Fundraiser

On Friday our family are doing a 100km sponsored exercise bike ride in support of TEAR Fund, in reponse to the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the developing world. If you'd like to support that, please go here, or you can donate direct via the TEAR Fund website.

Most countries have a much sketchier welfare state than ours - in many places, lockdown means no work, no work means no food or money. It is a choice between infection or starvation. Or it means confinement in a refugee camp or slum where social distancing is all but impossible, and there isn't access to clean water or soap for the basic act of washing hands.

To get some idea of the challenge, have a look at this article:

South Africa, which has one of Africa’s best public health systems, has fewer than 1,000 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, of which 160 are in the private sector, for a population of 56m. In Malawi, there are about 25 ICU beds in public hospitals, serving 17 million people. The main infectious diseases hospital in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, has none.

Webcasts: 'Solitude' and 'Touch'

Like everyone else we've ventured into the wonders of modern technology, here's a couple of recent reflections posted on our Youtube channel, on Touch and Solitude. Sorry about the scary pictures. And yes I am going to tidy my study. Maybe.