Thread 3 shielding chat

[AuntieSocia1]

I hope this unimaginative thread title doesn't put off all the amazing posters from this group!

As we transition into this new phase things could get interesting....

Waves to lurkers

Well done. @Stressisanoption. You did the right thing.

(How can it be good for anyone’s mental health to put themselves in a situation where they risk imminent death?)

Giving you a virtual 'Well done' sticker @Stressisanoption

Definitely the right call. I wonder if the other shielders really did want it for their mental health (perfectly valid if so) or just felt pressured? that she told you that, actually. Their actions have no relevance to your decision.

Thank you! I love a sticker 😊

Just told my eldest what I’d decided and he said he could cry with relief. That says it all really. It’s not just about me.
Hope everyone else has been able to do the safest thing for them too.

Oh, @Stressisanoption, I'm so relieved for you. I can't believe your Head has managed to persuade three others to go to school when they should be at home. The advice is so clear!

@Stressisanoption - EXCELLENT work asserting yourself! Your HT wants to have a word with themselves - no business asking anyone to be coming in if they’re on the shielding list, but merrily disclosing health information that should be kept confidential [because the stuff re: MH falls under that even if actually they’re coming in because they’ve been bullied into it!]? Frankly, have you any way of reporting them (without causing yourself grief)? You should be really proud of yourself though: & you’ve nothing to feel guilt over!

Less awesome day here I’m afraid: a neighbour died in the wee hours. She saw my parents move in as newlyweds & I’m not overstating things to say that I loved her & she me & I wish to throw rocks at 2020 because while she wasn’t tragically young & she was widowed a few years ago, she was still determinedly vivacious & engaged & engaging & I’m going to miss her so dreadfully & I’m really REALLY struggling with the idea fecking Covid will almost certainly mean I can’t go to her funeral. Please be impressed I managed to keep it together in my hospital appointment (a phone one) this afternoon, because frankly it was Hard Work.

I’m so sorry about your neighbour @MarieVanGoethem

@MarieVanGoethem, I’m so sorry about your neighbour. We had an elderly neighbour who died during the first lockdown. She didn’t die of Covid which is a relief and she seemed to go peacefully but, goodness, I’ll really (already do) miss her too. She was in her 90s and lived alone after her sister died and was in great pain from spinal osteoporosis but she was as sharp as a tack.

@Stressisanoption, well done on dealing with the HT. He/she should have known much better than to say that or to discuss your colleagues’ situations.

Greetings to the rest of you too. My brain’s too addled to namecheck anyone else but I hope you’re all settling down, especially those in England. It’s awful that you’ve all been left in the dark to the last minute. Again.

Sorry about your neighbour, @MarieVanGoethem

I came on to say I've just seen this from yesterday on the bbc news site

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-54799328

I'm not sure what time it was published

@MarieVanGoethem sorry about your neighbour.
I received a letter this morning from my local council reiterating what the original shielding letter said back in April. It also stated that the government will be sending letters out too, so hopefully those who haven't had any texts/emails will get the letters.
I shall be forwarding said paperwork to my line manager on Monday.

I’ve just seen a lovely tweet from Blood Cancer UK:

“Aldi has told us its staff who are extremely clinically vulnerable & can’t work from home will be able to shield on full pay. On behalf of our community, thanks so much for supporting people with blood cancer at a difficult time 🙏. We hope other employers follow their lead!“

Lovely to see a major employer doing the right thing

That is good, iVampire. That will be such a relief to the employees it affects.

@MarieVanGoethem I’m so sorry about your neighbour. There are no words, but there are memories, and memories last forever. 💐

@iVampire that is so lovely, good to know there are still some decent folk in our world.

I haven’t heard from SLT today, other than an ‘all staff’ email saying thank you to everyone for being so amazing and going above and beyond and putting your personal worries second to the needs of the children. That made me feel just great. The other ‘shielders’, who shielded in the first lockdown to a lesser degree than me, have been very blasé about the whole thing since September. Whereas I haven’t stepped foot in the staffroom or any other shared space, they’ve been positively the life and soul. After one of them told me ‘just have big gaps, you’ll be fine’ I kind of distanced myself from them (ironic laugh) to be honest. Really not surprised they are going back.

Has anyone got anything they’ve been using to keep their mood positive? It’s so easy to get bogged down with all the darkness and worry. Daily TaiChi (only 10 mins) and a poem I have stuck on my fridge door are where I go when the clouds descend. That and nice red wine : ) Would be grateful for any other suggestions, however small.

Hello again everyone.

So sorry for all of you who have lost special people during this time it is hard enough coping with grief in normal times let alone trying to in this present mess.

I really feel for everyone on here experiencing the guilt trips which are so common in the lovely world of teaching! I had two very long meetings with my headteacher on Wednesday where I did not know what to do! In the end I agreed to teach to the end of the week and see if I got a letter then take it from there. After the email arrived on Wednesday evening I taught Thursday but made it clear I was intending to stay home from today. The children were so sweet I could have cried, they all wanted to give me a hug which of course they couldn't so we all hugged ourselves I felt terrible as they tried to share out my teaching cover but I've offered to do whatever I can from home to help.

@stressisanoption I haven't tried Tai Chi yet but I do love a teambodyproject workout (free on YouTube) and I've taken to singing karaoke very badly with tracks on Spotify!

@Gottalovesummer

I've had a letter stating I am CEV and should shield.

I am currently healthy and well, and can only presume it refers to a medical condition I had some years back but have not had symptoms for over 10 years.

Do I still need to shield? I'm confused.

There’s no shielding at the moment @Gottalovesummer. If you’re not sure whether you are CEV it might be worth checking with your GP.

From last night's email:
"the Government is issuing new guidance to clinically extremely vulnerable people. This is set out in the following pages. Whilst this is not a return to the very restrictive shielding advice you may have followed earlier in the year, you are strongly advised to follow these extra precautionary shielding measures to help keep yourself safe. This remains advice, not the law."

So it's not like shielding last time, but the advice is described as "precautionary shielding measures"...
There is encouragement to sign up to the .gov shielding support scheme.

What should I be calling this, if not shielding, @Egghead68 ? Not being funny, I just don't understand what else it might be.

Fair enough! It’s confusing as my understanding was the government said they were not asking people to shield this time round.

Thank you for being so kind about my neighbour: it all feels a bit strange still. I think being so thoroughly Rapunzeled makes connecting with the world in the usual way hard, even without the complicating layers of The Rules.

Hope that everyone is doing as ok as possible given the cold & dark & pressures from all directions. Look after yourselves.

Hi ladies, looks like I'm back indoors with you all. @Stressisanoption you've absolutely done the right thing!
@MarieVanGoethem I'm sorry to hear of your neighbour
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I was home from Thursday when I got the email, I work for Aldi so thankfully I don't have to worry about pay (they paid us in full last time too).

Go Aldi!

That is admirable, an employer actually looking after it's CEV staff. It's one less thing to worry about

Thank you @TheHobbitMum: am really glad to hear that you (& your colleagues [in broadest sense!] who need to shield again) are being paid in full - it’s the right thing for large companies to do, but ALDI are sadly the outliers.

In what passes for exciting in my life these days, I went out of my front garden NOT for a medical appointment today! It was for all of about a minute to take a slice of cake next door, but it felt almost like being a Real Person. Said cake was included with the lunch I’d ordered for myself for free, which was very nice, but they didn’t think through that probably you want to only send vegan things to the person whose order is just vegan stuff. I didn’t want to put it in the food waste bin & my brother doesn’t like cake (I worry about him, frankly) so I rehomed it with people who would appreciate it. It felt really strange to just go & knock; strange to stand well back in a mask...

Sometimes I wonder if “normal” will ever come back again...