When will this shit end?

[st dan]

10 minutes ago, xxialac said:

It's not pointless. 

Having some social distancing measures, even if not universally applied, will reduce the R. 

Yep, but the government won’t want to risk half empty pubs with no furlough scheme in place, as that will lead to mass closures and then more they will need support from the benefit system. 

A strong summer of sales from combined factors of the Euros plus friends and family catching up on lost time and the pubs could be just fine after all. The government have to have their eggs in either basket. If they feel pubs can’t open fully without restrictions then they should remain closed until they can, supported by furlough. Any half baked approach and people will just have friends and family around their houses drinking in the back garden, all buying supermarket crates. 

Edited February 12, 2021 by st dan

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

7 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

Yes this is me too.  Bored of TV, bored of computer games, even starting to get bored with some of the football (with no crowds), and with Glastonbury cancelled and another holiday we had booked gone too just feels like i'm existing and not living. 

Excitement for me at the moment is doing the weekly Tesco shop and putting the bins out. 

Currently working only one day a week but luckily that involves actually going into our office!

I've started agreeing to work on the house by trades people so I can talk to someone else about something else. 

Last weekend one of the games of football I was watching was so boring I actually took more notice of counting cars going up and down the street - our road is a dead end. 

[xxialac]

Just now, st dan said:

Yep, but the government won’t want to risk half empty pubs with no furlough scheme in place, as that will lead to mass closures and then more they will need support from the benefit system. 

A strong summer of sales from combined factors of the Euros plus friends and family catching up on lost time and the pubs could be just fine after all. They government have to have their eggs in either basket. If they feel pubs can’t open fully without restrictions then they should remain closed until they can, supported by furlough. And half baked approach and people will just have friends and family around their houses drinking in the back garden, all buying supermarket crates. 

You make a good point. 

It should be a simple equation that if the pubs can't be profitable, then they should extend furlough.

[gooner1990]

6 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

This is such an interesting debate - why does football on TV without crowds reduce your experience of the game? I barely even notice they aren't there to be honest

I still watch it but it just doesn't feel the same to me.  

I think what I more should have said was 'as someone who is used to going to games every weekend home and away, watching them on TV is getting a bit boring and I'm missing going to the games' 

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

2 minutes ago, st dan said:

Yep, but the government won’t want to risk half empty pubs with no furlough scheme in place, as that will lead to mass closures and then more they will need support from the benefit system. 

A strong summer of sales from combined factors of the Euros plus friends and family catching up on lost time and the pubs could be just fine after all. They government have to have their eggs in either basket. If they feel pubs can’t open fully without restrictions then they should remain closed until they can, supported by furlough. And half baked approach and people will just have friends and family around their houses drinking in the back garden, all buying supermarket crates. 

Yep - the pub I drink (drank) in opened last summer when it was allowed. It just about broke even to varying degrees with the various restrictions - towards the end of drinking with your own household they opened less and less days. 

The reduced space crippled them and no football trade. Being able to open is on thing being profitable is another. 

[JoeyT]

1 minute ago, RobertProsineckisLighter said:

Yep - the pub I drink (drank) in opened last summer when it was allowed. It just about broke even to varying degrees with the various restrictions - towards the end of drinking with your own household they opened less and less days. 

The reduced space crippled them and no football trade. Being able to open is on thing being profitable is another. 

Pubs being able to open during the Euro's with little social distancing will be a real bonus for that industry.

[efcfanwirral]

Just now, gooner1990 said:

I still watch it but it just doesn't feel the same to me.  

I think what I more should have said was 'as someone who is used to going to games every weekend home and away, watching them on TV is getting a bit boring and I'm missing going to the games' 

aaah I get you - I've never managed to get involved in the away game scene too much (and Goodison is...not a pleasant experience) so I'm more used to watching on TV. It's actually nicer because I don't have to worry about streams with every game being on TV. There really is no excuse to go back to the need for streams when fans return - surely a model for UK viewers to legally watch games is possible. The idea in normal times that I can't legally watch an Everton game at, say, Southampton where only 3,000 away fans are allowed anyway (all of whom need to have gone to every away game for the past however many years to even get a shot at a ticket) and it's an 8 hour+ drive away is ridiculous really. 

Football is probably one of the only things keeping me going at the moment, I'm really enjoying it. got the tablet set up with all the apps so I can watch random games at the side when watching other stuff with the girlfriend - in normal times I was watching just Everton and nothing else!

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

Just now, JoeyT said:

Pubs being able to open during the Euro's with little social distancing will be a real bonus for that industry.

100% I've front loaded all the jobs I can find at home and stuff in the hope its a positive (should that be negative) summer and I can cash in on the brownie points and not actually see my other half as much, as awful as that sounds we both have our own lives to live to. 

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

1 minute ago, efcfanwirral said:

aaah I get you - I've never managed to get involved in the away game scene too much (and Goodison is...not a pleasant experience) so I'm more used to watching on TV. It's actually nicer because I don't have to worry about streams with every game being on TV. There really is no excuse to go back to the need for streams when fans return - surely a model for UK viewers to legally watch games is possible. The idea in normal times that I can't legally watch an Everton game at, say, Southampton where only 3,000 away fans are allowed anyway (all of whom need to have gone to every away game for the past however many years to even get a shot at a ticket) and it's an 8 hour+ drive away is ridiculous really. 

Football is probably one of the only things keeping me going at the moment, I'm really enjoying it. got the tablet set up with all the apps so I can watch random games at the side when watching other stuff with the girlfriend - in normal times I was watching just Everton and nothing else!

The worry is that legal to air premier League games will detract from the lower leagues - who actually need fans through the gates.

[efcfanwirral]

Just now, RobertProsineckisLighter said:

The worry is that legal to air premier League games will detract from the lower leagues - who actually need fans through the gates.

yeah its a tough one - there are huge numbers of us who wouldn't even consider going to a lower league game instead but the only alternative is giving United and Liverpool a permanent huge advantage by only letting clubs sell the games through a membership scheme.

[fraybentos1]

 

[JoeyT]

 

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by JoeyT

[gooner1990]

4 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

aaah I get you - I've never managed to get involved in the away game scene too much (and Goodison is...not a pleasant experience) so I'm more used to watching on TV. It's actually nicer because I don't have to worry about streams with every game being on TV. There really is no excuse to go back to the need for streams when fans return - surely a model for UK viewers to legally watch games is possible. The idea in normal times that I can't legally watch an Everton game at, say, Southampton where only 3,000 away fans are allowed anyway (all of whom need to have gone to every away game for the past however many years to even get a shot at a ticket) and it's an 8 hour+ drive away is ridiculous really. 

Football is probably one of the only things keeping me going at the moment, I'm really enjoying it. got the tablet set up with all the apps so I can watch random games at the side when watching other stuff with the girlfriend - in normal times I was watching just Everton and nothing else!

Its just another social thing that I'm missing and with me kicking around the house all the time trying to watch loads of them i think i've over indulged!  At least last summer during lockdown 1/the summer  I could have mates over to watch the games which I can't do at the moment. 

I actually like going to Goodison Park as an away game, proper old style stadium which is starting to become a rare thing these days.

When I am in my office I'm the only one in there at the moment from my team so I've got Sky Sports News on the iPad inbetween MS Teams calls to keep me company. 😉

[duke88]

9 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I still watch it but it just doesn't feel the same to me.  

I think what I more should have said was 'as someone who is used to going to games every weekend home and away, watching them on TV is getting a bit boring and I'm missing going to the games' 

I can still get involved watching Luton games online as I've got an emotional investment in those, but a lot of the Premier League games just pass me by without a crowd there. But even then it doesn't come close to actually being at Kenilworth Road or at an away game. And it's not just the football - it's stopping off to pick up my dad on the way and seeing my mum for a bit, going for a beer before the game, seeing the same old faces in the stand. Apart from the moaning old gits behind me, I've not missed hearing them every other week! Managed to get to one of the two games we were allowed into, and even with 2,000 people there, it was so nice to be back in the stadium again.

[gooner1990]

9 minutes ago, RobertProsineckisLighter said:

100% I've front loaded all the jobs I can find at home and stuff in the hope its a positive (should that be negative) summer and I can cash in on the brownie points and not actually see my other half as much, as awful as that sounds we both have our own lives to live to. 

I've got tickets for England v Czech Republic, one of the semi finals and the final all at Wembley so I'm begging it goes ahead as planned (although I'm expecting it not to!)

[duke88]

8 minutes ago, RobertProsineckisLighter said:

The worry is that legal to air premier League games will detract from the lower leagues - who actually need fans through the gates.

Think it would massively affect non-league football if people could watch PL games on TV at 3pm on Saturday once this is over. But I don't think anyone who is a supporter of a Football League club would decide not to go and watch their team because Burnley vs Southampton was on Sky Sports.

[gooner1990]

7 minutes ago, duke88 said:

I can still get involved watching Luton games online as I've got an emotional investment in those, but a lot of the Premier League games just pass me by without a crowd there. But even then it doesn't come close to actually being at Kenilworth Road or at an away game. And it's not just the football - it's stopping off to pick up my dad on the way and seeing my mum for a bit, going for a beer before the game, seeing the same old faces in the stand. Apart from the moaning old gits behind me, I've not missed hearing them every other week! Managed to get to one of the two games we were allowed into, and even with 2,000 people there, it was so nice to be back in the stadium again.

Yeh its the whole day out for me, I live in South Oxfordshire and theres a little crowd of us that meet at Didcot station for games, meet more friends who get on the train at Reading then meet our London based friends near the Emirates for a few beers and I get to see my brother too who lives there.

It also gives my girlfriend the day to do her girlie stuff with her sister and/or her own friends and we then spend Sunday together in harmony.

Now we are irritating each other all the time and its come close to boiling point a few times since christmas. 😞

Edited February 12, 2021 by gooner1990

[PM87]

28 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Are there plans within the industry to allow people to come having passed a test?

The price of tests should be heavily subsidised by government in my opinion. Should be a simple case of popping into Boots in the afternoon before a show.

We have regular meetings with our CEO and Producers and testing hasn't been mentioned, though that's not to say it's not something they'd be on board with and perhaps it is in the works. My boss attended the pilot at the Palladium that was run by Andrew Lloyd Webber back in the summer and was really impressed with the work done to open theatres with social distancing. It is totally doable if a theatre has a show in place that is adaptable / has been produced specifically for Covid times. The Bridge for example had the Talking Heads series a few months ago, which worked brilliantly on stage. Only one actor, low overheads, skeleton crew etc. meant that having a minimal audience was cost effective. Unfortunately, for many existing shows it's just not possible financially to reopen without a full audience. But like you say, testing could be an option. 

What happened to Operation Moonshot? I remember it being mentioned in a briefing months ago with re. to large events. Was it abandoned?

37 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

I don’t think that makes you selfish at all, you are understandably concerned about your job and livelihood. Hopefully if restrictions are to continue after April in whatever form then government support will also still be available, I don’t think they will pull furlough straight away. They could end it in stages like last year or tailor it to specific industries like Labour have been calling for.

Yeah, I've wondered about this. My concern is that come April or May, the government will say that hospitality and theatres etc. are permitted to open with social distancing, as they did last summer, and will end furlough. Forgetting that just because a venue is legally permitted to open, doesn't mean that it is financially viable. Some theatres will be able to reopen because their venue / their particular show allows for it, but so many just can't. I assume this will be the same for many pubs and restaurants too. I hope industries are not treated in a blanket way. At the same time I am aware that furlough cannot go on forever. I don't want to be furloughed, I want to work.

Ultimately, there's not much I can do it about it. What will be will be and there are so many people in a worse situation that I am. It just feels like a time of limbo and uncertainty.  

[zahidf]

3 minutes ago, PM87 said:

We have regular meetings with our CEO and Producers and testing hasn't been mentioned, though that's not to say it's not something they'd be on board with and perhaps it is in the works. My boss attended the pilot at the Palladium that was run by Andrew Lloyd Webber back in the summer and was really impressed with the work done to open theatres with social distancing. It is totally doable if a theatre has a show in place that is adaptable / has been produced specifically for Covid times. The Bridge for example had the Talking Heads series a few months ago, which worked brilliantly on stage. Only one actor, low overheads, skeleton crew etc. meant that having a minimal audience was cost effective. Unfortunately, for many existing shows it's just not possible financially to reopen without a full audience. But like you say, testing could be an option. 

What happened to Operation Moonshot? I remember it being mentioned in a briefing months ago with re. to large events. Was it abandoned?

Yeah, I've wondered about this. My concern is that come April or May, the government will say that hospitality and theatres etc. are permitted to open with social distancing, as they did last summer, and will end furlough. Forgetting that just because a venue is legally permitted to open, doesn't mean that it is financially viable. Some theatres will be able to reopen because their venue / their particular show allows for it, but so many just can't. I assume this will be the same for many pubs and restaurants too. I hope industries are not treated in a blanket way. At the same time I am aware that furlough cannot go on forever. I don't want to be furloughed, I want to work.

Ultimately, there's not much I can do it about it. What will be will be and there are so many people in a worse situation that I am. It just feels like a time of limbo and uncertainty.  

Hopefully it will just be one metre! I did read somewhere in the stage about their being a central testing hub for the west end set up?

 

I think furlough should only end when social distancing does.

Edited February 12, 2021 by zahidf

[xxialac]

Operation Moonshot planned to grow the UK’s testing capacity to "10 million tests a day by early 2021".

It's laughable how far away from 10 million tests the reality is.

Not even a tenth of their target met.

[st dan]

2 minutes ago, zahidf said:

I think furlough should only end when social distancing does.

I think this is the big dilemma for the government right now. They have realised that it’s not possible for many industries to carry on with distancing measures in place, although this would be the ideal world for them. Hence the Rishi vs the rest battle it appears is happening right now.  

[gooner1990]

34 minutes ago, RobertProsineckisLighter said:

I've started agreeing to work on the house by trades people so I can talk to someone else about something else. 

Last weekend one of the games of football I was watching was so boring I actually took more notice of counting cars going up and down the street - our road is a dead end. 

I've fallen asleep during more games than I can remember!

[steviewevie]

 

[PM87]

7 minutes ago, zahidf said:

Hopefully it will just be one metre! I did read somewhere in the stage about their being a central testing hub for the west end set up?

I'm just reading this and it gives me real hope. Nica Burns has been really proactive through all of this (I don't work for her sadly.) It's great that she's putting plans in place to test performers and crews, I assume other Producers will follow suit.

If we could do the same for audience members, perhaps a greater capacity will be permitted as we move towards the summer. 

[zahidf]

Just now, PM87 said:

I'm just reading this and it gives me real hope. Nica Burns has been really proactive through all of this (I don't work for her sadly.) It's great that she's putting plans in place to test performers and crews, I assume other Producers will follow suit.

If we could do the same for audience members, perhaps a greater capacity will be permitted as we move towards the summer. 

I saw New York will be opening up their stadiums and theatres next month with much reduced capacity