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?

@Clavinova

countrygirl99 So is there no risk from non hospital workers mixing? That should save a lot of hassle for the hospitality industry in the next few weeks.

Are hospitality venues forcing everyone outside again? In the garden?

If there isn't a risk people don't need to cancel like they already are in droves. The Government should hold a briefing to make it clear if the only risk is healthy care workers.

I'm furious.

We had to eat our lunch in the classrooms with our class. Out staffroom was closed.

Why are you making this about teachers, when it’s members of the government who have been found on camera to be breaking the rules?

@Clavinova

noblegiraffe You don't think it's important for the government to follow its own rules?

They say they have in this instance. Where did teachers at your school eat their lunch last year? Not in the same room I hope.

If you think that photo represents following the rules I’ve got a bridge I can sell you. And what about all the other times they demonstrably broke the rules?

I generally ate my lunch in an empty classroom if I got a chance to eat it.

"In my case, Blair was never in government at a time when I was old enough to vote, criticisms of him don’t affect me, and I feel no need to defend him."

You wouldn't have been able to defend him taking us into a war because of imaginary 'weapons of mass destruction'.
Just be glad you were too young to have lived through that $h!£ $how that cost the lives of so many of our young men. {angry]

@Appuskidu

We had to eat our lunch in the classrooms with our class. Out staffroom was closed.

Why are you making this about teachers, when it’s members of the government who have been found on camera to be breaking the rules?

Ah Appuskidu, you've been here long enough to know teachers and school staff are to blame for any and all problems. 😂

Yes also, why now?

I think because new - potentially stringent - restrictions are on the horizon. And because this stuff was always going to have the most potency around Christmas, given they cancelled Christmas last year.

Whinge
I can't speak for Noble, but we ate in our classrooms, the staffroom was closed.

But hospital staff ate together it would appear. And care homes?

Not with wine but we had several team meetings in the garden at work last summer, as it was a chance to see each other face to face instead of via bloody zoom. We each brought our own lunch.

Why are you making this about teachers

noblegiraffe made it about teachers - read the thread.

But hospital staff ate together it would appear. And care homes?

Why do you think they ate together? Perhaps i'm not following closely enough, but i'm confused about the point you're trying to make.

@ChristmasPlanning

I'm furious.

What? Why? If they having coffee on their lunch break , or after the meeting as they finalised some discussions before the meeting properly ended , would you still be furious? Is it the wine that’s making you angry? Because plenty of work places do have this at meetings.

Dispicable.

But that's what happens when you live in a Lord and serfdom. Aka voting the Tories in power.

So what more do you expect?

Boris and Co have ZERO respect for people. Absolutely zero. It's all just lipservice.

Whinge
Perhaps i'm not following closely enough, but i'm confused about the point you're trying to make.

I'm going out - you will have to read the thread again if you are confused.

@Clavinova

Why are you making this about teachers

noblegiraffe made it about teachers - read the thread.

Yes, I pointed out that you were very concerned about what teachers and nurses were getting up to on their rest breaks.

I want to know why you don’t show the same concern for what the government gets up to on its rest breaks.

You don’t seem to think it is important for the government to follow its own rules. Is that correct?

'If you look closely at the photo some people are wearing masks, they are in business suits and they work together so I am not sure what the fuss is about.'

Exactly.

You'd think we'd seen them raving at a nightclub by the handwringing on the thread.

There must be more surely.. rags like the Mirror and reporters like Pippa Crerar must have something actually incriminating up their sleeves?!

@Appuskidu

We had to eat our lunch in the classrooms with our class. Out staffroom was closed.

Why are you making this about teachers, when it’s members of the government who have been found on camera to be breaking the rules?

It's actually civil servants more than members of the government in all of the photos.

'what teachers and nurses were getting up to on their rest breaks.'

Can't speak for teachers but hcps were all mingling in communal indoor areas on their restbreaks. I believe even mince pies were consumed and crackers pulled.

They were at work you see, not at their auntie's annual Xmas party..which rightly wasnt allowed.

Hospital staff here. We sit 2m away from each other at lunch and are allowed to remove our masks for 15min to eat and no more. Even outside we have to be 2m apart. No work socials allowed and not allowed to bring a coffee to a team meeting as it would mean removing mask.

If this was a private home it was illegal at the time.

No, you've got it the wrong way round. Had the garden of No.10 been a *public place", the gathering would have been illegal, but there was no restriction on gatherings in private spaces at the time (although there would be a little later).

It's actually civil servants more than members of the government in all of the photos.
It's actually both along with at least two people who are neither.

Honestly? I’ve had a fair few meetings that involve alcohol and food, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, even a nice terrace or two. Not during the pandemic, of course, but we were all wfh. If we were in the office together all day every day anyway, I’d see no harm in doing the same. Unpopular opinion, I know.

Discipline for drinking at work. (Public sector)
Discipline for breach of confidentiality ( discussing work whilst a non employee is present).

Two breaches..sacked!

@Florianus

If this was a private home it was illegal at the time.

No, you've got it the wrong way round. Had the garden of No.10 been a *public place", the gathering would have been illegal, but there was no restriction on gatherings in private spaces at the time (although there would be a little later).

Is that correct? My birthday is in May and I definitely couldn't have people in the house last year. I had 2 friends visit in my garden for a picnic, sitting 2 metres apart and as I recall even that was slightly overstepping the rules at the time?

@Clavinova

Whinge I can't speak for Noble, but we ate in our classrooms, the staffroom was closed.

But hospital staff ate together it would appear. And care homes?

I can 100% guarantee they weren’t swanning around in the garden at our expense with wine and cheese. You can try and dress it up any way you want if you’re a Tory drone, but to rest of us it stinks.