COVID+7

As anyone reading my blog will know, I got COVID (on a cruise) last September. This was way worse than the first time a year or so before.

The infection at the time was bad, scary fever, especially on a cruise, but within a few days (and thankfully on dry land) I then had a stroke. I can't help feeling it was related.

The stroke was mild in many ways, mostly dysarthria (can't speak properly) and that cleared up maybe 90% in a few hours but not totally. Being in hospital was a pain, and I am now on blood thinners (forever).

But there is more, some subtle. Some may be COVID, some may be the stroke.

• A general tiredness
• Just can't get things done - just don't want to get things done
• Not quite "myself" in coding stuff and doing work generally - can't think straight
• I notice that when I walk, my right arm is rigid until I think about it!
• My typing is worse, a lot worse

The real clue is some of these have improved, my typing is still hard work but better. I am finally getting in to the swing of working and coding. Not my old self, but way more than I was.

I am posting now as I have had a weekend working, and coding, and doing well, and it feels such a change. Such a relief! Almost back to my old self, which is great!

Oddly my right arm being rigid when walking is still a thing. Not like I can't move it. When walking my left arm swings and my right arm does not - until I think about it. Very weird.

My typing is not yet right, and I know it was not perfect before, but I see how bad it is still. I have to think more, and I have to check a lot more than I used to. But I feel it is improving.

It is weird trying to debug the way my own mind and body is working.

Stroke

Old MRI image, not showing my stroke

If you think you are having a stroke, call 999, get help as soon as possible, please.

For more  information see stroke.org.uk

But this is my experience.

Misconceptions

I was surprised how much people don't know about a stroke. I ended up writing a long explanation for my family to cover it. One of my daughter's has worked with stroke patients in a care home and was "D'Uh!", but I think it helped the rest understand.

One of the things I found difficult was people asking "how are you feeling now", and "get well soon". A stroke, like most "long term" illnesses, is very different to the average illness. It is not like a cold, or even like a broken leg.

Basically - I feel fine. I actually "felt fine" the whole time - I just could not speak for about 4 hours. Maybe, and not even that much, a little tired, and that is it. I don't feel ill at all.

But also "get well soon" is not really a thing in the same way. The damage is done. The "getting better", in terms of brain cells that recovered from the lack of oxygen, has happened, within the first few hours. Yes, there is some re-learning stuff my brain could do over a longer term, maybe, if I am lucky. In my case I can tell my speech is not quite back to normal, but just the occasional word tripping me up. That may never go away. For worse strokes there may be possible rehab and physiotherapy that can help some recovery over time. But the whole process is very different to the "get well soon" you would apply to someone with a cold.

The usual platitudes for someone that has been ill or injured are not ideal, and even wind me up slightly as it is hard to give the simple answer. Sorry.

Background

I have been doing well. I have managed to lower my weight steadily over the last six months, doing more exercise. I have managed to keep my blood pressure and blood sugar well under control. Ticking all the boxes. No reason to have a stroke.

COVID

I made the mistake of going on a cruise. I did take quite a few precautions, including avoiding a commercial flight, not having to queue up for anything (yes, it was one of those cabins at the top of the ship that gets you a personal escort to the front of queues) and masking up in crowded spaces. Sadly I did go to the bar, and even with a table at the end out of the way and the small group of the same people, one of them got COVID the day before me. The two people on the cruise with me did not. Very unlucky.

But COVID is just like a nasty cold, and over in a week, right?

Wrong!

Yes, the main symptoms, in this case a severe fever and cough, cleared up a lot in 3 or 4 days. I was left with a nagging cough (which happened last time and lasted a few weeks), and a bit tired.

I'd like to thank Mike and Simon for ensuring a supply of pizza, starbucks, and paracetamol turned up at my cabin door.

But on returning from the cruise I realised my blood pressure was unusually high.

Mistake 1: I should have contacted my GP and got something done about it, even if only temporary while the COVID symptoms clear up finally. That said, blood pressure on its own is not what triggers the stroke - it is likely COVID causing blood clots - but the high blood pressure is a risk factor and an clear indication of COVID messing with me still.

Stroke

As seems to be a common thing now with COVID - I then had a stroke. It was 11 days after first COVID symptoms.

It was fortunate that I had reason to go and talk to someone - I managed to leave my glasses in a shop in town and walked back to find them. If not, I would have been sat at home and not had any cause to talk to anyone. When I got there I realised I could not talk properly! My speech was really slurred. The people in the shop did not know me and so did not know that was not my normal speech.

I went home and double checked. I recorded myself and played back. I could smile. I could raise my arms, and legs. But my speech was slurred. Oddly it seemed worse to me when speaking than it did listening to the playback, but even so, the playback was slurred. I have learned that some people cannot tell their speech is slurred, which is interesting - I definitely could.

Given the horror stories about delays with ambulances of late I decided not to wait, and just walk to the minor injuries unit at Nevill Hall. It is 20 minutes or so, but I am pretty confident it was quicker than an ambulance would have been. Obviously in different circumstances I would have either been driven by my wife (she was out) or called 999 for an ambulance. In hindsight, starting to walk, and calling 999 from my mobile, may have been the best of both worlds - though "calling 999" with dysarthria may well have been a problem.

Yay! I learned a new word, dysarthria.

Nevill Hall

The MIU were good. I had to type on my phone to be understood - I did this whilst walking to the unit anyway, so was ready. Fastest triage ever - I did not have time to sit down. I was on a bed, on a drip, CT scan, and then very quickly in ambulance (blue lights!) to The Grange hospital, 20 minutes away. They got me on aspirin pretty quickly.

The Grange

Being in hospital sucks, I know. First night I was in resus in the emergency department on a monitor and there is no way to get any sleep. Then was transferred in morning via "Majors" and "Assessment" before going on to the actual stroke ward.

I spent three nights in hospital, bored silly. I had a book, and my phone, but still bored. The ward was good though, a shower, reasonable food, comfortable bed. But 3 hourly obs (blood pressure, pulse ox, temp, pupil response) makes a good night's sleep impossible.

The stroke tests get very tedious...

• Smile
• Stick tongue out and move left/right
• Raise arms
• Raise legs
• Grip
• Push (arms and legs)
• Pull (arms and legs)
• Where are you?
• What month is it? (yes, even at 1am on 1st October, I passed)
• Who's the King?

Now, I know they are important test, and I know the staff are doing their job, honest.

The real problem is a stroke is very different to a lot of other illnesses. At this point, I was not "ill" any more. I felt fine. My speech was 99% back to normal after only a few hours on Friday. Being in hospital when not actually ill is extra frustrating.

But the staff were great, and have my thanks.

Some minor niggles

There is equipment for monitoring patents. It does blood pressure, ECG if needed, pulse ox. On Friday I was plumbed in to it. But after that it was used for regular obs, so blood pressure cuff and pulse ox sensor. The problem is that they left it switched on. This means a beep every 5 seconds to warn that it is not "connected" to the patient any more. It is a matter of a button press to shut it up.

There are two problems with this!

1. The noise. Four of these on the ward all doing a beep every 5 seconds all the time, all out of phase. This is not conducive to patient care and getting rest.
2. The more serious issue - these things beep for a reason. They are alerting that something is wrong (in this case, simply that they are disconnected). By ignoring the beeps, becoming deaf to them, they lose any usefulness - the beeps can no longer be effectively used to actually warn that something is wrong any more. It has to be bad practice to ever leave any such equipment generating an ongoing warning beep.

There are some cases where a beep is not a warning as such, such as the heat beat beeps for the ECG when in ED, where the beeps can allow the attending nurse to instantly hear even subtle problems. But on the ward there was nobody on ECG, so not the issue.

I did manage to get them turned off, but had to ask on several occasions, and the stock answer is "we have to monitor some patients", and I have to explain that I understand, but these are from machines that are not monitoring patients!

The other obvious niggle is that I was only really there for three days, not for observation, but because of the time it takes to get an MRI, Doppler scan, and see occupational health and speech therapist. That could have all been done after 24 hours, but a lot of stuff is not done at weekends. At the end of the day, that is just how it is.

Oh, and being supervised taking my regular meds felt like I was some sort of naughty schoolboy! They also struggled with the notion that I set my own insulin dose, and adjusted it because being in hospital was different (led to a hypo in the night, so lowering the dose).

Stroke doctor

The stroke doctor basically explained it was a mini stroke. He did the checks again, and a number of perceptual checks. He explained that I would be on aspirin for 3 weeks, and blood thinners permanently, and some slight changes to other meds.

However there were a couple of oddities. He was a stroke specialist, but still, I was surprised.

1. He commented how my HbA1c (overall blood sugar measure for diabetics) was really good, and maybe I should not be on meds/insulin for diabetes. This makes no sense to me (or my GP) as the very reason my HbA1c is good is because I am on the meds and they are working!
2. He asked about migraines, and I explained I get an aura only, one side or the other. He said "so one eye or the other". I corrected him that it was one side of my vision, or the other, and not one eye or the other. He continued with "one eye or the other" so I gave up.

Followup information

This was another surprise. I got following information on (a) not driving for a month, and (b) speech therapy. But I got absolutely nothing on strokes. No "what is a stroke? what causes a stroke? What risk factors can you mitigate in future? Why do you have blood thinners?" etc. I can research these myself, but why no information pack? I bet a lot of patients leave confused about what has happened and what they should do about it.

Work

Obviously I work - I run an ISP. But my management team are very good, so have no problem with my trying to rest for a few weeks, or longer if I was to be seriously ill. I am obviously keeping an eye on things as "taking a rest" is not quite the same as "doing nothing" which would wind me up even more.

COVID recovery

Right now, my main concern is the COVID symptoms - the cough and high blood pressure. Especially the high blood pressure. I have been working with my GP - higher dose of some meds while it is a problem, and that seems to be working now. Oh, and saying "stroke" to a GP receptionist seems to be a magic spell for getting an immediate call back from a doctor.

People need to realise COVID is still very common and still very serious. Whilst my case was "minor", a stroke can be a serious long term impact on someone's life, and the lives of their family, for the rest of their life. In some ways it can be worse than COVID just killing people off (and I say that as someone that watched my father die of COVID just a year ago).

It is not just a cold. Please take it seriously.

Waiting to die

This is, of course, a difficult post, but I have started it whilst things are fresh in my memory. I have published personal things before, I know. This time I had to check with both my brothers to make sure they are happy with this post. Thank you both. This is about my father. It is about what happened this week at the end of October 2022.

He was 85, and struggled a bit with mobility, but we were not really expecting anything to happen, until one day he was short of breath, and taken to hospital.

This was a trying week. He was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, but antibiotics were not helping much. After a while alternative antibiotics were tried. There was some improvement, but slight. They eventually decided it might be some sort of fibrosis in his lungs and steroids may be in order.

The whole week he was serious, but stable. He was tired, fed up, stuck in bed, but mostly alert. They had him on oxygen and carefully monitoring his stats. We did try and cheer him up with pictures and videos of the great grand kids and I think he really appreciated that. He had radio on his phone too, and us visiting. Even so, it was basically a nuisance for him...

Some of the doctors were a bit doom and gloom, some less so, as I said, he was stable. If they were to find the right treatment he should (albeit slowly) get better.

One of the things I did not really appreciate is they make a plan for what may happen if he gets worse. They decided, due to age and health, that he would not survive intubation/respirator. This is pretty big, as it also means no point in him being transferred to ICU, as that is what would happen. So he stayed on an acute medial ward, and then an acute respiratory ward.

It was worrying, but as I say, he was stable, and there was hope. Whilst he was alert, and whist he was annoyed at being stuck there, there was clearly hope. He just needs to start getting better - get on the right medication. It would take some time, but there was hope.

Then on Wednesday evening, my brother, who had dilligently been with him most of each day, all week, tested COVID +ve. It seems he probably got it from the hospital, though they would not confirm that, but he was not allowed to visit any more. Myself and my other brother had also visited, but not been there as long (much longer journey to get there). We were still COVID -ve. We had all been testing before visiting, obviously. We had our boosters as well. At least my dad did not have COVID...

Then, while my other brother visited him on Friday, he tested COVID +ve (my father, not my brother), and that was seriously an "oh fuck" moment. Someone with serious respiratory problems is not going to survive COVID, and we all knew this, and that was scary. That was the moment I realised things would not end well. That annoyed the hell out of me.

That night, we got a call from the hospital around 23:00, he is not well. I rushed to the hospital, and so did my brother (the one without COVID), and we arrived at the same time around midnight. I'd like to thank my wife for driving me - she has been wonderful throughout this.

This is the bit that really gets to me. He was bad, blood oxygen low 80%, heart rate 200+, alarms constantly - myself and my brother taking turns to kill the alarms as it annoyed him. He had trouble breathing, and talking. He was very keen to make sure we were all OK, and the family all OK, and all was well. That alone was scary. We reassured him as best we could. We got our other brother on video call as well. It was stressful.

This was basically the point that, normally, he would have gone to ICU, but because of the care plan that was not an option. They knew he was just getting worse. They knew they could do nothing.

After a couple of hours he asked us to leave, he insisted we leave, so he could "get some sleep". I understand from a relative that works in a care home, that this is not uncommon. It was bad for him, but he did not want it to be bad for us. He knew exactly what was happening. It was not obvious to us at the time, which is probably just as well.

No sooner had we got home, we had the call that he had died at 3am. I got no sleep obviously.

He had spent hours, gradually getting worse, and knowing that nothing could be done. It was "a nightmare" as he himself said. This was someone quite alert, and awake, and slowly dying. It is so unfair.

I'm glad we were there, to reassure him, and in a way I am glad he sent us away as well.

Things changed from my father being old, and not in the best of health, but well enough - to being dead, in just a week. But it was this last few hours that were the most cruel for him, and for us, as hope slowly faded away.

The following few days have been a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. Even so, things to sort out, paperwork, funeral arrangements, letting people know. Lots of "busy" work for us to do. It is so easy to think "oh, dad would like to see that picture", etc, even just for a moment. We don't have things "not said", or things "not done", thankfully. But there is a hole. It will take time.

Whilst, obviously, even without COVID, there was a good chance of things going badly, and we knew that, but COVID was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. It was also the primary cause of death on the death certificate. Even though my brother is getting over it, as so many people do, there are those that will not, and those they leave behind. We all just need to be careful.

Of course, I'd love to do more of a tribute to my dad, and I hope to in the future. This was about the sad times, so next time we can do something about the good times.

The COVID experience (vaccinated)

Sorry to say that COVID has managed to finally hit many of our family, in spite of (almost) all of us being very careful in lots of ways, and (almost) all of us having vaccines.

My wife has also been unwell, but we are both starting to get over it now.

I have spent the last 10 days or so feeling like shit - started like a nasty cold, and LFTs every day negative, but finally on day 4 it was +ve LFT, and then +ve PCR.

It was not until around day 8 that I lost my sense of smell, which is just weird - my nose is clear now, but I simply cannot smell, not even my ground coffee. I can still taste but it is a bit off.

Someone else described this, and I am inclined to agree - it felt like it was trying to get on my chest, but thankfully did not manage it. Even so, my blood oxygen levels dipped quite a lot. I can only imagine how bad it would have been if I had not been vaccinated.

It has been ups and downs a bit - on day 7 I really thought things were getting a lot better, I felt mostly fine with a bit of a blocked nose. I then spent days 8 and 9 in bed!

Sadly, at least one person that has now got it was unable to have a vaccine, and it looks like a newborn has it too. These are worrying times for all of us. We can only hope they recover quickly.

And those that have not got it have had to run around shopping and getting medicines for those that have - and we really do all appreciate that.

Remember, you are only as strong as the weakest link - make sure you all have your vaccines please! Don't be put off nagging people to get their vaccine, as I was. Personal choices are important, and make good sense right up until those choices impact others around you - then they are no longer just personal choices. Vaccines don't just help reduce the risk to yourself, and your family, but help reduce the spread and mutations. Getting a vaccine is being part of a community.

I do now have some IgG and IgM antibodies though. These did not show after the vaccines, which I believe is to be expected as they are different.

But everyone, stay safe.

P.S. Whilst the isolation is over, there are some symptoms lingering - a simple walk to the shops made me tired and out of breath, and I still have an annoying cough, even if no longer infectious. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts. Day 12 - can just about smell the coffee again.

P.P.S. The lingering cough is not fun - just spending an hour on a phone call really kicked it off and felt grotty for rest of the day. No idea how long this will go on for. ... Weeks later and still up and down with this.

P.P.P.S. It has lasted over a month, on and off, but finally feeling at lot more normal now.

NHS covid pass

I decided to check how I get an NHS COVID19 pass / QR code.

Update: Thanks to all that pointed out the couple of subtle clues on how to get an NHS login, which I missed initially.

I googled, and it seems you can ask for a letter or get it digitally, cool. But you need an "NHS login".

Well, I don't know what an NHS login is, but there is this helpful site, https://help.login.nhs.uk which tells you all about it. Nice.

This looks comprehensive. But I don't have an "NHS login", so let's try the "How to set up [an] NHS login"... https://help.login.nhs.uk/setupnhslogin/

OK, we have "What is NHS login" and "What you need to set up an NHS login" (yes, an "an" this time). There are other pages with more information on how to prove who you are, etc. There is the "Where can you use NHS login". OK, good.

Update: For those saying "just use the NHS app", I'm in Wales now, and it does not work!

Update: Oooh, it says clicking the button lets you create a login there, missed that the first time, but the the actual login page does not say that.

But call me thick, and maybe I am being blind here, but where is the "Register for an NHS login" or "Create an NHS login" link or "how to" on that? I looked around and cannot find it. It does not seem to actually tell you "How to set up NHS login" at all, missing that one crucial step of how you start the process!

I kept looking and I found the NHS COVID pass page, https://covid-status.service.nhsx.nhs.uk which has a login link.

Nothing about registering or creating an NHS login on there either. What am I missing.

Well, on a whim, I clicked on the "Continue with NHS login" link, even though I don't have one. Is continuing with NHS login when I don't have one "hacking"? A breach of The Computer Misuse Act 1990 maybe? You then get a login page...

Well, I don't have an "NHS login". What I did not spot initially was the "If you do not have an NHS login" bit. This seems to be the first clue that maybe I can make one if I enter my email address anyway. Why is this hidden away behind a "Continue with NHS login" link?

So now I get the option to "Set up a new NHS login". This is what I had been looking for all along. How the hell is this not on the the help site, or, well, anywhere before you actually try and "login"?

Update: One page for COVID19 Pass does say "You will need an NHS login to use these services. You'll be asked to create one if you do not have an NHS login already" but the page you then go to does not say that, just "continue with NHS login".

Anyway, I continued to create an NHS login. You go on through a few info pages, and create a password, and then this error...

Well, that is helpful. Giving that the previous page was password selection, and I used the browsers password manager to make a "secure" password, I naturally assume it is as password issue. So I try entering a password manually. I tried several passwords, simpler and simpler, and no joy. It simply would not work.

Then, on a whim, I tried a different email address. Just to be clear, that first page does do some validation on email addresses, e.g. ...

So I really had no reason to expect that it was unhappy with my valid email address. But indeed, using a different email address, it actually allowed me to proceed beyond the password set up. I have emailed them asking that they correct my email address, obviously.

When it came to mobile checking, I decided to use an 07 number, rather than trying 01 number, as clearly it is a stupid web site.

The domestic (48 hour!) QR code does not need any more than name, DOB, NHS number. The other longer pass needs ID image and a video and I'm waiting for that to be confirmed now. However, having seen someone else's, I note that the document says this...

OK, so it has an expiry, but how exactly does that expiry "protect you data privacy". The barcode does not fade after 30 days. The "data" is still in the expired barcode, and can still be read. So how exactly does the expiry protection anything - how does it do any more than cause inconvenience for the user?

Indeed, I am told if you request a COVID letter, there is no expiry - so do they not care about your data privacy when sending a letter, or was that just a lie? Having an expiry actually makes "data privacy" worse - if you printed the QR code, you will have to dispose of that securely somehow every time it expires. Why not just be honest?

And finally... The Welsh site https://gov.wales/nhs-covid-pass-prove-your-vaccination-status says :-

But the "domestic" QR code it gives you says ...

So how do I get a QR code valid in Wales?

Please, just wear a mask!

The only reason I have been going out at all is to get food, from M&S. I try to go when I think it is not crowded. I wear a mask, obviously. I actually wear one all the way there and back (a couple of miles walk each way). People cross the street or walk in to the road, as do I, when passing, even when they too are wearing a mask (as many are). Everyone is sensible.

Today I was rather surprised to see a member of M&S staff with no mask, but the bigger issue is that he appeared to have no concept of social distancing.

Social distancing

What really shocked me was not just the lack of mask (see below re exemptions), but the total lack of any social distancing.

I witnessed him bumping in to other members of staff. At one point, whilst waiting at the till I suddenly realised he was right next to me and I had to step back.

It is not clear what he was supposed to be doing - he seemed to be literally aimlessly wandering around bumping in to people - almost trying to infect as many as possible - well that is how it seemed to me.

Exemptions

Of course, the immediate answer from anyone is "he could be exempt". There are two main reasons for this - medical condition, and severe distress.

I find it hard to imagine a medical condition where the wearing of a mask, or even a simple clear visor, causes a clinical effect which does not also make you a MASSIVE risk for COVID, so much so that you would obviously be sheltering / isolating at home all year. If there is such a condition, please educate me. But someone that has adverse clinic effect to a face visor will really have a problem with an oxygen mask or a ventilator.

However, the other reason, and far more likely to encounter in the wild, I am sure, is distress / anxiety. I know someone that has significant distress wearing a mask, thankfully she is OK wearing a visor (I know they are not as good, but at least they block spray from your mouth going directly to the person in front of you, and they meet the legal requirements). I'd rather people wear a proper mask obviously.

Now, let's put it like this. I am sure there are people who would rather not wear clothes. Should they be allowed to go naked if clothes cause them distress or anxiety? Well, society has made a decision balancing this and knowing that people wandering around naked in public causes *others* distress and anxiety. As such the law, at least in practice, is you have to wear clothes regardless.

There are people, in the middle of a pandemic, who find encountering others with no mask in a shop a cause of distress and anxiety. So morally, ethically, why does the mask wearers distress and anxiety trump that of those around them? What is the balance here for the law?

I am no expert on ethics, but that is a serious question. Someone explain it to me.

Badges

There are government recommended badges saying you are exempt. Now, there is a whole issue with "having to declare that you are disabled". I fully understand that. But if you are wandering around a shop with no mask you are blatantly declaring that you are "disabled, or a total dick". The badge at least just declares you "disabled". Even so, THE VIRUS DOES NOT CARE THAT YOU ARE EXEMPT!

M&S policy?

The other issue, taking the fact that some people are genuinely exempt under current law, is the policy of his employer.

As an employer myself, if one of my staff was genuinely exempt from wearing ALL types of face covering allowed, I would not have them working where they are in the same room as other staff or public. I would have them working from home, working alone, on sick leave, or furloughed. In fact I think we'd do that if they simply could not wear a proper mask. I would never want to risk one of my staff infecting someone whilst working for me. THE VIRUS DOES NOT CARE THAT YOU ARE EXEMPT!

Indeed, I am surprised HSE don't have that exact policy for employers.

So M&S, don't you have any policy on this?

M&S reply?

Hello again - I've spoken to the Store Manager and they've confirmed that my colleague is exempt from wearing a mask and wears a Sunflower Lanyard. Thanks, Donna.

— M&S (@marksandspencer) January 16, 2021

I am at a loss. They totally ignored that he was not keeping any distance. If I had complained about someone *with* a mask not keeping their distance then would they have been so dismissive.

It is like they think that a Sunflower Lanyard is magic - giving the wearer total immunity to any rules and the virus itself. That is scary.

It’s like...
“Why is that guy randomly throwing knives? One nearly hit me!”
“Ah, did you not see the sunflower lanyard? He’s exempt. Not throwing knives causes him severe distress”
“Yes but throwing knives could literally kill someone, fuck distress”
“Sunflower lanyard!”

— 𝖱𝖾𝗏𝖪 (@TheRealRevK) January 16, 2021

The more I think about the mask exemption, the more I think the government have got it wrong. Some with disabilities seem to agree...

As someone who for years lived with a very debilitating anxiety based condition (agoraphobia) I am very suspicious that most of this concern for sufferers is real. Nobody was interested in any sort of concession to my anxiety then, a lot suddenly do now it’s about masks.

— Sam "Just Mopman" Pizzey (@mopman) January 16, 2021

Speaking as someone who's both autistic & has anxiety bad enough that even the DWP recognises it without going to tribunal:

If they aren't acting like they wish they COULD wear a mask, they are DEFINITELY faking it.

There's NO WAY a genuinely disabled person would get close.

— Polarity♒️🏳️‍⚧️ (@PoPlaysGames) January 16, 2021

And to be clear, if the government did not have the mask exemption (which would make it way clearer for shops properly banning people), they would have to have found other ways to support those few with genuine reasons not to wear one. But that would have been way better and clearer and safer for all.

BNT162b2 Pfizer COVID vaccine, on paper tape!

This is an amazing article on how the vaccine works, and it is so much like computer programming. Well worth reading:-

https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/reverse-engineering-source-code-of-the-biontech-pfizer-vaccine

So I decided to see just how small the vaccine is, and it is tiny. If you then code the components in binary, e.g. U/Ψ=00, C=01, A=10, G=11, and pack in to 8 bit bytes it is only 1071 bytes in total, or put it another way, 2.7m of paper tape!

I hope that gives you an idea of how compact this code is, way smaller than any computer anti virus code!

But do read that article, it is amazing!

P.S. I used to get berated for being able to read hex ASCII (not as good at it these days), but after taking the above pictures I looked at the paper tape and realised "that's not how an mRNA sequence should end!". Basically, the sequence has padding, lots of As, which translate to 0xAA on the paper tape which is quite distinctive and I expected to see it but did not. It turns out a change to the ESP-IDF MQTT library moved where the default buffer size is set (which limits MQTT message size), and so truncating my sequence by 73 bytes, hence the missing As on the end (and a bit more). The picture still shows how small it all is, as it was only a small amount lost off the end (I had text printed more tape than that anyway on the ends). But for those of you that cannot read the base code of the universe, on paper tape, it was wrong and would not have worked if you injected that paper tape as shown... So don't try it at home.

This is how it should end (video) :-

P.P.S. it is also not bad as a QR code (base32 encoded) - only slightly larger than the NHS covid QR codes :-)

The new rules (Wales, June 2020) - a little different to England

The new rules (here) come in two force 1st June, and are similar to those in England, but not quite the same. These are the main changes that I can see.

Section 8 covering leaving home is replaced. This now covers leaving or staying outside your local area, and being indoors with someone not of same household or carer. This is different to England which simply covers sleep-overs. There are a similar (non exhaustive) list of reasonable excuses as before. There is also an 8A which, unlike England, requires you to work from home if you can.

There is a similar restriction on gatherings, but unlike England allowing up to 6 outside from any household, 8B restricts to two households maximum in Wales.

What does this mean:

• Like England, gatherings from different households indoors are not allowed, except for some reasonable excuses. Note, Wales has a non-exhaustive list of excuses for such gatherings, so slightly better than England.
• Like England, being outside is now fine in itself - but you are restricted to your local area - so no trips to Barnard Castle for the Welsh. This means we could expect some police checks on people driving still, maybe, as they may want to check you are not outside your local area.
• Like England, gatherings are still not allowed outside, but the restriction is more than two households, not more than 6 people as in England.
• Welsh has not added the elite athletes exceptions present in English legislation.

I am unsure how this works if someone in England leaves their local area and goes to Wales. The Welsh rules cover being away from your local area, so that is probably not allowed.

The new rules (England, June 2020) - Barnard Castle trip definitely legal now!

We heard a lot on the news of the rules being relaxed, but in practice the actual rules are what is in the law, and finally we can see that here from tomorrow (1st June).

Firstly, from me personally: The virus is still out there, you can spread it and have no symptoms, and people can die if you do, including people you care about! Please wash hands as much as you can! Please stay away from other people as much as you can! Please try and do work from home if you can!

So, what are the key changes?

• Relaxed rules: The previous restrictions on "leaving home" and "being away from home" have gone, replaced with restrictions on "staying overnight somewhere away from home". There are a similar list of exceptions with a few minor changes. This basically means "going outside" is allowed, no need for reasonable excuse now.
• Enhanced rules: The previous restrictions on "gatherings" has been extended to cover private as well as public, and has been better defined. It covers "indoors" of 2 or more people (yes, 2 people is a gathering), and "outside" of more than 6 people. The definition has been cleaned up. Previously private gatherings were not restricted as long as you were away from home with reasonable excuse (including, to everyone's amusement, to "exercise" with one person from another household).
• Changes: The exception for work purposes is now just that - no longer says you should work from home if you can. We also see elite athletes allowed in various exceptions. Several additional types of venues are now allowed to open.

What this means...

• We should have seen the end of random police stops, and road blocks, as being outside is allowed as normal now, unless a gathering of more than 6 (so the Westminster Bridge clap remains illegal).
• You can gather with up to 6 people outside even if all from different households, and social distancing is still not a legal requirement (but please do it!). This means you can gather in someone's garden as that is outside.
• You cannot "gather" in someone else's house, even as just 2 people not from same household, without one of the excuses/exceptions applying.
• Employers may be asking more people to come back to offices and work, as the requirement to work from home where possible no longer exists. They still need to meet normal Health and Safety rules, but how that plays out is not as clear cut. It is quite possible that an employer could make an assessment that means temperature check, masks, and hand sanitisers is all they need, who knows.
• There is no issue with travelling, even to Barnard Castle, as leaving home and being outside is simply allowed now. The only issue is if you travel far enough that you would have to stay overnight in a place other than your home - though simply driving over night is probably allowed.
• This is ENGLAND ONLY which creates odd effects on the border.

It is also worth noting that whilst section 6 has a non-exhaustive list of "reasonable excuse", allowing some wiggle room (e.g. a drive to check your eye sight), section 7 does not. The allowed reasons for a gathering are a complete list, meaning no wiggle room.

Adrian has not explicitly mentioned that, when these regulations come into force, if you do not live with your partner and wish to meet them and have sex, you’ve got to do it outside.

And they can bring some of their housemates too, from a CV Regs perspective. https://t.co/Me3fN4kYpp

— Neil Brown (@neil_neilzone) May 31, 2020

Is it sensible? Maybe, from what I have been reading (on the Internet) the risk of transmission is way lower outside, the fresh air, wind, UV light, and more space, all helping reduce transmission risk. So the restrictions being on "inside" does make more sense, so maybe we have more sane rules at last. We'll have to see.

Holiday refund

Like many, in those heady care-free days of 2019, I booked a holiday, and now it is not happening.

If you are stuck without a refund for your cancelled holiday, do keep reading for some of the options I explain below.

The amount does not really matter - for anyone booking a major holiday, whether a few hundred pounds, thousands, or tens of thousands, it will be a lot to them. That is how we all work. There is a BBC article about a school holiday firm not refunding people - it seems to be happening a lot. In my case, having had debt in my life in the past, I try to make a rule of not spending money I don't have. Sadly, this holiday was for my family (those that can sensibly go on a cruise) and co-ordinating a cruise they all were happy to go on, with dates they could all go, for 7 people, was not easy. So when I managed it I snapped it up, extending my mortgage to pay for it. If I had any inkling about 2020 I would not have done that, obviously. So, in short, like everyone else stuck with an intransigent holiday firm right now, this is a lot of money to me.

When the "lockdown" started we had no idea how long it would last. The cruise was planned for June, and my grandson is so looking forward to it - I even made him a countdown clock he has by his bed with days, hours, minutes, seconds to the cruise on it. We sort of hoped it would still be on, but understandably we were concerned at going on a cruise due to the close quarters of so many people.

NCL had cancelled some cruise, but not ours. Then they launched a Peace of Mind scheme. This allows you to cancel up to 48 hours before sailing for a credit of what you paid against a future cruise by 2022. This is great deal compared to their normal cancellation policy/terms. I can see a lot of people going for this, especially with the perceived dangers of being on a cruise.

But this was, itself, a bit cunning. It means that lots of people leave their money with NCL, voluntarily, rather than getting a refund. Well played NCL.

I did consider it, but sadly it makes no sense for me. The effort of organising 7 people and a date and the right cabin was hard enough - I have been trying for years. The chance of that cabin coming up at all is slim, and it being on a suitable date to a suitable destination is pretty much zero. The time limit means that even if I found other suitable cruises, we would end up wasting some of the money. So no, I decided to wait. That said, I was getting concerned in case NCL waited until the last minute to cancel.

Finally, on 24th April, they cancelled the cruise. This was, in many ways a relief. Given the financial uncertainty facing us all, I would rather put the money back on my mortgage than spend it on a cruise. Also, I was uncertain a cruise was a good idea at all at the moment. So, yes, phew, I could get my refund.

However, the wording of the NCL notice cancelling the cruise was odd. It said they would give me a "refund" by way of a cruise credit and 25% bonus, and that if I wanted the "lesser refund" of just what I paid, I could fill in a form (not yet available) and wait 90 days. Well, no, the terms are crystal clear and have no ambiguity at all - they have to refund me within 14 days, simple as that. Obviously I could choose to agree alternatives, but if not, it is refund. In light of the wording I contacted them, on Twitter, and Facebook (and once I found the email address) by email.

I got a ticket reply saying they would answer in 48 hours. But nothing, not for 5 days, and then only confirming their idea of a cruise credit or refund in 90 days.

A few days later my NCL account page showed a cruise credit, but even with a 25% bonus it was around half of what I had paid, and expired next March. That is not a good deal!

This got silly with various exchanges, with them continuing to refuse to acknowledge their own contract terms.

Then they posted that "Terms and conditions are subject to change". I was fuming! Nothing in their contract allows them to change terms like this.

Obviously a change to the contract like this would not normally be legal. Even if their terms allowed such changes that would probably fall foul of consumer protection legislation. The Competition and Markets Authority are also looking in to this. This makes it clear that refunds should always be a clear option and paid in a timely manor.

They backed down a bit, saying the terms at the time I booked do apply, but still refusing to acknowledge that they have to refund me in 14 days. They really went in to "head in sand mode"...

Am I being reasonable? Are they?

One thing to get out of the way is the question of whether I am being unreasonable. After all, these are somewhat unprecedented times.

If you have ever been on a cruise (not just NCL) you will know how petty they can be - even an "all inclusive" cruise, sold using those exact words, will find you able to drink as much whisky or wine as you like, but paying $5 for a bottle of water or a coffee. It is unbelievable, and takes a lot of getting used to.

All I am asking is the they do what they agreed, nothing more, and this is what they agreed in the case of "circumstances beyond our control" such as "epidemic". This was not something they did not foresee in their contract. Given how petty they are I feel entirely justified is simply asking that they do what they agreed, nothing more, nothing special. And I fully endorse that they are offering a range of alternatives for those that want them, including bonus credits and discount holidays. Well done.

But one has to think of the bigger picture. If everyone expected them to do what they agreed (something we used to call "normal" for contracts), they would go bust, wouldn't they? Well maybe, but they are offering attractive alternatives, and if many take those, they have it covered, one would hope.

One argument is that holiday companies are having to wait for refunds from their suppliers, and hence unreasonable to expect them to pay up as per their terms. This is not a good argument, as it basically means a short term cash flow issue for a business, which is exactly what a loan is for. The government are even backing business loans for just this sort of reason. It is not fair to expect consumers to lend money, interest free, without any choice in the matter. In my case it is literally costing me interest!

So, basically: if they had asked to borrow my money; if there was clear protection in case they go bust; and if they were paying competitive interest on the loan; then maybe I would consider it reasonable. Otherwise, no, sorry, even in these circumstances (especially in these circumstances) I do not think they are being reasonable.

What are my options

There are some options, and this is perhaps where this blog post will be helpful to others in the same situation.

Waiting / taking up their offer

One option is to accept what they say, agree new terms waiting 90 days for a refund, or accepting the cruise credit. As I say, a cruise credit is unlikely to be something I could use in the time limit, but my main concern is whether they go bust, and if they do, it is unlikely I will ever see my money from them. So no thanks.

Dispute/chargeback

This is a useful one if you pay by card, as the card schemes all have a dispute/chargeback process. Basically it allows you to dispute a charge and if agreed, to get the money back.

The only issue is that it can take a couple of months, it seems. I also get the feeling it is reliant on the card company getting the money back, so if the company goes bust before the dispute is resolved, it may not work.

When I got the message about terms changing, even though several days to go before the 14 days were up, I took that as them saying they would not honour the contract, so I put in a dispute on Amex - why not?

Holiday Insurance

Holiday insurance may be an option. It has possible issues, and this is one for the lawyers to comment on I am sure. I bet every insurance company has a team of people making sure they know exactly where they stand.

One possible issue I have heard, and cannot be sure of, is what happens if I pay for someone else to go on holiday. Does my insurance cover that, after all, if they don't get the holiday I have not lost out. Does their insurance? After all, they have not lost money. In my case this was a holiday for 7 people - would I only get my share back from my holiday insurance?

I also don't know what happens if you accept a cruise credit instead - you have not lost out then, so does insurance cover it. If they later go bust, it is the credit, not a holiday that you have lost. I have no idea if that is covered.

I also hear that some insurers no longer cover COVID-19 issues for holidays booked after a certain date (mine was well before).

It remained an option for me if all else fails. 

Consumer credit act

This is a biggie - if you pay by credit card you have extra protection, as the card company end up jointly liable with the supplier for providing the goods and services. Liable for the whole lot even if you only pay part (e.g. a deposit) on a credit card. And this liability is on the card company even if the supplier goes bust. So long term this is a massive consumer protection for you.

Obviously it could take time, which is no help if you need the money now, and sadly it does have an upper limit, which won't be an issue for most people.

What I don't know if whether accepting a cruise credit would remove this option - one for the lawyers to comment on.

County court

This is always an option when someone breaks a contract, and the Money Claim Online web site makes it quite easy. It costs a bit, but that is added to the claim.

• In a perfect case, you issue a claim and the defendant coughs up. This happens a lot when the defendant is simply in the wrong, and they know it, like NCL do.
• In a slightly less perfect case you issue a claim and they ignore it. Two weeks later you get judgement by default (one click on the web site) which takes a day or so. At that point you can pay for bailiffs to go round and collect money or goods. NCL have a Southampton office, or maybe the bailiffs could find an NCL ship in a UK port :-)
• Sadly if they do put in a defence, no matter how daft, it goes to a hearing, which takes time. It probably takes a lot more time in "lockdown" as well.

Given my options, and the time the Amex dispute could take, this was a real consideration. I even sent a formal "notice before action" after I had waited 7 days to allow me this option (you have to do that before you take someone to court giving them time to pay up instead).

Statutory demand

One option I had forgotten, and was suggested on twitter, was a Statutory demand.

The principle is simple, any company that cannot pay its debts as they become due has to be wound up. If you are owed more than £750 you can serve a Statutory Demand for the money. They get a few weeks to pay, and if not, then you have to go to court and get a winding up order, forcing the company in to liquidation.

This is tricky, if they don't pay you wind them up (which costs money) and may not see any money. The idea is that no company ignores a Statutory Demand, and would rather pay what, for them, is a relatively small sum than be forced in to liquidation.

One issue is that NCL (Bahamas) Ltd is a UK establishment of a foreign company. Given a UK office, I may be wrong, but I am reasonably sure I could take them to court and even send bailiffs - I have no idea if it is possible to actually wind up such a thing.

So I decided to basically rule this out, especially as I have never done one before.

What happened

Amex are stars! What can I say!

I put in the dispute on the web site - it is simple - find the transaction, answer a couple of questions and put in a one line description. I did that.

The next day, I got around to making up a PDF with screen shots of the terms, and discussions to prove I had tried to resolve it and that the cruise was cancelled, etc. This is to upload on to the dispute.

But I could not find the dispute, it was not there. I checked "closed" disputes, and there it was. I was about to get cross at them rejecting my dispute, but clicked on it to see :-

Wow, just wow, this was in under 24 hours. I had not even loaded my "evidence" yet. What can I say. A couple of days later it shows on my Amex app. A quick message to Amex, and the credit is being sent to my bank.

I really have to thank Amex for making that such a quick and easy option. I am really impressed with their customer service. This was causing a lot of stress for me, and is such a weight off my mind now.

Two weeks later, NCL still show the cruise credits and no indication of the chargeback, they even called me trying to get me to book more cruises with my cruise credits, and they really did not understand the whole concept of being in breach of contract. Crazy. It may be some time before we remotely consider a cruise, let alone with NCL.