was in such pain that he forfeited his divinity and was turned into the constellation, Sagittarius. Achilles – was dipped in the river Styx by his mother to render him impervious to wounding, except the heel by which he was held. yarrow – appropriately the Latin name for this plant is Achillea Millefolium. A Counting Song – Corona Virus – the deadly pandemic of 2020. boom of the bittern – the unearthly mating call of this fenland bird. observed from any that walketh the fens – this, and other quotes, are from the works of Thomas Browne, physician, naturalist and writer, who lived and worked through the Great Plague of 1655–56, and who kept a pet bittern. He speculated about the mechanism of its cry, surmising that it was produced by an inhalation, not exhalation, of breath. In fact the bittern’s boom, up to five tremulous notes at a time, issues not from the wind-pipe but the oesophagus. two, two, the lilywhite boys and Five for the symbols at your door – from the counting song that runs through this volume, ‘Green Grow the Rushes, O’. Acute respiratory distress syndrome – the often fatal condition caused by a severe reaction to the form of Corona Virus known as Covid-19.

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