Christmas IS going to be cancelled - last minute.

[Elephant4]

Isn't it?

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/18/boris-johnson-calls-crisis-meeting-to-discuss-response-to-new-covid-strain

They're panicking now.

@megletthesecond

Last time I checked the 25th December will happen regardless. So, no, it's not cancelled. It's just me and my dc's this year anyway. No bubble and no family nearby. We decided it wasn't worth the risk.

I wish people would stop saying this. Yes the 25th will still happen regardless but for some people this could tip them over the edge. Fed up. Great, you've got a little family to spend it with. I've no kids and I'm single. I need to see some family else I'm not sure what my mental health will be like.

Most people on this thread saying they are happy to have Christmas just them appear to mean with their immediate family. So not alone.

@userxx

dont care. have stopped watching the news this week. all a load of bollocks.

I'm with you. Beyond giving a fuck.

Same. The news is all the same this year and the press are loving scaring people.

As soon as the Christmas relaxation rules were announced, it was pretty obvious that this was going to create a melting pot of virus infections. Mixing schoolchildren with elderly grandparents? Whatever could be the problem? Mixing 3 households some of whom will probably go on to mix with another 2 as they don't 'understand' the rules? Oh well!

I think the next lockdown will begin on New Year's Eve in an attempt to stop huge crowds gathering - it will be announced just as the 5-day window comes to a close. With the time lag between infection and symptoms showing, I expect the spike to arrive around 7th/8th January with the resultant sad numbers by the end of January. For God's sake everyone, try to keep yourself and others safe.

[quote forwardsbackwardsrebound]@pollyglot

Why bother coming on with a pointless story about NZ? A tiny speck on the globe completely isolated can close its borders (indefiitely?) Europe cannot do that.[/quote]
We could have done regional full lockdowns and protected outlay communities as the Isle of Man has done.
We could have reduced cross country travel.
We could have introduced mask wearing and policing much earlier.
We could have temperature testing routinely before using public transport and on arrival at airports- as many wiser governments have done.
We could have stopped things like Cheltenham.
We could have planned back in 2016 when the warnings were received and recommendations made but the report was dismissed as too expensive. Seems it might have been financially astute to implement the recommendations after all.
We could stop the ridiculous waste of money that is corrupt cronyism and propaganda. Where are those Nightingales being mentioned now? Pure political game playing.

I understand why...it is the sensible option...but I'll still be gutted if this happens. My parents live a few hours away (all in the north/Scotland) and were going to come up and stay in a hotel, two nights instead of the three we originally planned. We will all (especially the DC) be very sad not to see them. And on a practical note, we have a huge turkey crown (I got one way too big, am vegetarian so no idea what I'm doing when it comes to matters of meat ) and loads of food.

But it is what it us and I'd much rather keep my parents safe. I just wish the government had had the balls to say this outright to start with. Many of us will have spent money and invested a lot in a family Christmas. Will be making a sizeable donation to our local food bank I think...

Just tell us now - is this happening or not??

The 5 days is mote than likely to spread out the travelling. Otherwise the roads would be gridlocked on Xmas eve and boxing day.

They can cancel other religious festivals the night before and expect those people to abide by the ‘rules’

But this ‘religious’ festival they cant cancel....
Bullocks!!!!

Completely agree

Christmas is way beyond a minority religious festival.

Sorry if this has been said already.... but I think even if they did go back on the bubbles rules, there is going to be increased transmission. The supermarkets and high street is getting so busy
I always do my big Christmas shop online but no hope of a slot this year so will have to brave the supermarket.
And actually if there are less people doing big get togethers then that means more individuals doing their Christmas food shop although I guess it’s always busy anyway

I really wanted to hunker down this week before seeing people on xmas (all local, all young, all healthy, some cousins mix at school with my kid’s anyway, and we’re southeast but still tier 2) but I’m going to have to brave the shops, no choice.

Boris can say what he likes. I will still be seeing my family. Past caring.

And agree with PPs - not everyone has family to spend Christmas with. Many were relying on going to others to avoid spending it by themselves. So for some, it is a truly shitty situation. I know how lucky we are to have our immediate family.

If travel restrictions come into place, think we will invite DH's mate who is spending it on his own to join us. At least something can come out of this.

We are on our own for Christmas usually anyway and I'm quite happy with that but I can see that this will absolutely devastate lots of people

Also it's not a race to the bottom of stupid decision-making. They cancelled Eid festivites at short notice in the summer (which really fucked me off as that was going to be our one window when we could travel to see family this year while cases were relatively low), which was appalling. So don't do another appalling thing again. Make a fucking plan and stick to it. Make a decision. Run the fucking country properly, not on overnight data and what the tabloids think.

Well in NI they've already put us into lockdown from Boxing Day, essentially. We can't even leave our houses after 8pm. All businesses, essential or not, shut at 8pm, too.

At least in England you still have some sort of relaxation until NYE, at the minute, anyway.

I live alone so I will be going to my parents regardless of any ‘cancelling’.

I’ve spent the majority of this pandemic on my own in pain because I need a surgery that I’ve now been waiting over a year for. So forgive me for not wanting to ‘save’ an nhs that’s failed me by sitting on my own crying in front of the TV with a ready meal.

The whole comparison with Australia/NZ is almost out of date because we didnt quarantine incoming visitors to the uk, or lockdown borders from the start. From February the genie was out out of the bottle, and the spread had started before anyone properly realised. We cant rewind to that point.

as @Expat2 says they forcing a hard lockdown for 70 cases. I'm pretty sure the uk hasnt ever had a point where there been as few as 70 cases since probably February, so is much harder to suppress in huge numbers. That's not to say we shouldn't try, and I did blame the government at how slow they were to quarantine incoming visitors (and the uk quarantine terms were incredibly lax compared to the enforced quarantine in for example, south Africa and Australia) but it simply isnt possible to compare dealing with and containing an outbreak of 70 cases and suppressing 30,000 (daily) cases. We didnt do the same thing at the start, (whether it was feasible to stop all international travel in and out of London is another question) it's almost impossible to get back to that point.
Some cancers, if caught early at the place of origin can be treated and cured and the person recovers. The same cancer, if not detected until it has spread to many other areas will not respond to the same treatment, or even harsher treatments.

[quote BlueSkies2020]@pollyglot I don’t think you can compare NZ to the UK

You’re the end of the line in terms of global travel. No one passes through NZ. You have a tiny population and low population density. So it’s a different ball game.[/quote]
No but you can compare Germany to the UK: in Europe, big cities, tourism, international travel etc. They've had a third of our death rate. I know things have worsened recently there but they've managed to keep the rate down in time for the vaccine to be rolled out.

The government here has improved but the bungling at the beginning was appalling; the Cummings fiasco was atrocious; the way BJ behaved until he actually got really ill with the thing was unconscionable; and the handing out of contracts to mates who provided shoddy services is beyond words.

I always thought the price for mingling households for a few days is not worth it. Our economy can't take much more. I can understand why people want to see elderly relatives for the first time in ages. But tbh I don't think that means it's better for everyone else to have open house to two other families for several days when we've not been able to meet someone for a coffee. It just seems madness.

We already decided on a low key one, just our household. We have two DCs in school, DH works in a higher risk environment, and the place we'd be traveling to is in a lower tier to us. For all those reasons, it felt like we'd be carrying our risk with us like that gift that no-one wants this Christmas.

Christmas isn't cancelled. Of course it feels really sad, I have never not seen family for either Christmas or New Year. We are making plans to make it a different but still special day. We have games nights booked in on zoom. We'll probably go for a long walk in the middle of the day as there is not as much to cook. Yes, I do expect to feel it is a bit of a let down, but the alternative isn't worth the risk in my view.

We've finally, after much wrangling, got the care home to agree to us having our 94 year old Gran for Christmas contingent on us completing a 2 week isolation. If they change the rules now we won't be allowed to see her despite following every single bit of guidance plus more.

Last year she nearly died of heart failure and the only risk to her from coronavirus has been from an outbreak at her care home in April when infected residents were sent back from hospital without tests.

She can't hear for phone calls, and can't manage Skype or Zoom, our only way of keeping in contact with her for 9 months has been writing letters for staff to (eventually) read to her. She's had no way to communicate back to us. We've not even been allowed to come to wave at her through windows.

For the last 9 months of her life she has been locked up, not allowed to go outside, sometimes confined to her room for weeks with no information on when it will end, with no TV or ability to read books to keep her going. If they push back "Christmas" until Easter or summer its entirely possible she will die before then and her last year will have been spent isolated and alone. It's inhumane.

@ColouringPencils

We already decided on a low key one, just our household. We have two DCs in school, DH works in a higher risk environment, and the place we'd be traveling to is in a lower tier to us. For all those reasons, it felt like we'd be carrying our risk with us like that gift that no-one wants this Christmas.

Christmas isn't cancelled. Of course it feels really sad, I have never not seen family for either Christmas or New Year. We are making plans to make it a different but still special day. We have games nights booked in on zoom. We'll probably go for a long walk in the middle of the day as there is not as much to cook. Yes, I do expect to feel it is a bit of a let down, but the alternative isn't worth the risk in my view.

Sorry, I don't get your post at all. You have your family with you. I don't understand how this could be a difficult decision at all. Could you perhaps spare a thought for those who don't have a DH or DC?

What's the thinking behind everything closing at 8pm in NI? Does the virus only come out at night?

One of my Dds has been forced to live alone by her placement school for four months, and hasn’t seen her partner of 3 years since October as she’s been training as a teacher during a bloody pandemic. If they have to lose their plan to spend Christmas together (she’s been isolating here since the 7th) then she’ll be distraught.

Two positive results and a mid-50s death yesterday in my own tiny little world of people. It’s very very real.

@Doyouthinktheysaurus

I bloody hope so but I don't think they have the balls.

They will instead blame the public for the increased figures in January, say we did not follow their advice and lock us down.

I am working Christmas, sticking to all the rules and have a lovely trip to Isle of Wight planned for January which was moved from November thanks to lockdown. I can see that being cancelled again due to another lockdown and it pisses me off. I don't understand why people can't just stay at home.

So you want people to stay at home now so that you’re free to travel when you want to?