(Covid) To think these recommendations are bonkers?

[NoCharnce]

So the government commission into how to memorialise the Covid pandemic has recommended the government implement “A UK-wide day of reflection should be established and held annually.”

Other recommendations include national memorials (10 sites already identified!), oral histories and museums plus additional funding for local authorities to set up their own memorials.

I can’t be the only one who thinks this is nuts and hope the government ignores the recommendations? I genuinely cannot believe people get paid to produce this crap.

I saw a video with Russell T Davies where he was saying there was a bubbling anger about covid and the measures, all the people not allowed to see dying relatives and such. He said it will play out and I agree.

It’s easy in hindsight to say it was all bollocks, but the first lockdown should’ve started earlier, finished earlier and there should no way have been that winter lockdown esp now we know how the govt carried on.
The best legacy would be to get the Tories out imho.
I’ve kept loads of memorabilia from the pandemic and kept a diary too as it was such a strange time.

Yeah, and bring in Labour and Keir Starmer who wanted earlier and harsher measures and argued against every single easing of restrictions without fail.

@Chiaseedling and campaigned for a Christmas 2021 lockdown.

There are other good reasons to get the current excuse for a government out, but I'm glad that it wasn't labour handling it now, you'd still be banging your pans now.

You'd have to have a good couple of hours prior to lunch to sit and define if a scotch egg constituted a "substantial meal" and then eat it in a tent in the local Weatherspoons car park and pretend you were having a stunningly sociable time for authenticity.

I disagree, I think Starmer was shockingly bad at holding the Government to account or scrutiny from any angle.

It was a complete failure in political leadership from all sides.

Totally agree. My DD began her first year at uni (Cambridge) in late September 2021. She went about a week before most of the others because she was taking part in a hockey event. So at the time she was the only one moving in on her floor.

We drove her up there from our own house where we had all been living together since forever, in our own car. When we arrived we were told that due to COVID only one parent at a time could be in her room with her! Despite us all being from the same household, travelling up in the same car and after unpacking intending to head out to a restaurant for lunch where we would be sharing a table.

Utter bollocks. Once out of sight of the porters we ignored that rule. Some rules really were made to be broken.

I agree I would rather conveniently forget the mass hysteria and that the whole world went collectively nuts.

Mind you with the media broadcasting daily death counts, don't kill granny adverts, warning signs everywhere and neighbourhood informants it is a frightening example of how something like Nazism can take hold if you scare the masses enough.

Starmer spent most of the pre-Partygate pandemic trying to keep his powder dry and be sure he was in the best position for when things calmed down a bit. His comments in December 2021 showed he was misjudging the way the public mood was about to turn, but you can see other Labour figures were clocking it. Look at what Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham were saying at that time, and notice there wasn't much fuss from mainstream Labour about masks and isolation going in early 2022 either. Because the party leadership had realised by then that the public were no longer up for it, so there was no real political space to oppose it.

With that in mind, I know Starmer called for restrictions for Christmas 2021, but people come out with all sorts when they're in opposition. It was a bit of politicking he got wrong, not an indication that Labour could've done anything significantly different to the Tories by that point.

Why do people think it should be forgotten? There will be a fucking next time.

Maybe if we forced everyone to observe the day of reflection and if we reflected quicker and harder then we could finally get rid of Covid for good?

But you can only enter the museum through the one way system door, then follow the arrows on the floor around the museum. The museum toilets must have every other sink taped over and cubicles not in use. The cafe must only serve cold food that counts as a takeaway snack, not in any way a sit down meal.

I need to see that as a mural!

I certainly won’t be participating in any day of reflection or attending any memorial. If people want to then they can fill their boots though.

As we saw with Wales and Scotland (and even Manchester), politicians of other parties just wanted to argue and do things to be different. They ignored the science, common sense, etc., just as much as the Tories, but couldn't be seen to agree with them. So sad how poorly the politicians of all parties behaved in such a serious time when, for the good of the public, they should have worked together, but no, they still had to try to score political points. Shame on them all!

How about additional mental health clinics to support all those who did struggle with the fallout - from kids needing social support, medics suffering PTSD, people who lost their income and are still trying to bounce back, and those who fell through the cracks? I think doing something forward looking would be more beneficial than memorialising it (although something commemorating those lost in service would be appropriate)

I nursed all through it, lost 2 family members, several patients and 3 colleagues- I don’t want to remember it, it was awful. The trauma of how some days were is enough!!

I want the government to spend its money not on this nonsense but on ensuring if this sort of thing happens again we (all of us plus the NHS) are equipped to handle it and are as safe as possible.

"A UK-wide day of reflection" is bonkers - we don't do that for any previous pandemic, so why this one?

However if it means a bank holiday and an extra day off, I'll be all for it - I'll be spending it drinking in the pub (no substantial meals and definitely no scotch eggs!) and being socially close to people.

Of course it shouldn't be forgotten, but the people who should be reflecting are the politicians, scientists, advisers etc., who were influential in decision making during those 2/3 years. We need a public enquiry far more than we need a sodding museum for Christ's sake. It wasn't the public who made mistakes, it was the politicians, scientists, advisers, police, and other "enforcers" - they're the ones who need to "reflect", so that we can all learn from it for the next time it happens. By and large, "the public" did what they were told to do, but you can rest assured, they'll not act like sheep again when we get the next pandemic - people won't put up with all the nonsensical crap we were subjected to and whatever measures, restrictions, etc., will have to pass a sanity test next time to get anything like enough public compliance.

The opposition the Johnson government's behaviour in relation to the Greater Manchester restrictions was parties working together. All 27 of the MPs, one third of whom were then Tory, were involved. As were all ten of the councils. Unfortunately, Johnson decided to ignore this multiparty opposition from the people GM residents had actually elected to represent us, and instead opted to score political points.

This! 👏

As one of "those families" I think it's a horrible idea. Why was my mum's death (covid), more noteworthy than my dad's (7 months later from cancer). The whole hierarchy of death that was prevalent during 2020 (only those with covid "sadly" died apparently everyone else just died), was awful and a memorial just reinforces that mindset IMO.

Totally moronic. What a load of naff, sentimental bollocks. Glad to see most folks here agree.

Plus, this thread has reminded me of closing our blinds early every Thursday so the neighbours wouldn't see us reading/watching telly instead of complying with the Great Pan Banging.

God, this country lost its fucking mind. I cannot believe how utterly insane people went. My partner and I DIDN'T lose our own minds, despite working in hospitality and being self-employed. We lost a hell of a lot of money though. I also lost the chance to spend time with my grandparents in their final years. They both died, but not of covid.

A display in the museum about those who were exempt from wearing masks were abused and made to feel terrified to leave their homes. There could be screens showing MN threads where rape/DV survivors who had been gagged were told to grow up and get over it/get counselling (in the middle of a pandemic when much of the NHS was closed). Or where those with trigeminal neuralgia were told they were lying about their disease/to wear a mask anyway and bollocks to the consequences. Where people were called rancid infected tramps, or told they should give up work/not attend medical appointments if they 'refused' to wear a mask. Or that they should only do their shopping at the same time as other mask exempt people so they could catch each others' germs and leave supermarkets safe for 'normal people'.

Could also add some video footage of people being threatened with a 'good kicking', told they deserved to catch covid and die, told to use disabled toilets to 'keep everyone safe' (apart from potentially vulnerable people who need to use the disabled toilets, evidently) or spat at in shops/restaurants/pubs (these are all things that happened to me).

Do a search for 'mask exempt' here and see some of the vile things that were said if you don't believe me or can't remember.