To feel like this is not as near the end as boris made out to be

[Thewaythingsare]

I still feel there will be at least another six months before things are normal

@Thewaythingsare

I still feel there will be at least another six months before things are normal

It will be at least six months until "fully" normal. It will be a gradual thing. Things will more "more" normal in the Spring with fewer restrictions, more things allowed to open, etc. If we start the vaccinations in December and get mass testing in the bigger towns and cities early in 2021, then we'll be quite a long way towards normality by Easter but with some restrictions remaining. You have to accept that even when some things are "allowed", they still take time to organise a return to operation. I.e. where staff have been furloughed or working from home or made redundant, they can't just turn up at work on a Monday morning - some will need to have training (re H&S etc), where new staff are appointed to replace redundancies, you've the whole recruitment process and then training etc (theatres, sports stadia, music venues, restaurants, theme parks etc). I'd optimistic about July/August being the kind of time where most things are back to somewhere near normal, obviously with some things still closed or restricted, particularly foreign travel to/from countries that aren't level with the UK re vaccines/testing etc.

Vaccinations are just around the corner. Things will rapidly improve and I think by Easter we will see big changes.

Stick it on a bus Boris

Won't make it true though

@CarlottaValdez

Yes people are weirdly dumb about how long ago the war was. I’ve seen people talk about people in their 60s as having fought for us.

But conscription continued until the early 60s and we were involved in wars after the end of WW2 throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. People conscripted in the 50s may have stayed in the forces and continued serving into 60s and 70s. My father in law was a conscript who stayed in the RAF and was "active" in Cyprus in the 1960s dealing with the Turkish flare ups.

There was mass disobedience during the war too, and plenty of criminals using the restrictions to make money or do worse in the dark.

@justgeton

Vaccinations are just around the corner. Things will rapidly improve and I think by Easter we will see big changes.

The big thing I'm hoping for is for Universities to be back to face to face teaching after Easter for the final term of the 20/21 academic year. Lots of students are having a miserable time stuck in their tiny rooms starting at computer screens all day and only "socialising" in their tiny kitchens with their flat mates. At my son's university, few of the teaching staff/lecturers are even on campus, not even in their offices, so no chance of any face to face at all. I've been on campus a few times and the whole place is like some kind of zombie apocalypse - I was expecting to see tumbleweed blowing down the main walkways. I'd really hope that the Unis start planning for a proper return to campus life straight after Easter, as presumably the vulnerable staff will have been vaccinated by then so no reason why they can't get back to campus and start face to face lectures/tutorials etc to start to make up for the miserable first two terms.

Well according to the dementors on here it's going to be FOREVER.

@JosephineDeBeauharnais

My fear is that there will be insufficient take up of the vaccine to allow for complete freedom. Also, there’s an awful lot of folks who rather like the restrictions and there will be a surprising degree of resistance to a full return to normal. I’m feeling very pessimistic tbh.

No way seriously ?

@Thewaythingsare

I still feel there will be at least another six months before things are normal

I didn't listen to him when he said it'll be all over by Christmas either.

@oneglassandpuzzled

I don’t get that impression of Whitty at all.

Oh god he is like the Grim Reaper personified. The most dour, sour-faced man on the planet.

Yesterday there was a question asked at the briefing about how they would personally be spending Christmas. BoJo reminded people that seeing people was permitted, not compulsory and said he was looking forward to spending time with his family.

Whitty scowled and said he'd be treating covid patients on the wards. As always.

I know it's not a comedy show but come on man.

When did he say it would all be over by Christmas?

@RaspberryCoulis That’s why i’m just getting on with my life. So far I haven’t given it to anyone or caught it. I haven’t locked myself away. I will be enjoying Christmas and the lead up to Christmas as much as normal as possible. I will have the whole family tested before my parents visit.

I will have the whole family tested before my parents visit

Are you getting this done privately?

@movingonup20

The proposed vaccine schedule would have all over 50's and many younger vaccinated by Easter. Once the over 65's and those with preexisting conditions are vaccinated (first dose end Jan, sectioned feb) I expect rules to start to loosen a lot. Even my super careful and pessimistic dr friend is talking about Easter being normal. There's lots of unknowns but if any of these vaccines get the green light, they will be pulling out all the stops to use it

If they can get a vaccine rolled out to the over 50s and vulnerable under 50s pretty much by Easter - and the vaccine works - then we'll certainly be edging more towards normality going into the summer, but it'll be a gradual, phased process.

That's a huge ask though.

@Kazzyhoward I agree but almost all of our teaching ends at Easter, it's mainly exams after, so I can't see that happening

@FourTeaFallOut

I will have the whole family tested before my parents visit

Are you getting this done privately?

I'm not FourTea but we will be paying for a private test for our returning 23-year-old son as my elderly mother will be in our Christmas bubble. My returning student daughter will have one free via her university.

I'd much rather not be shelling out £100-plus at this expensive time of year, but not sure what the alternative is if we want to be sure he's not harbouring anything.

It's just seems like a good idea. I'm in a tier 3 area so I'm hoping we'll have access to the lateral flow mass testing facilities by then but if not we might do the same.

@FourTeaFallOut

When did he say it would all be over by Christmas?

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/17/boris-johnson-unveils-next-steps-in-englands-coronavirus-response

*@Topperedbut its not just sitting on a couch is it? Its asking people to go without seeing family and friends for the best part of a year now. The windows weve been allowed to see them have involved altering our behaviour to go against every natural human instinct . Peoples outlets for stress relief are gone. People have lost businesses they've spent all their lives building.

Stop belittling what is being asked of people with these restrictions.*

The people I know who put all the "just sit on your sofa and watch netflix" memes on SM were the people that had least to lose financially
Either they or their partner had well paid jobs that could be done from home or fairly well paid public sector jobs that (in the main) could also be done from home.

I know lots of people who have been made redundant, had their own business decimated and not got any gov help, been unable to attend the funeral of loved ones. I hope no one young or old would laugh or find any of that remotely funny.

If we going to make trite remarks what about people who (as MN often advises in budgeting threads) cancelled netflix and cant afford a new sofa because of covid?

It will never be the same, but I think things will be and feel much better come spring. We will have started vaxing the most vulnerable people by then so the rules will be relaxing, the weather will be warmer so infections will be falling and we'll be feeling more optimistic. Humans are incredibly resilient, even though it might not feel that way at the moment.

Noted. That seems like a lifetime ago now - I wonder on how much they are banking on people like me forgetting this stuff.

Chris Whitty has spent a career on this. He's a doctor, scientist.. a professor chosen to be the top man.

Who on earth do you think you are to disregard him in such a way?!

In response to the original question I think it will be at least April or May before things start to feel properly different but despite being a pessimist, even if that's the case it's still a light at the end of an (admittedly long) tunnel.
I think in the summer, for me anyway, there was a sense of being in the eye of the storm, that we were in a bit of limbo as it would inevitably be worse in Autumn and Winter.
I think I'll feel more confident once vaccination programmes actually start but I do feel more hopeful.

[quote bathsh3ba]@Kazzyhoward I agree but almost all of our teaching ends at Easter, it's mainly exams after, so I can't see that happening[/quote]
It will be pretty grim for students if they are expected to do exams in the exam halls etc after 2 full terms of having to study online without much (if any) face to face teaching. That's the worst of all worlds and a real kick in the teeth for them. If there's going to be no face to face teaching, then I think the exams need to be online too. Given the number of students who stayed home (and abroad), is it even realistic to expect them to attend Unis to take exams? I hope that even if the final term is mostly exams etc., then the Unis pull out all the stops to provide things for the students to do outside their rooms for those living on campus, both academic and social. After two terms of being stuck in their rooms, they need to be able to minimise time stuck in their rooms and maximise the opportunities to finally meet their lecturers, course mates and finally explore the university facilities.

@oneglassandpuzzled

I don’t get that impression of Whitty at all.

Totally agree! He looks massively uncomfortable in the public eye. Plus I know someone who works with him and she says he's a really good man.