ADs and The Brave New World

[BogRollBOGOF]

When you kind of hope that a new thread meanders on quietly because it means that life is being fairly stable...

What are ADs?

Here's the copy and paste job...

Definition of AD
^AD stands for anti dementor.
There are creatures in Harry Potter called dementors, who suck all hope and happiness from you and eventually take your soul. Way back at the start of the pandemic thread after thread was posted on by posters like this and anyone who'd dare question anything or disagree with anything (like putting cheese in your coffee) was bullied off these threads. And so any actual discussion disappeared and it became an echo chamber of misery.^

We are the antidote to that. We follow the rules, but not the "roolz" and we question and discuss with respect to each other. It's all very civil.

@smallandimperfectlyformed hope you feel better soon!
Cautiously this morning I ventured onto the news app on my phone and the first article about any of this is 3rd down now, not main headline, and is about how the government have overreacted to the situation which gives me a little bit of optimism that everybody is just tired of the same old crap being spouted

@smallandimperfectlyformed, from one ill mummy (bog standard cold, thanks DC!) to another. Hope you feel better soon. Fwiw, Andy's Adventures and Bitz and Bob plus the Octonauts are helpful I found.

I feel like I'm living in two different countries at the moment.

In one the media, mainstream: TV, radio, papers like the Mail and Guardian, and, of course SM, people are tearing their hair out about this scary pandemic and scary new mutation and how we're not going back to normal for years and lots more people are going to die.

In the other, outside my front door, albeit in Purpleland, the cafes, restaurants, pubs, shops, buses and trains are full. Sometimes standing room only. People squeezing past each other (politely). Even the travel agent seems busy. Everyone living and chatting and hugging. Bit of a mixture of masking wearing, both of type and position, but then there's a good mix of dress styles around here, so it's just one more.

I felt I had to come out tonight so that I could see the was normality outside my front door, so we've come to a busy restaurant for a meal.
I can see the money I don't spend in shops this month going to hospitality. Perhaps this was a social engineering type idea of the govts...

Where is Purpleland @amicissimma ?
Soinds lovely.

I was hoping to get out to the cinema this week but the film I wanted to see (King Richard) has gone already. It looked like a real feelgood film.

It's from the gov.uk interactive map. I wouldn't say lovely, but better than the dark purple/black colour!

I've been in dark blue for a few weeks now with cases slowly but very very surely dropping.

I also (kind of) wore a mask today. It is one I have just made, with single ply sheeting. Even then, it spent more time under my nose than anywhere else. No one is bothered, so long is there is one around that gives them the excuse to NOT challenge.

Our office have just announced that they now expect people to wear masks at their desks as well as when moving around the office. I already find it hard being the only one who doesn’t wear one, and horrifying being surrounded by people with half their face covered. This just makes it feel even more dystopian. Horrifying what people will accept having to do if they’re told it will ‘keep them safe’.

The omicron has done what it needs to do, and that is terrify people.

I noticed it yesterday when commuting, and a small percentage of people back to wearing masks full time, complete with wide scared eyes when getting within 12 feet of other people.

So sad.

I truly believe that the ability to think rationally has been well and truly lost.

I thought this was a good piece about masks.

damianbruce.substack.com/p/welcome-to-fauci-world

That was. Thank you. Tbh, I think they are about as much use as carrying a pomander with you. But the pomander would smell better 😛

I found out yesterday (via someone who works there) that masks aren't mandatory in the offices of the Welsh Government. One rule for the people who make the rules, clearly. Perhaps we should go and have toddler group in a Welsh Gov office. (I know they're probably 2m apart or something, but I'm feeling petty about it.)

Great article @Mincepiepoptarts.

I also saw this graphic yesterday which demonstrates the uselessness of masks and vaccine passports by showing incidence in Wales, Scotland and England.

Great article @Mincepiepoptarts and sorry to hear about the madness at your place of work. Is it an office? How often do you have to be there?

It’s an office, yes. I only have to go twice a week but feel very conspicuous already as the only one unmasked. I absolutely hate having conversations with masked people but at least if you were talking across desks people had them off. Not any more.

I find it particularly grim when people are talking and you can see the fabric of the mask being sucked into their mouth. Then they take them off and leave them mouth side up on the desk. It makes my stomach turn!

Reading the news reports about the South African doctor who first noticed the variant made me smile.

‘Mostly healthy young men turned up feeling tired…….’

I wonder how many women had it and didn’t even think to bother a doctor ? I think ‘tired’ is a normal state of being for most women!

Can I admit to something a little bit pathetic please? Am having a bad day! This morning I saw an old church friend had posted one of those awful memes about why they wear masks - to show solidarity, they don't know if they have it etc but she didn't say anything to my Facebook status about me and my youngest having covid. I know it's pathetic but I find it quite hurtful! Also got an email about attendance of youngest child and was very upset as she is off school sick with covid but I rang and complained and the attendance officer just called back and was very nice - it was an automatically generated email.

That’s not pathetic at all. It just shows that for many people being seen to do what they think is the right thing is more important than actually doing the right thing.

Hope you all feel better soon.

Thank you Worldgonecrazy. It just stuns me the complete evangelism about masks.

@smallandimperfectlyformed

Can I admit to something a little bit pathetic please? Am having a bad day! This morning I saw an old church friend had posted one of those awful memes about why they wear masks - to show solidarity, they don't know if they have it etc but she didn't say anything to my Facebook status about me and my youngest having covid. I know it's pathetic but I find it quite hurtful! Also got an email about attendance of youngest child and was very upset as she is off school sick with covid but I rang and complained and the attendance officer just called back and was very nice - it was an automatically generated email.

Not pathetic at all. As to attendance records and emails, FIL recommended this response 'If you keep sending snotty messages, I will send you a snotty child'😂

'to show solidarity'. That just says it all doesn't it? Reminds me of when I saw someone posting that we wear masks 'to show we care'.

Virtue signalling rubbish and nothing to do with spreading germs.

We get the occasional attendance letter which usually says we are legally obliged to inform the LEA --even though there is fuck all they can do--

The alternative is bankruptcy to pay for holidays during peak season …..

@Worldgonecrazy

That’s not pathetic at all. It just shows that for many people being seen to do what they think is the right thing is more important than actually doing the right thing.

Hope you all feel better soon.

Yes it does.

I did a terrible thing at the weekend. I ran a long distance race that took over two hours with the temperature barely scraping 0⁰C. Dreadful enough in itself . In the last half mile when everything hurts and you're trying to convince yourself that there's only a few minutes left, I was passing a young woman that slowed abruptly to a walk. Asked if she was OK and she said she couldn't do it. I took her hand and took her with me telling her she can and she will. Poor girl was frozen. I gave her my (undrunk) drink for some sugar and liquid and I kept her with me until 300m from the end. The finish was around the corner and I still had a chance of a really good time, and there were more people around between her and the finish around the corner. I just hope she had the means to warm up quickly and someone waiting for her at the end.

Shocking Covid risk, taking a stranger's hand and giving a drink. The reality is that she had a worryingly low body temperature and needed guiding from a lonely spot towards the end for those 5 minutes or so.

Didn't even share it on social media after

I hate how tunnel visioned the whole Covid/ caring thing is. It is a lot less blinkered than this time last year, partly fatigue, partly seeing consequences of it, partly people having had it/ vaccinations and losing the fear.

I did something joyfully normal and Christmassy last night and it was a contrast to some areas of life. At least unlike this time last year, there is more escape, not just home, walk, shop and unending gloom on the horizon.

Well done on doing it BogRollBOGOF she will have been glad of the help. So glad you lot are all here so I can share my worries and concerns and hear other people's. Am counting down the days until my isolation is over and I can go Christmas shopping!

I did see an American post ‘I wear a mask so people don’t think I’m a Republican’