Idiots piling onto packed trains out of London

[User158340]

By doing this they're putting whatever family or friends they're staying with at huge risk, not to mention the wider communities.

Also, the mindset of "it's within the rules because it's not midnight yet". It's not within the rules to breach social distancing. For goodness sake the trains are still running tomorrow so if you're going to break or bend the rules do it then when you won't be stood on a carriage with scores of other people.

@itchyfinger

You're blaming the wrong people OP. The government knew this was coming but decided to announce it today and give people a few hours to get packed and home. The public turning on each other - this post, the mask bullies, the "how dare you queue up for non essential items" makes this whole thing so much worse.

I totally agree

Yes it can Herc and if a person's wellbeing depends on seeing specific people on a specific day then I wouldn't criticize that at all.

Any criticism I might have would be more directed at why many feel the need to participate in a consumerist frenzy with A Set Menu on a specific day. But really that's a question for debate in less stressful times is my pov.

FFS People seem to think they can blame Boris and the government for everything rather than engaging a brain cell or two and using common sense.
When there is a spike of deaths in January/February they'll blame the government again then too

@StopGo I could not pass your message without saying something. My heart goes out to you. Your DH should not have had to die alone. I'm so sorry that happened to your family. Sending 💐

FFS People seem to think they can blame Boris and the government for everything rather than engaging a brain cell or two and using common sense. When there is a spike of deaths in January/February they'll blame the government again then too

And they'll be right to do that. The Government of good old 'Boris' is completely to blame.

@QueenOfTheDoubleWide

FFS People seem to think they can blame Boris and the government for everything rather than engaging a brain cell or two and using common sense. When there is a spike of deaths in January/February they'll blame the government again then too

It’s almost like the government are in charge of the response to the pandemic, or something.

@carlaCox

Stop blaming individual people. You don't know what circumstances these people are in, there could be all kinds of reasons they could be legging it back up North.

The people to blame here are the government. A few days ago London was tier 2 - people were going to bars and restaurants and piling into Oxford Street. All of it was within "the rules". This tier 4 cancel-Christmas U-turn highlights a serious fuck up by the government. Why don't people see this?

A u turn by them was obvious. I'm hoping this leads to a quicker vote of no confidence in the government but it won't unfortunately be quick enough to stop them fucking up a much needed deal with the EU.

Why would people think shopping in London would be a good idea with the virus rates going crazy. You shouldn’t need to be told by the Government this isn’t a good idea.

Tough one. While I think mixing at Christmas is a bad idea, I know there are many single young people in London who will have been desperately looking forward to a week or so with family back home. I was one of them once. If they hadn’t had their hypes built up by our useless pm then they could have made other plans and been emotionally prepared. The way the government handled this caused this panic and upset.

Hopes not hypes

@QueenOfTheDoubleWide

FFS People seem to think they can blame Boris and the government for everything rather than engaging a brain cell or two and using common sense. When there is a spike of deaths in January/February they'll blame the government again then too

Yes I will. Because his lack of leadership and pathetic desire to be popular led to this.

I was completely oblivious to this and was in London for a couple of hours earlier. Had to meet DD off the Eurostar at 16:39 and we we headed home North out of Kings Cross at 17:30. Must have just missed the chaos, thought it was relatively quiet - although London always has far too many people for my provincial backwater liking.

I could have sold it, but it was too life-changing a gift for me to take the moral high ground over. Not saying that makes me any better, it doesn’t - and I am morally opposed to inherited wealth, too, but I would find it hard to give money away if I was gifted it.

@Tiletiletile1 It’s all rather hypocritical and “do as I say not as I do” though, don’t you think? Practice what you preach and all that!

I live alone in London and my support bubble is just over an hour away, but in Tier 2. He's here now and will be travelling home later, and will come back after Christmas. It's allowed. Fortunately he also lives alone and WFH and drives here so it's not a risk (I also WFH). My adult DC also live in London, not with me, and I can't see them.

@Dongdingdong

I could have sold it, but it was too life-changing a gift for me to take the moral high ground over. Not saying that makes me any better, it doesn’t - and I am morally opposed to inherited wealth, too, but I would find it hard to give money away if I was gifted it.

@Tiletiletile1 It’s all rather hypocritical and “do as I say not as I do” though, don’t you think? Practice what you preach and all that!

Yes I agree. That’s why we need rules and laws. Same with Covid and isolating etc. Human beings are wired to look out for their own needs and that of their family or very small community around them. You can’t give someone a million pounds and expect them to give it away to charity (although some do and good for them!!). You can’t give someone freedom of choice “up to you - stay home or don’t stay home - be safe!” And except them to lock themselves away and feel lonely when Covid is raging (although, again, some do - but a lot due to health anxiety).

So yes, rather hypocritical.

That’s why we are governed to look after society’s best interests and not just our own and our immediate families. Humans evolved to empathise and look out for tiny groups - I think 100? - not the entire world.

Just adding to that...

And, as far as I can see, we are being led by a “do as I say and not as I do” govt. Cummings being told that he did “what any loving father would do” while dangerously flouting lockdown rules; Rees-Mogg hoarding something like £100m profit in the Cayman Islands so he doesn’t have to pay tax; the lot of them sloshing about in inherited wealth.

That’s why people turn to New Zealand so much. It isn’t just that they’re a small island and it’s easier (of course, that is true), but it is also because they are led by example. One MP broke the rules by driving to go for a walk and he was immediately fired. Our government makes it up as it goes along and suits itself.

It also suits our govt to watch us all blame each other for the rise in cases. It can say “well we did say stay safe... but you couldn’t keep out of the park, could you?” And escape without blame.

Anyway, it’s a bit early in the morning for my daily rant I think I’ll go and find that tin of Quality Street and get started already!

Don’t blame them. I wouldn’t do it now, but I would definitely have done it when I was 24, single, living in a crappy shared house and was due to spend Christmas with my (non-vulnerable) parents in their 50s!! I know my younger brother’s friends had tickets to come home last night anyway, hoping to dodge both the rush and also the closure of Kings Cross, and were shocked to see so many there. They did say though, that once ON the train, it was busier than they might have expected but nowhere near “full” as the companies were still limiting tickets.

I'm finding it hard to condemn anyone for this to be honest. Plenty of people get infected or have been infected and the government have let it happen and even stopped people prove ting themselves.

I imagine if you worked or went to a school in Greenwich the comments about protecting the public would ring pretty hollow. Loads of people have been infected or figure they inevitably will. How were ecv staff or families in greenwich supposed to "protect themselves". If you are under 50 it seems unlikely you will get the jab dither.

people in some families are happy with the risk and no longer trust the government. The flipflopping, the u turns, the anger at the dither and delay, the constant leak to the press. Wether you stick to the rules of not we will be locked down most of the spring anyway. People in leicester can attest to that. If you work on the frontline you can look forward to a repeat infection while listening to the govt crow about how covid secure guidance is safe and protects you.

I'm glad my dd came up from London a week ago.

Ahhhh...how considerate of them all, bringing the 'New Strain Covid' home to their families for Christmas.

Is it just me that thinks it ironic that all though this those who don’t wear a mask, branded conspiracy theorist anti vaxers, hard right right pub going gammon brexiters have been blamed for spreading this and called Covidits yet those scenes at St Pancras night appeared to be hipster millennial left wing woke BLM pro mask, FBPE remainer trendies from the expensive London flats?

I can’t blame people for getting out so they are not in complete lock down.

I just think this tier four lockdown was the height of stupidity, of course people were going to do this. And now it’s going to be spread to many other areas, where it would not have done had tier four not been put in place. People are now staying much longer in different locations, going to shops, and out and about.

This is exactly what happened in italy. They shut down one part, ans everyone rushed to the other, and the whole country had a problem,. Didn’t we learn anything?

@Bushola

Is it just me that thinks it ironic that all though this those who don’t wear a mask, branded conspiracy theorist anti vaxers, hard right right pub going gammon brexiters have been blamed for spreading this and called Covidits yet those scenes at St Pancras night appeared to be hipster millennial left wing woke BLM pro mask, FBPE remainer trendies from the expensive London flats?

Looks at bingo card

Bingo

@QueenOfTheDoubleWide

FFS People seem to think they can blame Boris and the government for everything rather than engaging a brain cell or two and using common sense. When there is a spike of deaths in January/February they'll blame the government again then too

Looks like your swimming against the tide with that one, even the Tory loons on Conservative Home, who were mainly responsible for getting Bozo into No 10, are having second thoughts about his suitability for the job.

I think the issue is people are realising that we aren’t getting this virus under control. Months of restrictions and cases are rising. At this point following the rules doesn’t provide a way out of the pandemic.

This makes no sense. If mumsnet is any indication it's all been "i don't care about the rules because i want to see my granny/mil/2nd cousin 5 times removed and so i will"

And that is why this mass movement is daft and irresponsible. As for pp asking if they should have any kind of social community responsiblitiy: yes, you should.

That's now the NHS works: people pay into it so i can use it when needed, and i pay into it so other people can use it when needed.

(Frankly i think the train companies should have only let people on with pre-booked tickets/reservations. Then we'd have seen who was "escaping" and who was travelling according to previous plans)