When will this shit end?

[FestivalJamie]

38 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

just out of interest has anyone been wearing face masks / coverings to visit parents ? my visits have been nearly all outdoors up to now although I once got caught out by rain .... pretty sure my dad would be annoyed if I did it ... but hey 

I wear a mask to see my great aunt (she is around 80 and has cancer issues)- but the rest of my family I wouldn’t consider in a particularly at risk category so I just make the best effort I can to stay 1-2m apart and normally meet outside but sometimes inside.

8 minutes ago, northernringo said:

Everyone in her year has been told to stay off school with no return date given. Is the entire year expected to self-isolate? I don't get it. My partner still lives with her sister and she has gone to work today as a supply teacher for a primary school. 

Yes, schools work in “year group” bubbles so if one person tests positive, the whole year group (which can be up to 300 people) have to come off and miss education for 2 weeks. Ludicrous I know, testing would be a far better solution but no one can get access to those right now.  As far as I’m aware it’s only those in direct contact with the person so family members wouldn’t have to isolate.

—-

On a separate note, I’m going a little bit crazy. I thought going away for a week would have boosted my confidence to spend more time doing things out of the house back at home.. but it hasn’t! Every time I think about doing something now I’m back I just compare how unsafe I feel here compared to in germany and i feel like I’m going to start living a lockdown life again! I just can’t see how the government is so incompetent to not have introduced basic rules yet like masks in pubs restaurants and bars and for indoor shop workers too and instead we are talking about banning households meeting up and a nationwide curfew? The new restrictions are getting so incompetent and ridiculous and rather than doing things which are going to stop transmission they are making arbitrary restrictions which will cause cases to surge exponentially either way!

Im supposed to be starting uni in 2 weeks, I’m not looking forward to it. I just feel like I’m gonna be a loner, I’m gonna stick to all the rules and if people break them and have house parties I’m going to be very upset and I probably will end up with no friends to be honest.

[DeanoL]

2 minutes ago, FestivalJamie said:

Im supposed to be starting uni in 2 weeks, I’m not looking forward to it. I just feel like I’m gonna be a loner, I’m gonna stick to all the rules and if people break them and have house parties I’m going to be very upset and I probably will end up with no friends to be honest.

Are you in halls or a shared house with other students?

I think most unis will be on it - you might miss out on a few house parties, but if there are uni societies and such they'll be having to organise events that are in line with the rules.

[steviewevie]

I actually haven't got a ticket for Glastonbury, and wouldn't be going next year anyway as daughter will probably still be doing GCSEs due to delays and she's little Miss Anxious and it could be a very tense time.

So, I hope it isn't on.

Only joking.

[Ozanne]

4 minutes ago, FestivalJamie said:

I wear a mask to see my great aunt (she is around 80 and has cancer issues)- but the rest of my family I wouldn’t consider in a particularly at risk category so I just make the best effort I can to stay 1-2m apart and normally meet outside but sometimes inside.

Yes, schools work in “year group” bubbles so if one person tests positive, the whole year group (which can be up to 300 people) have to come off and miss education for 2 weeks. Ludicrous I know, testing would be a far better solution but no one can get access to those right now.  As far as I’m aware it’s only those in direct contact with the person so family members wouldn’t have to isolate.

—-

On a separate note, I’m going a little bit crazy. I thought going away for a week would have boosted my confidence to spend more time doing things out of the house back at home.. but it hasn’t! Every time I think about doing something now I’m back I just compare how unsafe I feel here compared to in germany and i feel like I’m going to start living a lockdown life again! I just can’t see how the government is so incompetent to not have introduced basic rules yet like masks in pubs restaurants and bars and for indoor shop workers too and instead we are talking about banning households meeting up and a nationwide curfew? The new restrictions are getting so incompetent and ridiculous and rather than doing things which are going to stop transmission they are making arbitrary restrictions which will cause cases to surge exponentially either way!

Im supposed to be starting uni in 2 weeks, I’m not looking forward to it. I just feel like I’m gonna be a loner, I’m gonna stick to all the rules and if people break them and have house parties I’m going to be very upset and I probably will end up with no friends to be honest.

Hey you seem on here like a really decent bloke, I would be very confident that you’d be able to find friends with the view point and mentality that you have. They’ll always be people that share your views.

It might be as bad as you fear for parties etc!

[Fuzzy Afro]

1 minute ago, DeanoL said:

Are you in halls or a shared house with other students?

I think most unis will be on it - you might miss out on a few house parties, but if there are uni societies and such they'll be having to organise events that are in line with the rules.

Totally anecdotal here but my little brother is the social sec of the hockey club at his uni and he’s been told in no uncertain terms that if there are any socials, the club will be shut down and the individuals responsible will be treated very seriously. Unis around the country are absolutely shitting themselves that they’re about to become a major vector of transmission. 

[steviewevie]

5 minutes ago, FestivalJamie said:

I wear a mask to see my great aunt (she is around 80 and has cancer issues)- but the rest of my family I wouldn’t consider in a particularly at risk category so I just make the best effort I can to stay 1-2m apart and normally meet outside but sometimes inside.

Yes, schools work in “year group” bubbles so if one person tests positive, the whole year group (which can be up to 300 people) have to come off and miss education for 2 weeks. Ludicrous I know, testing would be a far better solution but no one can get access to those right now.  As far as I’m aware it’s only those in direct contact with the person so family members wouldn’t have to isolate.

—-

On a separate note, I’m going a little bit crazy. I thought going away for a week would have boosted my confidence to spend more time doing things out of the house back at home.. but it hasn’t! Every time I think about doing something now I’m back I just compare how unsafe I feel here compared to in germany and i feel like I’m going to start living a lockdown life again! I just can’t see how the government is so incompetent to not have introduced basic rules yet like masks in pubs restaurants and bars and for indoor shop workers too and instead we are talking about banning households meeting up and a nationwide curfew? The new restrictions are getting so incompetent and ridiculous and rather than doing things which are going to stop transmission they are making arbitrary restrictions which will cause cases to surge exponentially either way!

Im supposed to be starting uni in 2 weeks, I’m not looking forward to it. I just feel like I’m gonna be a loner, I’m gonna stick to all the rules and if people break them and have house parties I’m going to be very upset and I probably will end up with no friends to be honest.

Unless you have any underlying issues, the risk to your health is pretty small...so you need to put things into perspective. Also, I expect there will be many like you who are very anxious about it all. Maybe you could somehow hook up with like minded people online and go from there. Hopefully in a month or so they will be more on top of testing and stuff. Just...try and enjoy yourself....

[Crazyfool01]

@FestivalJamie I think you might be suprised ... lots of people with the same worries as you ... and many with hidden vulnerabilities ... things will be fine ...  and plenty of opportunities will exist for friendships outside of parties 

[FestivalJamie]

3 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

Are you in halls or a shared house with other students?

I think most unis will be on it - you might miss out on a few house parties, but if there are uni societies and such they'll be having to organise events that are in line with the rules.

Halls, I would feel better if I was in a shared house but it’s my first year so I feel like I’m going in quite blind to everything... I haven’t even been given a move in date yet!

2 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

Hey you seem on here like a really decent bloke, I would be very confident that you’d be able to find friends with the view point and mentality that you have. They’ll always be people that share your views.

It might be as bad as you fear for parties etc!

Thanks, I hope so. I’m feeling a bit nervous to be honest about all of it, but hopefully it will be okay. It’s really hard to find a job right now so I think the best thing to do is just to get on with the course I wanna study and just have something to keep me busy and focus on, and hopefully so I don’t have to spend so much time worrying until we are back to normal.

Parties yeah it’s a worry, but I have heard rumours my uni claims to be kicking students out if they break the rules twice... but reality of that probably isn’t gonna happen given that they just want the money.

[FestivalJamie]

Just now, crazyfool1 said:

@FestivalJamie I think you might be suprised ... lots of people with the same worries as you ... and many with hidden vulnerabilities ... things will be fine ...  and plenty of opportunities will exist for friendships outside of parties 

Thanks, I hope so. Thanks for the support @crazyfool1and everyone else 😅

[Quark]

You'll be fine mate. Friends at uni pop up in the strangest of places

[Quark]

8 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

I actually haven't got a ticket for Glastonbury, and wouldn't be going next year anyway as daughter will probably still be doing GCSEs due to delays and she's little Miss Anxious and it could be a very tense time.

So, I hope it isn't on.

Only joking.

I'm not downvoting, but I'm certainly tutting 😂

[Fuzzy Afro]

What are you going to study @FestivalJamie?

 

It’s quite a few years ago for me now but I loved my uni days. Not sure it would have been the same experience with all the covid stuff but worth remembering that everyone is in the same boat and hopefully the protections aren’t too restrictive to the extent that it would stop you enjoying it. Your flatmates will be like your little family and you’ll all have a wonderful time.

 

And of course by the time you get to second year we should hopefully be back to normal. Enjoy it mate, it’s something you’ve been working hard for a long time to get there  

[DeanoL]

2 minutes ago, FestivalJamie said:

Halls, I would feel better if I was in a shared house but it’s my first year so I feel like I’m going in quite blind to everything... I haven’t even been given a move in date yet!

That's good and bad then - it means you're going to have a very large household, essentially. Which I guess if you're specifically worried about catching it yourself isn't great. But if the stress is more around people breaking the rules and potentially causing other people problems, there's less need to do that as there are plenty of friends to be made within your halls. Even if you become a loner that never leaves halls, there's still plenty of social options.

I'd also expect societies to look at hosting virtual meetups, sports teams can obviously still do stuff (so getting involved there could be a good option).

[Crazyfool01]

Hopefully in 2 weeks you will be posting less on this thread and enjoying yourself much more ... but of course we aren’t going anywhere ... uni should hopefully give you a different focus in life ... enjoy it on my behalf it’s something I feel I missed out on in life ... just didn’t have the commitment to getting grades needed at that age 

[FestivalJamie]

14 minutes ago, Fuzzy Afro said:

What are you going to study @FestivalJamie?

Engineering 🙂

9 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

Hopefully in 2 weeks you will be posting less on this thread and enjoying yourself much more ... but of course we aren’t going anywhere ... uni should hopefully give you a different focus in life ... enjoy it on my behalf it’s something I feel I missed out on in life ... just didn’t have the commitment to getting grades needed at that age 

Hopefully it will be a change in scene and a refreshing start, but I will probably be still around here now and again though!

Thanks very much, I hope I will enjoy it and I hope the uni has done a good job of making it feel safer for everyone so that’s it’s not as stressful as it could be. I am looking forward to studying my course although I’ve forgotten everything I learnt in college so it’s going to be pretty much starting from scratch 😂

[WestCountryGirl]

Just want to add to the messages of support for you @FestivalJamie. I was both very excited and very nervous about going to university myself. In my case, I thought I was going to have a hard time fitting in as I didn't do drugs or like to drink that much. As it turns out, a university tends to be a place that is full of broad-minded individuals, and in my case very little judgement. 

In fact just as I'm remembering it now I realise that I actually went my whole first year without ever going 'out out' into the town as the thought made me too nervous. I was happy and safe on my campus bubble, and the friends I made accepted that and never mocked nor pressured me. 

I know the circumstances are quite different, but I guess my point is that I only really 'found my feet' and got truly comfortable at university in my second year. I hope your first year won't be too difficult, but just be aware that it's a different experience for everyone, and don't feel like you're "doing university wrong" just because you're not doing the same thing as everyone else.

[steviewevie]

 

[Homer]

Your weekly PMQs is on at midday today reminder.

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, Homer said:

Your weekly PMQs is on at midday today reminder.

Thanks ... almost went out  

[Quark]

43 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

That's good and bad then - it means you're going to have a very large household, essentially. Which I guess if you're specifically worried about catching it yourself isn't great. But if the stress is more around people breaking the rules and potentially causing other people problems, there's less need to do that as there are plenty of friends to be made within your halls. Even if you become a loner that never leaves halls, there's still plenty of social options.

I'd also expect societies to look at hosting virtual meetups, sports teams can obviously still do stuff (so getting involved there could be a good option).

I was in halls for my first year, and it did work out well. @FestivalJamie I won't pretend that's where I made my friends for life (rugby to thank for that, bunch of idiots that they are ) but it did provide a chilled, low key place to just grow into being away from home and finding my feet. I don't know if it's the same where you're going but we had (I think) roughly a 50/50 mix of first years and final years, so it was almost like having some big siblings around for a bit.

You'll be fine pal.

[Homer]

16 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

Thanks ... almost went out  

No Starmer, Angela Rayner stepping in.

[Ozanne]

PMQs let’s go!

[Ozanne]

Letter from someone called Keir. 😂 amazing start. 

[Ozanne]

She’s got him on the first question! He hasn’t got a clue what to say. 

[Quark]

"should"

Twat just can't answer the question straight up