to be angry about this

[ffswhatsnext]

We've just moved to a new town and one of the neighbours is putting a weekly note through the door about the clapping for the NHS. We have two dogs and two young children.

Last week people stood on the doorstep and clapped, as is their right, but we've just had another note through the door saying it is going to be a weekly event and asking if anybody has got any musical instruments or fireworks

This is beyond a joke, we have dogs and small children to deal with. Fireworks?! Musical instruments?! At bedtime?!

We had neighbours texting to make sure we clapped. We stood looking out at the pitch black and clapped at an empty field. I guess it's the thought that counts.

Put a note back through going rather than clapping write to your MP about their wages and funding for the NHS

Fireworks are ridiculous. Totally against the spirit of it all. My friend's dog is so terrified of them that she needs to be medicated in firework season, and when a load went off unexpectedly last Thursday she spent the night behind the sofa in an absolute state, and another friend's cat ran off in terror and hasn't been since :(

Oh ffs OP, you must be re thinking the move🙄😂

I think as a one off event it was a nice gesture from the public as the nhs workers have a massive storm heading there way.

To do it weekly sort of makes it meaningless imo

I'd be fuming they touched my door and letterbox unnecessarily. Can't people just find stuff to do at home rather than wanting to interact and come out all the time ffs.

It’s every week?!

As a once off it was quite nice, but every week? It's unnecessary and smacks of "look at me being all supportive" while not actually doing anything productive.

I’m a front line nhs worker - doctor - and I honestly couldn’t give 2 shits about the clapping. I find it empty to be honest. If it brings some people who do it joy - then find - but I think it’s more about the clappers feeling “they’ve done their bit” than actually helping out in any real way.

For most nhs staff, their goodwill and sense of appreciation in their job was eroded a long time ago. The general public overall have misused and abused the nhs and it’s staff for far too long that now a token clap really doesn’t mean anything for a lot of it’s long serving staff. So OP I agree, I think instruments and fireworks is just a display of self righteous smugness!

Someone set off fireworks for the NHS clapping thing last week and my dog was petrified, he was pacing and whining all night - at one point he tried to climb inside a bookcase.

I'll be really pissed off if they do it again.

Once was nice. Now it feels contrived.

The level of self-righteousness in this area (East Yorkshire) is through the roof since all this tokenism began, it's absolutely ridiculous. Last week a rude woman shouted at me while queueing outside our pharmacy because I objected to a (perfectly fit and healthy looking man in his 60s) blatantly jumping the queue which had built up during their one-hour lunch. She yelled at me: "You don't know how hard the pharmacy staff are working, just trying to do their jobs", completely missing the point that I was objecting to another customer's selfishness, nothing to do with the pharmacy (never mind the fact that pharmacies are privately-run profit-making businesses etc.). The sentimentality and tokenism are encouraging stupidity and ignorance. I agree with PP who said that NHS staff are overworked and underpaid, and I don't see how any clapping is going to address that. I am not a nimby, my daughter is a Social Worker in inner London and I know that life has to go on, but many people are just behaving stupidly at the moment. What is clapping actually going to achieve?

@vinoelle - there are lots of people on my FB who are making meals for the NHS heroes, photographing their efforts. I'm all for helping the NHS, but wonder how these parcels are being received?

One thing if it's Pizza Express, but maybe another if it's next door neighbours cottage pie

I am not really a fan of the clapping, its a bit virtue signalling and doesnt do much. I dont mind other people doing it but the NHS would rather people stayed at home more.
@mynameiscalypso
Your post made me very sad. Hypocritical = tory voter
Even in these times of crisis can we not stop with the political mudslinging and pull together? Now is not the time for nastiness. Whatever our political leanings we are in the same mess as the whole of Europe and beyond. Lessons will be learned for sure, for now w have to get through this mess the best we can. A clap wont do it for me

@vinoelle as a non NHS worker that’s how I feel about the clapping (and now other things being added to it). It’s about the clapper not the clappee.

After watching some documentary/reality tv show (not sure how realistic it is) called something like GPs behind closed doors and the reasons people go to the doctor - fucking hell! I wouldn’t last a day as a doctor.

I’m so grateful for the NHS and I think it should be kept as a free service but I also think they should operate a three strikes and you’re out policy. Not as in no treatment but three waste of time appointments and you have to pay £10 for all future appointments but treatment needed is free still.

@Thighmageddon

I'd lose my shirt with that!

HA HA!

@ffswhatsnext Clapping for a few minutes once a week is OK. But fireworks and a party... ? No.

Speaking as a NHS worker the last thing I need now is the clap!

That said given the hours we work and the stress during our shifts, activity likley to result in said clap aint happening soon.

Ffs typical that a lovely gesture turns into an excuse to use bloody fireworks - I hope the whole reason behind clapping isnt going to be lost, I’m sure the hard working NHS staff would not want fireworks encouraged!

You should contact the organisers and tell them that fireworks is a really nice thought, but actually really unwise because it’s risking MORE strain on the NHS through accidents and possibly already distracted drivers being more distracted AND it’s going to cause lots of animals & some people great distress and surely they wouldn’t want that

More flies with honey?!...

I don’t know if it made any of our local NHS workers feel valued or not, (I hope so, but sadly probably not) but very selfishly it was nice to see the community feeling out there and feeling like there are people around (I live alone, it made me feel less isolated & a little bit more part of a community). Weekly clapping would be good by me, but the rest is completely unnecessary.

@vinoelle

What CAN Jo Public do NOW that would actually help? Is there anything at all?

The clapping I don’t have a problem with, but the blasting of horns and fireworks is just bullshite that stinks of I can make the most noise, look at me. When they’re making all that unnecessary noise, along with the clapping, they’re showing that they don’t actually give a fuck about people. They don’t think about those at home nursing very ill relatives, adults/children with SNs/autism or confused elderly people who are terrified of the sudden noise or even those frontline workers that are trying to get a few hours sleep before going back to work. The clapping may be appreciated, but the excessive screaming, cheering and other excessive and unnecessary noise is just virtue signalling bullshite.

Contact your local Fire Brigade and ask them to stamp on the idea of fireworks. You should be able to phone the local station.

I live in one of the parts of Sussex where Nov 5th is ^huge* deal. Consequently, we have an awful lot of people who are licensed to buy and use the biggest, professional standard fireworks.

Last Thursday, we had a big display that lasted 8 minutes, and was bloody loud. It doesn't actually bother me (and, tbh, I love them) and our dog is deaf, but I think it was a dreadful thing to do, especially without warning people it was going to happen.

But what pissed me off the most was the cost. I've been told that a decent display costs about £100 a minute, so that 8 minutes was £800-worth. How much better it would have been to donate that money to a foodbank or other local charity, or even to one of the hospitals.

Anyway, I think that all this clapping malarkey is nothing but collective virtue-signalling. If all the clappers actually cared enough about the NHS to vote for one of the parties that pledged to fund it adequately since 2010, it wouldn't be the horror show that it is at the moment.

That's no dig at NHS staff, btw, I am in awe of what they do on a routine basis, never mind in a crisis, but I am incensed by the failure of successive governments to resource the NHS so it can run a comprehensive service at the best of times and plan for extreme events and respond in a timely manner.

I may have to paint a banner that says "Don't clap for the NHS, vote for it instead".

And on that note, they've just announced the death of another doctor from CV-19. Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking.

Pretty hypocritical from a country that just overwhelmingly voted Tory

I can think of a GP, a consultant, an OT, a physio, a community nurse and three hospital nurses I know (all NHS) who voted conservative. Plus two retired nurses who’ve gone back to help.

Now, more than usual, tribalism, prejudice, and gatekeeping who you deem allowed to care, are unhelpful.

We stood looking out at the pitch black and clapped at an empty field. I guess it's the thought that counts.
Don't know why but this just made me really laugh Thanks!
It does seem a bit daft. Maybe people are over- excited as they have nothing to do with themselves. I'd tell them to donate to/ support the NHS in a real way. And get a hobby.

The clapping didn’t really help NHS staff in all fairness, they need more PPE not middle class twerps standing on their doorstep clapping at the sky.

Fireworks cause accidents, they’re every emergency service workers nightmare. Such a foolish idea.