When we look back at this period in the UK, attention will obviously be paid to the dithering over the lockdown in early March. The government scientific advisers (whether influenced by political advisers or not) clearly slowed things down. Remember what we were told then? 1/10

2/10 Big events weren't a big deal. It was ok for Cheltenham to go ahead, for instance. We didn't need to worry about schools. They could carry on as before. Seems a world away now. Clearly this all flew in the face of WHO advice and was completely maverick.

3/10 As our curve tracks - and exceeds - Italy, people rightly ask why we were so stupid. Why didn't we lock down earlier? But there is another aspect to the quarantine which is much less discussed. And that's the fact that we imposed 'lockdown lite'.

4/10 As Spain and Italy edge towards the sunshine, we are reminded of the severity of their regulations. Children locked up in small apartments for six weeks in Madrid. Adults unable to exercise. Parks closed in Italy. Restrictions were at another level to the UK, weren't they?

5/10 So, as we talk of going stir crazy and obsess about our 'exit strategies' and what-have-you, some people in continental Europe might rightly scratch their heads. Because the exit strategy in Spain is about nudging towards something more akin to the British *lockdown*.

6/10 This raises a number of interesting questions, doesn't it? Might our poor trajectory with death rates have as much to do with the *nature* of our restrictions as with their timing? Was the light-touch lockdown a reflection of the laissez-faire ideology of the UK government?

7/10 Would people in the UK have tolerated a more severe lockdown strategy, along the lines of Italy and Spain? Or is our increasing defiance - as witnessed in car journeys and application of Factor 50 - a sign that we are weaker-willed than our continental counterparts?

8/10 Is there more communal spirit on the continent? And that for all our Thursday clapping and Big Nights In and volunteering for the NHS, Brits secretly can't wait to get down to B&Q, wander around a garden centre and take a trip to a country pub?

9/10 John Harris wrote an interesting article yesterday about our attitude to the old in the UK. Could it be that in continental Europe, the multigenerational family settings that allowed the disease to spread are also a bond that holds society together right now?

10/10 Is there a case for some introspection after these events? Not just about the role of the government, its preparedness and the poor scientific advice it received. But also about our shoulder-shrugging, DIY-loving, toilet-roll grabbing, 'ok boomer' culture?