Hard to believe that this time last month I wrote “just another month. … Covid-19 had no impact.” Then came the lockdown. I didn’t even mark the date, just got on with it. I was immediately surprised by how well Italians were taking it, with orderly lines outside the open shops and supermarkets and no empty shelves inside. Truth be told, for me, personally, there honestly hasn’t been that much change. I can’t walk in the park, and when I do walk, which I must, I tend to circle around near to home. Meeting people on the streets, both parties generally take evasive action, which is easy as there is very little traffic on the roads. I’ve rapidly become bored by all the advice being given to home workers, first time cooks and all the rest of it, but I realise I am enormously privileged. I expect we’ll be here at least another couple of weeks, probably more, and all bets are off for the summer.

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That was totally enjoyable, and I have no idea why I didn’t try it before. I wanted to watch a new documentary film, and I wanted to watch it in the company of a friend who is equally interested in the topic. So we fired up the film, got onto a Google Hangout together and just did it. And you know w...

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As we enter the third week of lockdown, the restrictions are beginning to get to me. Not that I am any kind of gung-ho athlete, but I do like getting at least a couple of walks in every day, and some more strenuous cardio exercise two or three times a week. That’s been out of the question for about...

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Thinking about risk and prediction recently, especially after listening to Talking Politics on Superforecasters. The takeaway from that was that the more you can distance yourself emotionally from the outcome, the better you are likely to be at both estimating probabilities and adjusting them in the light of new information.

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We’re almost a week into the lockdown here, and until Saturday morning there was almost no change from my normal life. Work from home? Check. See hardly any living souls in the flesh? Check. The new rules made life a little difficult. The lack of a morning cappuccino is hard, but bearable. Standing two metres apart outside the supermarket and the small local grocery stores likewise. As I’ve told anyone who’ll listen, the Italians are demonstrating the pure Blitz Spirit while my fellow Brits are pure Dad’s Army.

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