Anti dementors visit the zombie beach

[BarkandCheese]

New thread! Hope the title is acceptable.

On another note, I'm not having a great day. Dd has gone back to nursery. I'm still wfh with ds. We could potentially try to send him back as we fall under the critical worker criteria but not sure they'll take him as I'm wfh. They are taking more kids but appears to be where both parents are out of the house. He is no bother and seems nonplussed either way but I'm worried there won't be space for him if we do have to send him later if I need to go into work. I honestly don't know what to do. No one at work seems to be using the provision and it seems really cheeky to do so if we don't need to/ds is ok but worried about missing the boat. Not slept well as result and am really tearful

Yes that was on the thread with someone struggling with homschooling and the children struggling also.

I saw that even Neil Ferguson is now ruling out a second wave in the UK. He thinks there might be a "second bump" this winter, but nothing more than that.

I love reading these threads to remind myself I'm not going insane and there other sensible people out there.

Absolutely gutted that it's raining here all week. I don't have many friends that will actually meet me because they are all too scared but now I won't even be able to meet the limited few who will.

One friend finally admitted to me yesterday that she thinks it's all nonsense and we had a quick hug and I cried. I wonder how many people we've murdered from that hug? Even though there have been no new cases for 2 days here.

Do any of you have DPs with the fear? My relationship with DH is suffering because of our different opinions and I'm finding it increasingly hard to keep quiet when he says such stupid things.

@Littlebelina

On another note, I'm not having a great day. Dd has gone back to nursery. I'm still wfh with ds. We could potentially try to send him back as we fall under the critical worker criteria but not sure they'll take him as I'm wfh. They are taking more kids but appears to be where both parents are out of the house. He is no bother and seems nonplussed either way but I'm worried there won't be space for him if we do have to send him later if I need to go into work. I honestly don't know what to do. No one at work seems to be using the provision and it seems really cheeky to do so if we don't need to/ds is ok but worried about missing the boat. Not slept well as result and am really tearful

I was this way/that way about sending Junior Mole as I can WFH (and in fact have been angling to do so for months, so in many ways this has played into my hands heh heh heh) The updated gov.uk guidance on education provision says - Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to look after their child at home, but attendance is strongly encouraged. Now they kept that bit quiet, didn't they? Attendance is strongly encouraged.

Oh FFS. BBC on students today going back to uni

"To prevent the risk of infection, the Universities UK briefing suggested students could be kept in small groups, sharing accommodation with people taking the same course, using the "protective bubble" approach used in primary schools in England"

"They were setting out safety measures for a socially-distanced student life - including a virtual freshers' week"

This is really going to help young people get out into the wider world. Some people feel they are already wrapped in cotton wool as it is, even before this. Totally missing that young people mostly are low risk

Our secondary does a few days away for new pupils where they manage without electricity etc bet that is banned too now

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52897727

I feel a bit crap too today. Doesn't help that the weather's turned. Said to dp last night I feel like I'm under house arrest. Like I'm being punished.

He was like but you can go out!

I was like yeah... In my own garden... Or to a park that is rammed that I usually love but now can't even park. I can't even take Ds to the swings. Its illegal for me to enter my own mums house.

When you think about it like that I cant understand how this lockdown is even legal. It's horrific.

I feel empty and just existing. I doubt that I'm depressed (I'm not despondent or hopeless), just purposeless...I need a fear of urgency, and there is zero of that. I just feel like I'm drowning in featureless time and the void of eternal procrastination

You’ve summed up exactly how I feel. Prior to all this I was an avid charity shop shopper, I was forever buying books, far more books than I couldn’t post have time to read. I thought during lockdown I’d crack on and make a dent in them, and how many have I actually read? Three, three whole books in nearly three months. I can’t concentrate on anything, I haven’t even watched that much TV. It reminds me of being on a long haul flight, I alway think great, ten hours to read and watch movies when I’m not expected to do anything else, but I never do. I faff, read a few pages, watch twenty minutes of something then decide it’s not for me. As you say, I need that routine and urgency to motivate myself.

I was reading an article from someone who home schools that said we’re crisis schooling rather than home schooling and it struck a chord with me. It’s not our choice, other people dictate the content and a lot of parents (usually mums if we’re honest) are trying to fit it in with paid work with reluctant or downright opposed ‘pupils’. Of course it’s all gone tits up, especially where schools haven’t supported us by having online classes to provide some structure to the day.

And I’ll hazard a guess who’ll be blamed when they’ve gone backwards when they finally go back! In Wales we know they won’t be back for months but there’s no effort to standardise provision or check the quality of what schools are providing. I’m assuming it might be worse in England as teachers go back to other years? The education system should be shouting about this surely? If dd was in high school I’d be even more furious. When did it all stop mattering?

@BarkandCheese funny you say that about books, 6 months ago I was a moderately successful author but my book sales have tailed right off: combination of financial uncertainty and wretchedness I guess. Picking up a little again this week (fortunately it's only part of our household finances but it's conspicuous!)

Checking in, morning all. Hoping the welsh announcement is positive today regarding schools.

Sorry I got the Ferguson thing slightly wrong. Ferguson & other experts have been speaking to some House of Lords committee. Another epidemiologist (Prof Mark Woodhouse) has used the "second bump" phrase to describe epidemologists' current concerns / expectations. Ferguson has said he doesn't expect anything to happen till September, when cases may increase, but very much not using second wave language.

Without oversharing, DH and I both worked for universities in various capacities for some years and that article about students is completely hilarious. DH was quite senior in academic admin before changing career & he just has no idea how you would even BEGIN to enforce this.

Looks like some in wales will go back - announcement at 12.30pm. Though they might be teasing us and will simply announce it'll be sept. Wales online says around 20 June.

How can they not declare all schools open ft in sept? Surely if people are back to work they just HAVE to?

Australia schools completely back. No social distancing. Yes they have different rates of infection but if our levels are similar by then we should be doing same?

@Orangeblossom78 - Yes, I heard the University thing earlier - grim! University authorities quite clearly have to be really risk-averse because of, er, health & safety, but are also desperate for the money that they won't get if students don't come. I've got a nephew due to start at one uni, and I'm really worried for him and how compromised his experience is going to be. My only hope is that if he's actually allowed to physically go there in September/October, that human nature will prevail and he and other students will subvert the rules and end up having fun regardless.

It's odd about reading. I'd describe myself as a keen reader, but I too have hardly read. Just have been drifting from one thing to the next, lacking concentration. I wonder if people are even going to be mentally capable of their jobs when they go back. If.

And as for a "virtual" freshers'week? Are they really going to make freshers feel that this is fun? And will the freshers actually swallow it?

All this for a virus whose median age of death is 82. And even then it's a small minority. It makes no sense at all.

cattermole, I have seen that (but thanks). Think I'd feel better about making a decision if I knew one way or the other whether ds's year was going back this year. The government website still says it hopes to get all primary back before end of year (although I'm not sure how it would work). He'd much prefer to go back with his class and teacher and we could cope with rotas/part time. Or if work would tell me for definite they want me in.

@Orangeblossom78 I was just about to share that universities story too - how utterly grim and pointless

DD’s unlikely to go to uni straight after she finishes A-levels next year but even if she were keen I’d try to persuade her to wait until things were more normalised. And I really can’t see how most parents and students would feel that this was a good reason to get into debt ...

Same here with the reading! I normally read 1/2 books a week, and I’ve managed 1 in lockdown! I just don’t have the attention span.

I am delighted with the rain but I am beyond upset at how crap ds2’s school has been and fed up to the back teeth with teachers on Mumsnet refusing to believe provision is anything other than uniformly excellent and if anyone dares say theirs is lacking or try to find out if this is what they can reasonably expect they are accused of teacher bashing.

I’ve got a nephew due to start university in September too. He’s weighing up if he should defer for a year now. He works at McDonald’s now and could easily spend the the next year livIng at home and getting a good amount of money saved up, which would be very useful. However the sticking point is apparently my sister’s terrible, draconian rules which he can’t cope with for much longer. When I enquired what these terrible rules were, it turned out to be that he was expected to bring dirty cutlery and crockery down from his room and put them in the dishwasher, wash his own clothes, clean up the kitchen after he’s used it and walk the dog a couple of times a week.

That's awful.
@ghostmous3 and @DianneWhatcock . I empathise.

My mental health has gone right to shit and DD1 and DS aren't doing so well either.

I’m staying at my parents this week...nice change of scenery!

Sorry, thread moved while I was typing. The 'that's awful' was meant for 'freedoms we have left'