Dying to Know - Why the unthinkable has happened I am a runner with a special local circuit. One and three-quarter miles up to the top of the hill at Little Trevalgan, within the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall - and then back down again. 3.5 miles for the free flow of thoughts. You, the reader, are my companion as I run. Privy to the thoughts that bubble up from my subconscious, what you read is, in part, autobiographical. You also delve into the bole in my magic tree to access the fruits of research into matters that need further investigation. A touch of magical realism does not come amiss at the best of times - but this run of mine is being completed in the worst of times. I am running in a pandemic. How has the world become gripped by a virus that is proving so deadly? Why are so many dying before their time? You share my journey of discovery in the realms of history, politics, economics and science over the first year of this pandemic.