OK, so the subject of lock down has nothing to do with wine, but it is still a topic of interest to almost everybody, everywhere at the moment.

How is it defined, and what should it mean? Certainly it seems that during this crisis, there are some widely differing ideas of how it is adopted, and perhaps more importantly, how it should be enforced.

Here in Spain we have been under a full lock down for more than a month. Opportunities to leave home are few, and these are strictly controlled – there are both police and army patrols, and fines are issued to transgressors, as simple as that. No latitude is afforded for exercise, except for those with dogs, and only essential shopping is allowed – food and pharmacy.

By contrast, lock down in the UK appears to be much softer, albeit that recent guidelines issued by the police have, if anything, confused the definition even more. It seems that there are now so many potential loopholes that it could make the thorny issue of enforcement even more complicated.

Of course, as no one has any previous experience of this particular pandemic, it is difficult to say which approach can, or will be the most effective. The problem is that whilst we are all still desperate to learn, the number of victims is growing day-by-day and only history will reveal who has made the most beneficial choices.