To ask if your essential meetings involve sitting around in the garden with wine and cheese, with your spouse in attendance?

[AlexaShutUp]

So the justification for the pictures of Boris in lockdown is that they were essential work meetings and therefore allowed. The wine and cheese was apparently because people were working long hours. I have seen no explanation of why Carrie was present.

Do you have essential work meetings of this nature? I don't.

AIBU to think that, in the midst of a pandemic, I'd rather that our decision makers stayed off the booze while carrying out their essential functions? And that unelected individuals who are not employed by the government in an official capacity have no business sitting in on such meetings?

@Diana8

He was not afraid. He seems to have known something that we didn't.

Or was it a case of..

“unafraid…….and completely unaware…”

Who knows?

'Sadly some crematoriums were very strict in the rules. Don't you remember seeing the video footage of one set of officials forcibly preventing two sons from comforting their grieving ,other?'

Someone posted the actual link to that and yes jobsworth staff should be ashamed of themselves.

The media are making themselves look increasingly desperate and I wonder whether they will actually be doing Johnson a favour.

What they should be reporting on is the current state regarding boosters etc and possible restrictions. Trying to make a work related drink in a garden a shocking event makes the media look ridiculous.

Ridiculous are people defending the indefensible on here. HTH.

Plenty more where this came from;

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-one-million-taxpayer-claim-public-duty-cost-allowance-prime-minister-cabinet-office-a8616731.html

but throwing brickbats about historical events doesn't sort out the pandemic, does it?

I just googled the garden, no 10 and no 11 do indeed share a garden. It is only 0.5 acres so obviously Carrie had to sit next to Boris as that's how it goes with small gardens.

noblegiraffe *
Here is Clav in 2020 suggesting that 'staff interaction during rest breaks' should be investigated as a covid risk.

Only when it's nurses and teachers, eh, Clav?

Precisely my point in posting the link!!
Much more concerning work environment in a hospital with vulnerable patients - not to mention that NHS activists have written to the Met Police regarding the Downing Street 'parties'. Likewise, teachers who claim they don't mix in the staffroom or outside of school when a quick look on advanced search reveals otherwise.

We weren’t allowed to take in goodies to share across team through last year or this - as per guidance for our public authority building. We weren’t allowed to mix on fag breaks with those we had been working with outside. We have to confirm our meetings/our work is kept away from others in the household. Just semantics attempting to justify the in justifiable.
Lockdown impacted my elderly parents hard, but they were behind this gov’t all the way and blaming folk partying on a beach or even breaking minor rules wishing people would just do as they’re told and not be selfish and commenting on the hard work of Johnson and co.
It’s sad and outrageous that the gov’t just did as they please and emphasised the real demarcation of them and us.
I agree this should have been released straightaway and it’s again sad and outrageous such stuff is covered for personal political gain.
Be nice to have some politicians of conviction and commitment but I won’t hold my breath.

@Clavinova

noblegiraffe * Here is Clav in 2020 suggesting that 'staff interaction during rest breaks' should be investigated as a covid risk.

Only when it's nurses and teachers, eh, Clav?

Precisely my point in posting the link!!
Much more concerning work environment in a hospital with vulnerable patients - not to mention that NHS activists have written to the Met Police regarding the Downing Street 'parties'. Likewise, teachers who claim they don't mix in the staffroom or outside of school when a quick look on advanced search reveals otherwise.

Eh, so it's okay for Boris to do it but nobody else? Is that what you're saying?

@Newcomer68

Always. Dunno about anyone else, but I always take my partner along as well.

Can't help feeling that picture does rather beg the question about who's really been running the country for the last couple of years...but then I've thought that for a while...

It's Wilf isn't it, I'm sure it must be as he's probably got more commonsense than the rest of them put together.

Can't remember the name of the dog but he's probably Wilf's SPAD.

I’ve attended work events involving donors (clients) that featured alcohol, and those events were very pivotal in the development of the relationship with those donors. But I used to work as a fundraiser with high net worth people, so we’re talking things like balls and dinners, celebrations of successes like a building opening, that kind of thing.

But never a work meeting, where anything got discussed in detail or decided.

Are you people for real? Defending this grotesque buffoon? Are you intent on gaslighting everyone that this was right and proper? What do YOU get out of it? I mean you must get some enjoyment from posting people off, you saddos.

@CounsellorTroi

Not sure of the relevance though tbh. The Downing Street photo shows people who have worked together all day sat outside having a break. It was allowed to have a break when at work you know.

Just that most people have a hot drink and a biscuit during their breaks, rather than cheese and wine.

They also don't invite their spouse and baby to their breaks and Given that this is being HEAVILY peddled as a work meeting, NOT a break, they definitely shouldn't be there. But then again Carrie seems to insert herself into the role of PM constantly.

[quote CheshireKitten123]Or if you want to go down 'memory lane ' try this one;

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1282753/tony-blair-news-downing-street-expenses-parliament-cosmetic-costs-spt[/quote]
What? Have I missed the relevance here. What does Tony Blair have to do with anything?

Clav - how many teaching staff were posting about mixing in staff rooms and outside of work during the lockdowns?

I wasn't in school at the time of lockdowns due to being CV and my specific role, but our staff rooms were closed, bar access to the hot water and fridge. Seating was not available. Everyone had to sit in their individual rooms or outside at a distance.

Outside of school most things were still closed. The most some of our staff did was have a socially distanced walk with a teacher/ta friend, all within the rules.

Anyone see the Raab interview? He reeeeeally didn't help!

If we accept that this really was an important meeting of important government people, isn't there a really big problem that the PM's wife was there?

Not just "using her garden" but sat at the table contributing to/listening to the meeting?

I'm sure it's not a bit like Madame Mao. She's probably very legitimately in the payroll as an extra special SPAD.

Abraxan

Some teachers have very active social lives, despite claiming the opposite on here (within the rules or not). I do recognise name changers by the way.

I've inadvertantly sat in on over a year of DH's work meetings because the acoustics of the house means that I couldn't escape the sound of his voice while WFH.

As a Covid risk, I don't have an issue with this gathering be it a meeting or social. During May 2020, MN was a cesspit of frothing about the dangers of VE Day parties, eating crisps on a bench and the second wave triggered by Bournemouth beach. The much predicted second wave did not occur.

I do have an issue with the hypocrisy and application of ridiculous rules and laws, and the government not having the conviction to abide by their own stupid rules. While there was still a case for caution over indoor transmission, outdoors restrictions should have been relaxed far earlier and never imposed again.

Outdoor transmission and fomites were found to be very low risk, very early on. Why are risk assessments still obsessed with hand sanitiser? More seriously, why in September 2020 was it made illegal for two families to go to the park together (rule of six), why were primary school age children banned from meeting other children last winter (if they didn't have worthy keyworker parents to get them a school place). U5s had an exemption, but 5-11 ish were not allowed to be supervised and meet another child for exercise as adults were with supervision out of the equation. Why were playgrounds padlocked up until the 4th July? That was a last minute inclusion after outrage that it was going to be legal to get drunk in a pub first.

It's the hypocrisy, lack of belief in their rules and lack of honesty in minimising what they've done while the rest of society abided, had rules enforced and added on further layers of their own making, then went about grassing each other up over trivial things like exercising for too long.

Not surprised though.

Nope, my essential meetings in May 2020 were with my Director of Estates and my clinical director to try and figure out how many BiPaps we could run before the hospital ran out of oxygen...

I was 8 months pregnant in may. I remember walking in the park on my own, not daring to sit on a bench as that was against the rules. My grandmother died alone and didn't get much of a funeral.

Anyone who says "who cares" can fuck off. Almost everybody lost something or someone and this photo is just the government laughing in our grief-stricken faces.

@Abraxan

Clav - how many teaching staff were posting about mixing in staff rooms and outside of work during the lockdowns?

I wasn't in school at the time of lockdowns due to being CV and my specific role, but our staff rooms were closed, bar access to the hot water and fridge. Seating was not available. Everyone had to sit in their individual rooms or outside at a distance.

Outside of school most things were still closed. The most some of our staff did was have a socially distanced walk with a teacher/ta friend, all within the rules.

How ridiculous.

Getyourarseofffthequattro
Eh, so it's okay for Boris to do it but nobody else? Is that what you're saying?

No - you said you previously worked in a hospital - I think the hospital gatherings are more concerning from a health point of view than the meeting in the Number 10 garden - apparently you do not.

Much more concerning work environment in a hospital with vulnerable patients

You don't think it's an issue if our government catch covid, Clav?

Have you forgotten the crisis of Boris Johnson in ICU after being rather casual around covid measures? We had Raab in charge.

Didn't realise you thought so little of the strategic importance of our government that you are happy for them to break covid rules during their 'rest breaks' and risk catching and spreading it.