I have started this blog in the hope that if things get really bad people will see me as a source of accurate information, and if not that, then at least you will know where I am and come and rescue me! I am of course talking about the 'viral infection' that is making its way across the UK at a worrying pace. We are all familiar with the rumours and gossip (which I will recap on) but what I will be commenting on mainly is what I see outside my window on a daily basis. I will try and keep it objective but as you can imagine it will be difficult times for us all, particularly when it comes to an objective viewpoint.                 

My inspiration for starting this today was my first encounter with one of the infected, which occurred two days ago, on a warm Sunday afternoon. I had been to the pub, with my family, and had arrived back early evening with the pleasant sensation of a beer & sunshine glow. I first of all became aware of people leaving their houses and standing either on their front lawns or doorsteps,pointing and shouting to each other. I couldn't make out what they were saying so I opened my window to see what was causing such interest. It was a woman, in her late sixties/seventies, dressed in her nightgown and slippers. Her shuffling gait was the initial give away of her infection, as she got closer to my house the other tell tale signs became clearer. Grey, their skin is grey, I had heard this said but nothing quite prepares you for such an unnatural colour. Under the skin you can see dark purple channels where her veins lie, then there is that bloody horrible moan. She had been shuffling along quietly until the people started to gather outside and then she just headed towards the nearest group, no rush, just shuffling and moaning.I could see no sign of injury to her and I didn't recognise her, I didn't alert the rest of my household because they would just have worried. I was riveted.

         The crowd was growing,nervous,mumbling, the group she had headed for darted inside and shut their door, others, especially the kids, were getting closer. I got the impression this was the first time any of us had seen the infection on anything other than the tele. It wasn't long before a few of the men started to appear with baseball bats or golf clubs,cricket bats. There were shouts for people to get inside. The infected woman just shuffled around, seemingly changing direction when something new caught her eye or ear. I had been watching for less than a minute when the police vans screeched into the road, a dog van and one of the mobile police cells you used to get at the football matches. The vans pulled up right next to her and two coppers jumped out of the dog van (in the protective gear they wear when they are giving a display of what police dogs can do) Within a second they had rammed a bag over the womans' head and cuffed her,she had hardly reacted. She was then bundled into the back of the meat wagon and driven away as quickly as they had arrived. People stayed in the road, chatted briefly and then melted away, back to watching events on the news, as if nothing remarkable had just happened.

     I haven't been able to get it out of my head. These things are definitely 'zombies', the type of zombie you get in a horror film. The talk of infection and viruses is a red herring as far as i can see - that woman looked like she had died and reanimated with an urge to eat people. It may well be a virus, but making us think it can be treated as such could prove to be fateful. Government action has been a joke, simply containing known cases (as I witnessed) and then keeping the victims in what can only be described as concentration camps, until a solution is found.I have just realised that I have stopped being objective, bugger, i'm only on page 1. Sorry. Anyway, I am not listening to the authorities, they have told us to act normally and ignore the fact that things have being getting worse since the first case (two weeks ago). I am holing up, I am turning my house into a zombie proof shelter and I am going to horde supples, weapons and communications equipment. I am going to develop escape strategies and coping mechanisms. My wife thinks I am mad, but I can sense she is slowly coming around to my viewpoint. Tomorrow I am going into work and requesting a holiday, if it isn't granted I will leave. Judy, my wife, will have to make her own decision. Katie, our daughter, isn't due back at school for a few weeks and if i'm right...well, she won't be going back. I think that's enough for now, I'll get back to you tomorrow.Good Luck everyone.