On Thursday I said I would submit my view on Covid-19 as a special blog. I have summarised my views on paper but won’t now be publishing them here. CRFC very kindly allow me to write my blog which often allows me to air my opinion on many things outside rugby. I always try to remind you the good readers that they are MY opinions and not those of CRFC. On this basis I feel that to use the club’s website to air my own view on what is becoming a very emotive and highly divisive issue would on this occasion be wrong.

I do not retract any of my comments made to date and I genuinely fear for the future of our young people based on the current direction of travel and the ad hoc decision making process. I hope that in time some will say “that miserable so-and-so Bleater was right after all”. Only time will tell. In the meantime each of us has to make our own minds up and do what we think is best.

On that basis if anyone wants to read my view then contact me on bleater@crowboroughrugby.com and I will send you the missive on a one to one basis.

Back tomorrow with a look at the news that the Premiership might finally be ring-fenced and how the PRL are looking to set up their exclusive TV channel.

Thursday 30th Jul: 08:20

Like many I am sure, Colin has been watching the re-runs of the 2003 RWC. England’s finest moment, albeit Wales had them on the ropes for long periods in their epic encounter. Anyway following on from my suggestion that the scrum has to be a priority for the lawmakers but also the ruck/tackle area Colin makes some very interesting points. Firstly and I agree, having watched the England v Wales game and the New Zealand v Wales game the speed of the game and the skill levels were no lower than they are now. In fact you could argue the ball was in play longer and the game was faster. Colin attributes this to several factors one of which is the players set the scrum themselves, basically getting on with it. In his words no faffing about. Secondly rucking was old fashioned rucking where feet and power were used to win the ball not this current jackling. The point being made is the more the lawmakers mess with these areas the worse things get and the slower more laborious the game becomes.

All very fair points and I for one can’t disagree but, and there had to be a but, and that is in today’s safety conscious society and the need to keep the injury lawyers, and do-gooders and the snowflakes etc, etc at bay laws are going to be changed with safety in mind. I believe this is how we have arrived at the current situation. Part of the problem is the players now, even from just 17 years ago are enormous, they are fitter and more importantly way more powerful. Anyway, for the record I think old fashioned rucking was actually safer then the current state of affairs, especially when you see totally defenceless players over the ball being wiped out by 20st leviathans charging like rhino on heat at their mate. The scrum is a mess and needs sorting. I don’t know the answer though.

Perhaps we should do away with scrums altogether? “NO!” I hear you shout. Well that could well be what happens to rugby below the Premiership. Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston’s view is that rugby is facing significant challenges in planning for a restart and the scrum is at the heart of the problem. It has been suggested that if the game were to restart anytime soon then it could mean no scrums until after Christmas. What complete hogwash. This is quite clearly someone who has no idea about rugby union and is making this stuff up so as to get sound bites in the press and his name in lights. What a plonker. If you are concerned about rugby then the scrum is the least of your worries. The greater level of contact is in the ruck/tackle/maul phase of the game with scrums actually becoming less frequent. The full article is in The Guardian but basically don’t hold your breath waiting for a quick return to action at Steel Cross and be prepared to watch a version of netball instead of rugby.

By the way whilst a different jurisdiction the IRFU have said “no way are we banning scrums”.

Exeter Chiefs are incurring the wrath of the do-gooders and the woke brigade by keeping their name and their Native American iconography. They have said they will scrap the use of their mascot. Those campaigning have said the club is “tone deaf”, ignorant and lacking inclusivity. I struggle with the connection to Native America and you could argue those in the crowd with their headdress and tomahawks could be deemed offensive but Exeter lacking inclusivity is nonsense. Yet again I fear this another case of the minority trying to influence the (often silent) majority. For that reason alone I say well done to Exeter for considering it fully but sticking to their guns (probably a poor analogy under the circumstances but you know what I mean). Exeter Chiefs will have to be vigilant with regard to supporters behaviour however and of the 3,700 who signed the petition I’ll have a wild guess very few were proper Chiefs supporters. They can now go and support Lalaland Snowflakes.

The world is about to end...... four out of just under 850 tests carried out at the 12 Premiership clubs tested positive. Please remember they are using a more stringent test than the NHS one but some jobsworth might be saying “the percent of positives to tests is higher than the results in Spain. We must lock the rugby club doors and quarantine everyone for 21 years”. The whole thing is bullshit and when you consider these guys are now training full on, with full contact including scrums this is a remarkably good result..... in my mind!!

“Oh damn”the blazers at the RFU are saying. Having come up with a good autumn international programme which the clubs have (reluctantly) bought into the slap in the face wasn’t far behind. It is possible the RFU could be faced with a £6m bill from SKY who have lost the originally planned matches and could be excluded from these ones as they are effectively under the auspices of the 6 Nations who have a deal with the BBC and ITV. Hey ho.

That’ll do for now except to say no blog tomorrow or Saturday. I have come in for some criticism of my approach to Covid-19 and inevitably some of my views have been contrary to the Governments and possibly (the brainwashed) popular public opinion. I receive a lot of information, way too much to include in this blog but I do read it all and I do believe there is a powerful argument against much of what is being done and I do believe there are powerful forces maintaining the momentum and paranoia. This includes the big pharmaceutical companies and the Gates Foundation. Please note GSK who Gates is linked with received £500m just this week for a vaccine which as yet is not developed and a million miles away from being tested. My point is as an exceptional blog I will lay out my views as logically and coherently as possible in a Covid-19 Special on Sunday.

Wednesday 29th Jul: 09:20

The grand tour continues. Today’s missive is live, or as alive as I can be after a night with my sister and brother-in-law, from Burton-on-Trent, the home of British brewing.

Not much in the news today except the sad news that Andy Haden has passed away at the age of 69. Haden was an All Black great infamously known for diving out of the lineout earning New Zealand a penalty thus depriving Wales of the win. I was there!! We had the pleasure of meeting Haden in New Zealand in 2011 on World Cup Final day. He did a presentation to the Gullivers group we toured with. May he rest in peace.

Putin is backing Russia’s bid to host the 2027 World Cup. A bold move but unlike Japan it would be challenging for supporters. The country has eleven time zones and even now I wouldn’t use internal airlines and some of the trains are from the Stalin era.

It seems the Premiership clubs have begrudgingly agreed to the RFUs eight nation autumn series. It is a shame that the two parties are continually in conflict. Instead of “me, me, me” it would be nice to hear “for the greater good of the great game of rugby union”.

Mrs Bleater has pointed out how rude it is for me to be blogging whilst our hosts are having breakfast....... so I’ll leave it there for today. Back tomorrow when I’ll review my friend Colin’s suggestion about improving the game.

Tuesday 28th Jul: 09:00

Good morning from Bridgnorth, finally a dry Bridgnorth after the almost biblical rains of yesterday. The lead rugby story has to be the announcement of an autumn series with the 6 Nations plus Fiji and Japan with Georgia as a contingency if travel restrictions preclude the Brave Blossoms. Two groups of four which in my mind are not evenly split. England, Wales, Ireland and Fiji seems a more formidable grouping that than France, Italy, Scotland and Japan. It would have been great to have seen Wales play Japan and as England were due to tour there I am surprised England didn’t want Japan in their group. It all kicks off on 14th November when the outstanding 6 Nations fixtures have been concluded. The exact details in terms of venues (a Welsh issue) and kick off times and whether crowds will be allowed in will follow. Interesting format with three group games then a final placement game with the equivalent in the other group i.e. top v top, 2nd v 2nd etc.

Based on the simple fact that New Zealand, Australia et al will not be touring this seems a good compromise to make money but inevitably it will water down the 6 Nations what with having to play catch up and then the 2021 tournament kicking off again in February. Hey Ho, beggars can’t be choosers.

With regard to fans in stadiums there is a report in the BBC sports pages that suggests a huge number of fans in stadia during the Autumn is very unlikely and it is possible the entire next football season, so we have to assume rugby will be the same, will see games played in front of greatly reduced capacities. As an aside the report states: unless there is a viable vaccine with a high uptake before then. Flying pigs over Dover are more likely and DON’T get me started on vaccinations just yet. I still have to take my blood pressure this morning.

Amazing news for the British & Irish Lions in that they have secured a £6-7m shirt sponsorship deal with Vodafone. Amazing in the current economic climate and great news for the Lions. It highlights the strength of the Lions brand which is why I am always surprised why the clubs don’t embrace it more. There has to be some spin-offs for them. I don’t want to bore you with Mrs Bleater’s and my discussion about going to South Africa but I think it is fair to say this bullshit over Spain and quarantine does make you stop and think, especially when the cost is way, way, way more than your average two weeks in Magaluf.

I read the King Eddie interview with SKY. Didn’t say much really. His comments about the use of “swing low” was interesting in that he hopes the people will make their own minds up and hopefully on the basis of new found knowledge.

Exeter Chiefs are reviewing the use of Native American iconography as their badge. No I haven’t turned into a snowflake, politically correct writer of drivel (I just write drivel) but as Exeter has absolutely no association with the US and therefore even less with Native American history I think it is right to reconsider their logo. In my opinion keeping the name is more than acceptable and to change that is a step too far. That really would be political correctness gone mad.

What is it about beautiful Queenstown on the Southern island of New Zealand? If you have been there you’ll know what I mean about beauty. This is Queenstown where a number of England players disgraced themselves during the 2011 World Cup. In echoes of that seven as yet unnamed Highlanders have brought shame and embarrassment to their team and of course to themselves. Whilst letting off steam in their bye week they went too far with the drinking and late night antics. Quite rightly the Highlanders management have been criticised for not naming and shaming the seven miscreants, especially as the press have had a field day about how some players have become “self-entitled” and need to be brought back down to earth and made to apologise to those whose evening and night they spoilt with their totally unacceptable antics. Stuff.co.nz for the full story.

That’ll do for now other than to say “what a shambles!”. The Spanish quarantine situation. Also I went shopping yesterday for my mum. What a hideous experience. I actually removed my mask after ten minutes because it was causing me stress. No-one said anything, in fact over the road at M&S they said: “you should be wearing a mask but we are not enforcing it”. Now that might not be company policy but if that is the case then why bother. Yet another shambolic policy. By the way realising, and I am being serious here, how stressed I was getting in the Co-op I didn’t go into M&S even though I could without a mask. There is having principles but also being a decent citizen. Yes there is a balance that needs to be struck.

Monday 27th Jul: 08:30

With the weather being so awful on Saturday I managed to catch up on some of the Super Rugby from down under. The more stringent application of the laws around the ruck/tackle area and the offside line certainly have made the game a better spectacle. The ball is in play more often and whilst it is still a big part of the game the pick & drive is less important. I am still not convinced by the 50/22 rule nor am I about the goal line drop out but I am coming around to the notion they are both worth persevering with. One thing that remains tedious is the time it takes to set the scrum, often to be reset, so in that respect the goal line drop out is an improvement. Some cracking tries on display and plenty of bone crunching tackles.

We are not far away from the return of Premiership Rugby so it will be interesting to see how the games compare, noting the English game is not adopting any of the trial laws.

Going forward I think World Rugby has got to rethink the number of substitutes and sort out the scrum. Both are plagued by the obsession with size. The Guardian is the latest to discuss the need for change and like many they have been clear that these two areas should be the starting point if the objective is to speed up the game and keep the ball in play more often.

The Daily Fail carried an interesting article with Simon Orange, CEO at Sale. He highlights what a good piece of business signing Manu Tuilagi has been, even though he knows that when his contract is up next year he will be off. He is also very vocal about the way the salary cap was enforced yet encouraged by the changes as a result of Lord Myners report. Finally and quite crucially he is very clear that people like him who plough millions of pounds into the game each year to keep it afloat cannot continue to do so. Time will tell on that one.

I recently received a video featuring a discussion about the game down under. (Thanks Duncan). Part of the discussion group was our very own Tom C now playing for Drummoyne (a suburb of Sydney). The game in Australia suffered like ours with players at the very top being over paid and “Super” sides being kept afloat by benefactors and the union. Below that there were way too many clubs paying players even down to the lower levels. It was killing the very soul of the game. The ARU stepped in a drew a line very nearly at the top of the game and said “no more”. You cannot pay players and if you do the penalties will be harsh. It seems to have worked with a revival of the local club. Local people playing for fun with their mates. RFU take note. Your guidelines are already being ignored because the incentive to follow them is not strong enough.

The Aussie way is to play all the games from Under 6 up to the 1st XV all on one day in the same location. The weather allows this to happen so would be impossible in the UK...... unless we switched to summer rugby. Duncan and I discussed this on Friday and whilst I say the grounds would be too hard, he disagrees in that the grounds in Australia are hard and as a result you get a faster game with less contact. It isn’t on the agenda for the UK but having watched games at Sunnybank, Brisbane I can see his point.

The England 7s squads are on the verge of being cut. This move would be a cost saver for the RFU as keeping two full time 7s squads going is seriously expensive.

The WRU’s discussion with contracted players about pay cuts has unsurprisingly become bogged down. With just a few Pro14 derby games on the horizon and question marks about Autumn internationals still up in the air this one will run for a while yet.

Sky Sports carries another interview with King Eddie. I will read it later and disseminate tomorrow (from Bridgnorth).

Jackson Wray is another to commit his future to Saracens. I think the Championship sides v Saracens are going to be very hot tickets when the game recommences and fans are allowed back into stadiums.

The battle of words between New Zealand and Australia continues. Many pundits are asking “who will blink first?”

Leicester City as expected dropped to 5th in the table and so miss out on Champions League football. Am I disappointed? You bet I am. Am I surprised? Having followed the Foxes for 57 years the answer is NO! Let us not be downhearted 5th ahead of the likes of Arsenal, Spurs and Everton is a GREAT result.

I will leave Covid to later in the week when I will address some of the challenges made to me about my attitude toward the virus. I will say though that the latest knee jerk about turn in relation to holidays in Spain makes no sense and quite frankly in my very humble opinion I think there will be some who simply ignore the instructions to quarantine.

Thursday 23rd Jul: 17:45

I have no idea, nothing new there, how many people read this drivel on a regular basis. If you are a regular reader you might be wondering where I was this morning. The simple answer is earning some much need "brownie" points with the memsahib. The front and back fascia boards now looking like new.

Let's start with the proposed international window of Oct 24th to Dec 5th in the Northern Hemisphere and Nov 7th to Dec 12th down under. It is hoped the 6 Nations can be completed within this window and the unions can get their respective "Covid-19" tournaments underway and some money in the coffers. The complexity comes in that England will certainly be without a number of star players as they will prioritise the Premiership final with their clubs, Wales will have to play away as the Principality Stadium is a (empty) field hospital, and the Rugby Championship will be held in just one country, probably New Zealand. At the moment the exact dates are not available but the Premiership final is Oct 24th. The final rounds of the Pro14 kicks off on Aug 21st with the final planned for Sep 12th.

Sir Knowitall has taken a swipe at Joe Marler and Dan Cole about their behaviour just before the RWC 2019 final. He said they behaved like Laurel & Hardy during a press conference on the eve of the defeat to the Boks. Sir Knowitall suggests it was a sign complacency was setting in. Unsurprisingly Joe Marler has hit back by saying "change the record Sir Clive - you should be grateful you can 'milk the cow' for another three years. I say "go Joe" and you are spot on..... Sir Knowitall is never happy unless he is pontificating about this or that and yes he loves the limelight (bit like Bleater). For the record I don't think it was complacency that lost England the game, it was the wrong tactics thus playing straight into the South African's hands.

Wow! "Two Prem Rugby players test positive for virus" screams the headline on Sky Sport. What is wrong with a positive spin. "Prem Rugby ready to go as only two out of 900 test positive".

Players and staff are tested weekly ahead of the August 14th kick off. Premiership Rugby are determined to get it right and for "Mr Cock-up" to be well and truly banished to some backwater. The blazers are taking a very hard line and have issued a series of potential punishments for those who fail to follow the guidelines: points deduction and players being banned are being talked about. Head of Discipline at the RFU, David Barnes will adjudicate following the same principles as any other disciplinary panel.

Nick Easter to join Newcastle Falcons coaching staff. That is quite a coup and I for one think Easter will make a fantastic coach. He played under Dean Richards at Quins so no issues there.

Sean Fitzpatrick joins Scarlets as a non-executive director. Another amazing piece of business. Fitzpatrick is a very astute guy and has probably forgotten more about the game than others think they know.

Mike Ruddock, Wales Grand Slam 2005 coach, moves from Dragons to become development director at the Ospreys.

That'll do for now except to remind you that wearing of masks becomes compulsory from tomorrow. This draconian law will achieve nothing other than making a range of people ill rather than helping them stay better. If you don't want to wear one in a supermarket you should become a checkout operator. Despite the screens they will be exposed for hour after hour after hour but will be exempt. Ridiculously you can sit in a MacDonalds for as long as you like eating your burger but for the 5 minutes you are stood there waiting for your takeaway you have to wear a mask. The good news is the minute you are outside you can light up, chomp on your calorie laden burger and when finished leave the litter for someone else to clean up.

Back on Monday when I am sure the spin doctors in the Government will issue more ridiculous rules to keep us subjugated and keep the paranoia going. They are spin doctors because they go round and round in ever decreasing circles changing their minds more frequently than Katie Price changes her boyfriend.

Wednesday 22nd Jul: 08:50

Soccer dominates the sports news as the Premier League approaches its final weekend. Much to play for at the bottom, and except for the crowning of Liverpool tonight, still much to play for at the top of the table too. The second tier reaches its climax tonight with the final round of games. Who will get the big money promotion place alongside Leeds and who will be in the play-offs. Play-offs really are pathetic but that is just my view.

By the way good old Leicester City, the Matt Hancock of soccer, yet again promising so much and when it counts failing to deliver. Actually they've had a fantastic season..... Go Foxes.

Why are you wittering on about soccer? Well, in just a few weeks time rugby hopes to restart on Friday August 14th. I've been trying to gauge what it will be like without fans. For us armchair viewers if BT emulate what has happened in soccer with artificial but realistic background fan noises then that will be fine. What is not so easy to gauge is the impact for the players. A visit to Kingsholm on a wet and windy Friday night is never a nice prospect, what with the Shed cheering every move of the cherry & whites and acting like a herd of baying wolves towards the opposition, and lets not forget the poor officials who are never far from the Shed's thoughts. It is clear that home advantage in soccer has been less important. Equally some of the games have been more like pre-season friendlies. Only time will tell and despite my belief that the season should have been cancelled and we start again in September it will be good to have more rugby back on our TVs.

Will the clubs be ready? I can only go on what I hear about Sale's preparation so the answer is yes. Training is going well and the boys are excited about getting back to it. I understand weekly testing of everyone involved is in full swing: coaches, players, back room staff, the chefs and even those minimum number of stewards who will have to be present are tested. I am also led to believe that the PRL are not using the NHS measure of positivity, they have adopted an even more stringent measure. This means what others might call a "false positive" results in isolation. This accounts for a slightly higher number of positives across the Premiership than you might see elsewhere.

I am also reliably informed that Manu Tuilagi has settled in quickly and is raring to go. There is a spring in his step as he is apparently determined to add to his England caps and make the Lions tour to South Africa.

Speculation has already started about who will be part of Warren Gatland's coaching team in South Africa. Plenty of talk about Gregor Townsend and Stuart Lancaster. Too early to worry about that though. Gatland needs to focus on his floundering Chiefs me thinks.

What might have been deemed banter some years ago is now racism. An idiot of a Leicester Tigers supporter has gone on Twitter asking the club to sign players they could pronounce following the arrival of Kini Murimurivalu. Now here's the point. I don't know whether the supporter is an idiot and I don't know the context of the comment. You could argue it was a very tongue in cheek comment and offense was never ever intended. That is the trouble with the world, and the trouble with Twitter, people are so damned sensitive nowadays, especially as they only see what they want to see. I'll let you judge but in today's world it was misguided.

The storm around Super Rugby continues to brew up. South African Rugby CEO Jurie Roux has entered the debate. He is quite clear that until the SANZAAR Executive agrees a totally new structure the old one remains in place. He is clear however that South African Rugby will not miss out with an expanded Pro16 being an option but as he says all of that is a long way off with Covid-19 still a serious barrier to free movement of people around the globe. The full story is found in scrum.com.

Apparently Bernard Laporte has confirmed Oct 31st for the France v Ireland 6 Nations clash. We'll see!!

Former England and Lions wing Mike Slemen has passed away at the age of 69. Sad news, especially for those who enjoyed watching him in the late 70s early 80s.

Finally the world is getting back to normal as fights amongst groups of British tourists in Magaluf and a drive-by shooting in Chicago make the headlines. Apparently there were 12 fatal shootings in Chicago over the weekend. Mmmmm why isn't the city in lockdown and all gun stores being closed down as this seems way more serious than Covid-19?

Tuesday 21st Jul: 08:15

A paucity of rugby news this morning and the two stories that have caught the eye are both controversial.

World Rugby is maybe for the first time in a while leading the way by looking to ban transgender women from the sport. Being transgender is very fashionable right now with many discussions about legal rights, including the ability to declare your own sex on documents such as passports and driving licences. In this politically correct world it is also noticeable that organs such as the BBC (and I can think of many organs for the BBC and most are low down on the body) are including many more story lines about transgender and airing shows like Canada's drag race. The point of mentioning all this is because the minute World Rugby makes a statement like banning transgender women from the game the zealots will be out with all sorts of lily-livered misguided accusations about being transphobic.

It is very obvious that there are many people in this world who are born in the wrong body and they have the right to live their life as whoever they want. However there are many who have transitioned in later life and some of those remain men in women's clothes minus the male appendage. There are examples of women in sport who have transitioned and are now quite clearly exceeding the norms for women, almost matching the levels of achievement of men. There are two well known cases, one in cycling and one in weightlifting which can be cited as examples. These are individual sports so the risk to others is low. You think about a full on contact sport like rugby and the risk of injury to others by allowing transgender players to be involved goes up significantly.

By the way it works the other way too. I know females who are now being brought up as males and for them to be included in a sport such as rugby as a male would be high risk, this time to them as an individual rather than them damaging others.

It is a huge dilemma for sport and cannot be swept under the carpet or looked at with heads firmly in the sand. World Rugby are not always quick to put their head above the parapet but on this subject they have and as there are no easy answers or quick fix I say well done.

The second story is from Sky Sports and is about Harlequins and England's Shaunagh Brown. She is becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact political correctness and people's inability to be open and honest and use common sense makes them "colour blind". She is a women of mixed race and is proud of her background and upbringing. It is an interesting piece and highlights how being woke (whatever that really means) is make everything grey or beige. Shaunagh, having carved out a successful athletics career, turned to rugby and has made quite a name for herself since. Fitting in means not having people expecting a black stereotype or white stereotype, whatever they are, but seeing her as she is, mixed race. Basically "don't become colour blind".

It reminds me of working in and with South Africans. Terminology there is important and woe betide you getting it wrong. It is not racist to use "black", "white" or "coloured". That is the expected norm. I for one can see her point, however there is another side to the argument: how far do we go with segmentation. For example it used to be the gay community, then LGB, then LGBT, now its LGBTQ. The positive is about recognising peoples differences, the negative is people get awfully offended if you get it wrong because they now have a reason to be offended.

Yet again a no-win subject to cover but I'm glad we are still able to air them and hope and believe rugby is one of the most tolerant, open and all encompassing sports there is.

Lots of player movements but interestingly with few exceptions players coming in are not the high profile, high cost players they are players who are going to be squad players and for the entire season. No international call ups for them.

That'll do for today as biting the bullet and writing about such "sensitive" and contentious subjects has made my brain hurt and we have two of the grandchildren today. Must go and limber up for that exhausting challenge.

Monday 20th Jul: 08:50

What with Friday Club, painting my garage door and "other" stuff I haven't watched any of the Super Rugby this weekend. From the headlines it seems they were games of quality and drama. I'll try and catch up with a couple today, of course depending on what La Jefa has in store for me.

Good news for Saracens fans, I know my good friend O'Fez is delighted that Maro Itoje has signed a long term deal to stay in Barnet. I am sure money played its part but it is pleasing to see Saracens being rewarded with loyalty from a raft of top flight internationals all happy to have a season in the Championship. Loyalty so rare in today's snowflake, here today gone tomorrow world of instant gratification. Eddie Jones will be relieved too and it could prove to be a boost for the Lions with many Sarries players surely in line for selection.

Talking of the Lions, the itinerary has been known for some time so both Venatour and Gullivers will be sending out details of their packages very soon. Mrs Bleater and I had a (heated) debate about going. If it wasn't for Covid-19 I don't think there would have been a debate but she is right we need to understand the issues. Basically 12 hours each way wearing a mask, the thought of quarantine, how safe is it in South Africa and so on, plus the cost and what could we she spend the money on if we don't go. Covid-19 itself is not an issue as the stats would indicate only 81 people per million have died against 667 in Britain. You are safer in South Africa on this basis. The other elements such as the high crime rates need to be considered but I want to go. Time will tell.

The Lions at the end of 12 months of non stop rugby for some is taxing the minds of the likes of King Eddie. He is quite right that elite athletes need a break to rest and recuperate. You cannot keep pounding your body and expect to maintain the highest levels of performance. Something has to give or the mantra about player welfare is meaningless and should be replaced by "money, money, money".

In my recent e:mail exchanges with Paddy he eludes to this point by pointing out that Saracens have no idea what is ahead of them which in some respects could be worse than no rugby until October. At least in that scenario they could put a proper plan together. The issue is driven by the need for ........ money!

Come October, if rugby woke up and smelled the coffee and scrapped 2019/20 season and put a joined up well thought through plan jointly agreed by the unions, the clubs and the European blazers a new season could start WITH fans in stadiums. The BBC is suggesting trials will take place in August with October being a sensible time to have learnt and planned accordingly.......... as long as Matt Hancock has nothing to do with it.

Two other stories to comment on. Substitutes. There is a growing noise around the need to speed up the game. Eddie Jones has said it gets more like American Football every week. One proposal is to reduce the number of replacements to six (I would be more radical and go to three but that has been shot down by bigger brains than mine). World Rugby is looking into it and with King Eddie now putting his weight behind the idea we might see movement. King Eddie talks about the TMOs. He is absolutely right in that they have a positive role to play but it should not take anywhere near the time it does and they should only be involved in serious foul play and tries.

The other story centres around "arrogance" or that is how Chris Foy is putting it in the Daily Fail. Actually he calls it a superiority complex. New Zealand rugby is ready to cut adrift Argentina and South Africa from Super Rugby and will deign to offer Australia just two places with another going to a "Pacifika" team. Basically only New Zealand rugby are good enough and Australia Rugby is "not a charity"and to cap it all off the "Pacifika" franchise would be based in ........... Fiji, Samoa, Tonga ............ Auckland. Yep, I agree, arrogance is about right especially at a time when cooperation and compromise is much needed.

The Fail on Sunday carried an excellent piece about Siya Kolisi and his rise to fame and what he is doing to help the many millions of his country folk who live in abject poverty in the townships. It is well worth reading. It also makes you wonder why when so many people who live in these awful conditions with the most basic of amenities and good health care a luxury beyond imagination Covid-19 has not decimated the population. Give that some thought too?

Finally (some) people have at last found their voice and are opposing some of the draconian laws surrounding Covid. The compulsory wearing of masks, the possibility of forced vaccination and the imposition of a big brother track and trace system (that is rubbish and contravenes the data protection laws of the land). As one member of the Friday Club, who wishes to remain anonymous so I'll call him Duncan said "people don't like it but we British have a propensity for compliance so I'll wear a mask because it seems the right thing to do." Fair enough.

Back tomorrow.

Thursday 16th Jul: 09:00

Where to start? Do we have an answer to the question "when will we play again?" Actually "no" and it gets more confusing by the day. My good friend Gordon has been in touch and advises that some here in Sussex are suggesting rugby won't restart until Jan 2021. He gets this from his gardener. The fixtures for next season were released yesterday and they indicate a start date of September 26th for our 1st XV, albeit with a load of caveats akin to you buying travel insurance. (Basically you are fully covered as long as you don't go anywhere). In a previous document circulated by the RFU the earliest start date for our level was Nov 21st. So, in essence, I have no idea whatsoever........ but that is nothing new.

The fixture list for the 1st XV puts us in a very tough league with a huge amount of travelling into South East London and the farthest corners of Kent. Hove have been moved into London South West 2 so no local derby with them. If you go onto Englandrugby.com and into the "news" section you'll find all the fixtures. The league structure is awfully complicated as initially it is split into two conferences of six teams based on geography. We are grouped with Ashford, Deal & Betteshanger, Thanet W, Gravesend and Folkestone. Its a real challenge. The other conference is Beckenam, Beccehamian, Old Colfeians, Old Alleynians, Dartfordians and our good friends at Charlton Park.

If the M25 and M20 had a loyalty scheme we would be gold members in no time!!!!

The wonderful Ian G has sent me the 2nd XV fixtures which I'll mull over and report back next week.

Talking of fixtures the British & Irish Lions, soon to be renamed the British & Irish Dreamboats so the animal rights tree huggers aren't upset, will go ahead on the dates planned. This means the top players will go from a very long and arduous season straight into an intense tour against the World Champions.

Sir Ian McGeechan makes an excellent point in that he would pick as many fit and healthy Saracens as possible as their Championship schedule is nowhere near as tough as those in the Premiership. Elliot Daly signs a new a contract at Sarries and surely will be in line for Lions selection. Q.E.D. me thinks.

We are just waiting on the tour details (COST) to be released but we hope to be there.

It has been announced that nine positive tests have been found out of close to 900 tests in the Premiership in the last week. Of these seven are players. This to my untrained eye seems more than acceptable but if they weren't so hell bent on finishing this season and looked to start again in September they would have another two weeks to get the players fit and healthy and things would be simpler........ in MY opinion.

Jamie Roberts is in talks with the Dragons about a return to the Welsh game. Lets see how this pans out but him and Nick Tompkins in the centre at Rodney Parade, now that would be something.

The game hasn't restarted yet and the scaremongers are already out in force. The Guardian reports "Rugby players of both codes have increased risk of osteoarthritis". The Irish Times leads with "Rugby players suffer over five times more injuries than non-contact athletes". This of course follows on from Headway's fears about concussion when the game restarts. These things have to be reported. We cannot sweep them under the carpet and cannot ignore one of the causes is the games obsession with size and power. That said I am sure many, many, many more people suffer health issues as a consequence of inactivity, alcohol and tobacco abuse and from mental issues due to problem gambling. Yes, lets be concerned but lets not start a lily-livered, politically correct, snowflake campaign to ban rugby because it is "dangerous".

Let me end by I hope putting rugby and sport into context. Taylor Gough, who I hear you ask, was an aspiring young rugby player at Leicester Tigers who is unlikely to walk again. He was involved in a horrific RTA and has been left paralysed. A young man with a bright future in our great game snatched away from him just as his journey was beginning. I will never know what he and is family are going through right now but I'll have a wild stab that osteoarthritis isn't one of their worries. Let us in this wonderful community of rugby of ours spare a thought for Taylor and his family at this immensely difficult time.

Have a great weekend. Back on Monday.

Wednesday 15th Jul: 08:10

Lots in the papers about Manu Tuilagi's move to Sale. Many see it as a positive for Sale, Tuilagi and of course England. Some wag has written that "he will be out for the next 4-5 months after damaging his wrist while signing the contract". There lies the problem. His injury list is a long one but if he can stay fit and healthy then Sale have done a great bit of business. If asked I would suggest Sale try to use more of Tuilagi's range of talents rather than just a bulked up battering ram.

London Irish will play their remaining home fixtures at The Stoop as their contract with the Madjeski Stadium has expired and their new Brentford home is not ready yet. Sensible move for all I think.

Saracens breathe a sigh of relief as Mako Vunipola signs a new contract to stay with the Barnet outfit. I bet the Championship sides are fearing the worst when Saracens come to town yet ready to fill their financial coffers for the once in a season pay day.

Joe Launchbury is among 15 new deals according to Wasps. Dan Robson and the big Kiwi lump Brad Shields have also signed to stay at the Ricoh Arena.

The Irish Times seem to have a scoop on the proposed CVC deal with the 6 Nations. It has been reduced to £165m in part due to the economic fall out from the seasonal flu epidemic and the increasingly insurmountable problem of TV rights.

Talking of TV deals Rugby Australia has in desperation had to agree a pretty meagre A$10m deal with Fox Sports to get the Super Rugby AU on our screens. If the Bledisloe Cup games go ahead they may earn more but this is definitely a sign of the times.

Warren Gatland still has the full support of the Chiefs hierarchy despite their awful showing in Super Rugby Aotearoa. They have played some good stuff in my opinion and have an impressive squad. Defensively they need to tighten up and going forward they simply need to finish off the chances more often.

Excellent piece on stuff.co.nz about King Eddie and his very diverse background and upbringing and how that puts him in a unique place to understand the issue about the (perceived) lack of diversity in our great game. By the way I was at Steel Cross on Saturday and I was mighty pleased to see parents and players from a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds and a good number of girls wanting to play.

Apparently George Ford, speaking on behalf of many players, is "confident players will not burn out during condensed schedule". Let's hope so.

Sunday night and Leicester City lose at Bournemouth. The mighty Foxes delivering a kick to the gonads of all long suffering fans of the East Midlands outfit. Sheffield United at the King Power tomorrow night. Yes I'll be watching, probably nervously from behind the sofa.

Not long now and the pathetic rule that we will have to wear face masks in shops will be in force. I am sorry but it is pathetic in that only in March Chris Whitty warned the public wearing face masks will do little to combat the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. "Wearing a face mask has almost no effect on reducing the risk of contracting the illness".

Just recently eminent Swiss scientist Beda M Stadler wrote a long piece about many of the misguided, ill-informed and downright wrong assumptions being made about Covid-19 and how many of the actions driven by "Facebook science" and politicians is wrong. He writes "those young and healthy people who currently walk around with a mask on their face would be better off wearing a helmet instead, because the risk of something falling on their head is greater than that of getting a serious case of Covid-19"

Wales have got it right, in MY opinion, as they question why people in England will have to wear face masks in shops but not in pubs or restaurants. Wales Chief Medical Officer says "the evidence for the move was 'weak' and that there was only a 'small benefit' in wearing face masks"

Wales quite rightly are more concerned about deaths from the killer known as tobacco. They are exploring wide ranging powers to ban smoking in many outdoor areas, especially pub gardens and outside office buildings. This is more like it.

Tuesday 14th Jul: 07:45

Manu Tuilagi keeps his England dream alive with the announcement he has signed a deal with Sale Sharks until the end of 2020/21 season. This is an astute piece of business by Sale and under the no nonsense Steve Diamond the sometimes frustrating Tuilagi might just thrive. It is a high risk strategy as Tuilagi has been plagued with injury and can sometimes be a loose cannon on and off the field. That said Steve Diamond is no stranger to the discipline panel at Twickenham. King Eddie will be mightily relieved as Tuilagi has been one of the main battering rams in his side of bison and buffalo. The short term nature of the deal leaves the door open for him to agree a big money signing outside the UK whilst he still has mileage in his legs. If he stays fit it also means he will be front and centre (pun intended) when Lions selection goes ahead.

As hoped for the RFU have cut the wages of all those at the top of the game including King Eddie. His voluntary 25% wage cut has become a longer term cut than originally expected. There is much speculation about his future, especially down under where a cross code switch to the NRL is being reported. The opportunities in Japan and the US might interest the already widely travelled Jones. He still has a very lucrative contract despite the cut and with a very talented squad under his tutelage he may not be tempted to move until after the 2023 World Cup when his contract expires. Money talks however.

Alex King is joining Gloucester has attack coach. There is a team who have really shaken things up ahead of the hoped for restart on August 14th.

The Premiership restart has been much in the sports pages, especially the intensity of the schedule required to complete the current season. I like Ugo Monye's comment that "Player welfare must be more than a slogan in packed rugby year ahead". Monye writing in The Guardian is very positive about rugby's return but quite rightly and very even-handedly highlights the issue that could plague this short burst of games even before the long slog into next season begins. He cites an unnamed Premiership player who states there have already been injuries in the build up to restarting plus he uses the example of the NFL who went through a similar period of lockdown in 2011 and saw a spate of injuries in the build up to their restart and early into their program.

Monye praises the clubs for their work on protecting players but points out that as the seasons merge into one demands for success will grow, the expectation of the unions on the international players won't go away and player rotation won't necessarily be as robust as it should be. Great piece well worth reading.

It also comes as no surprise that the Headway organisation has come out expressing their concerns about the intensity of the schedule. Headway is a great organisation that highlights the need to reduce head injuries in all walks of life but especially in sport. Their point is well made and whilst Monye's article talks about Achilles tendon injuries and other muscle related problems concussion will be an issue when full contact rugby returns. Being somewhat cynical I am sure Headway's PR team have wasted no time in getting this report out as all voluntary organisations are also desperate for cash.

Irish RFU have finally agreed a deal with their players and new contracts reflecting the new times we live in have been signed.

A spat is developing between New Zealand and Australia about an expanded Super Rugby tournament and the Bledisloe Cup. I'll keep this up my sleeve for now but "me, me, me" springs to mind.

Thomas Francis is one of the 30 who have signed revised deals with Exeter Chiefs. I am led to believe as this is a revision to an existing contract he will remain eligible to play for Wales. A new contract would have seen him become ineligible as he falls short of the 60 cap rule.

For the youngsters who might read this please accept my apology for the use of the word "bullshit" but "bullshit" is what we are getting over the continued misplaced paranoia over Covid-19. The BBC did a piece about the comparisons between the Scottish approach and the English approach. It was almost a political party broadcast for Wee Jimmie and her separatist movement. No mention of the fact that just 4 million people live in Scotland and outside Glasgow and Edinburgh the population is pretty dispersed. No mention of the disparity in the ethnicity between the two countries. Absolutely no mention of the fact that the millions and millions of tax payers who live in England are subsiding fully the furlough of those who live in Scotland. Wee Jimmie is playing a very astute game indeed.

Bullshit reporting continues in that some clown of a scientist has come up with the theory that if you leave the middle seat of a standard short haul aircraft empty the risk of catching Covid-19 falls from 1 in 4,300 to 1 in 7,700. Now in my mind on the basis that the average 737 has about 220 seats you have to fly approximately 20 times on a packed aircraft to catch the virus. YES, yes this is a very simplistic way of doing things but you get my point. The article is bullshit.

Finally the wearing of face masks is to become compulsory in shops on July 24th. I 100% disagree with that and will not be going shopping anytime soon. Mrs Bleater will bear the brunt of the food shopping as a consequence. I firmly believe you are more at risk of ill health by constant wearing a mask than not. This is about mind control and keeping people ill......... in my opinion. By the way if I am wrong, which could well be the case, and wearing a mask is crucial then why is not implemented NOW! Will the virus have drunk enough of the chemical laden (and litter generating) Red Bull by July 24th that it has wings????

Got to go the granddaughter is on route and I must catch up on how another miniscule amount of people have got the virus in the UK and how an infinitesimal number of people have been reported as dying with Covid-19 in the last week. Do the maths 45,000 as a percentage of 70 million.

Monday 13th Jul: 09:20

Let me start at Steel Cross where on Friday those good old geriatrics did yet more amazing work around the place. Brilliant stuff reorganising the car park layout, continued work on the pitches which look amazing, keeping the surroundings clear of litter and many, many other tasks. A special mention for Max who cleaned the clubhouse gutters. As a result those who popped to the club for a socially distanced beer or three on Saturday could do so in pleasant surroundings. Thanks again to Emma, Jacqui, Simon, Nigel J et al for their amazing contribution too. It was good to see plenty of kids enjoying the grounds and many of the senior squad "enjoying" socially distanced pre-season training. Me, I had a few beers. That was strenuous enough.

I guess the big news is the dates for the Premiership restarting has been announced. It all kicks off on Friday August 14th with Sale travelling to Harlequins with four more games on the 15th including Bristol v Saracens with round one concluding on the Sunday with Saints v Wasps. I am not sure of the kick off times but believe the plan is for all games to be shown on BT Sport. After that the games come thick and fast including mid-week fixtures which will put pressure on the players. According to Darren Childs the clubs have been "hugely supportive". The schedule is intense but according to the article in SKY all key stakeholders especially the players are on board. Let us see how it pans out but I worry about player welfare so if it doesn't work out cracks will quickly appear in the plan.

One sensible concession is the removal of punishments for fielding what the organisation deems to be weakened squads. Resources will be stretched so it makes sense to utilise some of the up and coming young talent that usually languish in the A League.

The good news is there are no neutral venues or trial laws this is simply Premiership rugby back without the crowds.

For the record I still say cancel the lot, give the players a proper break and start anew in September.

Marseille will not host the European finals in October but will now host the 2020/21 finals in May next year. The EPCR like the PRL are determined to finish their tournament, which is madness, but as of yet only the dates have been confirmed. This will add more pressure on the clubs and most of all on the players, especially as the unions are planning to follow on with some form of Autumn internationals. World Rugby, the unions and the players go on and on about player welfare. Right now it seems it doesn't matter as long as the cash rolls in. I hope it works but there are some obvious risks where things could fall apart, especially as WRU Chairman Gareth Davies pointed out "almost non stop rugby for leading players for 12 months".

Lots of new contracts being agreed. Exeter have secured the signatures of 30 players including their star names. Saracens too have agreed new deals most notably with Jamie George and Sean Maitland.

When the Pro14 restarts late August it will be with a series of local derbies. The clash between Edinburgh and Glasgow could be in front of fans. A proposal has been put forward for consideration. I doubt it will happen as I expect the hard line taken by Wee Jimmie Sturgeon to continue.

Wales are in talks with Twickenham about playing their "home" games there whilst the Principality is out of commission and the Welsh Governments stance on Covid-19 remains more stringent than England's. Wales are also in talks about being part of the RFUs proposed mini tournament which will replace the planned autumn internationals. On this point former All Black coach Steve Hansen has launched a withering attack on World Rugby about their inability to level the playing field in terms of finances and their constant pandering to the English and French clubs. In essence if World Rugby don't act then NZRFU will start organising their own test fixtures and doing their own deals.

I watched a couple of games this weekend. I still have mixed feelings about the trial laws. The goal line drop out is a positive and a negative. Not having a 5m attacking scrum when the ball is held up is a negative but having a goal line drop out when the defence grounds the ball in the in-goal area is a positive....... in my opinion.

There has been just one red card in New Zealand and this was in 63rd minute so the new 20 minute rule didn't apply. I don't like this idea............. but! The "but" is when the red is for a second yellow for a technical offence then I think the 20 minute rule might actually be a good idea. For other offences such as high tackles, violent conduct, taking the player in the air etc. I think it would be wrong to have a replacement come onto the field after just 20 minutes of punishment.

I will leave you with a thought. Is the world going mad? Ten time Oscar winning film Gone With The Wind has been removed from our screens because of its links to slavery. This despite Hattie McDaniel becoming the first African American to win an Oscar. On the other side the BBC deem it in our best interests to be broadcasting Canada's Drag Race and no its not those ridiculously quick cars. Its not even Britain's Drag Race for heavens sake!!!!!!

Thursday 9th Jul: 08:15

In yesterday’s Times Mark Nelson did a piece titled “Putting Premiership before grassroots would be self-harm”. This is about the impending cuts at the RFU and the inevitable changes to budget and therefore investments in the game. Nelson points out that during the 2018 cost cutting at the RFU the 64 jobs lost then had a negative impact on the grassroots as the Premiership and the England set up were protected. In fact the deal done to keep the Premiership “on-side” was one of the reasons for the spiralling fixed costs. Grassroots rugby is under significant pressure already and whilst money is not the answer as there are many factors at play any further cut in investment in people and support for the game from above could see its total demise in some areas. There are plenty of fat cats at the RFU and plenty of hangers on within the organisation and within the England set-up. Nelson argues the time has come for the axe to be swinging in their direction. I agree.

The article touches on the madness of players at lower levels being paid. That message is hopefully getting through. Go Scottish!

It is rare that I disagree with Robert Kitson of The Guardian but his article titled “Tuilagi case shows England’s stuffy home-based clause is out of date” is wide of the mark in my opinion. A players career is short and they need to go where the money is at the top flight but it is important to keep stars in England to support the game as a whole. If as has been touted you make an exception for Tuilagi if he were to go abroad then where does that stop with other players? It doesn’t. You chase the money then you have to make sacrifices. Ben Youngs, soon to be 100 cap Ben Youngs I hope, has come out and said the rule should stay and in my mind that is a powerful endorsement that the rule is right and is working.

Let’s keep the rule but hey, what about a new one that says “rid the game of agents”. Tuilagi has been supported by Leicester Tigers through thick and thin. When he was a young lad it was Leicester that prevented him from being deported as an illegal alien. It was Leicester who supported him through his catalogue of injuries and misdemeanours. It was Leicester who paid him handsomely throughout. Their thanks from Tuilagi has been “up yours.” Yes his agent has much to answer for.

Exeter Chiefs are reviewing the use of the name and logo associated with the club. In these days of woke I can understand why complaints have been received and strangely for me it is difficult to argue the case. Exeter have no association with North America so the choice of Chiefs and the logo was an arbitrary one. On the other hand people are becoming overly sensitive and common sense has flown the nest.

There are moves afoot in the US with Washington Redskins (NFL) under pressure as are the Cleveland Indians (MLB). Strange however the Dallas Cowboys have received no such complaints.

I don’t know where this will end other than us living in a very beige world where freedom of speech is a thing of the past and everything will be the same so as not to offend anyone. I guess it won’t be long before the tree hugging animal rights mob demand Sale and Leicester and Bristol change their names and I can’t wait until the atheist society demand Northampton change their moniker too. The world is going mad.

The mass testing of top flight rugby has begun and to date ten out of 800+ have tested positive. This is a good result I think. I still say the PRL and the Pro14 should just scrap this season and start again in September. Trying to finish this season is madness.

Testing is irrelevant unless the results are for immediate use. Recently Mrs Bleater had to go to hospital for a minor procedure. Before it could take place she had to have a test which in turn had to be negative. This was done 72 hours in advance. That makes sense. Any other testing unless it is simultaneous mass testing is useless. In fact the way testing is being done is making matters worse as we are seeing an increase in positive cases which is being used by the press et al to ramp up the paranoia. There is no mention of increased hospitalisation (in the UK) and no mention that more positive cases without hospitalisation could be a great result. What we need is a test to see who has had it and what antibodies they now have.

Finally going back to yesterday it was the USAs Chief Medical Officer who delivered the news about the growth in young people dying of/with Covid-19. Anthony Fauci is a strong proponent of vaccination and has a long standing tie to the Gates Foundation. Whilst I don’t dispute the data and stick by my comments when it comes to Fauci we need caution because there might, I stress might be other motivations at work.

Must go, my agent is trying to get me a job blogging for Kim Jong-un. Friday Club tomorrow so I might not be back until Monday.

Wednesday 8th Jul: 09:00

Today's missive could become a Covid-19 special following a thought provoking email from my friend Paddy O'Fez. First a few words on rugby.

Over many weeks I have berated the press for their misinformation, twisting of facts and sometimes despicable propaganda. It seems that despite reading that a deal had been done between the 6 Nations and CVC this is far from the truth. Talks, depending on where you find your information, are on-going and the deal structure is much as outlined yesterday but it is not signed off. My sentiments are unchanged: beware the wolf in sheep's clothing.

Like me Paddy is concerned about the future of our game for all the many reasons I have bleated on about for sometime; clubs ignoring the Myners report, the mess with players salaries, the misguided determination to finish the season, club v country and so on. He has struggled to come up with any positives and suggests the game needs someone to bang heads together. Sadly as we have seen with Brexit and Covid and Trumps antics and woke behaviour compromise and common sense have been assigned to history (soon to be eradicated) with "me, me, me" being the only mantra people want to support.

Let me now turn my attention to his questions to me on Covid. Yesterday I was robust about people getting back to work and school, this being based on the falling death rate, the lack of any indication that the hospitalisation and subsequently deaths following the recent protests, no social distancing on beaches etc, etc are spiking. For the UK, unless things do change, then my robust view remains as is.

What is of concern is in the US things have taken a turn for the worse and many states are seeing an increasing number of young people being diagnosed and needing hospitalisation. Using the data supplied by Paddy the median age for patients needing hospital treatment in Florida for example is now 33 down from the 50 and 60 year olds earlier in the year.

We know that cities such as Chicago, New York and New Orleans have been badly hit but as we know these are places with incredible population density and in the case of Chicago and New Orleans the added burden of high rates of poverty, especially amongst African Americans.

What is not clear is the ethnicity of those affected, the overall health of those affected and the adherence to the guidelines on social distancing and isolation. We have seen mass demonstrations in many cities but there is not the same spike across the board. I would need a more complete analysis but to answer Paddy's specific question; would I reconsider my "rather robust" view if many younger people started passing away with the virus here in the UK? Absolutely I would, and without question I would if we started to see an increase in hospital cases and deaths in Leicester for example. Right now we haven't so my view is unchanged.

Paddy goes on to challenge the effectiveness of our Government's response and the lack of cohesion across the UK and the now inevitable blame game and lack of accountability for the mistakes that were made. Some of the criticism is very fair and I have been equally critical but some is not and across the news and others it is sometimes politically motivated.

Finally as Paddy points out there are rays of hope. We have become conscious of nature and our surroundings again, we have become more civil and respectful, communities have been brought together. Being the cynic I ask how long will that last? Based on the recent mass brawls on beaches, the tons of litter left on the same, the abuse of hardworking shop assistants, the ignoring of the law it is anyone's guess but sadly, not long.

I was going to start today with masks and food for thought. Think of a car. You fill it with fuel to make it work. The fuel is combined with oxygen to make the ignition and the engine efficient. The engine runs and the unwanted by product of combustion is filtered through the cat converter and exhaust system before going back into the atmosphere. Many environmentalists protest about these emissions as they are deemed harmful.

Think now of human beings. To work we need fuel and oxygen. The better the fuel and the cl