Next Stop Oblivion

I read that the PDC World Darts Championship this year will be played before fans. Up to 1000 fans will be allowed in to the Alexandra Palace for each session, but they won’t be able to sing, chant, wear fancy dress or get pissed. What must PDC fans think? Judging from what I have seen, the darts itself is a bit of an afterthought for most punters. But wait a minute. London is tipped to go into Tier 3 next week and if that happens, this event will be played in front of no one.

Most people I speak to in Bristol think we’re about to leave Tier 3 and move into Tier 2. I just can’t see it. While the COVID numbers have come down massively, they’re still not low and as of today our local hospital has 55 COVID patients, eight of whom are in ICU. It’s much better, or rather not as bad as it was a few weeks ago, but I suspect Matt Hancock will have other things on his mind when he makes The Big Decision next week.

Two weeks today, it’s Christmas. The government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to abandon all COVID rules for five days over the festive period. Boris Johnson is, I suspect, hoping that the virus will have a holiday too, having spent the year killing well over 60,000 people in the UK alone. It must be exhausted. But I have bad news: that COVID thingee is a right nasty bastard and it won’t be taking a break. It will use these five days to infect and kill probably many thousands of people.

I see Bristol being in Tier 3 until the New Year when the whole country will be back under some form of lockdown again. Chief Liar Johnson may try to call it something other than a lockdown, but I fear the third wave will be upon us before we can say Auld Lang Syne.

What an absolute shit show with which to end the year. At least we have the worst recession in 300 years and a disastrous hard Brexit to look forward to in the coming weeks and months. Next stop oblivion.