to think Dominic Cummings should go/thread 3

[SophieB100]

Third thread!

There is an independent restaurant selling cooked burgers as a takeaway within 3 miles of where I live (borders of West London/Surrey) - available throughout as far as I am aware.

I'm well jel Clavs!

Taxi driver could have nipped up there or brought SANDWICHES!

They know how to cope.😂

This is getting a bizarre conversation now.

I wonder what Johnson will say.

i work in an extremely unimportant industry and cars get sent for people left right and centre.

I'm not disputing that - I'm just pointing out that this would involve another individual travelling between London and Durham, stopping off who knows where.

Do they deliver as far as Durham though? I don't go for burgers/kebabs myself, but the local Chinese delivers within a five mile radius.

Maybe he could have got wifey to make some sandwiches and a flask for the journey back?

DC had other options.

They wanted to get out of London( is my conclusion ) and he hoped they wouldn't be found out.
A lot of people got away to second homes before the 23rd march , but he couldn't.

My son was working in London and they were told to work from home from the 12th March as things would be changing so there were people in the know (in the city at least. )

His probably just gutted they couldn't get away before Boris spoke to everyone as many others had managed to do. If they had it wouldn't be the story it is.
I'm not condoning their actions , but the ones that got out of the cities early on knew what they were doing.

I was out of the country at the time, (and worried about getting home) but what date did the restriction on travelling to second homes come into being?

Yes but that taxi person would be performing work duties. Just like all the people criss crossing the country driving vans and lorries during lockdown.

They would all have protocols so a much better option.

It's all relevant though - he cleared off to Durham when he didn't need to, was spotted by members of the public ( there was a MN thread which had a posting dated 30th March saying he had been spotted there) - and he's now been found out. Johnson being a born liar could only think of telling more lies for him to get out of it. Cummings is enjoying the attention, no doubt.

Do they deliver as far as Durham though?

After accusing me of being pathetic and stupid your replies are not going well in my opinion.

irrelevant that should say.

planning ahead would be calling relatives and friends to make a plan about emergency child care help if needed.

Arguably he did that with his sister and nieces.

The very point about planning ahead was to have things in place to minimise the breaking of guidelines and to stop panic. The ‘plan’ that Cummings had made zero reasonable effort to do that. So if he really did plan, it was an extremely ineffective one. He acknowledged himself that he had asked no one at all in London, unilaterally deciding it would be unfair on them.

My thinking is the restrictions would be much harder after the 23rd March. I'm just going by my own experience with the rumours going around London at that time. Ds2 works in Islington and they all seemed to know about these upcoming restrictions and a few threads on mumsnet mentioned people packing up to leave before the 23rd etc.
It's just musings , but with someone such as DC in the know and living in London he would have been aware of what was going on and the big changes on the way.
It's all relative now , but many did decamp to other places I'm sure long before Boris's speech because they could.

Rattled are we, Clavinova?

"You are now making yourself look as stupid as the Cummings family did." A subtle difference - not that you are stupid, but trying to make excuses which are stupid and reflect back on you. All of these come into the category of "The dog ate my homework." excuses. So of course I was pulling your leg when I asked if they delivered as far as Durham. Although things like Uber may well not exist in Durham. Taxis almost certainly have to be ordered from a local firm - they won't be cruising around waiting to be hailed as they (used to be) in London.

The80s exactly. Everyone knew lockdown would be announced at some time, people left for their second homes in plenty of time. Cummings couldn't because he was advising Johnson about the lockdown and they took long enough dithering.

Guess something went wrong with his advance planning. More likely he just decided the rules do not apply to him.

So if he really did plan, it was an extremely ineffective one.

I disagree - quite handy having a family farm with separate properties.

So Cummings is really not as clever as he would like to think, because he could have done a bunk to Durham before the lockdown and set up a zoom conference with Bozo.

This whole thing might call into question just how much travel for business meetings is necessary.

His plans can't have been all that effective - he got caught. Good job he didn't go in for spying or it would have been 20 years in some grim foreign jail.

I disagree - quite handy having a family farm with separate properties.

That can only be reached by breaking at the very least your own guidelines, and arguably the law. Because the plan appears to be that they would wait till one of them were symptomatic, but in no actual urgent need of childcare, and then drive the length of the country. What a poor plan, compared to working out how you could safely self-isolate as a family and secure childcare if and when it was totally necessary, which is what every other family planned for, under the Stay Home rules.

I disagree - quite handy having a family farm with separate properties.*

oh give bloody over. the handy farm is on the other side of the country.

The country that is UNDER LOCKDOWN.

It was a SHITE plan.

And guess what @Clavinova open a paper, look at the tv, listen to the radio. The vast majority think it was a SHITE plan too.

So Cummings is really not as clever as he would like to think, because he could have done a bunk to Durham before the lockdown and set up a zoom conference with Bozo.

I expect they prefer face to face chats for their dastardly dealings.

It's interesting because it is clear that Cummings is part of the elite, to use a phase Cummmings does.

The elite did quietly leave London before lockdown in droves from royals to celebrities. So really he was just engaging in an activity common amongst his peer group.

The difference being:

1. It was after lockdown
2. He wrote the rules
3. His wife was contagious and he probably was too.

Maybe that's why in the beginning they just didn't get how cross the British public would get, because all of their peer group were doing it or breaking other rules. Because the elite generally think that the the rules dont apply to them from paying tax onwards.

Or maybe they just didn't care. But one thing is clear, the public is angry.

Did you break lockdown then @Clavinova ?

How are we now discussing it would have been worse for a taxi driver to do a round trip from Durham to London, whilst very probably unaffected, in case he needed or wanted to get a takeaway that was opening like others were.....

As possibly worse than Cummings driving to test his eye sight, or in case he needed childcare.

Shows just what a complete shot show this is and how they are still laughing at us as the British public more so than they did when we stupidly stayed home.