We are now in the new normal of empty train stations, reduced timetables and injunctions to people not to take the train. As Captain Oates might have said ’We may be here some time’. The discussions over what world we will return to are only just beginning and there is some reluctance by government ministers to even engage on the issue through fears that this will encourage people to...

As a journalist for nigh on half a century, who has covered all kinds of extraordinary stories, big and small, I can quite easily say there has been nothing like this. When I pop out for my daily jog or occasional forays into shops, I keep on having to pinch myself that I have not suddenly woken up in a John Wyndham novel. I almost expect to see triffids...