When will this shit end?

[Ozanne]

Just now, efcfanwirral said:

I remember- and i dont know if I agreed with you on the record but I did! 

We'll have to put it down in the minutes.

I'm like the crazy Scientist in the film that gets ignored until it's too late.

[priest17]

Just now, Ozanne said:

We'll have to put it down in the minutes.

I'm like the crazy Scientist in the film that gets ignored until it's too late.

why would we listen to a crazy scientist

[Copperface]

49 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

 That's where the problem lies - it's always going to be personal choice, but the government "lifting" restrictions will give people license to have a massive blow out instead of thinking about risk

And we'll be in lockdown for much longer than we need to. 

I honestly wish this was January in the situation we're in now - Christmas is just going to fuck it up and set us back

This is even more pointless now given the news in vaccine development. Whereas from February up till now, we have just been existing, hoping for some developments in the medical field, which reduces the incentives if you think that a situation is open-ended, we now know that such medical progress has been rapid. But you can possibly understand people's frustration with their predicament if there is no end in sight.

If we hold on for just a few months more then we can expect a loosening of restrictions due to vaccines and treatments. It's easier when you know an improvement (not going to call it an end) to the situation is coming at some stage and some timelines become clearer. I still think it'll be end summer/beginning autumn, possibly later, before full opening up can happen and distancing/masks etc can be possibly consigned to memory, but at least the ever present threat will start to be reduced and mitigated, and that prospect is now visible somewhere on the horizon.

Ridiculous to jeopardise any of that for a couple of days bingeing in peak pandemic.

 

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

Unless I'm missing something the noises are that people will be able to spend time with their families. It's not suggesting a business as usual Xmas of packed pubs, and lines for boxing day sales.

Households were going to mix at Xmas regardless so you might aswell put some calculated guidelines in place in the hope that people think it's not ideal but that's reasonable we can work with that. 

I've not seen my family since February and the chance to see them in a sensible manner over Xmas is welcomed - it will be a different Xmas but some normality can be achieved. 

[fraybentos1]

At some point people in this thread will realise they are in a huge minority with stuff like this Xmas discussion. If you're fine to spend xmas alone then fair enough but absolutely fuck that it sounds brutal.

[Crazyfool01]

would people react in a different way if they knew some kind of timetable for getting their parents vaccinated ? If I knew mine would be having a second dose by the end of Jan it would be easy enough to delay .... 

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, fraybentos1 said:

At some point people in this thread will realise they are in a huge minority with stuff like this Xmas discussion. If you're fine to spend xmas alone then fair enough but absolutely fuck that it sounds brutal.

more brutal to me would be the loss of loved ones to the virus .... Its really only one day ... and hopefully plenty more to come ... that said I o understand that some might feel it more necessary 

[balthazarstarbuck]

7 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

more brutal to me would be the loss of loved ones to the virus .... Its really only one day ... and hopefully plenty more to come ... that said I o understand that some might feel it more necessary 

You could just as easily argue it the other way and ask what if you missed out on the last Christmas you’d have with your loved ones- those thoughts are also driven to the fore at times like this.

[Crazyfool01]

18 minutes ago, balthazarstarbuck said:

You could just as easily argue it the other way and ask what if you missed out on the last Christmas you’d have with your loved ones- those thoughts are also driven to the fore at times like this.

yes of course .... the difference to me is that I might be the risk to them though .... and Christmas isn't the be all and end all to me  personally .... and It would also show some kind of in it together attitude to those who have been unable to celebrate their own religious festivals ... 

Edited November 18, 2020 by crazyfool1

[steviewevie]

28 minutes ago, fraybentos1 said:

At some point people in this thread will realise they are in a huge minority with stuff like this Xmas discussion. If you're fine to spend xmas alone then fair enough but absolutely fuck that it sounds brutal.

huge minority? 48%?

[JoeyT]

Ultimately everyone’s views on Christmas will be shaped by their own risk perception of the virus.

I won’t judge anyone for deciding to celebrate Christmas in their own way, be that with family or on their own.

I do however think it’s wrong to group everyone who feels a certain way as “irresponsible” and so on.

[steviewevie]

Turkeys thought they were going to get the year off.

[Crazyfool01]

2 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

Turkeys thought they were going to get the year off.

Smaller ones are out of luck this time .. just when they thought they were safe .. 

[xxialac]

I think everyone who prioritises a meaningless day over the health of the people you share this island with is irresponsible. 

It's an arbitrary date.

Have your enjoyable family time once we are out of the woods, pick a day then and call it [insert name of preferred cultural celebration here].

 

[Ozanne]

39 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

more brutal to me would be the loss of loved ones to the virus .... Its really only one day ... and hopefully plenty more to come ... that said I o understand that some might feel it more necessary 

Exactly. Whilst it might only be to some going round to your family and seeing them in a group there's no guarantee that everyone in that group would be doing that. More and more people would be out in shops or other indoor places which in itself raises the risk of transmission. Then in those days directly around Christmas, people would be together with various generation of family members in conditions that are ideally suited for transmission of a virus, indoors, heating on, round a table etc. Those factors alone raise the risk significantly especially for the older generations.

As I've said I really like Christmas and very much enjoy all the festivities around and on the day, so to have a smaller Christmas for me would be upsetting. I can also see how important it is to others. However I can also see how risky it could be and if you think ahead to the weeks after which could be very difficult because of larger gatherings at Christmas. 

Equally this isn't anyones fault, this should've been address by our Government weeks ago, but they buried their heads in the sand as cases continued to mount. They should've been out at the beginning preparing people that this year might gave to be different.

I also find it a bit strange that we are reportedly going to set aside these 5 days for Christmas, but didn't do that for Eid, why didn't people of that faith bet that treatment?

[steviewevie]

5 minutes ago, xxialac said:

I think everyone who prioritises a meaningless day over the health of the people you share this island with is irresponsible. 

It's an arbitrary date.

Have your enjoyable family time once we are out of the woods, pick a day then and call it [insert name of preferred cultural celebration here].

 

yeah, it's pretty stupid, but you're not allowed to say it's pretty stupid.

[steviewevie]

2 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

Exactly. Whilst it might only be to some going round to your family and seeing them in a group there's no guarantee that everyone in that group would be doing that. More and more people would be out in shops or other indoor places which in itself raises the risk of transmission. Then in those days directly around Christmas, people would be together with various generation of family members in conditions that are ideally suited for transmission of a virus, indoors, heating on, round a table etc. Those factors alone raise the risk significantly especially for the older generations.

As I've said I really like Christmas and very much enjoy all the festivities around and on the day, so to have a smaller Christmas for me would be upsetting. I can also see how important it is to others. However I can also see how risky it could be and if you think ahead to the weeks after which could be very difficult because of larger gatherings at Christmas. 

Equally this isn't anyones fault, this should've been address by our Government weeks ago, but they buried their heads in the sand as cases continued to mount. They should've been out at the beginning preparing people that this year might gave to be different.

I also find it a bit strange that we are reportedly going to set aside these 5 days for Christmas, but didn't do that for Eid, why didn't people of that faith bet that treatment?

yeah, and there was fuckall of it about during Eid like there is now.

[JoeyT]

9 minutes ago, xxialac said:

I think everyone who prioritises a meaningless day over the health of the people you share this island with is irresponsible. 

It's an arbitrary date.

Have your enjoyable family time once we are out of the woods, pick a day then and call it [insert name of preferred cultural celebration here].

 

What are the rules you would put in place?

Should we all be under house arrest?

Also, I’m not religious but to dismiss Christmas Day as meaningless is about as stupid as a statement can get!

[xxialac]

20 minutes ago, JoeyT said:

What are the rules you would put in place?

Should we all be under house arrest?

Also, I’m not religious but to dismiss Christmas Day as meaningless is about as stupid as a statement can get!

1) I would put rules in place that you cannot meet in other people's homes, lead by example and explain that it's so we don't prolong this crisis by a whole month for the sake of a day.

2) No, you're being hysterical

3) You know full well what I meant. The vast majority of people in the UK do not see Christmas through a religious lens. And if you are Christian, surely 'love your neighbour' could be interpreted as 'don't take risks that could pass a deadly virus onto your neighbour'.

Edited November 18, 2020 by xxialac

[Ozanne]

22 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

yeah, and there was fuckall of it about during Eid like there is now.

I could imagine people of the Muslim faith would be fairly bemused at how they weren't allowed these relaxations.

[stuartbert two hats]

I think you're all crackers. I guess it's your own parents you could be killing. Yeah, have a big family get together when all the hospitals are full of COVID. Why not just delay until spring?

I know it's a special day and all, but the timing is really, really bad. Like really bad - we've got two weeks of lockdown left and cases are still rising in most of the country. It's about the worst possible time.

Please reconsider.

[Leyrulion]

ITV News reporting vaccination in the U.K with the Pfizer vaccine THIS MONTH.

Much faster then they were predicting

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

It's not binary though is it? 

Seeing someone at Xmas doesn't sign their death warrant.

It's not just one day either it's a build up of 9 months.

is the risk any greater than a support bubble? Is the risk any greater than having a carer?

Edited November 18, 2020 by RobertProsineckisLighter

[Zoo Music Girl]

13 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

I could imagine people of the Muslim faith would be fairly bemused at how they weren't allowed these relaxations.

Don't forget Diwali. This weekend gone and no one was allowed to do anything for that outside their hosuehold either. But Christmas is the only thing that matters apparently.

[xxialac]

Queensland in Australia now has stadiums and festivals with 100% capacity and no mask-wearing inside. I repeat - 100% capacity.

They didn't get to this point by softening the rules and nonsense about 'saving' special days. They went hard and early and they didn't let up until things were better.

Why on earth can't we learn from others?

Edited November 18, 2020 by xxialac