The positive mental health thread part 6

[Bunnyflop]

Morning all! Welcome to the new thread!

I know! Especially as we are in England where it is OK to sunbathe and take boats out now. Maybe they are behind the times with their shaming and photos! I have decided to not let it get to me or alter what I do (that is the essence of abuse / bullying isn't it really) and just to ignore it.

It was lovely going in the little wooden boat and think it will be good to return to swim there too.

Looks sunny here today. Need to have the DCs catch up on some home schooling I guess, well for the older one as his is monitored more. Hope you all have a good day as much as you can.

Some talk of possibility of gyms and swimming pools may be opening from July- not certain at all yet though also possibly summer holiday stuff such as camping. i agree about need to be able to plan something positive. Am missing swimming.

Hot today. DS working his way through a SAT paper we just printed off from school. all 18 pages

Oh, yes please to swimming. Not for me so much but DD is a competitive swimmer and missing it dreadfully.

Hello all. It’s been ages! I keep typing posts but getting interrupted by a bored small child 😑

We are pushing on - or trying to - with some work on the house now. I’ve called the local handyman and left him a message and emailed a local firm for a quote for a new wood burner, so waiting for calls back from both of them. Hopefully we have the funds to build a porch on the front of the house and to replace the stove and line the chimney - both these things will make the living room so much warmer this winter as our front door opens straight into it and the current stove is pretty inefficient - it’s too big for the fireplace and the chimney isn’t lined, so a lot of the heat just wooshes straight up. I’ve decided what colours I want to repaint the living room as well once that’s done - a nice sage green on the chimney wall and a complimentary soft cream on the other walls as it’s a small space. Might have new curtains, and a new hearth rug, and hire a carpet shampooer while we’re at it. It will look lovely, I hope! We decorated the whole house in a real hurry when we first moved in (it was in a desperate state) and I don’t like the colours we chose in here so looking forward to getting it spruced up a bit.

Feeling a lot more positive now those plans are underway, it’s nice to have something to look forward to!

This household has saved so much money by not doing day-to-day things, like a 180 mile car-trip once a week and several shorter ones, and not having a summer holiday at all, that we may be able to afford to go and see the Northern Lights this year if it is a possibility at all -- I have no idea what the rules will be in Norway by November or February, but we have a house there where we would be able to stay with someone we know before getting on the post-boat up the coast from Stavanger, so hotels wouldn't be involved.

Well, it's a thing to look forward to.... Sort of. Ish. With a following wind.

So do I have another cup of tea? Or start doing my exercises early? Decisions decisions. 🤔

Always go for the Tea!!

I've been making plans as well. Looking at possible holiday destinations next year and some new furniture. I think there is a general sense of looking foward at the moment, which must be a good thing.

As its a nice day, I have decided to wash a duvet to get on the line.

Can someone confirm if it's alright to put a double duvet in a 10 KG washing machine??!! It's making rather a lot of noise!

It gives a bit of hope doesn't it, that even if we can't do it now or in the very near future we can at some point

I'm spending the money we are getting back from our holiday to new living room shutters. So every cloud etc.

Hoping to get away in summer to GB.
It's booked so hopeful it will go ahead as not until late July.

I would have thought that would be fine chrissieone. Maybe depends on the Tog? I poured coffee all over my duvet last night so probably should wash mine.

I think I'm really lucky with support from CMHT....someone from the day hospital is ringing 3 times a week, my care coordinator once a week and via email/phone the rest of the time. When I asked today, they didn't have a time limit for this support finishing, which is helping me so much.

Just saw this from today's briefing-

The results of a government study suggest around 17% of people in London and 5% in the rest of the country have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.

That is a good thing I think - 1 in 5 in London and 1 in 20 may have some degree of immunity already, if this is the case..

@Orangeblossom

That sounds like good news implying there is some immunity within the community already , do we know how this translates into percentages of cases which would be asymptomatic ?- 17% of London sounds like it could be a lot more than the previously thought 50% having no symptoms or very minimal ones

I don't believe they have tested a million people in London, let alone the whole population of the capital, to arrive at that figure. They must mean "of the people tested for coronavirus antibodies in London, 17% tested positive for coronavirus antibodies", but unless we know how many were tested it's not really a very meaningful statistic. (If they tested a hundred, seventeen isn't many in the grand scheme of things; test a thousand and get one hundred and seventy; ten thousand and one thousand seven hundred....)

Sorry to be a downer on this one, but I think false hope is not going to be a good thing.

I'll be happier when the total number of tests that have been given in this country is more than 1.8 million for the entire country of of 60 million+ people, over three months. That's tests for the disease, not tests for antibodies -- we aren't getting a total figure for the latter at all, and I am not at all sure that anyone knows it because people don't have to register the result they get, and a lot of tests will be waiting at a lab to be processed at any given time.

Yes it was a random sample, not sure how many. There is some thought that some might have levels of immunity already...or might not all produce antibodies. It sounds complex, but just thought I'd share as it sounded generally positive.

This is interesting to read on immunity etc unherd.com/2020/05/oxford-doubles-down-sunetra-gupta-interview/

Good to hear about things to look forward to. Sage green walls sound lovely Spudlet and northern lights trip sounds amazing! I heard something on You and Yours the other day about campsites and hotels taking bookings for August so seems quite a few are expecting to do some kind of UK holiday - fingers crossed.

I’ve been feeling a bit deflated after Scottish announcement at lunch time. Knowing the children definitely won’t be back before summer is really sad - one was moving from junior school to upper school and was supposed to have moving on ceremony, dance and camp, one will have classes mixed up next year so won’t ever get to be in his beloved class of the last three years again, and the littlest will go straight to school and not back to his nursery - I’m not sure he’ll understand this.

Trying to concentrate on things we can do right now and not think too much about the future

• two more cafes opened up near us that we can go and get lovely takeaway treats from
• apparently tennis is allowed so going to look into lessons for kids
• signed up to a virtual pastry class to learn how to make choux pastry so I have something in the calendar at last!
• going to suggest to a friend we meet for a socially distanced walk now we can meet outside

Also got an email from RSPB re some reserves opening - none locally but there should be more interesting places to walk around soon. (List here if anyone’s interested: www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/stories/coronavirus/reserve-reboot/ )

Hi sorry I haven't been on in so long I needed a social media break. We are all fine and we'll touch wood. Hope you all are too.
My little brother has randomly been selected for an Antibody test and my mum has sent his sample of yesterday so we will soon see if he's had it as my mum thinks they all have! Exciting weirdly enough

Yay good to see you back gingerbreadslice!

Re the stats for antibodies etc, there have been too many stats flung out recently with no context. They are pretty meaningless as raw percentages etc.

@tobee Hey! I think it's really confusing I don't know how properly accurate they are. I'm just interested to see if it says he's had it. I don't think we have had it but I hope we don't get it either.

I agree with focusing on what is within our control being helpful sometimes..so much uncertainty and speculation around which can fuel anxiety...

Yes Cally I have a child also in the final year of primary and although he may get a few weeks back (still waiting for confirmation) it won't be the same either, in terns of end of year things. However I remembered then at primary school in the 1980s we never did any of that did we. Still.- it is a shame.

Some of the National Trust places are open too...

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

the new antibody tests are meant to be really accurate

I listened today to "The Enquiry" on the World Service, and a rather sensible man on it was saying that he thinks it likely that he will send his children back to school when he is able to, because fewer that ten of the more than 36 thousand people who have died in this country have been pre-adolescent, and there seems to have been no case definitely identified of an adult being infected by a small child (which surprised me, but he had been looking into it quite hard, apparently). I find that cheering, particularly for mothers of young children who have been worrying about this.

There are two antibody tests which NICE or whoever it is making these decisions says are accurate enough to be worth using, and I can't remember which two they are. I expect if one hunted around the NHS sites it might be possible to find out their names, but I am not going to yet. It seems probable that people like me who are at risk will eventually be asked officially to go to Boots or to the doctor and have an armful of blood taken for testing anyway, when there is some point in it. The ones on the open market (and that's the thing that is dodgy) are being sold for a lot of money, and are said not necessarily to be particularly reliable.

Just wanted to check in, not been on much lately,

I also wanted to say if anyone has Twitter its worth following Professor Karol Sikora, he posts daily positive news and stuff to do with corona, really good to read as he is from a scientific / medical background