'Careless talk costs lives' warned the wartime poster slogan.
In today's war - against coronavirus - careless talk is causing anxiety and uncertainty.
And it is happening every day. Not on posters - long out of fashion - but in the press and on air.
Everyone seems to be at it; politicians, academics, health and science experts, all convinced that their views are important.
The latest tell us that coronavirus will be dead and gone in two years. That must be right because it comes from the head of the World Heath Organisation.
Yet on the same day we are warned by an eminent scientist, whom we have probably never heard of, that a second, perhaps deadlier attack will hit us come October.
Either or both may be wrong so we should not bother to think about it.
Government ministers, led by Matt Hancock, England's Health Secretary, are the worst culprits, ever ready to look into the unknown and announce certainties.
The same applies to reports and forecasts on business.
According to some reports, it is booming again, almost back to normal, while others warn that hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses are likely to go bust in a matter of months.
As for shopping, last month, the experts tell us, was better than pre lockdown with people spending their savings, making up for lost time.
But, wait, another warns us that thousands more jobs will be lost with department stores and smaller shops going bust.
Even more annoying are the constant 'surveys' based on consumer or business 'confidence'.
A whole army of internet based analysts and advisers pump out their latest survey findings, confidently forecasting optimism or gloom.
I would prefer facts, not opinions or guesses.
Stop this careless talk.
Just a suggestion for the prime minister who loves slogans -
BACK TO SCHOOL
IT'S GOOD FOR YOU
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