But how deadly was it, exactly?

Not very much, if figures seen by Mr Pendle at the time of writing are any guide.

These showed that 102 people had died from the flu, all but one of them in Mexico, the source of the outbreak.

Just as with the bird flu "pandemic" that never happened last year, there was much hysteria and sensational headlines over something and nothing.

And Mr Pendle found himself in full agreement with anxiety expert Charles Linden, who said the stress created by the reporting of the situation could pose a greater risk to people's health than the virus itself.

Indeed, the Linden Centre says people with anxiety have been contacting them "in droves" complaining of panic attacks being brought on by the media's coverage of the situation.

"This kind of reporting can have profound and lasting effects on the mental health of some vulnerable people and is also implicated in the creation of anxiety disorders in non-sufferers," says the centre.

What is patently obvious is that the swine flu outbreak, far from being a global pandemic, is little more than a local problem which has been spread to 21 countries (at the last count) by tourists returning home.

It poses no greater threat to people than any other type of flu - but that spoils a good story, doesn't it?


YESTERDAY was election day for both Lancashire County Council and the European Parliament.

The chances were that Labour's long years of rule at County Hall in Preston would come to an end, while how the Euro elections, with proportional representation determining how many candidates each party will have in the North-West, will turn out is anyone's guess.

Certainly Mr Pendle will look forward to the announcement of the results this morning with interest – but he doubts whoever is elected, will make a great deal of difference to his way of life in the future.


AS the euphoria over Burnley's promotion to the Premier League starts to die down, Mr Pendle remains mystified by the national media's fixation with the ratio of supporters at Wembley to people living in the town.

To listen to them saying half the population went to the game, you would think no one from Pendle, Craven, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Calderdale and Keighley - to name but six areas where fans came from - was there.

But then again, of course, all Manchester United fans live in Manchester, don't they?