Coronavirus diary, Wednesday 22 April

I have always admired sea pilots. I have watched them climb aboard cargo ships and tankers opposite Penarth pier, negotiating them safely through the tricky, shallow waters into Cardiff docks and shepherding huge cruise liners into Venice. Many years ago I enjoyed hearing from a pilot, a Cardiff city councillor, how it was done. 

Those nautical memories were brought back to me by our present crisis. Our country urgently needs steady, calm leadership and direction. The difference is that we are a long way from a safe haven. We are on the high seas where no pilot operates and, worse, we have no captain on board. It is all hands on deck but there is no leadership. The first officer keeps telling us the expert weather forecasters say the worst of the storm is over. Maybe the waves will soon only be twenty feet high not thirty as now so we sail on, battered  but with hope. At least that is the feeling I get today, with the media reflecting the concern, anger even, at the indecision. 

To continue the nautical analogy, we are drifting, storm tossed, seemingly helpless. There is so much  uncertainty.
When will some restrictions be lifted, when  will our children go back to school, when will we have enough protective equipment, when will we get the vaccine - human trials started in Oxford University today. And, most important, when may we reach our safe haven? To make matters worse, we are not being given a clue to the government's exit plan. More indecision. The sooner our captain is helicoptered onto the good ship Britannia and takes command the better.

The welcome news is that our MPs are back on duty today. Perhaps they will be able to question and persuade the government to tell us their exit plan.

As usual, there are conflicting views and faint optimism that the crisis may have peaked.  The plight of some of our care homes is horrifying, one tenth of all virus deaths. Most of them are still calling for more protective equipment, a problem the government seems unable to solve. Sending a plane to Turkey to collect  a few tons is a poor answer.

From Sunrise's pass the loo roll video!

It is not not all gloom in our nursing homes. Sunrise is an example. Today we had a celebration party in our parlour - the screening of our own movie, a video of a new style of rugby, pass the loo roll!  Produced  by the carers and staff it shows all of us in action passing a loo roll. After the show we enjoyed a glass of fizz.

A normal day at Sunrise? Not quite, but it shows the spirit that is keeping us happy despite the stormy seas.