Well I am afraid it is a corona related matter today. The postie with his dash in and out (6.2 seconds for the 50 yards) delivered an official looking envelope. A tax refund? Alas no but next best thing, the promised and long awaited letter from Boris telling us to be sensible and obey the isolating rules. Very well worded.

Question is though – this letter was announced some while ago so why has it taken so long for it to actually arrive? Presumably because instead of just getting the letters out the next day some of our esteemed civil servants needed a series of committee meetings to decide exactly how to manage to carry out an instruction from the Prime Minister.

And this highlights the ongoing problem namely the inability of administrators to get things done without reams of unnecessary red tape and delay. Examples:

Two medics returning from a spell in New Zealand offer their services but are told “No thank you we don’t need any more people at this stage”

British firms offer their services to the NHS for emergency ventilators and are told no thank you we use our usual channels (non working ones purchased from China) and in any case we would have to test and evaluate anything you made (6 months delay minimum)

Two weeks ago 750.000 volunteers answered the call to help out the NHS but it has taken until now for even the first ones to be taken up on the offer. Reason “We needed time to check all these people out” (and that means we might have to work unpaid overtime!) The phrase Just Do It comes to mind.

The Army built an emergency hospital in 5 days and finished a week ago but it has taken until today to actually get a patient in. Why? “We have to work out who is going to work there”!

Who is responsible for all these delays? Not the doctors, nurses, hospital porters on minimum wage etc. not the firms who offered their services. Not the volunteers who offered their services. It is the pen pushers civil servants and NHS administrators, mainly at the higher pay grades valiantly defending their own territory and positions. Let’s be fair here. There are many civil servants/administrators equally frustrated so sort out those who can’t/won’t rise to the occasion and get rid of them.

Let’s finish on a positive note. Quite right to give a clap for the NHS front line staff and they deserve it. And well done the majority of the population who have done their best to comply with the restrictions (unlike the self entitled now thank God ex Medical Scottish Chief). However there is one group that does merit special mention. I refer to those living in small flats or terrace houses with no, or practically no garden, with young children, who have nevertheless made every effort to comply with the restrictions. Perhaps next time they merit a clap as well.

Me. I will pour my gin and tonic to celebrate that with my new jar opener I managed to open the new jar of lime pickle to go with my curry at the first attempt.

Oh Joy!