Cognitive dissonance...

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort experienced when we try to hold two or more contradictory ideas simultaneously. I listen to the news, which is apocalyptic, and then wander out into Howden, where locals are going about their business as usual. It’s not easy to bring both these scenarios into sharp focus at the same time.

“Coronavirus? It’s all bullshit… just like global warming”, says one of the guys building the house next door… who seems refreshingly untroubled by the concept of cognitive dissonance.

I’ve decided to self-isolate in the Old Sunday School, with a larder of food, some cans of industrial strength lager, a reliable broadband connection and a box of mansize tissues.

Licensed last week: a shot of Cross Fell, the highest point in the Pennines...