Is there a list of what is classed an ‘essential shop’?

[RedRed9]

For example are pet shops essential? Are banks?

Disney+ streaming service goes live tonight.

Chocolate.

I would imagine hardware shops could be considered essential if you broke a window & needed to board it, suffered a break-in, had a plumbing or roof leak, needed a replacement part for something? Especially given the weather a few weeks ago, I imagine a lot of people might still be in a position where they're doing essential house repairs to stop leaks etc.

I looked at delivery but in are area nothing till Friday when it’s usually same day/ next day. I don’t know what people are panic buying in Argos she won’t sleep without it and watches them in her room. Don’t know how streaming or anything works I’m not very up to date with technology

Long silent strolls around the supermarket surreptitiously chatting to friends through the shelves, before being separated by enforcers.

Sound familiar?

Pumpkin Poundland sells a range of food, health and household products so yes, it would be classed as an essential store. More essential than Argos I'm afraid.

@RedRed9 not sure, maybe a briefing beforehand, I think article was posted at 8:20 something, Telegraph reporting same thing - but it’s behind a paywall, so PP comment about Murdoch might not be too far off the mark!!

no way am i working through another day like the last 2!!

fucking kids everywhere and rude, entitled customers. diy store

i'm not doing it! keep your kids at home!

"Will Amazon still be delivering ?"

Yes, why not ?
I've been in lockdown in Germany for over a week and Amazon are delivering everything as usual - except a day or two late !

I had a plumbing emergency over the weekend. The toilets won’t flush. You really do need builders and plumbers working still for emergency work. Another example are broken boilers or water cylinders. I had a friend last year where all her power went off, and there was something really wrong with her electrics costing a lot of ££ to fix.

Just surprised it’s classed as essential, but thats a good point considering they sell food etc

As long as you have broadband then we can talk you through how to get Disney Plus Pumpkin.

As for what people are panic buying in Argos:
Computer monitors and mice to WFH more effectively.
Cables ditto
Office desks and chairs
Chromebooks for children to homeschool with (if parents are WFH on what’s normally the shared family laptop)
Garden toys for children
Craft stuff for children
DIY stuff to take advantage of being stuck at home
Misc electronics to improve home entertainment set-up
Printers and cartridges for people who normally sneakily print personally stuff out at work.
New loungewear
All the random stuff you’ve been meaning to get for a while, like a new loo roll holder to replace a broken one, and you suddenly realise that you might not have a chance for several months.
Computer games

All things I’ve either bought myself or had friends and colleagues mention buying or had advertised to me over the last two weeks.

Obviously there are many people who are fearing dire financial circumstances and buying nothing, but most of the people I happen to know are in fairly stable WFH situations so happy to spend a little bit of money to make the coming weeks a bit more comfortable.

@AwdBovril they are remaining open. They have been open in all the European countries as well even when they shit the countries down. The logic I suppose is other people rely on them for their business.

PicsInRed - haha yes!

Why are people acting like this is some sort of conspiracy FFS. People are DYING in large numbers. There is a lag between contact with infectious people, symptoms and critical illness or death. You have NO idea how many people are currently infected so you have to keep ahead of the curve. But because of selfish fuckwits it looks like the Italy scenario will play out in the UK. By which time it is too late to implement measures. Think about what is essential. New clothes? No. Food? Yes. An emergency root canal? Yes. Books? Why not re read, download some audio books or order online.
This is not about personal freedom and your “rights” It is about protecting the country. No wonder right wing governments are doing so well around the world. It turns out far too many people are selfish individualist idiots

One would assume anything at the supermarket or pharmacy.

They can't say 'meat, eggs, milk, bread, veg' because lots of people don't eat lots of those things

@PumpkinP buy Disney+

Hobbycraft sells food too

@Drivemybluecar thanks. I'll call ours later, I'd assumed they would be closed. We were homeless until just a couple of weeks ago & 75% of our stuff is still in storage. I'm missing half my kitchen stuff (and there's no oven here yet) & we have no dvds, or broadband yet so we can't do Netflix or similar. We've got furniture & food, & an IP & microwave for cooking in...

@Awdbovril. They are open because lots of companies use them. As an example my husbands one has storage for the food shops in the area. So they are open. You may have to knock on the front door to speak to someone. X

B&m are open as normal due to them selling food and essentials.

Hobbycraft had already made the decision to close. A lot of shops had, I guess they knew what was coming and it was better to do it in a controlled manner then as a forced move.

Are I.Tshops sllowed to open

Wilko is open as are other hardware stores. To stay as mentally healthy as possible during this people need to remain occupied. Perhaps decorating, gardening and other needed household tasks will help people to remain occupied and do something physical. I have a serious and complex mental illness and I'm already extremely anxious. I am trying to do my crafts etc but I am glad we are able to go for a walk a day. I was reading about a doctor who is very concerned about the nations mental health during this. For people with existing mental illness and others developing it. He said people neec to be able to access things to help them cope. We can order online but even nowadays not everyone has the facility to do this.

And pets need to be catered for too.