I have just returned from a few days in Manchester and I have been amazed at the way things are over there. Social distancing and mask wearing seem to be a thing of the past. You can walk into a pub or a restaurant or a shop without fear of being waylaid by some useless bastard who knows fuck all about anything. Vaccine passes mean nothing. People just mix, talk and are relaxed and realise Covid means nothing. They are willing and able to live with its nonsense.
Even going to Manchester was no problem. Whereas it would be impossible for me to go to Dublin or Knock and jump on a plane without vaccine double jabbed passport, all I did was drive to Belfast, an extra 30 minutes on the journey and hop on a plane without one question being asked. That is the stupidity of Covid. The rules are not there to to ensure people navigate the dangers of the virus, they are there to underline the power the various governments have on the people.
This ridiculous combined partnership of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, who are tripping over themselves to make sure nobody can spot their shortcomings and therefore letting the dreaded Sinn Fein into the holy halls of governing a half cocked country like Ireland, had come up with a plan. They were going to open up Ireland. Pubs could open 24/7, no vaccine nonsense, no masks and you could stand at the bar and have a pint. The only thing that keeps 50% of this nation from going barmy.
But no, NPHET or whatever they call themselves stepped in. This un-elected bunch of presbyterian do gooders who now govern this unfortunate country said no. What they have said does not make sense. You cannot stand at a bar and have a quiet pint, you can however now bring nine of your mates in and sit at a table when you could only bring in five before. Covid passports are necessary for all of this but you can of course stay there until 6.30am the following morning as opposed to the more historic and reasonable 11.00pm the previous night. If that idea does not bring shudders to the mothers and wives of men throughout the country, I do not know what does. However you can go to night clubs and dance your socks off with any fucking stray who might be around and order and carry your drink around wherever you choose. Have these Presbyterians NPHETTERS ever been in a pub never mind a night club.
By the way you also have to wear a mask in all public places, shops, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs I presume. How can you eat and drink and be reasonably merry with a rancid scarf tied round your face. However there is some freedom in that whilst walking down the street to your destination you do not need the mask. I know that this freedom will upset an awful lot of people who seem to relish mask wearing. It strikes me that the majority wear masks in bed, even whilst making love to whoever might be next to them.
How can one rule to mitigate Covid be good in one country whilst a walk across the bridge to somewhere like Belcoo in Fermanagh from Blacklion in Cavan open you up to so many viruses and dangers that would make it impossible health wise to walk back again to God’s own country.
I can only think that Europe, of which Ireland is a part, is that peeved with the way insulated, isolated Britain think and do, that they have just gone to the opposite of what Covid savaged Britain has done. A kind of tit for tat for coming out of the Union. That thought came to me more or less a week ago when I was refused entry to Dunn’s Store in Roscommon Town. I said to the jobsworth on the door who was barring my entry for not wearing a mask that in England “you can walk about without fuckin’ eejits like you stopping me.” He replied incredulously “Yes, but England is not in Europe,” Now that fuckwit could not have come up with that thought on his own. That was passed down to him from above. I do believe Europe is jealous of Britain for being the first country to see the light with regard to Union. I think most of the countries that signed up for the deal think that way. Only the main players and obviously those reaping the financial reward think differently.
I actually think Europe has been jealous of Britain for many years, for 316 years to be exact when old Nelson walloped Napoleon’s arse at Trafalgar. It was then Britain realised that a strong navy would rule the world. So whilst Europe was wondering how to expand its horizons in the rest of the world, the British navy just sailed into any port they wanted and claimed it as there own. When coaling became important when powering ships,they took over every far flung island and turned it into a coaling station. All Europe could do was catch a ferry to Dover if they wanted to see the world. Europe rose up once or twice, the Crimea in the 1860s, the Western Front et al in 1914, the Second War in 1939 but they were swiftly given a punch on the nose by pugnacious Britain. Secretly I think Ireland are kicking themselves that they did not stay part of the club in 1922.
How life would be now in Roscommon and every other county in the 26 who decided acrimoniously to part company 100 years ago. We would now have a free health care system, all the boys and girls who left it over the last 60 or 70 years would still be here, albeit most of them now dead but not may I add of Covid. We could all go to the pub or night club whenever we want and possibly be home at a reasonable hour. We would not have to be half strangled by pieces of muslin tied round our necks and neither would we have to stand acres apart whilst conversing. In Ireland now, I am sure the country is going to the dogs because nobody has heard or understood the muffled tones of their friends and politicians but it seems everybody is going fucking daft with all sorts of psychosis brought on by these same neutered politicos.
By the way, I have to say Manchester is getting more like Manhattan, massive sky scrapers, pavement cafes and lovely people. I think it is getting there if there is where you want to be.