horsemouth al centro della terra

and so we approach peak death (part II). horsemouth is a bit flippant about these things. he knows people are losing members of their family (indeed people he knows are losing members of their family).  worse than the first time around.

the government are worried that as people are vaccinated they will no longer obey lockdown and social distancing regulations. (and they are right to be worried, that's why people are going to get vaccinated so that this can be over). the government are stuck upon a prong - on the one hand they want society if not locked down, then at least socially distanced, so that the virus does not spread, so that the health service is not overwhelmed, so that the death tolls are not even higher, on the other hand they want society open again and people going out and spending and digging the economy out of recession. 

can they have both? can they have their cake and eat it? probably not. 

horsemouth's advice, and he knows he's not morally best placed to give this advice, is to stay sat down, to stay home and wait for vaccination and then... well to stay home and wait some more, because vaccinating the world is a mammoth task, because in addition to not wanting to die of it yourself you don't want to pass it on nor be engaged in the kind of social activity that brings people who may catch it and pass it on.  in the end, while it poses some problems for horsemouth, it's not a difficult apocalypse for him, he's fairly anti-social to begin with. 

but of course a large percentage of the population don't have this choice. work compels them to be out and mingling. 

outside it is sunny (blueskies). today no work (horsemouth will go for a walk up on the common. past the windchimes. it will be very muddy up there. elsewhere in the country (as if to add insult to injury), flooding. 

in ercule al centro della terra hercules travels to the islands of the hesperides and then on to hades, christopher lee hams it up most excellently as a baddy, the director mario bava continues to work miracles with lighting, technicolour film stock and costumes. (techniques he will later apply to making giallo movies and straightforward horrors - from blood and black lace to black sabbath to kill baby kill! for example). in ercule al centro della terra the country is cursed (and the cattle are dying) because hercules's side-kick has returned from hades with persephone (pluto's daughter) - see horsemouth told you it was mythologically confused - plus christopher lee has been up to his evil tricks. 

in the end it is all resolved by the power of forgetfulness and everybody lives happily ever after (until the next episode if there ever was one).