So. Predictions for tomorrow? Boris's speech.

[BabyLlamaZen]

I'm pretty sure we're going to get told we can't see any other households for 2 weeks and a curfew on pubs.

Although a part of me thinks they'll just say no to seeing any other households and leave it at that with no limit. I'm hoping they'll keep the support bubbles though.

@dementedma

My mother is 85 and lives alone. She has a support network of neighbours and friends who pop in to help her. She fell at the weekend and broke her big toe and got various other bumps and bruises so now she cant walk. I have been there today but cant do this on my own. If households are banned from mixing, how will we care for her?

Even in full lockdown people were allowed to visit others for care of elderly or vulnerable

I cant really take comfort in hibernating in only my household tbh. I'm sending off 18y Dd to university at the weekend to a new household of strangers - due to the government's disaster with exam results she lost her first place and therefore her accommodation so has no halls. She's in a private flat with three others of differing ages, differing years groups and differing subjects. At least one is an older post grad student.

She's had a nightmare year with three close family members dying during lockdown and being isolated from her friends at a time when she could have done with her mates around her. Like so many other young people, on top of all that, shes also had so many missed celebrations and 'rites of passage' with leaving school and turning 18. She spent weeks unable to be with her boyfriend. So much as fine wrong with Covid just making everything worse.

We spent so long doing nothing as I'm clinically vulnerable and we moved mil in with us, who is in her 70s, when FIL died so we were being super careful.

To make matters worse the area she's moving to have a local lockdown starting this week.

There is NO chance whatsoever I am not allowing my daughter to return home if she needs too. And certainly not long term and I will risk whatever fine they want to throw at me to ensure she can come home at Christmas.

By nature I am a rule follower but nothing will prevent me from being with my 18y if she needs me to be.

@catsarecute I wish you were in charge!

I have a question
Did we have a number on the ALERT LEVEL during lockdown? Have we been at 5 already? Was that lockdown?

@Monkeytapper

Can my childminder still look after my daughter before and after school does anyone know?

I think so as that's paid employment

They've also said now that family members can also precise child care

I understand keeping primary and infant schools open however the secondary schools and colleges I feel need to adopt a blended learning approach. In the last few weeks my college has had 7 outbreaks with4 extra being reported today. Teachers are now having to isolate whole year groups disrupted.
So I would suggest that they operate on a 2 week on 2 week off system. Technically the older secondary years and above do not need a parent home so if parent is a key worker/cannot work from home then it doesn't cause an issue.
Bring back work from home as mandatory for all those who can and have a curfew on restaurants and pubs etc.

Totally get what you are saying about mental health, and for people in terrible living conditions. Unfortunately, it's exactly those people (and their kids) who will suffer most if they get the virus too. It's an incredibly difficult situation. Hopefully schools would still stay open for vulnerable and keyworker kids (if they closed them, I don't think they will, but I think they should for 2 weeks). Meanwhile, it's not doing a lot of people's mental health any good to carry on regardless either (mine included, my anxiety levels are going through the roof). I hope that doesn't come across as preachy, or goady, I am trying to say I see there's lots of problems however we look at it, and we need to do something to get levels of the virus more manageable for everyone (and the government's coping mechanisms, ie test and trace, improved in those 2 weeks too).

I hope there are fines for anyone not obeying the law. Sick of “doing the right thing” when others aren’t!

I think they will extend the October break, curfews on pubs and the rule of 6 will stay as is.

Sorry if I am thick but how does closing pubs an hour early stop it spreading?

Surely people will just go out earlier in the afternoon.

I won't but just don't see how it will help.

I hope it ends, "I have therefore handed my resignation to the queen in the hope that some grown-ups will be allowed to fix everything I've fucked up for the past four years."

A ritual self-disembowelling immediately afterwards wouldn't go amiss either.

I suspect schools will close soon. Year groups are being sent home. Confirmed cases rising. Blended learning/ part time schooling may help. Bo Jo and co need to shut the pubs and the like.

@Aragog I feel for you, I feel that young peopel are blamed so much, but nobody mentioned that they are also paying the biggest price by far. Their education being destroyed, their chances to a future being taken away, all this debt on their shoulders

My teens (18 and 15) have not had an easy time of it. Poor DS (18) not seeing his girlfriend for months. All of us hardly seeing the grandparents

And then this ship of fools guiding us, what a shit show the government is

It's so depressing. My friends back home in Sweden and Holland have much more confidence inspiring governments, who treat their citizens like responsible adults, instead of recalcitrant children

The way we are treated in the UK is so soul destroying. "snoop on your neighbours!" "eat out! But also stay at home!" "10.000 fines!"

@Blankscreen

Sorry if I am thick but how does closing pubs an hour early stop it spreading?

Surely people will just go out earlier in the afternoon.

I won't but just don't see how it will help.

I don’t think it will make a blind bit of difference. After today’s speech about how awful things could get, shutting pubs a bit early seems a bizarre response.

Having an lockdown over half term seems too far away as well; we have another 5 weeks until half term.

@TheSandman

I hope it ends, "I have therefore handed my resignation to the queen in the hope that some grown-ups will be allowed to fix everything I've fucked up for the past four years."

A ritual self-disembowelling immediately afterwards wouldn't go amiss either.

We can hope

@orchidsonabudget just read the alert level has just been raised to level 4 if that’s what you were asking. And yes I think 5 was lockdown

I'm so confused. We had a holiday booked in the week when the lockdown was announced in March, obviously didn't go. The owners refused a refund, said we can reschedule. We did - to next week.

Could anyone from the local lockdown area in England let me know if holiday lets have closed down? Are you not allowed to leave the area?

Waiting till tomorrow's announcement, everything is suddenly up in the air again and we're very confused (although obvs that's a minor problem in the grand scheme of things).

@Aragog

I cant really take comfort in hibernating in only my household tbh. I'm sending off 18y Dd to university at the weekend to a new household of strangers - due to the government's disaster with exam results she lost her first place and therefore her accommodation so has no halls. She's in a private flat with three others of differing ages, differing years groups and differing subjects. At least one is an older post grad student.

She's had a nightmare year with three close family members dying during lockdown and being isolated from her friends at a time when she could have done with her mates around her. Like so many other young people, on top of all that, shes also had so many missed celebrations and 'rites of passage' with leaving school and turning 18. She spent weeks unable to be with her boyfriend. So much as fine wrong with Covid just making everything worse.

We spent so long doing nothing as I'm clinically vulnerable and we moved mil in with us, who is in her 70s, when FIL died so we were being super careful.

To make matters worse the area she's moving to have a local lockdown starting this week.

There is NO chance whatsoever I am not allowing my daughter to return home if she needs too. And certainly not long term and I will risk whatever fine they want to throw at me to ensure she can come home at Christmas.

By nature I am a rule follower but nothing will prevent me from being with my 18y if she needs me to be.

Is your DD on the waiting list for student accommodation. There are normally a few dropouts early on so there will be a good chance. As someone who works in a University I hope things get less restrictive for students as they are a low risk group.

Could I check. Just waved off DS to university. If he wants to come back for a weekend or at Xmas what happens? Is he not part of the family now?

Looks like tomorrow is going to be a relatively mild affair: 10pm, curfews on hospitality, maybe closures in very hard hit areas, enforcement of rule of six. (according to The Torygraph)

@PurplePansy05 I'm in the North East Local lock down area and holiday lets, hotels etc are open if you are just with your household. Likewise attractions like National Trust places etc are still open if you book x

Belladonna - not now, no. She was and did eventually get offered a room but it wasn't suitable. It was the oldest block, old style accommodation - so shared bathrooms, long corridor of rooms so about 12-15 rooms sharing bathrooms and kitchens. And it was fully catered with no self catering option. It looked really unappealing so she stayed with her private rooms.

Under normal conditions it would be fine. There are other first years in her block and it's a short walk from university, which is campus based. So she'd have been fine. Just the single household issue now which causes the issues. At least the local Lockdown does allow for some mixing as a 6 outside of the home with SDing - it's just advised against and not part of the law bit.

But if they say no mixing at all as the law we will need to look at what we do next. If we need to risk a fine if she needs us then we will.

Bathroom - technically he will no liver be part of your household. His household will be his student accommodation.

Thank you. University accommodation shuts down in the holidays.....

Omg , that list is ridiculous!! How many people are going to pick through it for goodness sake?
The detail, however if that's what is coming our way I'm thrilled because we can still have our tutors.

I took DS2 out for a walk this morning around half-11. The only people I saw breaking any social distancing rules were
a) The drinkers at the pub in the middle of the village. Middle-aged heavy drinkers who spend their days in the pub and were sitting in two groups of about 9 or 10 outside very close to each, making a lot of noise and already well-served
b) A group of 20-25 year olds outside a coffee shop who had pulled tables together and there were 8 of them.A waitress asked them to put the tables back in the marked places and they just laughed at her and one mimicked her

Everyone else was following the rules. I think that's why people are so fed up. Most of us follow the rules and do as we've been asked. The people who don't follow them, make life harder for the rest of us.