30.11.2021 Omicron +4

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Tuesday 30th 39-41F. Pitch black outside at 7.30am with light rain. Still too dark for a walk at 8.00. I finally left at 8.20 with my hood up and my hands deep in my pockets. The wind roared menacingly in the roadside trees. Making the gulls even more restless than usual. Barely alighting on the fields before they took off again. Almost as if they we too light to stay on the ground. 

A bird of prey fought to steer itself along the lee of a battered hedge. I myself was being bodily pushed about where there were no sheltering hedges. A splash of brightness in the east again.

Gusts to over 40mph are expected from the NW around lunchtime. We are best sheltered from that direction provided the huge trees don't blow over. One of the white willows broke in half in a previous storm. Northern Jylland [Jutland] is expecting a snow storm tomorrow with storm force winds from today. Turkey and the UK have suffered storms with fierce winds. Trees down and buildings toppled or damaged.

Global opinions are deeply divided about the highly mutated, Omicron version of the Jinping Plague. The US is not closing down but recommends masks and vaccines. While many other countries are closing their borders. Alas too late, judging by the numbers of infected taking vital holidays by air travel. Refugees being smuggled across borders? The infected escaping quarantine hotels. Take your pick of potential leaks in your imaginary, isolation bubbles.

I had an odd thought: How do armies cope with the virus? All those people packed tightly together in barracks and vehicles. Waiting on a border ready to invade. Ships are worse, but can, at least, be isolated from outside contamination. Provided, of course, they remain at sea. A virus vector from resupplies? New personnel being flown in? How is a dictator to increase his offshore bank balance under these conditions?

The area of Denmark forecast to be affected by tomorrow's snowstorm has been widened to include Jylland and Sjælland. [Eng. Jutland and Zealand]

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