@Jourdain11 I'm just catching up - thinking of you xx
People mentioned the situation in the north east - I've got a lot of family up there - both me and DH are from up there originally (he's Northumberland and a filthy Geordie, I'm from Sunderland). I think it's just a combination of quite an older population in the case of Sunderland, shitty health and deprivation anyway, the legacy of heavy industry meaning there are still a lot of people around with wrecked lungs from the pits and shipyards etc, and the fact that the whole area's been underfunded to fuck for decades. The fact that in some of the more traditional working class areas everyone's bloody related and in and out of each other's houses like mad as well is also probably something to consider with spreading it around - I know in the village I'm from everybugger knows everyone else - I've not lived there for over 20 years and still get clocked as "x's bairn" the second I drive over the boundary into the area.
I'm probably one of the people who's been most outspokenly "anti-teacher" and it's been "anti-teachers unions behaving like arses" and "anti some of the rhetoric from heads desperately painting schools like some kind of hell hole for children so parents don't send them back" and not anti-teacher in general. I've said before the teaching unions had the perfect chance to get the public right on their side - parents have had a taste of the hell of trying to impart knowledge into their own kids' heads for a couple of months now and realised that lots of their offspring are not the obliging knowledge sponges they once thought they are, but they'd really rather be on Roblox or sticking bunny ears on their heads on messaging filters sending emojiis to their mates than mastering the intricacies of the 8 times table... and they've blown that goodwill and respect getting into a pissing contest with the government over this! The line about spraying our kids with disinfectant was the point where I just thought "fuck you" to the NEU and co.
I don't understand how people can give up on their entire lives in the space of two months! They weren't unhappy before.
For those furloughed and still getting an income without having to work - I think there's still a bit of a Bank Holiday vibe about the whole lockdown thing (especially now they can sunbathe in the park etc). No massive money worries, no work to do, weather's been generally lovely... I can understand that (especially if you've got obliging kids and a supportive school - sit them in front of their ZoomyTeams lessons for the morning, cuppa in the nice big garden - damn this parenting and educating shit is easy) if you're in that kind of situation. I hate Bank Holidays anyway so it's hell for me! If you have younger kids, more challenging kids, kids with SN who really need the support and structure in place school provides - or you just go stir crazy very easily... it's a lot less fun. I think once the work demands ramp up, the furlough fun train starts to derail and the weather turns, people's enthusiasm for this slower pace of life will wane quite fast.