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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to tell you that the census is supposd to be filledi n on the 27th MARCH

61 replies

hairylights · 10/03/2011 12:30

and not when you get it?

People all over mumsnet seem to be filling it in already? Confused

linky which explains why

OP posts:
vitriola · 10/03/2011 13:04

*meant. Clearly.

MoonGirl1981 · 10/03/2011 13:06

Oh, does it!?

Thought it was a gurt big thingy!!!!

I guess I can spare five minutes!!

:o

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 10/03/2011 13:07

yep - online it automatically does the "if the answer is no skip to Question 13" type thing so you do't have to sit and figure out which bits you need to tick and which bits you don't Grin

ivykaty44 · 10/03/2011 13:09

well if your not in the country on the 27th of March and don't intend being back home to your UK address until August - you still have to fill out the census - so whats that all about then if you have to fill it in up to 6 month after you can surely fill it in before?

the 27th date becomes a daft date really

MoonGirl1981 · 10/03/2011 13:21

I've been doing it for more than five minutes......!

SoupDragon · 10/03/2011 13:26

Mine's just taken well under 10 minutes. Very impressed.

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 10/03/2011 13:27

stop coming back to MN then Grin Wink

going to go and do mine now I think as well.

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 10/03/2011 13:39

done took 9 minutes, including stopping to peel a stubborn orange and empty a potty Grin

Missymorrison87 · 10/03/2011 14:27

Just a thought also, if someone were to die between now and the 27th - my OH for example - the LAST thing on my mind would be "oh shit i FILLED IN MY CENCUS ALREADY Shock Shock Shock "

but to be honest it sounds like i'm the only one??

MoonGirl1981 · 10/03/2011 14:29

No, I don't care whether the answers are right. I filled it in, didn't I?

Is all sppoky though. I typed in the special number and it knew my address. Feel a bit 'watched'.

Bloody stupid questions though.

And I wrote 'Private' for a few answers. Can do without the world knowing my business.

BarbaraBar · 10/03/2011 14:29

What if the earth gets blown up by an asteroid before the 27th?

You'll never get back those precious minutes you spent filling the form in unnecessarily.

Wink
Original poster
hairylights · 10/03/2011 14:31

I suppose I am a bit anal Grin

When I researched my family tree (we knew very, very little about it) I found it kind of nice knowing that on that particular day in history, those people were doing this or that.

OP posts:
TooManyPufflesInMyIgloo · 10/03/2011 14:35

I assumed that if they minded that much, the website wouldn't let you fill it in before the 27th.

But actually, they know bloody well that if they make everyone wait till the 27th, then the website will crash and they will look stupid.

Chil1234 · 10/03/2011 14:38

In the past I think it would have been even more impossible to have all the forms completed accurately on one solitary day. Public literacy being so bad in the 19th and early 20th Centuries that a lot would have needed help completing the forms.

HecateTheCrone · 10/03/2011 14:39

" When I researched my family tree (we knew very, very little about it) I found it kind of nice knowing that on that particular day in history, those people were doing this or that."

Now you know they probably weren't Grin

exoticfruits · 10/03/2011 14:51

I don't see how you can fill it in early-you might be dead, rushed to hospital, had to sort out a crisis with a parent etc etc etc. We have got visitors on night of 26th, they are supposed to go on 27th but one might stay on or maybe something will happen and they won't come.
I can't find my greatgrandmother in 1911census-I expect she was visiting and someone didn't think it mattered to miss her off-for the family historian it is very irritating!

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 10/03/2011 15:31

"Is all sppoky though. I typed in the special number and it knew my address. Feel a bit 'watched'.
"

Of course it did - the number as assigned to the address the census form is sent to - did you not notice that the form you got the number from had your address on it???????

As for being dead - well you could complete the form at 9pm on the 27th and die 1/2hour later - I'm sure the number crunching machines have already been set up to take account of the fact that people will die and be born on the day the census is done........

If someone is rushed to hospital they are still included on the census form as usual - it's only longer stays in hospital that make a difference.

exoticfruits · 10/03/2011 16:46

That is my reason for sending it in on 28th.

HecateTheCrone · 10/03/2011 17:06

I make a prediction.

On the 27th, their system will crash because it won't be able to cope with the amount of traffic.

If I am right, you all have to buy me a curly wurly.

SoupDragon · 10/03/2011 17:58

I couldn't find a single question on there I wasn't happy to answer or would want to write "private" against Confused.

iamabadger · 10/03/2011 18:06

If I die on the 27th I will have a death certificate, so any nosy buggers ancestors who want to look me up will find that too if they do it properly! I shall be in a Goan beach hut on the 27th therefore I have just filled it in!

theborrower · 10/03/2011 18:37

Am I being thick? Do we all get a census form in the post or something? I don't have one

cumbria81 · 10/03/2011 18:41

i got three. Not sure why.

NetworkGuy · 19/03/2011 18:57

theborrower - the forms are not all sent out the same day, though the web site was live from 04/03/11 so I assume they expected some forms to have been received (the form has a unique 20 character code to identify the house, so you cannot just go to the website and fill census info in from scratch, sorry).

If you don't get one, then (from the form I didn't fill in, as I did mine online) the contact details are:

helpline 0300 020 11 30

website: www.census.gov.uk

Text relay 1800 103 000 201 160

Help also available in large print and Braille.

Salmotrutta · 19/03/2011 20:13

I did mine early - don't care if we have unexpected visitors or whatever .
What bugs me is the cost of wasted printed forms - I know they have to cover all bases because not everyone has the internet etc. but it still bugs me to think how much that all must have cost.