HAZMAT suit added to the shopping list

[Johann]

I've called EVERYONE and their dog where I live, and am being treated as if I'm completely over-reacting.

Well, if everybody treats you that way -- maybe there might be just a smidgen of truth to it. If the dogs do - there's bound to be! Dogs generally have far more "emotional intelligence" than humans. I'm not criticizing -- just sayin'

... not sure whether to laugh, cry or just have a cup of tea and not think about it

You might try doing all three. No harm in it. You might feel better and I think that's exactly what you need. Again, that's not a criticism. You've had a bad time of it, with all the hoopla out there. I'm sure LaterBloomer would approve all three actions:

Have a tea and a scone, close your eyes, and think of England.

For a third time - I'm not calling you out in any way for referring to the locals as "Cornish bumpkins," while you were very upset. Not at all. I'm sure on a good day, you like the locals just fine. Even when you were most upset, you wrote that you had "felt happy to be living in a quiet corner, away from so much of the world." I think on a normal day, you get along fine with the people there -- and I know how beautiful Cornwall is. And I'm also convinced things will return to normal - and that if there was ANY measurable chance something might be going awry, the local hospital would suddenly be swarming with the best disease-control specialists in Britain.

"Nyns yw unn tavas nevra lowr." That's Cornish for "one language is never enough." And no, I'm not Cornish. I'm from London, 60-odd years ago. I had to look it up

Johann