Despicable Anti Dementors

[Mascotte]

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I'm enjoying the Times MrsWombat don't usually read that either. The 'i' is very balanced I sometimes get the Saturday one.

We have also seen lots of Twitter photos of the key worker children doing den building and outside activities. Looks fab. Am not showing DC as they would want to join in.

His mate a key worker child says they are 'playing outside all day' they climb trees etc (I know they do as mine broke his arm doing that last year- have not stopped them as about risk etc)...

My evil neighbour has tried to murder us repeatedly by handing over homemade sourdough loaves. I’m eating loads of it for quality control purposes. Willing to take the bullet on this one but how very dare she?

@Orangeblossom78 me and my two year old DS walk past a keyworker school almost every day and that’s exactly what the wee souls are doing. Playing outside and having fun, supervised. Not sitting in their own 6ft rectangles.

Thank you Orangeblossom, I think you're right. I really struggle with my mum, she's quite critical of anyone who doesn't do things "her" way and I find it very difficult to defy her, it really triggers my anxiety. (I was working on this with a therapist before lockdown.) She's the chair of governors at our old primary school and is coming down very heavily on the "it's not safe" side. They're not opening their nursery and she said that she thinks those kids are "better at home." So far every time we've talked about it she's tried to get me to think again despite me telling her that I'm finding it tough to be at home with my DS and trying to work. I think she thinks if she asks enough times I might change my mind.

I’ve been in with key work children, they have lots of play. Plenty of games you can do without touching each other. No boxes with us

I've seen two ideas that could work in scholls for PPE.
One was a mask with a clear panel so deaf people could lip read and another was a company (I forget which country, but one with compulsory mask wearing) and they all had their photo and name on their masks.
There are solutions out there, if people were willing to look, rather than wring their hands and wail about safety being impossible

Schools, not Scholls!

I'm NC with my mum Little sheep so I understand...sounds difficult. That article in the Guardian upthread was very good. You make your decisions for your own DC. Do you have a partner to discuss with as that can help too.

Yes Weeds out secondary says it has made some of those in school (the shields) also for the NHS so yes it can be done.

My children are at school and have loads of outdoor time. The grazes on my 7yo knees are testament to that! My oldest is enjoying it more than ‘normal’ school as the boys who are horrible to him about not being very good at football aren’t there.

May I join you? I was doing ok until the back to school dementoring started and now I’m so bloody angry. Made the mistake of engaging on a comment thread on FB this morning. This looney lefty is also finding more common ground in the Torygraph and Times which just adds to the feeling of being well and truly through the looking glass.

Just reading our back to school governors info... gosh it’s painful. Proper headache for the headmistress.

Morning my fellow murderers!

Dh went out twice for non essential shopping booze yesterday, I'm expecting the grannies death toll to be astronomical.

My town, which is home to many care homes and so sadly has a relatively high death toll, has people all over our FB page talking about installing a permanent monument for the deceased. I appreciate the sentiment, we shouldn't forget those we have lost. But a war style monument, as is being suggested seems a bit much.

One of my friends on FB who is a lovely lovely girl, but also typically anxious about health has posted something about how in march there was only 714 cases and 36 deaths but how on 14th may there was 3446 new cases and 428 new deaths.

I was going to reply about how back then we only tested in hospital those we thought had it and prior to our covid knowledge in the earlier part of the year we were putting deaths down to pneumonia but it's pointless. I figure people like this are too scared and blinkered to pay attention to stats.

We're taking the kids out for a drive later, may even stop off for a walk. Living life in the fast lane here.

Thanks Orangeblossom, I will read that Guardian article. My DH is on my side and feels that the risk is very low; he works in the NHS and has been at home about half the time since lockdown began, but is due to return full time on June 1st. I've no idea whether it'll even be possible for DS to go back as we've had no confirmation from the nursery about reopening, just a survey of parents about what they want to do, but I do want him to go back if at all possible, both for his sake and mine!

I like the "greyness" on this thread; I feel like a lot of people I know are just rejecting everything the government proposes because they don't agree with them politically (nor do I, but I think the automatic rejection of everything just because it's from the "wrong" political side isn't very helpful). Thanks all for your perspectives and for this island of sanity and civility!

That Lord Sumption article is spot on.

"Free people make mistakes and willingly take risks. If we hold politicians responsible for everything that goes wrong, they will take away our liberty so that nothing can go wrong. They will do this not for our protection against risk, but for their own protection against criticism."

Lord Sumption

He's right. When they announced lockdown I knew this was true but I hoped it wasn't.

That Guardian piece is really measured.

I was reading a thread the other day (can't remember which) and the "Hospital" programme was mentioned and how harrowing it was. I watched it and didn't find it harrowing at all. Some of it was sad, but what I saw was all the staff just dealing with whatever came at them, no patients in corridors, everyone treated with respect and care within the constraints placed on the staff - I found it reassuring and it made my already moderate fears (I think (for a mid 60s woman!)), even less.

Had a Greek takeout meal last night - delicious. 3 other people in the restaurant at the same time slot as me, and I'd had to take a late time, so I hope that means they were as busy as they can be. Our high street has a lot of eating places. I must start having something different a couple of times a week to support where I can.

I've seen some great photos from one of my local schools where the keyworker kids have been playing Beat The Goalie during P.E. time.

The better one of my kids' schools - and I suspect so because the Head came originally from working in private industry and just finding a solution to stuff rather than wafting around that nothing will work - have had the kids den building, playing hide and seek, have had the teachers racing the students around the playground on scooters.

Like I say - the Head was a late entrant into teaching, having worked in industry (I think tourism if I know her background correctly) first - and I think that she's just had her problem solving head on rather than her problem creating head on. Considering normally it's the absolute reverse and the other head comes across better by far to parents - it's been quite the turnaround to see. The staff did a wonderful video showing the kids what they'd been up to in the lockdown - including my child's teacher pretending to read the complete works of Shakespeare and being "busted" having her iPad with Candy Crush behind, and one teacher trying to grow a really really tragic lockdown beard and stuff. The kids absolutely loved it - it was just a bit of interaction which is what they needed and the teachers have been chatting with them on Google Classroom - putting photos up of the class pets (those fucking ghastly giant snails) and things... other school = wall of silence and very aggressive sounding emails. I know we're in an area with pushy parents who need their childcare back - but there's no need for speaking to us like we're naughty 7 year olds.

I'm pleased to tell you all I've moved my summer holiday. I feel this is a sure fire way to get restrictions lifted ASAP.

Oh thank you, jakey, for your noble sacrifice.

Unfortunately I hadn't booked anything, but if I had I would do my bit to provoke Fate.

The other bit (and I had this conversation in private message with someone on this thread a few days ago) that struck me is how differently the teaching unions are dealing with this to other professions. Totally outing here - but I was a teacher originally, went back to uni this year to retrain in speech and language therapy (I got the bug after having a child with communication difficulties). Loads of the SALTs got redeployed in the preparations for the pandemic - lots are in ICU pruning patients etc, and obviously rehab post-ventilation.

Within about a couple of days my twitter feed was full of discussion about PPE (obviously - for a profession that focuses on things that go in and out of mouths) and wanting clarification on that with various procedures... but then the SALTs all got on with it - realised that going in with face masks on was quite intimidating to patients who only got to see people's eyes, and the barriers to communication and they got on with what a lot of SALTs do best (same as teachers) - laminating and solving problems - so they were coming up with name labels off their own initiative with their photo and name on so patients could equate the masked figure with a person, working out ways to help people communicate if they had masks on themselves etc... they just fucking well got on and did it and absolutely smashed it and showed what an epic bunch they are (well apart from a couple on my course who drive me barmy).

Meanwhile - teachers... should have at least a similar passion for communication, finding ways to solve problems and the like (and by this I mean the twits in the unions and on social media - not the majority of good ones at the whiteboard-face) are busy doing the equivalent of being 10 years old doing a spelling test trying to construct a barrier between them and everyone near them using every book, folder and piece of classroom equipment they can, with their fingers in their ears screeching that they can't hear you.

My "professional" twitter is still full of newsfeeds from both professions (and silly dog videos) but the contrast was stark and hasn't got any better.

It is insane that the left want to lock themselves up for longer to make a political point. And I am a leftie myself and no fan of BoJo or his Cabinet.

As has been said earlier on the thread the fact I agree more with the Establishment press at the moment than the paper I have been reading for 25 years makes this seem all the more weird.

It is funny how many of us lefty Guardian readers there are in this thread who are now feeling completely disillusioned. I was already feeling like that during the last election but this has sent me over the edge. I can't believe I started a free trial of the Telegraph just so I can read a more nuanced reporting of this pandemic.

I can't understand how anyone who claims to be left wing is not absolutely prioritising the safety and well-being of children (especially those who are disadvantaged). How can any left wing person justify having key workers stack the shelves and deliver their Amazon parcels while saying they won't go back to work unless it's totally safe?

I wonder if any if you have read this www.amazon.co.uk/s?ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9&crid=2KFN3K24Y1MWY&sprefix=a+nurses+%2Caps%2C145&k=a+nurses+story&tag=mumsnetforu03-21
The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story

How much nurses deal with in general day to day without this going on..