So...does Borris really have a plan in the pipeline so families can be together for Christmas?

[BlowMeToBermuda]

Hi,

With rumours swirling, does anyone think there is actually a "together for Christmas" plan?

Before anyone shoots me down, I'm not saying I believe there should be one necessarily. There are certainly more important plans needing to be put together right now.

Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to be with family for Christmas, but I just can't see how.

Thoughts?

and our 3 households are all in the same area so no travel. DB will drive from the next town.

My family I usually spend Xmas with don't have Internet access so there won't be any video calls, or fun zoom activities for me.

Neither do mine. Just seen the disinfecting pod used for the football. If the spread is from our mouths and noses how will this work exactly...............oh wait no its tokenism because football is money

@Bikingbear

Last Christmas was raw. It’s always going to be hard no matter how many or few you celebrate with. Often in loss larger gatherings can actually be harder. Increasing the chance of giving your surviving DP Covid by having more people there would not improve matters.

Define what you'd consider a "large gathering"?

At the moment I would consider multiple households mixing indoors a large gathering. Using your example from earlier:

Bikingbear -Remember it's my guess! 6 couples isn't that many, if you've a partner with parents, your own parents and you have 4 young adult kids, and that's before you think about your siblings.

6 couples = 6 households=12 people (& then you mention siblings)

As a pp said its fairly pointless trying to convince each other. I just know that having lost a parent I would rather have more limited gatherings now to potect my remaining parent as far as I can especially as my siblings and I have excitable nursery and school age children. I hope to have my surviving parent around for Christmases to come & that is their wish too.

A lady I work with in her 60's contracted Covid from her adult daughter at a family gathering. It went right through the family the grandchild had it too. The younger family members shook it off but my colleague and in particular her husband had a much worse experience. Your family are often the people you love and trust most and are therefore likely to be the people you are least likely to distance from especially when booze is introduced.

Grumblymumbly you never put a figure on how many you consider a large gathering?

Who would your remaining parent prefer to spend Christmas day with their youngest grandkids who are still wrapped in Santa, or the teens who've already lost a parent?

@MercyBooth

Neither do mine. Just seen the disinfecting pod used for the football. If the spread is from our mouths and noses how will this work exactly...............oh wait no its tokenism because football is money

Bit like the washing hands message. Given its airborne hand washing is a tiny part of it just like being sprayed.

Given the circumstances this year I would consider a sensible max gathering indoors to be 2 households (and that could be 1 household + 1 other household & the person in a support bubble). I think it makes more sense to think in terms of households than a max figure that could be made up from multiple households. Actual policy at the time based on cases in the area is more important than my guesswork though!

I think I confused matters by saying DP - I was referring to my parent not partner. My remaining parent will spend Christmas with their support bubble (one of my siblings and family) they will see other members of the family for walks / by zoom. All involved are happy with that scenario for this year. They may have a meal with another family member for NY.

Do you have more of a dilemma?

Nah, they’re just trying to postpone the riots as long as possible.

I didn't confuse anything Grumbly 4 people gone from my Christmas in 10 years. Its f*ing brutal.

I will be surprised if they don't raise the limits to at least 3 households but i think Boris being from a large family and having a large brood himself will want 6 household.

On your earlier comment about 6 households and twelve people based on Johnson's family - that's fine if you are holding Christmas at Chequers (and I bet their staff there will be exempt from numbers as they will be working) but there's a bit less space for social distancing in a two up two down!

@Bikingbear I am sorry for your losses, it's awful to lose family. There are no easy solutions this year but I do think we can try to adapt what we do to minimise risks to our loved ones, especially those that fall into vulnerable categories.

I don’t know if he has a plan. But it’s going to be difficult to manage. Cases are very high and compliance over Xmas and new year will be low. I think they should be doing more to get cases down just now

@Chaotic45

Crikey some people must have an epic Christmas Day if it's worth completely isolating for two weeks in the run up!

We will be out walking, seeing lights, delivering cards, meeting one person at a time outside, having take away hot chocolate. I absolutely would not choose to stay locked in my house for one day of celebration over 14 days of relative freedom. Each to their own of course and I accept that maybe I need to up my Christmas Day game!

I think it's more that people are longing to see loved ones they haven't touched/hugged since March. And for some of us this may well be the last chance we get to hug that special person, especially as hospitals aren't allowing visitors in most cases, even when someone is on their death bed.

Although I do love your interpretation though, it's far more cheery

Boris 12 days of Christmas.

On the 12th Day of Christmas Boris gave to me
12 sanitisers
11 plastic visors
10pm curfew
9 months in lockdown
8 swabs and test kits
7 fucking face masks
6 people only
5 loo rolls
4 isolations
3 tier system.
2 metre distance
And a useless track and trace app.

@MercyBooth

Love it!!

@MercyBooth that’s brilliant. Would love to hear the carol singers sing that but being 2020 that’ll be banned too

@GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly

On your earlier comment about 6 households and twelve people based on Johnson's family - that's fine if you are holding Christmas at Chequers (and I bet their staff there will be exempt from numbers as they will be working) but there's a bit less space for social distancing in a two up two down!

They’ll probably say the bigger your lounge, the more people you’re allowed over

With the rats leaving a sinking ship and they can't even manage their own office I would assume the worse and hope for the best. But is obvious to all but the most blind they are absolutely useless.

[quote GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly]@MercyBooth that’s brilliant. Would love to hear the carol singers sing that but being 2020 that’ll be banned too[/quote]
there's some doing the rounds on tiktok 😁

Close schools on the 11th, rather than the 18th. That gives a magic 14 day window for those who can isolate before seeing family the opportunity to do so. Keep shops closed and don’t allow sales to open shops on the 26th - do some kind of shop online for a safer Xmas and New Year campaign. Allow a window of travel 24th - 27th. Keep reminding those who can work at home to do so. Remind of the risks being taken if you see older people. Cancel New Year - some kind of telethon all-in-it-together might be fun and make Big Ben chime at midnight. Encourage cheering in the streets at midnight like clap for NHS as a collective ‘fuck you 2020’. Schools go back around mid-Jan with a lockdown starting 2nd Jan to keep R down.

Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah..... no-one cares about those, do they?

It's all about Christmas and tough shit to the rest of you who have a different religion. You don't matter.

That thought always comes to my mind when such a fuss is made about Christmas.

Christmas is a national holiday with schools closed and public holidays. Regardless of what religion people follow a mid winter festival is most welcome. Even more this year than any other year.

I just keep thinking, once we get to Christmas the nights start to change, we aren't far from Spring, and another reprieve from the shite that is Social Distancing, even being able to meet in the garden.

The thought of not seeing my mum until summer absolutely fills me with dread.

Allow a window of travel 24th - 27th.
How do you propose ensuring social distancing on public transport such as trains and coaches if all travel has to to be squashed into those days? Especially as on one of them there will be no trains running and on another hardly any.

@Isthatitnow

Close schools on the 11th, rather than the 18th. That gives a magic 14 day window for those who can isolate before seeing family the opportunity to do so. Keep shops closed and don’t allow sales to open shops on the 26th - do some kind of shop online for a safer Xmas and New Year campaign. Allow a window of travel 24th - 27th. Keep reminding those who can work at home to do so. Remind of the risks being taken if you see older people. Cancel New Year - some kind of telethon all-in-it-together might be fun and make Big Ben chime at midnight. Encourage cheering in the streets at midnight like clap for NHS as a collective ‘fuck you 2020’. Schools go back around mid-Jan with a lockdown starting 2nd Jan to keep R down.

Can you imagine how many shops will go under if they can’t open before Christmas? There’s no way that will be allowed to happen. I agree with closing schools early though and opening them late. I’m not doing a lockdown 2nd January, had enough of that.