I Am A Swede

Mentioning it would be ok, although I do think that Laurel would be more appropriate for Betty. They were almost like mother and daughter. It's funny, once upon a time I had a dream that when Annie passed away it would be a perfect time to re-introduce some characters from the past and give the show a new lease on life. Now I just want all my favourites from the past to stay as far away from Emmerdale as possible.

R.I.P Paula I hope they don't, and frankly, even though it hurts to say it, I almost wish they don't do anything for Annie either. What would be the point? There's hardly anyone left with any connection whatsoever to Annie, so it would just feel hollow anyway. The mere thought of any kind of funeral for Annie with mostly Dingles in attendance makes me sick.

Two-time world champion snowboarder Alex Pullin (AUS), has died during a fishing trip. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53331227

The parliament in Belgrade was stormed last night during protests over stricter lockdown measures. Serbia has seen a drastic rise in new cases recently. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53332225

I know I'm being bad and you're not supposed to wish death upon people, but there's always an exception to every rule..... 😈

What the hell is wrong with people?! Bayonne: Bus driver left brain dead after being 'attacked over face masks' A bus driver in the south-west of France has been left brain dead after reportedly being attacked by passengers who refused to wear face masks. The driver in Bayonne had refused to allow several people - who had no tickets and were not wearing masks - to board the bus on Sunday night, a police source told AFP news agency. The man, who is in his 50s, sustained serious head injuries after being punched. Five people have been arrested. Face masks are mandatory on public transport in France. Union sources told France Bleu's local radio station that the driver had attempted to prevent the group from bringing a dog on board the bus. The mayor of Bayonne condemned the "barbaric act", the station added. Regional bus services have been severely disrupted as drivers refuse to work following the incident. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53309424

We've done more or less the same, except for the bolded part. Our political leaders have been much too invisible. I agree that this issue shouldn't be politicized, but I would have liked to see a little bit more leadership from our elected leaders.

To be perfectly honest, while I think that we made the right choice to keep society as open as possible, I think that our politicians have been too passive during this whole situation. They are supposed to be the leaders but they have handed all the responsibilities over to the Public Health Agency. In times like these we look to our leaders for, well.... leadership. And that is an area where they have been found to be seriously lacking. And that goes for all our politicians, not just those in the government, even though the opposition parties are starting to play the blame game. They were all in agreement that the strategy we used was the right one, and that we should keep our society open and avoid a complete lockdown. Now though they are trying to distance themselves from decisions they agreed to back then and instead blame the government for our death toll. One of the reasons we have a comparatively high death rate is that the virus unfortunately found its way into retirement homes and nursing homes. Close to 90 percent of those who have died were 70 years or older. But things are looking up. All the numbers are going down and the restrictions that were imposed have been relaxed a little.

Interesting read. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53188847 I had no idea that Japan has used the same tactic, more or less, that we have used here in Sweden. No complete lockdown, only recommendations, yet only around 1000 deaths.

A first step could be to introduce a minimum age for entrance into ATP and WTA tournaments. Tennis history is full of child stars who have burned out at a very young age, or found themselves in trouble with drugs and/or the law.

Some people apparently can't help themselves..... How stupid can you get? https://www.essentiallysports.com/watch-alexander-zverev-violates-quarantine-rules-after-pledging-self-isolation-atp-tennis-news/ And Nick Kyrgios is not impressed with Zverev's behaviour https://www.essentiallysports.com/how-selfish-can-you-be-nick-kyrgios-blasts-alexander-zverev-atp-tennis-news/

There aren't enough in the world to illustrate how I feel about this.

It might not be all bad news for Novak. Now he might be spared the difficult decision about who would be the only one from his entourage he would bring to the US Open.

^^ Wow, that's just.......just.... I can't find the right words.... it's so revolting. "Send Granny to the grave".... I feel physically sick.