The Malthusian Theory

With new cases of Coronavirus springing up in Wohan, conspiracy theories once more abound. One such is The Malthusian Theory of Population, a theory of exponential population growth and arithmetic food supply growth. Thomas Robert Malthus, an English cleric and scholar, published this theory in his 1798 writings, An Essay on the Principle of Population.
Malthus believed that through preventative checks and positive checks, the population would be controlled to balance the food supply with the population level. These checks would lead to the Malthusian catastrophe.

So, as the population grows at a faster rate than the food chain can sustain it, nature takes a hand mand every 100 or so years it provides some sort of challenge for civilisation to redress itself. We can think of Spanish flu as such an intervention, but given two major World Wars in the 1900's reduced the population somewhat, no other intervention was required until now. Interestingly the Coronavirus outbreak has been triggered by events in China, the most populous country in the World. So, is there value in such a theory or is it just co-incidental?

His catastrophe is linked to improved food production processes which mean the population thrives and by doing so needs more and more land to build on, so restricting the food supply chain on whose land the housing is built. Result, famine and disease. So there is food for thought, read his article, and the many comments which disprove it.

Golf starts up again tomorrow I must remember when my partner is teeing off, to stay alert!!!   Fore!

Bat Out of Hell

Who would have thought an experimental dish from a soup kitchen on the other side of the World could create such problems, not just of the population involved, but for the whole World. What started out as a potential crisis for China has now escalated into a World pandemic the likes of which we have not known for 100 years. Imagine the difference in population numbers and the difference in scientific analysis when Spanish flu swept throuh Europe. This corona virus takes no store by technological advances and at the moment is blasting all away in its path.  We anticipate it will peak in May on the Wirral.

It is hard to imagine that only two weeks ago I was at Twickenham watching England beat Wales in my 49th season of such pilgrimages. The night before we went to see Magic Goes Wrong at the Vaudeville Theatre in The Strand. Even Penn and Teller can't make this virus just disappear, and the theatre stands empty now for who knows how long.

Golf, and the excitement of becoming Wallasey captain, is really no more now than an illusion. The senior Seniors are self isolated, all the prestigious events are cancelled and we wonder what is next for us and what we have done to deserve it. The Masters in Augusta to which I was going,  is postponed, and as I type Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott have announced they are postponing their arena tour. We were going to that too.

What does one do while self isolating, we aren;t 30 years old any more when the options would be singularly more attractive!! At the moment I am decorating the living room in anticipation of an event for the ex-Captains wives which will not now take place! I can at least give some attention to my piano playing and try to se if by the end of it people will be able to recognise some of my tunes.

My wardrobe needs some attention, how many polo shirts does a man need? and the garden is starting to bloom so that can give me the excuse to potter out of doors, should the golf course itself ever have to close. 

Will shopping on-line become the only option, what will all the DPD and Hermes delivery drivers do, and who will deliver all the e-bay and Amazon stuff if they are confined to barracks?

Boris Johnson has been handed the poison chalice, and inspired by his hero, Winston Churchill, he is being stoic and trying to get things done. It is disappointing that opposition members and retired scientists and medics are publicly challenging the approach, when all the Country needs is one face to the Nation. Have your grumbles behind closed doors, not on Newsnight and Question Time.

The Country will survive, particularly as it is the youngsters who seem to have the greatest immunity to the virus. It's the complete opposite of  World War II in which all the future captains of industry were the ones cut down in their prime. At the moment it's those who have lived their lives, but would quite like a bit more please, who are in the firing line.

Good luck everybody, stay safe.