COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 4th / 5th October 2021

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 7,967,985 (+33,869)
In Hospital yesterday 4th Oct: 6,747 (DOWN from 7,000 a week earlier)
Using A Ventilator yesterday 4th Oct: 769 (DOWN from 831 a week earlier)
Losses of Life: 137,152 (+166)
Tests: 940,981
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 48,994,530 (+37,671)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 45,021,381 (+29,337)
Up until Friday 24th September, 160,824 people have had COVID listed as a cause on their death certificate.

Rep. Of Ireland: 394,519 cases and 5,249 losses of life (not yet reported today).

World: 236,364,710 reported cases and 4,826,202 losses of life.

"The health advice has been that to date, we've managed to largely control the outbreak, but as you can see, with this outbreak - and with Delta - the return to zero is incredibly difficult. And our restrictions alone are not enough to achieve it quickly.
In fact, for this outbreak, it's clear that long periods of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases. But that is okay.
Elimination was important because we didn't have vaccines.
Now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things.
We have more options, and there's good cause for us to feel optimistic about the future, but we cannot rush.
That's why we need to continue to contain and control the virus as much as possible while we make our transition from a place where we only use heavy restrictions, to a place where we use vaccines and everyday public health measures.
We need to keep using the tools we have.
We need to vaccinate. We need to test. We need to find cases.
We need to isolate them and actively control any outbreak now and in the future."
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand Prime Minister. 

It doesn't take much to spot that here at The Brick Castle we are huge fans of construction toys and we like to try everything. Construction is brilliant for encouraging imagination and confidence. It develops problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination. finger strength and it's a brilliant way to learn some of the skills needed to become an Engineer.

2019 has been labelled as the Year Of Engineering and it's about time because the other STEM subjects (science, technology and maths) get a much better press. What we don't always realise though, is just how much relies on engineers. They are the people who decide what we can safely and sensibly build or make, what quantities of materials we'll need, how we should start and how to test the end result.


The people who built the railways were engineers, the people who designed and built your car are engineers. Your Nan was an engineer when she made up her own recipe for biscuits. We really need engineers....

Interplay have an awesome range of children's My Living World sets created in conjunction with Nick Baker, the Really Wild Show presenter and naturalist. The sets help children get up close and personal with nature, supporting science and building STEM skills, as well as teaching about caring for living creatures. We've been given Ant World to review.


There is a backstory as I actually requested this review for my 9 year old. He came home from school one day, incredibly excited about the idea that people can keep ants as pets and see into their usually hidden world. I'd previously been offered this set, so I went back to Interplay and asked if we could still review.

My Fairy Garden might seem an unusual product for my boys and I to promote, but pretty much all children love miniature gardening. Indoors or outside, it's an excellent way to celebrate the arrival of Spring at last!

Getting closer to nature through plants teaches children about life cycles and gives them a better understanding of where a lot of their food comes from. It helps them learn about taking care for living things and loads of other skills that will be useful forever. Growing plants is science!


This Easter My Fairy Garden had the idea to create a beautiful Easter Basket and one of my readers can win all the sets they need to fill one for themselves. The prize includes a Fairy Picnic Basket, Fairy Watering Can, Fairy Flower Pot and Magic Bean Pot (basket, cellophane, ribbon, flowers and chicks not included in prize)...

We are very long-standing fans of Interplay, and over the years all of our children have played with their pocket microscopes and bug hunting kits. We've had craft kits galore, but we missed out on the Fuzzikins Craft Cottontail Cottage when our girls were little.

Possibly the most pink and fluffy of my Christmas Present Giveaways, I know most young girls 4+ especially would be delighted with this kit. The 3D rabbit toys that arrive with it are completely plain, so as well as customising their house, the children can customise their own characters too.

I was really keen to review the My Living World Pocket Microscope, mainly because I have only very recently finally given up and thrown away the one which belonged to my second oldest son - now 18. After 10 years use, inspection and misuse it finally came apart never to be repaired. It'll have seen a few sights...


The My Living World Pocket Microscope is made by Interplay - the children's craft, nature, technology and science kit specialists. We've reviewed several of their kits, but this is our first in the My Living World range.

The FabLab Metallic Tattoos kit from Interplay has over 120 temporary tattoos in gold, silver and black. Recommended for age 8+, I can think of a few adults who would get a lot of fun out of this kit - including myself as it turns out...


The kit has everything you might need including the 4 sheets of tattoos, plastic scissors, a big piece of sponge which you can cut to a manageable size to help apply your tattoos and an instruction leaflet.


The tattoos themselves are lovely designs! Really varied, there definitely is something for everyone, and a lot are really very generic and could suit almost any potential temporary tattoo buyer.

My Fairy Garden is one of the Craft Box range of kits from Interplay, and it's an award-winning best-seller for children aged around 4 and over. There are 5 different products that combine small world play with growing live plants. Your child will be learning science while creating their own unique Fairy Garden.


As well as the Fairy Garden itself, the other products in the My Fairy Garden range are the Fairy Flowerpot, Lilypad Gardens, Woodland Fairy Door and Secret Fairy Door.

We're long time fans of Interplay crafts, science and nature kits, and one of our favourite ranges is Rivetz. Models made from thick glossy paper fastened together using plastic rivets. They're a bit trickier than your regular papercraft kit, so are mainly suitable for children aged around 8+.
You may have previously spotted our Rivetz Hornet - which lived on our wall for a few months last year and appeared in the background for many of my photos. It's a definite talking point, and a really impressive model.

Our latest review for Interplay is from their Technokit range. The Powered Hovercraft kit makes a working battery-powered model just under 30cm (1ft) long. It's aimed at children aged 8+, so my 7 year old has the assistance of his big brother for this review...


The kit is housed in a sturdy box, and contains everything you are going to need except a pair of scissors to cut the skirt and foam to length, and a screwdriver to open the battery housing - plus 4 x AAA batteries.

Interplay are one of our long term favourites. All of our children have found their craft, science, nature and technology based toys in their stockings several times each over the years. Toys that give a child a project to complete, and skills to learn.


The FabLab Style Lab is ideal for your more artistic young people. The Style Lab contains everything they'll need to create some great designs with body tattoos and body art, nail decoration and hair colour - and it all washes off!

A couple of our teenagers would love this set even now. It wouldn't be flowers and love hearts though, we'd have tattoos of Adventure Time characters and Thirty Seconds To Mars.

Last week I posted our review of the brilliant Paracords Survival Bands kit from Interplay. It's a great kit to make genuine Paracord Survival Bands for children and young people over 8 - and adults too.

Including a compass, carabiner, chalk and other items, the kit has full instructions on how to change a 2.4m long piece of cord into a useable item that can be unwoven in seconds when necessary.

Our latest review for Interplay is one I have had my eye on since I heard about it. Paracord Survival Bands are survival wristbands made from carefully woven cord which can be quickly unwoven and is strong enough to be used in an emergency situation. We might not be about to face a zombie apocalypse, but how many times do you find yourself thinking that a piece of string or rope would have been handy?


The Interplay Paracord Survival Bands are made from "military grade parachute lanyard rope" or 'Paracord'. They are strong, they actually can save you in an emergency and as this is 7 strand Paracord it should bear around 400lbs+ of weight - more than enough to lift, pull or rescue any person.

The Interplay Electric Racing Truck is a cardboard motorised vehicle model in the Technokit range. Aimed at children aged 8+ it's quite a technical build and the model maker will need to use their brain a little in order to put it together successfully following the included instructions.

I'm really a big fan of Interplay craft sets, and the latest one we've tried has been a massive hit with my 6 year old. The Wood Worx T-Rex will allow any child to make a fabulous looking wooden T-Rex model which has an articulated jaw and a neck, and a really fierce looking roar!


Inside the box is absolutely everything you will need to create your model - including a really nice double-ended paint brush and some good quality quick-drying glue. The model itself is entirely made from 23 wooden pieces.

After 21 years of buying gifts for my own children, it can get a bit difficult to find toys that are exciting and new. It's also very difficult to choose gifts for other people's children when you aren't sure of their interests - or what they already have! Wicked Uncle is brilliant for exactly this.


Wicked Uncle calls itself The World's Best E-Toy Shop. I can't be certain of that, but what I can be sure of is that I actually think it's excellent. Not only can it be used as a regular independent toy shop, it can also help you choose what to buy. Fill in the age and gender of the child and it will select you a range of toys that should suit that child.

Today I'm launching a great giveaway to get you into the festival mood. The sun has been here, the t-shirts are coming out, and I for one am looking ahead to lazy Summer days and music while I lounge on the grass and enjoy the fresh air. Braided bracelets, beads and feathers will be everywhere by mid-July and Interplay are giving you the chance to make your very own personalised festival jewellery.