To think that Mark Drakeford is a power mad dictator?

[LittleLapwing]

Half the shops covered in plastic. Can’t buy clothes, duvets, books, DVDs, tins but not tin openers.
All the Halloween and bonfire night stuff that’s just been stocked is behind a cordon. Presumably now destined for landfill.

Autumn half term after a shitty year and I can’t even do a few seasonal treats for the kids.

AIBU to think that Mark Drakeford is a power mad dictator, and that his ridiculous game of Covid oneupmanship with Nicola and Boris needs to stop!?

Who are these people who throw out gloves after winter then buy another pair when the weather gets colder? The people with just one set of bedding? No cheap back up tin opener just in case their normal one breaks at any other time of the year?
A cheap/travel hairdryer in case their normal one packs in when drying their hair?

I’m in Wales and I know loads of people that are very doubtful it will be just 17 days. We were discussing it last night on a shift in the NHS

Thanks for the suggestion of Wilko and Home Bargains but I can’t fit taking public transport to them before I start my shift at work tonight. I could have walked to the local big Tesco though. I checked Aldi yesterday but they didn’t have any cards suitable for 3 year old girls so thank you for all the helpful suggestions. I’d already thought of them but had discounted them as I’m a functional adult

Some of the doomsday scenarios that might happen during the next two weeks! I would say 9 out of 10 tins in my cupboard have ring pulls so I will be ok if my tin opener decides to pack up. Lightbulbs going - well I have one in every room so I guess I could move them - or go and buy them since they are still on sale. Going to A and E if I scold myself with a pan full of hot water if my kettle stops working - not really likely that both unfortunate events will happen in the next two weeks - I would have to be spectacularly unlucky. All of my pens running out - are there really household where they have only one pen per person? Besides which I'm such any school or college will be happy to let you have one.

I hate lockdown. I really do. Most days you will find me half way up a mountain or walking the coastal path - but I have to drive at least 15 mins to be be able to do that. I can't do it for the next 16 days. I hate that. But I can cope - for 16 days I can do it.

@Burnout101

Because many people don't use UC so they wouldn't know. Fairly obvious. I'm glad you can solve problems but ranting on pretending it's not a problem is helping nobody.

Maybe people could find out about things beyond themselves? I don't need a new kettle or bedding in the next fortnight but here I am showing an interest in the issue.

You can't expect people to randomly look into something. Why don't you start a thread on it? You're not showing interest you're just pretending it's a non issue.

If your kettle breaks down, boil some water in a saucepan on the stove. If your tin opener breaks, buy tins with ring pulls or not buy tins.

The more expensive tins are the ones with ring pulls.

We were only told about the non essential a rule yesterday so no I hadn’t bought a pumpkin just in case

@noideaatallreally

Some of the doomsday scenarios that might happen during the next two weeks! I would say 9 out of 10 tins in my cupboard have ring pulls so I will be ok if my tin opener decides to pack up. Lightbulbs going - well I have one in every room so I guess I could move them - or go and buy them since they are still on sale. Going to A and E if I scold myself with a pan full of hot water if my kettle stops working - not really likely that both unfortunate events will happen in the next two weeks - I would have to be spectacularly unlucky. All of my pens running out - are there really household where they have only one pen per person? Besides which I'm such any school or college will be happy to let you have one.

I hate lockdown. I really do. Most days you will find me half way up a mountain or walking the coastal path - but I have to drive at least 15 mins to be be able to do that. I can't do it for the next 16 days. I hate that. But I can cope - for 16 days I can do it.

Good for you. Well done. When the Great Reckoning comes you will be judged pure.

With everything else closed, what he's trying to do is prevent families using big supermarkets and the promise of new clothes / toys / homewares as a venue for an outing on a wet afternoon.
It is only two weeks - it won't kill anyone* to boil water in a pan for a fortnight if their kettle breaks, or wear a different pair of shoes if their favourites develop a hole. While I don't like to hark back to the war, similar restrictions were a way of life for almost SIX YEARS back then. Can we not make do for a fortnight?

[*Yes I know there are medical or child-related emergencies that could happen - eg I've read on these pages about not being able to by preemie clothes for unexpected babies and SN kids with very specific requirements - but the actual number of people these will affect are very tiny in the whole of a 3m population].

@RoxytheRexy

I’m in Wales and I know loads of people that are very doubtful it will be just 17 days. We were discussing it last night on a shift in the NHS

Thanks for the suggestion of Wilko and Home Bargains but I can’t fit taking public transport to them before I start my shift at work tonight. I could have walked to the local big Tesco though. I checked Aldi yesterday but they didn’t have any cards suitable for 3 year old girls so thank you for all the helpful suggestions. I’d already thought of them but had discounted them as I’m a functional adult

You must have local gift shops/businesses trying to stay afloat, at least one will be delivering to functional adults.

@TroysMammy

Who are these people who throw out gloves after winter then buy another pair when the weather gets colder? The people with just one set of bedding? No cheap back up tin opener just in case their normal one breaks at any other time of the year? A cheap/travel hairdryer in case their normal one packs in when drying their hair?

I have lots of spare bedding but no spare duvets and pillows. How many spare duvets does the average person have??

I have gloves but no spare hairdryer. Having a spare set of every electronic I own wouldn't occur to me because I can go to a 24 hr supermarket and buy one....

trying to do is prevent families using big supermarkets and the promise of new clothes / toys / homewares as a venue for an outing on a wet afternoon is he? I don't think so (and why shouldn't they? Supermarkets are very safe)

I yes, I do think it will be for the 16 days. The announcements from Drakeford have been quite clear on that score. Feel free to come back and tell me I told you so if I am wrong.

Who are these people who throw out gloves after winter then buy another pair when the weather gets colder? The people with just one set of bedding? No cheap back up tin opener just in case their normal one breaks at any other time of the year?
A cheap/travel hairdryer in case their normal one packs in when drying their hair?

People living in poverty/on the breadline? I said this earlier but when I worked in care it was not uncommon for my, usually elderly and disabled, clients to have the bare minimum of goods. One fork, one knife, one ancient tin opener, one threadbare duvet etc. I've known other people in those circumstances too.

He needs to be held to account for this.

I would rather my money go into the local community, even if it is to a supermarket, than buy from Amazon.

The supermarkets should have teamed up and just plainly refused to do this.

Wales doesn't even have the virus too bad.

@Burnout101 I live in Cardiff and don’t know of any delivering non essential local shops

Noideawhattodo the fire break was announced last Monday, rumours started before then. The fire break started Friday evening so people were warned and if they didn’t buy their Haribo, spiders and fake blood in those 5 days they only have themselves to blame.

Drakeford must have shares in Amazon. What an unhinged little man. Perhaps he should have stayed as a social worker.

@110APiccadilly

So in a supermarket in Wales, you can still buy: Lottery tickets Alcohol Cigarettes

You cannot buy:
Kettles
Tin openers
Baby clothes
Birthday cards

How is anyone looking at this and thinking it's even vaguely sane?

I look at it and think they've just taken away things which predominantly women buy.

If the reasoning is "fairness" to small shops, how is it fair to small shops that lotto, ciggies and booze can he sold at the big shop and not the little one?

Obviously we can't have addicts suddenly cut off, but that throws fairness out the window and they should just sell what they have and what's needed by the customer - even if that need is just a mental health need, staving off another day of suicidal thought. And make no mistake, this will push some people the final distance to the edge.

I really do think he and his folks have just selected products predominantly shoped by women and used that to play one-up-Boris. Who cares if women are boiling tea water in cooking pots and cutting feet out of onesies? Same as the childcare vs job needed to pay rent and buy food. Fuck women, right?

Why do you need to BUY a card when any good, puritanical Welshwoman would be fashioning one from an old cardboard cereal packet? You don't NEED a card. Show the recipient how pure and compliant you are.

People really have lost their marbles over this. Restricting what people buy is lunacy, and has no "sense" to it whatsoever. It''s poorly thought out and it's clear the messages are mixed - it's not about stopping the spread, it's supposed to be about protecting smaller shops. Neither scenario makes sense though and it's scary to see people jumping through mental hoops trying to justify this to themselves.

@FlyingFlamingo

I can understand his reasoning, and it is only 17 days. If the shops have decided that stationary isn’t essential then it’s them that has made that decision, not WG.

I don’t think it makes him a dictator, you might want to look up some actual dictators, I’m not sure Stalin or Hitler went through a 17 day ban on buying envelopes phase before they started their murdering but of course I could be wrong

Actually, no, the WG provided guidance as to what is/isn't essential albeit at the absolute last minute. Do you really think shops wouldn't do whatever they could do boost their profits?

Forget the pandemic and just look at our issues with obesity, child poverty, and alcohol. Yet supermarkets are still allowed to sell chocolate, wine, crisps, cigarettes and lottery tickets, but not duvets, kettles, tin openers, socks, a raincoat, umbrella, or stationery. In the middle of winter...

I don't understand the logic - if my kettle broke I would get one from the supermarket even if all other shops were open - there isn't an independent kettle-mongers or tin-opener-mongers I'd be putting out of business?

@JesusInTheCabbageVan why are you assuming wilko, homebargains etc. will be able to stock these items if supermarkets can't?

I think you misunderstand the point I was trying to make. I wasn't looking to be judged as 'pure'. I was trying to highlight how ridiculous some of the scenarios have got. It is for 16 days.

He said something about “the new regime” in the interview yesterday after this lockdown. Bizarre.

I’m in Cardiff but I don’t know of any. Could you link to some please? Ones that deliver 2 cards, cheap drawing paper and some bits for tea tomorrow? That deliver this afternoon before I go to work please

@Funkypolar

Drakeford must have shares in Amazon. What an unhinged little man. Perhaps he should have stayed as a social worker.

If I was in charge of Exeter Uni i'd be asking for my PhD back. Clearly obtained under false pretences.

@BooksAreNotEssentialInWales

We were only told about the non essential a rule yesterday so no I hadn’t bought a pumpkin just in case

It was announced on Monday on.gov site, went on at length about non essential retail and specifically included guidance like "Even where something may be allowed, we ask you not to think about whether it is permitted but whether it is truly necessary and sensible." so the info was there for most people's milk buying period