Will disruption over the October half term be the final straw?

[beanburgerandcheese]

Just that - will it be the point that people say enough is enough with this? Summer plans already disrupted, millions have planned for UK breaks through the October half term just to face potential disruption again. ow long will people patience last with this?

When you say "people" I'm afraid you mean "those well enough off to expect holidays", OP.

Those who are already jobless, sick, victims of increased DV, or who've lost a loved one to the virus, probably already feel at their limits.

I know we're all having to deal with disappointments this year, but it's important to have some perspective.

Not booked a break - but my uni course is hectic as hell by then and the plan was for the kids to go stay at grandparents so I could get well ahead on deadlines etc.

That's going to be fucked - no holiday clubs running normal levels of provision. But apparently I should have anticipated that when I applied for the course 2 years ago according to some fuckwits on here.

I’ve booked a week in turkey for during the school holidays and we leave a week on Saturday. I’m completely prepared that things could change between now and then and that we may not go and it won’t be the end of the world.

I can’t wait though.

No matter how much people want a holiday, there's a pandemic on. Anyone who doesn't get that is being childish. Final straw indeed. You think a virus cares about it being someone's final straw?

I think people should be discouraged from going away at half-term in October. Look what happened when all the kids went on ski-ing trips in the February half-term and what they brought back with them!!

Is this post a joke? We’re about to face biggest recession in living memory and some think a disrupted half term break is the last straw.

Some people really are going to get a wake up call over the next few years as the after effects of this ripple through.

Oh he sure to tell SARS Cov 2 you’ve had enough. I’m sure that’ll do the trick and stop the Pandemic.

Some people!

Last straw and then...what?

Move to Mars?

Write a strongly worded letter to your MP explaining that you can’t be having with this “Covid19” stuff any more and it should be banned?

Sulk until spring 2022?

Enter mediation with the virus, and negotiate a settlement with it whereby you get half term holidays, but it can kill anyone vulnerable who is out on EOW and one school night per week?

Stamp so hard you fall through the floor a la Rumplestiltskin?

Vow you will never book a holiday again, that’ll show this “Covid” nonsense?

Something else entirely? I’m genuinely curious

we cancelled our big autumn holiday when pandemic broke out - we lost our deposit - not worst thing - sad for some but there is so much more to be concerned about

Civil unrest because holidays are cancelled is crazy. Where would those angry parents get childcare so that they can go and protest?

There's lots that should anger the population- paused NHS treatment for non-COVID illnesses, people in care homes being forgotten (where is a strategy for them?), possible food shortages (again!), no working test/track/isolate system to get the country back to normal quickly...

I don't think that we'll end up with civil unrest as COVID laws aren't being policed very much. There are people being fined but they are a small minority imo

I have booked for me and the kids to go back home and see my family during October half term. I won't be fed up if we can't go. I'll be disappointed as we haven't seen any family for over a year now and I miss them all so much it hurts, but fed up, no. I understand that there is a pandemic and that most things for the next year or two will be happening without me being able to have any kind of control.

I am lucky in that I still have my job, my house, my kids are healthy etc etc. I'd rather be in my home country but I'm stuck in the UK until the kids leave so I just have to make the best of it.

The "final straw" could indeed be riots and/or civil unrest. To be honest, I am surprised this hasn't happened already. People are still believing everything Saint Boris and his merry men tells them.

By the government's own admission, the public have been more compliant than expected. It's all very well for Saint Boris to pontificate about "crackdowns" by the army and the police, but the reality is that even with this, he needs the co-operation of the people. If he loses the support and co-operation of a large part of the country, even the army and the police can't help him - he knows that, the public knows that.

Being British I imagine we will keep saying that it is the final straw but keep plodding on.

I love how all these people who booked a holiday at half term must be stupid.

We booked last October. Are we stupid, too?

Wow stupid nature just being so unreasonable!

I'm sure many people want to get back to normal, but wanting won't make it happen.
Admittedly the leadership here in UK has been dire so I can see why people here might choose to ignore the advice, but the virus is here for a bit and we need to accept that normality is a long way away.

You’re obviously not stupid if you booked October half term pre pandemic. It was unwise if you booked during not realising it could be affected

Holidays are pretty low in my list of things I worry about.

Final straw how though?

What can you do? It’s a virus and it’s not really cooperating with people half term plans.

This exactly!

It's meant in the sense of if there is disruption to the half term then will it be getting to the limits of people's patience with restrictions?

Some posters on here seem to be absolutely desperate to go back into lockdown and can't imagine why anyone might actually fancy an undisrupted UK break without concerns about having to cancel last minute.

But surely everyone has a last straw? It might not be big or important but it is that last thing that pushes you over the edge. Isn’t that what the op means?
I found myself crying over a dead sparrow the cat brought in a couple of weeks ago. Some people might think that was daft but it wasn’t really about the sparrow, more about the family member who ignored chest pains and died from a heart attack because the only thing that matters is saving people from Covid.

@CountessFrog people have repeatedly said if you booked since March, clearly if you booked before we all knew about the virus, no one would be reasonable to suggest you are an idiot.

@wanderings

The "final straw" could indeed be riots and/or civil unrest. To be honest, I am surprised this hasn't happened already. People are still believing everything Saint Boris and his merry men tells them.

By the government's own admission, the public have been more compliant than expected. It's all very well for Saint Boris to pontificate about "crackdowns" by the army and the police, but the reality is that even with this, he needs the co-operation of the people. If he loses the support and co-operation of a large part of the country, even the army and the police can't help him - he knows that, the public knows that.

What would riots /civil unrest achieve for those who don't want to comply? Genuine question ...cant get my head round it.

I really, really don't get what is so incredibly special about holidays. A break from work, a lie in, time with your family doing different things, of course that's great and necessary but there really isn't anything magical about going to another place to do that, especially during a pandemic.

People do need a break from routine and a change of scenery now and then but it's quite possible to do that by booking leave from work and doing nice relaxing stuff from home. Nothing bad happens to you if you can't consume at your usual rate for a few months!

I’m not happy with a new lockdown and I agree that there is no appetite for it.

But what positive result will riots achieve?

Probably not. I think when we leave the EU properly and no deal Brexit comes into play, it will be the last straw shortly after. We may see riots again, especially as the weather warms up (I'd estimate maybe April-Sept). It's going to push many people in already vulnerable situations to their limit. There are going to be people who are cross, bored, pushed into poverty, out of work and angry about restrictions. The misinformation around Covid doesn't help, but really many people may feel displaced in society and generally angry about their situation. They will struggle to pay for food as easily, some products may be hard to find or so raised in price they're not as feasible. Despite the promise of sudden jobs (as citizens from European countries have to abide by new immigration laws), many people will find they still can't get work easily. Areas like the area I live in will lose EU funding, so projects that were helping/would help will be stopped/not be started. Holidays will be more awkward, as will bringing pets on holiday.

Dealing with all of that after restrictions and lockdown alongside the grief of losing loved ones or facing a long period where your loved one is unwell is more likely to be the boiling point than half term. That's only my opinion though. I really hope I'm very wrong and we don't see any major unrest at all.

(Also, please remember some people never or very, very rarely have the money spare for a holiday. To wait a short time is an inconvenience, but it's not the end of the World.)

@shoofle

Wow stupid nature just being so unreasonable!

Nature caused Covid, but nature didn’t impose the lockdown. I’m not saying my opinion is that we shouldn’t be locking down, but some people think there is an alternative to lockdown.