The people behind the gorgeous wooden tile game Sproutword are back with another equally beautiful eco-friendly wooden game. Hedgeways is for 2 players, although we've also played a light-hearted game with 4, and recommended for anyone aged around 3-99+ (best for anyone aged 6+ in my opinion). 

The first thing you'll notice is the box. Hedgeways is packaged in an incredibly clever all wooden box, and it instantly calls out to be wrapped in colourful tissue paper and given to someone you really like as a gift. 

The box is all-in-one, and you just flip the lid to open it. The front, back and hinge are created from  a single piece of wood, carefully cut and shaped, and it's really very clever, and quite special. 

Inside the box nothing is wasted and the entire thing is plastic-free. The instructions are very simple and printed on recycled card, and there is a cloth drawstring bag holding all of the wooden tiles. 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 12 /13 October 2020.

The UK added 17,234 cases today and now has reported a total of 634,920 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 219.074 tests yesterday. 

4,367 people were in hospital on Sunday 11th (up from 2,833 the same time last week), with 507 using a ventilator yesterday, 12th October (up from 393 the same time last week). 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 143 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 43,018 officially reported losses of life in all settings. 

Up until Friday 2nd October, 57,690 people in the UK have had COVID given as a cause on their death certificate. 

Rep. Of Ireland 43,351 cases and 1,827 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 38,243,553 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,088,221. Already 28,739,127 people have recovered.

Remember the English Government's announcements yesterday only apply from midnight tonight, so if you are in the North West or North East, no garden visits until afterwards. 

The Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester, Harrogate and Sunderland have been put on standby, as local hospitals are starting to feel the weight of COVID cases. 

UK student exams next Summer will be delayed by 2-3 weeks to allow for extra 'catch up' tuition time. They will start on 7th June rather than mid-May. 

I was a grumpy yesterday because we've had garden visits banned since July, and now they're allowed, when my area has over 40 times as much COVID as it did in July. I agree with Chris Whitty, the measures announced yesterday by Boris do nothing to actually decrease transmission of COVID, they can only slow the rise slightly. I've always been annoyed that the English government have decided to attempt 'controlled herd immunity by transmission' among the less vulnerable population. They are playing with fire at our risk, and potentially our expense, and some areas are about to get burnt. Well done to the Mayor of Liverpool for daring to stand alone and impose Very High Tier restrictions. 

 England COVID Briefings 12th October 2020

"Within Greater Manchester, we have seen a three-fold increase in the number of patients admitted to intensive care in the last 5 weeks, and an eight-fold increase in the number of patients admitted to our hospitals. The situation at the moment is that 30% of our critical care beds are taken up with patients with COVID, and this is starting to impact on the services that we provide for other patients.....  I stress to you the importance of us taking this disease extremely seriously."
Dr Jane Eddleston, Greater Manchester Medical Lead.

This morning Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, gave a Coronavirus Data Briefing, along with Professor Steve Powys of NHS England, and Dr Jane Eddlestone, Greater Manchester Medical Lead.
Case numbers are rising rapidly, and hospitalisation will follow around 2-3 weeks later. Losses of life will inevitably follow suit.
The UK picture is visibly getting worse by the week.
Steve told us The Netherlands and France are seeing record numbers of cases, around 40% of Paris intensive care beds are occupied by COVID patients. Spain has declared a State of Emergency in Madrid, around 40% of their intensive care beds are taken up with COVID patients. The situation in the UK is no better.
"We now have more patients in hospital with COVID-19 than we did when the Government announced restrictions on March 23rd."
We are reminded about the improvements in understanding about the virus, treatments and therapeutics. We are getting much better at this and saving lives.
In areas where COVID is especially high risk, NHS staff will be regularly tested whether they have symptoms or not.
The Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester, Harrogate and Sunderland have been asked to stand by and prepare for the possibility of having to treat patients over the next few weeks.
We will try to avoid delaying treatments for anything else during this wave. Go to your GP or ring 111 if you are ill, have a lump, get chest pain, etc. The NHS is open to everyone.  

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Weekend Update 10 /11 October 2020.

The UK dashboard is a bit iffy today, so not everything has been updated. 

The UK added 12,872 cases today and now has reported a total of 603,716 positive cases of COVID-19. 

3,837 people were in hospital on Thursday 8th, with 442 using a ventilator on Friday 9th. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 65 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,825 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Rep. Of Ireland 41,714 cases and 1,824 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 37,611,948 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,079,274. Already 28,202,212 people have recovered.

On Friday and Saturday the number of daily cases across the world exceeded 350,000 per day - the highest figures of the pandemic. This isn't only due to the rise in cases across Europe (which is very real), but also the whole world is testing more, and finding more low or no symptom cases. 

Tomorrow there's a UK Coronavirus briefing and it's pretty certain that blonde bloke who was Mayor of the Danny Boyle Olympics will announce the Tiers Of Restriction/Intervention.
It seems likely Tier 2 will trigger at 100 cases per 100k population - so a huge amounts of England are well over, by several times in some cases - from Liverpool right over to Newcastle, plus Sheffield, Nottingham etc.
No leaks yet about exactly what triggers the next tiers will have, or what exactly it will mean for people in those areas, but hospitality WILL be closed in some places, and the government’s favourite paper-to-leak-to is reporting there'll be some restrictions on inessential movement in harder hit areas.  

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 9th October 2020.

The UK added 13,864 cases today and now has reported a total of 575,679 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 285,015 tests yesterday. 

3,660 people were in hospital on Wednesday 7th, with 436 using a ventilator yesterday. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 87 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,679 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Up until Friday 35th September, we had lost 57,347 people who had COVID noted on their death certificate. 

Rep. Of Ireland 40,703 (+617) cases and 1,821(+4) losses of life.

There have now been a total of 36,950,832 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,069,577. Already 27,782,381 people have recovered.

"An estimated 224,400 people (95% credible interval: 203,800 to 245,700) within the community population in England had the coronavirus (COVID-19) during the most recent week, from 25 September to 1 October 2020, equating to around 1 in 240 people (95% credible interval: 1 in 270 to 1 in 220).
The estimate shows the number of infections has increased rapidly in recent weeks."
UK Office For National Statistics. 

Today's independent (not-Government) SAGE group briefing started with a warning that I think won't surprise anyone. This is "not a good news week." It was Dr Alice Roberts presenting though, so that made it a little better.
Test and Trace mislaid almost 16,000 cases, results for contact tracing are the worst ever. The time taken to receive results is longer than previously. It's not gone well.
ONS results out today show that cases are rising really rapidly, and doubling around every 2 weeks. The Public Health England REACT Study suggests doubling around 3 weeks, but with massive regional differences.
Northern Ireland has seen a very rapid rise in cases.

Happy Anyway is a self-help book especially suitable for young people with anxiety. Author Jane Hanford has sent me a copy for review, and although I'm a little older than the main target market, I can certainly appreciate the problems anxiety brings. Managing worries and fretfulness are also something that at least one of our children has really struggled with.... 

The book starts with an introduction, and you can instantly feel the enthusiasm of the author. She wants to tell you everything, and has a friendly, easy to read style that won't be off-putting to a teenage reader. The main body of the book itself is split into 'chapters' or what the author refers to as "40 short insights into how your mind works". 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 7th / 8th October 2020.

The UK added 17,540 cases today and now has reported a total of 561,815 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 254,579 tests yesterday. 

3,412 people were in hospital on 6th October, with 442 using a ventilator yesterday. 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 77 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,592 officially reported losses of life in all settings. 

We have a new figure today, and that is people for whom COVID was mentioned on the death certificate. The total up until Friday 25th September is 57,347.

Rep. Of Ireland 39,584 cases and 1,816 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 36,591,174 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,063,529. Already 27,548,442 people have recovered.

It may be about to get a bit harder in England, especially for people in the North. As per usual, the UK Government haven't made any public announcements, they've just leaked it to their favourite Fleet Street hamster cage liners. Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle have the highest rates of infection in the UK, and word is, the health system is beginning to feel the weight of the increased hospital admissions, so pubs and hospitality are about to be ordered to close. The affected Mayors are yet again complaining that despite meetings with government ministers this week, this was not discussed. They also found out when they read this morning's papers...  

The UK Government are thrashing out arrangements for their Tiers of Restriction/Intervention plan. We are expecting a Coronavirus Briefing any day to announce exactly what the Tiers will be, and which areas will fall under which tier.
No school will be closed except as a last resort, but it doesn't look as promising for pubs, bars and restaurants, and other hospitality and leisure. 

 COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 5th / 6th October 2020.

The UK added 14,542 cases today (the same time last week we added +7,143) and now has reported a total of 530,113 positive cases of COVID-19 (Up 83,957 since the same time last week, when the total was 446,156). We completed 273,100 tests yesterday. 

There were 2,833 patients in hospital on Sunday 4th October, with 393 using a ventilator yesterday.  (Up from 2,049 / 297 the same time last week). 

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 76 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 42,445 officially reported losses of life in all settings.

Yes, we clearly have a problem. Never forget though, that we still aren't in the position we were in during Spring, when we might have only been catching 1 in every 10 to 20 cases. Now we believe we catch around 1 in 2. That doesn't mean we can be complacent, but keep it in perspective. 

Rep. Of Ireland 38,549 cases and 1,810 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.) 

There have now been a total of 35,893,179 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,051,146. Already 26,998,272 people have recovered.

"Our best estimates tell us that about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus."
Dr Mike Ryan, World Health Organisation

As we spotted when the guidance for schools changed last week, the English Government is about to bring in a Tier System, which will hopefully simplify all of the various rulings in place in England. Rather than having to refer to your local authority to find out exactly what you can and can't do, each location will be given a standardised 'Tier' and that will have restrictions associated with it.
I covered what this means for schools on 28/29 September, and further information is probably also buried within different guidance pages, but few humans have time to read them all. Further announcements are expected imminently. 

Trump seems to have relied almost entirely on testing everyone in order to 'prevent' COVID-19 ever reaching him. He rarely wore a mask, didn't socially distance, and I can't comment on whether he even washes his hands. New York Times has it in one headline:
"Trump campaign officials say his illness shows the futility of precautions, many of which he did not take."
Nailed it. 

This Autumn Hexbug have released a whole load of clever new sets, and they've sent us the Hexbug Nano Flash Playground to take a look at. We've looked at a couple of the new sets, and the Playground really is what it says - a playground for your Hexbugs to run safely around in.

Packaging is really getting much better, but still contains some single-use plastic. Inside the box are over 30 pieces, including: Hexagonal base board, 2 x ramps, 8 x jelly walls, 4 x mini wall corners, 8 x mini walls, 8 x joints, 2 x merry-go-rounds, plus 3 Hexbugs - 2 x Hexbug Nano, and 1 x Hexbug Flash Nano. 

The Hexbug Flasj nano is bigger, faster, and lights up. It isn't quite as pretty as the regular Hexbug nano, until it's running about. They move by vibrating, which moves the little legs and propels them along.