Anti Dementors picnic at the Loch.

[TheGreatWave]

Starting a new one.

Oh we have a one on the local newspaper FB feed (full on dementor mode anyway) demanding people don't send their kids back to school as her daughter is a teacher and do they want her to DIE!!! That was a nice one to wake up to this morning.

I'm now shitting myself they're going to win and get the school reopening stopped which will destroy a lot of kids mental wellbeing a bit more.

The emphasis is very much on getting children up to the same level and healing any mental impacts of lockdown

Same with ours.

I’m so envious of all these beachgoers! We are stuck in London without a car (a lifestyle choice we’re usually happy with) and I’m guessing using public transport for leisure is still frowned upon. So we’re limited by how far the youngest can walk or cycle. Ahh well, at least I could be all virtuous about not spreading our filthy urban germs to unsuspecting country or seaside dwellers (if I was so inclined) I’d love to see the sea though.

@beachgoer I just want to scream "YOU LIVE HERE!!! HOW HAVE NONE OF YOU FUCKING CLOWNS NOTICED THAT TWO MASSIVE BUILDINGS ARE MISSING FROM THIS PHOTO?! DID THE TOURISTS EAT THEM???!!!"
As apparently shouty capitals is the only language they understand.

A friend has posted a letter that a school trust near her has sent out and it's so blatantly misinterpreting the government guidance to put people off/make a point that it makes me want to fire off an angry email to them. They've chosen another year (not from the guidance) to go back. Year 6s can't go back because they can't do the fun stuff they had planned apparently (screw seeing their friends) and years 1 +r can't social distance. To prepare for one year coming back they need 2 weeks practice after half term (watching a video on how to put on gloves by the looks). Grrrr

Interesting it does emphasise that all key worker children should be encouraged back which makes me wonder if I should contact ours again (although my SIL got short shift when she tried with her school)

Littlebelina it’s such a shame some schools are behaving like this. Our head has been nothing but positive in her communications to parents. In fact if I just read the stuff she sends and not Mumsnet/other social media I’d assume schools were happy to be going back!

Morning everyone. I had a really productive evening last night leaving all the local FB groups and covid support groups. They've become a hotbed of composing and dementoring and fearmongering which is no good for me. Then for good measure I took a break on FB from people who also bring me down.

My feed is now full of my proper friends and family and things I actually like

I'm expecting an update from school today. Not anticipating good news as we're in Gateshead which is a panicky area, and have a labour council, and the signs I'm getting aren't looking positive.

So for the kids I'm going to have to make other plans. Don't know what yet!

The guidance does say that schools should be taking in MORE keyworker and vulnerable children now Littlebelina - which is how I've managed to get mine back into school as children struggling with lockdown and the isolation.

Some schools are really taking the piss. We had a very measured letter from the youngest's school (apart from the 2 paragraph rant about teacher bashing) saying what the school could and could not guarantee. Yes things like soft toys have been taken out of the classroom (if they've moved DD2's weighted lap cat I want the bugger back cos that was £50!) and they're trying to limit what equipment the kids share and keep them to their own "stuff" - but that's nowhere near the horror that's been painted by some schools where it's conjuring up Victorian schools with children only given a slate and slate pencil.

Like I said before my initial thought about tape lines on the floor to help with spacing was - "fine, gives kids who struggle a visual aid (like my child), but that THEY'VE GOT A BRAND NEW CARPET - HOPE THEY CAN GET THE TAPE OFF COS IT'S NICE!"

I do think this nice weather is giving people a false impression about how ‘wonderful’ having your kids at home really is. I get that it’s lovely going out for walks, playing in the park, picnics etc but come October it will be totally shit! My worry is if the unions succeed in blocking the full opening of schools it will be a disaster come September and all the dementors will suddenly start screeching about their DC’s right to an education.

I would hope the unions and their members commit to engage but I doubt they will give up their summer break to do so.

@GeraltOfRivia I've got a lot of relatives in Sunderland which is now the media poster child for Covid-misery and I don't think they're anywhere near as jumpy as the likes of Hartlepool etc so you might be OK.

Morning genociders, holding out big hopes for Nippy Nicola's statement at 12.30 on her "roadmap" but in reality the best we can hope for is for golf to resume and the tips to open.

Had a lovely evening last night with my 12 year old, tawny owls have had chicks locally and we went to the woods at dusk last night and saw two of the fledglings fluttering about and calling to each other. Also lots of little bats which we think were probably pipistrelles. lots of locals reporting having seen water voles, but haven't seen any evidence of those yet.

@beachgoer
"The seaside we use has been very sensible. ALL the toilets and carparks are open. Yesterday we had a whippy and doughnuts. So no pooing and weeing in corners etc etc. The beach has oodles of space!"
Would you mind please saying which beach? Please feel free to PM if you'd rather not say on the thread.
Based on the other beaches you mentioned I think we might be close ish and if we're going to a beach again I'd really like one with toilets and soap!

Fingers crossed @DominaShantotto

Just opened this months Private Eye. I liked this wee section on risk perception

but that's nowhere near the horror that's been painted by some schools where it's conjuring up Victorian schools with children only given a slate and slate pencil.

A Victorian school would be far better than no school.

The Victorians were committed to universal education for all children, something that our society had thrown out the window as if it was worthless.

I've said this before on another thread, but a society this keen to lock its children up for months where they can be neither seen nor heard has no business casting aspersions on the Victorians.

[Runs to join the picnic, bringing lashings of ginger beer]

Blimey, you lot don’t hang around, do you?

I got in touch with the school where DS is due to start in September with some questions about the transition (DS was diagnosed with autism right before lockdown so I wanted to make him a little booklet of pictures of the school to ease the transition). I got such a lovely, warm, positive response back I got a bit teary They are working on just such a book for all the reception children and are still hoping to offer some sort of transition although they’re not sure how it will work yet. It’s such a lovely school and they obviously care so much about the children. Between that and an equally lovely call with his preschool teacher, I am an emotional wreck. I’m really hoping that we might be able to get back some degree of normality for DS soon on the back of those two conversations 🤞

Fingers crossed, Spudlet.

That would be fantastic.

I saw a post from a normally sensible friend ( who seems to be getting less rational by the day) agreeing with someone screaming and shouting about seeing 6 people swimming, who obviously thought they could slip under the radar (waters ports explicitly allowed now, I thought?).
I checked the stats for the town. Population, just under 83000, confirmed cases 3, including 1 death.
Even if these people didn't cause an outbreak by swimmimg, they would be bound to get into difficulties and overwhelm the NHS, coast guard etc.
I presume they could swim, seeing as they were observed doing it and if they ard locals they know which bits are safe to do so.

DH (who is a statistician) has just pointed me to the ONS weekly statistic that deaths in hospital have fallen below the weekly five year average in week 19 (8th May)
So, er.... yeah.
The risk aversity of medical professionals is understandable: it's their job. But the statistical illiteracy of the wider population is shocking.

I've said this before on another thread, but a society this keen to lock its children up for months where they can be neither seen nor heard has no business casting aspersions on the Victorians

True.

I know we shouldn’t mention other threads so I’m whispering... but I’ve just seen someone say that we should keep farm parks/playgrounds/zoos etc closed for the foreseeable but reopen clothes shops as she struggles with online shopping.
Fab. So our children who have been stuck at home for months don’t get any semblance of normality or gasps fun back, as long as others can buy clothes in the way that they like to buy clothes.

I’ve heard it suggested that the overall death rate will actually drop in the coming months or year because those people who would have died in the near future died slightly sooner from covid rather than dying in the winter from flu or complications from winter bugs.

Don't farm parks tend to be outdoors and equipped with hand wash stations and sanitiser despensers anyway, due to E Coli 0157?

@Spudlet my youngest is due to swap from infant to junior school in September and we've just had a wonderful video sent to us by the school made by some of the keyworker kids to show them around the school and meet the new class teachers etc (not that there's any change as it's the same year group team who've just taught the elder sibling this year)

It's a school that love swanky videos and podcasting and stuff anyway - but it's really nice.

Most adults don’t need new clothes (although somehow the lockdown has shrunk mine) and if they do there’s plenty of supermarkets open which sell them if they don’t want to shop online. Children need to socialise and play.

I think it was on this thread (they move along so quickly!) where there was a discussion about how the cumulative death toll could never show a decrease, so I had a wry smile to myself reading this yesterday:

"France revised its total death toll from the coronavirus pandemic to 28,022 on Tuesday, down from 28,239 a day earlier, as the government adjusted data provided by regional health authorities.
The health ministry reported 125 deaths in hospitals over the most recent 24-hour period but said that 342 fatalities previously recorded in care homes had been reclassified as resulting from "other causes""

Basically what I said Weedsnseeds1!