THE only thing familiar about this Easter was the chocolate and a row involving Sinn Fein. Traditionally, it was unionist politicians frothing at the mouth over SF appearances at republican commemorations alongside people in handknit balaclavas. This year, it was Michelle O'Neill accusing the health minister of swanning off on a solo run to call in help from the British army.
There was right and wrong on both sides. Robin Swann had already indicated that he might use that option and had previously informed members of the Executive. At the time journos questioned Sinn Fein about this and, after being scolded for reducing everything to orange and green, O'Neill said they would accept any help to save lives.
Whether the army is actually needed to make deliveries when there is an entire industry of HGV lorries and drivers standing idle is a moot point. The BBC's Julian O'Neill tweeted that the last time the army provided support was when the RAF dropped animal feed on farms cut off by snow in 2013 – at the request of the then minister of agriculture, one Michelle O'Neill. Former Stormont press supremo Stephen Grimason replied that he remembered it well. The Irish Air force also helped. They did it for free – the RAF sent a bill.
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WHILE we're all wondering how long lockdown will continue, there's also been much talk of whether this global crisis will ultimately change society – and will it be for the better? Certainly, the displays of human solidarity in the weekly clapping for NHS staff and other essential workers can be moving, but it will be interesting to see if it leads to any change in the status of those people who we have come to depend on for normal life, who are also invariably among the lowest paid: postal workers, shop assistants, delivery drivers and most of all, the staff who provide such a vital service in care homes for the vulnerable elderly. Instead of applause, how about they get PPE and better wages in recognition of their service?
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SO, BORIS Johnson is recuperating from his illness in his second home, Chequers. He was at pains to express his gratitude to the NHS for saving his life. He particularly singled out the care he received from two nurses, Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal. What a pity his government, including the obnoxious daughter of immigrants, Priti Patel, has made it more difficult for Luis and Jenny's compatriots to settle in post-Brexit Britain.
If this crisis has taught us anything it is how much the health service depends on foreign-born workers to keep it going. Many of them have already paid with their lives. When this is all over, will their sacrifice will be remembered, or will it recall the Irish saying "eaten bread is soon forgotten"?
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I'M OLD enough to remember David Icke when he was a normal sports reporter. That was before he was kidnapped by aliens or whatever it was that changed him into a nutter. He's been wanging on about a link between Covid-19 and 5G, which he says is a plot by governments to destroy the economy and introduce mass surveillance.
Other conspiracy theorists have taken this so seriously they've damaged around 40 masts across the country, including the one at the Birmingham Nightingale hospital. This is the man who said the world would end in 1997, Los Angeles would become an island and New Zealand would disappear, as he was told by "spirit writing".
Now our own Eamonn Holmes has entered the fray, prompting more than 400 complaints to Ofcom from viewers, by bringing it up on that well known bastion of scientific enquiry ITV's This Morning. He stressed that he agreed with presenter Alice Beer who said the claims were incredibly stupid, but then added that the mainstream media should not be slapping it down because they didn't know if it was untrue or merely didn't fit the state narrative. He may have come down with that other virus that afflicts people in the public eye – foot in mouth.
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I AM still enjoying the 'house porn' thrill of looking at other people's homes during telly interviews. I was a tad worried at Jonathan Powell's gaff, which appeared to have artwork from the Kama Sutra behind his left ear. But then I saw the attic room in which shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was speaking. There was nothing except a bed covered in a white sheet, with blank walls behind. She's either into minimalism big time, or she's been taken into witness protection.
