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Original poster

Boris completely misunderstands the question

137 replies

PuzzledObserver · 30/04/2020 17:29

Michelle in Cornwall says they are getting inquiries about booking their holiday let from June onwards, but they are worried about people from cities bringing a second wave to Cornwall. How will tourism be managed in the coming weeks?

What Boris heard: when can I start getting income from my holiday let?

So he went on to assure her that she would be able to open when the time was right etc but it was important not to do it too soon. Completely missing the point, I think.

OP posts:

MintyMabel · 30/04/2020 19:31

Boris got out of the question because it was a crap question.

I tend to agree. I’d have thought she was asking about when she can let her holiday place too.

ILavaYou · 30/04/2020 19:34

@SpokeTooSoon us too! It's really off putting.

Coffeepot72 · 30/04/2020 19:39

@AvalancheKit love your post, but you’ll never go to heaven .....

SpicedCamomile · 30/04/2020 19:40

It seemed to me, as OP said ,she was asking what would be done to stop a massive influx of tourists when restrictions are lifted, not anything about her business. And then Johnson answered a question she hadn't asked, about when she could get her business open. I thought while listening that he had completely misinterpreted her question.

imamearcat · 30/04/2020 19:42

Ffs guys give the man a break. He's nearly died, had a kid and is trying to lead the county through the most difficult time since the war, all in the last month!!

Of course he doesn't have all the answers, no one does. Everyone's constant bitching does my bloody head in.

AvalancheKit · 30/04/2020 19:43

@Coffeepot72

I am already The Devil on here, so I have nothing to lose.

Biscuit0110 · 30/04/2020 19:48

Two things spring to mind, the first thing is Michelle was seeking reassurance from the PM that no one will be allowed to travel to Cornwall this summer, she mumbled something about June but we all got the picture. Michelle does not want visitors clearly.
However Boris quite rightly can not answer the question right now. If the infection rate continues to decline, it may be possible for some limited UK travel by the summer, if it gradually increases for whatever reason then people will not be going anywhere, we will be back in a lockdown. Why is that so difficult?! It was a wasted question, and they are so few and far between I am cross about it.

I also live in very tourist heavy beauty spot, and we would not dream of treating our guests and visitors like lepers.
Cornwall really must sharpen up their act, or the damage to their reputation as a warm and friendly place to visit will be substantial. Cornwall has very little other revenue channels, it can not afford to lose its tourist trade.
If guests stay in holiday cottages over the summer and bring their own food, assuming most busy attractions will remain closed, the risk is minimal to the population, guests should also return directly home to seek healthcare if they start to feel unwell during their stay. Job done. Come on Cornwall, don't alienate your only income stream.

AuntImmortelle · 30/04/2020 19:50

@AvalancheKit

Perfectly summarised 👏🏻 and very true funny.

Also this: What is it with the Cornish hating on tourists. You don't hear people in Weymouth or norfork or Scotland saying we don't want people here.

Apologies from us plague ridden non locals.

shiningstar2 · 30/04/2020 19:52

Is your name Boris
Good question and one I will answer in depth very shortly but before I do so I just want to thank you for asking the question.
I want to talk about the importance of names and how relevant knowing one's name generally is. However … We can't place too much significance on people knowing their own names. I mean how relevant is that if we look at a chart of popular names over the last year. The chart tells us some significant information but not everything. We must balance knowing our own name against other important data which I will go into next week.

Next question

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 30/04/2020 19:54

'the damage to their reputation as a warm and friendly place to visit will be substantial'

I don't think Cornwall has that reputation. People go there for the weather and the lovely beaches, not the residents. As long as nobody actually slashes your tyres or sets fire to your holiday accommodation people will continue to go.

AvalancheKit · 30/04/2020 19:56

That’s exactly right @Biscuit0110

I am never going to say, ever, ever again “It’s not Rocket Science”. That’s because you have explained it in positive ways and kept it simple. In future I will say “it’s as easy as making a Pasty”.

Coquohvan · 30/04/2020 19:56

Aren’t business owners receiving grants, self employed helped via HMRC and business rates on hold?

The journalists are terrible at asking questions. They must hear the ones put before their turn. Yet ask the same questions in a different slant. One being R number questions.

We are one of the first countries started clinical trials for a vaccine, that seems to have been glossed over.

How would we in the UK feel if we were to comply lockdown with the likes of citizens in Italy France and Spain.
Children in Spain only recently allowed out their house/apartment no walks exercising outside.
Italy armed Police patrolling the streets children kept inside also
France you must complete a document saying why and how long you’ll be out the house.
France are bringing in max 100klm travel but not to leave your department soon. If we did this would stop people leaving the counties but still travel a little for change of scenery.

The stats are collated differently by countries, some do and have done since day one included all settings some have added these numbers as time went on, so not a true figure at all. Some have absolutely under counted, China who I have been saying since Feb their numbers can not possible be true.

In time we will know the correct full data, for now all we can do is social distance use our own initiative in keeping safe.
As said, we will get further details over the coming days regarding how we are to proceed through the phased released.

TypingError · 30/04/2020 19:57

I was also confused about what she actually wanted

Me too. It's confirmation bias for some, that Boris was dodging the question. My husband is Cornish, born in St Ives. We don't live there now but his childhood friend has 2 seafront properties in that area, owned outright, one inherited from parents which has been family owned since the year dot, and the other he bought himself to live in, as a young man and then extended it to take guests in the early 70s. All paid off now.

Owning them outright means he has no mortgage to pay. And is obvs minted from what he usually makes over a summer. So he's not really bothered by all this. In fact, rather relieved to have a year off and look forward to a summer in St Ives without it being overrun with grockles.

On the other hand, somebody who's borrowed loadsamoney and extended themselves to buy a property using a huge bank loan or mortgage and hoping to make a killing out of letting income to pay the mortgage and feather their nests is in deep doo doo.

I don't know how Boris is supposed to know which of those scenarios the questioner finds herself in. She might have been 'sanitising' the question in order not to make herself appear mercenary. She could be a local worried about Covid. But she could just as well have be mortgaged up to her earholes and frantic to find out when she could expect an income again. Boris cannot know which of those categories she falls into. I suspect the latter because her accent is clearly not local to St Ives.

I could be absolutely and completely wrong. I expect I'll find out soon.

ChicCroissant · 30/04/2020 19:57

He understood the question, he chose not to answer it. He does this a lot.

wanderings · 30/04/2020 19:58

Boris completely misunderstands, full stop.

Like all the overpaid men in shiny suits who are so totally out of touch with the rest of us. Many of us don't have a six-figure salary and gold-plated pension like he does. We want to know how we will survive financially, after our incomes were snatched away; we also want to know when we'll be allowed to live, as opposed to merely exist as lab rats.

Karwomannghia · 30/04/2020 20:04

Some of the Cornish have always been like that haven’t they? We’re called grockles. It’s ridiculously busy so I can see why it’s irritating. They’re nice once you get to know them, I think they just get sick of people coming and being snobby and ignoring them yet are clueless at the same time.
And driving cars far too big and shiny for the narrow roads. Driving to the Minack is hilarious, for example, seeing 2 double decker buses pass each other with huge lines of cars behind each one. I’m totally a grockle but I love the place!

Biscuit0110 · 30/04/2020 20:05

avalanche Your post was the intellectual version

FliesandPies · 30/04/2020 20:15

Ffs guys give the man a break. He's nearly died, had a kid and is trying to lead the county through the most difficult time since the war, all in the last month!!

He's had a break. Lots of them. And he's supposed to be leading the country (but I wish it was just a county and I wish that county was Cornwall, they deserve him)

whataboutbob · 30/04/2020 20:20

Well said avalanche. Michelle from Cornwall wants to have her cake and eat it. Ideally lots of lovely government money and no tedious tourists this summer.

Original poster

PuzzledObserver · 30/04/2020 20:27

The question she actually asked was “How will tourism be managed in the coming weeks?” So I guess what she wanted to know was whether there was a strategy. But I agree it wasn’t a particularly good question, because the way she introduced it gave the impression that she both wanted and didn’t want tourism to get going.

Re the deaths in care homes question - I’d zoned out by that point, so didn’t hear the response. But my response would be that most of those who have died in care homes were so frail that ventilation would not have been appropriate for them. So the non-overwhelming of the NHS is not relevant to the death rate in care homes. What is relevant is shortage of PPE and testing, which could have reduced transmission rates if it was available sooner.

OP posts:

ThursdayLastWeek · 30/04/2020 20:40

Cornwall bashing the new Teacher bashing?

I heard concern that when lockdown is lifted the virus will spread to Cornwall. She was asking how that could be managed.

it gave the impression that she both wanted and didn’t want tourism to get going

Heaven forbid someone feels conflicted during a bloody pandemic

Alsohuman · 30/04/2020 20:46

my response would be that most of those who have died in care homes were so frail that ventilation would not have been appropriate for them. So the non-overwhelming of the NHS is not relevant to the death rate in care homes. What is relevant is shortage of PPE and testing, which could have reduced transmission rates if it was available sooner

Nothing to do with discharging old people from hospital into care homes without testing them then? Or GPs not setting foot over their doorsteps?

Iflyaway · 30/04/2020 20:48

And is obvs minted from what he usually makes over a summer. So he's not really bothered by all this. In fact, rather relieved to have a year off and look forward to a summer in St Ives without it being overrun with grockles.

What a disgusting attitude, looking down on people who provide you with an income.

Grockles?
The class system is alive and kicking in the UK. but we know that

Alsohuman · 30/04/2020 20:50

Grockles is nothing to do with class.

ThursdayLastWeek · 30/04/2020 20:54

I’m sure this will make you all hate me, but grockles is a term from Devon, not Cornwall.
At least be accurate while you slag off the population of the entire county!

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