the debating chamber by hundreds of Trump supporters aiming to stop and overturn the process. All this incited by Donald Trump, whose illusions and lies peddled to the masses led to a huge rally of supporters in Washington during the confirmation session. Nothing like this has ever happened in America before. Charismatic dictators all over the world must be rubbing their hands with glee.
Surely now the Republican party must turn against him and say with one voice 'Enough is enough' and kick him out regardless of the consequences? Or are too many of them in his thrall if not indebted to him for the privilege and status. The way this has played out over the past four years makes me think of the story-line of a Marvel comic book or movie, with a super-villain, oppressing the world but without an obvious superhero to combat and defeat him. Joe Biden will steer America back to sanity with quiet unspectacular reconciling guidance, and be the voice of all people who want to reclaim their country from the clutches of dictatorial populist fanatics. Let's hope that Britain, muddling along behind as ever, will find inspiration and follow this wholesome example.
I watched the fifth episode of the German crimmie I prefer to call Baltic Murders on More Four catchup. I'm not sure if it's the last episode or not. It may not been broadcasted yet as the remaining perpetrator still evades justice, so it's a matter of wait and see. Like with Biden's confirmation, still in process with a likley all night sitting to get it done, now that law and order is restored after such a disgraceful lapse.
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