People using 'bubbles' as a way of not social distancing

[lozjay]

I'm getting so angry with rule breakers who keep justifying seeing friends and family by claiming they are in their bubble , as I was aware the whole point is not to have so called 100 bubbles of people that's why we are in this shite mess does anyone relate to these kind of humans ? 🤯🤨

@VanGoghsDog that is the guidance, not the law. Which says nothing about local. So I would go to the next village as even the guidance doesn't define local area.

The fact of the matter is that trying to ban socialising is always going to work about the same as trying to ban alcohol or trying to stop STDs using abstinence only messaging, i.e. it's not going to be anywhere near universally effective. You can get cross about it but you're only wasting your time. There was always going to be a sell-by-date on lockdown - this was known from day 1. Public health policy (and all policy) has to work with the way actual humans behave, not the way they should behave in a perfect world (unless you want a full totalitarian state, which even then would not stop humans behaving like humans).

I don't know what you think banning 'bubbles' would achieve - those people you are angry about know perfectly well what they are doing and will continue to do it (they might just be a little less open about it - I am absolutely sure there is also a lot of socialising going on that you don't know about). All you would do is cause misery, suffering and guilt for the people who absolutely cannot be completely isolated - the harm of that would outweigh the harm of increased virus transmission, which is why the government is officially allowing it in the first place.

I thought this would happen, at least in part, by the government doings. Some people will abuse the rules, it is always so. And they are very wrong to do so.
But with BJ changing rules at last minute, involving schools, it is only logic that people have to sort last minute childcare. And mixing of various households will happen.
Do not get me wrong, I think schools need to close due to the raising numbers going. But they should not be allowed to change school provisions without notice. So they should have announced furing the Christmas week or earlier.
Wales did similar before Christmas. Kept quiet during December, when people had popped the question to close them the week before Christmas, to allow for isolation ahead of the big day. But they waited till thursday afternoon to announce they would be closed on Monday (secondaries, primaries followed shortly).
This is leaving people having to rely on several family members or friends to cover. Including grandparents. While if they had time, maybe they could have booked leave or organise better, with less mixing.

We need our bubble, we run as one household (all deliveries into one house, no one goes to the shops unless absolutely unavoidable and then they call everyone to make sure no one needs anything). We are an exclusive bubble as it should be.

I am scared of losing this because others are taking the piss

[quote Glitterinthegrey]@Picklespark if you are saying that bubbles shouldn't exist at all, you can fuck right off. There is no way I'd make my widowed father go back to being alone. He's at far greater risk from social isolation than he is from Covid.

You worry about what you do. Wind your neck in about everybody else's business. [/quote]
No need to be so uncivil. If you read the first bit of my post you’ll see that I noted people who are vulnerable/have to shield should be allowed bubbles as they can’t leave their house.

I was expressing an option and don’t need to be sworn at, thank you. Just making the point that indoor mixing is very high risk so it really would be better if possible to meet someone for outdoor exercise. If that’s only your support bubble, the more’s the better.

[quote Lurkingforawhile]@VanGoghsDog that is the guidance, not the law. Which says nothing about local. So I would go to the next village as even the guidance doesn't define local area.[/quote]
I was waiting for the law to come out, so I could read it, assume it was issued yesterday so I'll have a look. Thanks.

I really think you're wearing yourself out here. You will need to accept at some point that you cannot control other people. You can't control what people do, or where they go. You can't control people's personal lives, however much you desperately want to.

Sure you can kick up a fuss and be a curtain-twitching busybody, but I think this is a good time to consider if this is really the kind of person you want to be.

I don’t think it’s that surprising that people have ‘adapted’ this policy. The government simultaneously recognise that people need emotional support, and apparently have a ‘loneliness strategy’, but then set these entirely arbitrary parameters for who’s allowed to access that emotional support. Who is Boris Johnson, serial philanderer and abandoner of all seven of his children to varying degrees, to decide that parents of babies a few weeks younger than mine need support but I don’t? And if my partner behaved anything like Johnson himself, wouldn’t any reasonable person accept that my emotional needs weren’t being met within my household any more than a single person’s might be? (Please don’t mistake me for not understanding that ‘they need to draw the line somewhere’ - obviously. But if they ask this of people for months and months on end, then it’s absolutely to be expected that people will push those arbitrary boundaries. And any negative consequences of that are a failing of leadership.)

I was waiting for the law to come out, so I could read it, assume it was issued yesterday so I'll have a look. Thanks.

I think there is an earlier thread on this board examining in detail the difference between the guidance and legislation.

@picklespark I live alone, WFH. My DP lives alone, WFH. Where is the increased risk from us being in a bubble and seeing no one else? Why should that be banned?

@HarrietOh I suspect it will be people taking the piss and pretending to not understand who will ruin it for everyone - the "park bubble" mentioned for example. I mean what utter crap

@HarrietteNightingale

I was waiting for the law to come out, so I could read it, assume it was issued yesterday so I'll have a look. Thanks.

I think there is an earlier thread on this board examining in detail the difference between the guidance and legislation.

I'll look for that, thank you. I do like to read the actual law. And I need to know for work reasons too (just didn't have time yesterday).

[quote Northernbeachbum]@HarrietOh I suspect it will be people taking the piss and pretending to not understand who will ruin it for everyone - the "park bubble" mentioned for example. I mean what utter crap[/quote]
I agree, but some posters seems to think legitimate bubbles should just not exist just because some people are not following the rules properly.

People are sometimes using the word "bubble" to describe things which are in no way permitted bubbles of any kind. That's not the fault of people who are adhering to the bubble rules (god how I hate the word "bubble"!)

@VanGoghsDog it's pretty hard to read as they've actually amended the tier 4 regs, but there's an excellent thread summing it all up which I'll see if I can link. I think the regs were published on Tuesday

@lozjay

No we need to suck it up and say no bubbles people will always justify their need and most people who genuinely need them ain't taking the offer up anyway which just leaves all the bubble abusers who are !! Young boys have their lives to save us in the war and we can't even handle a few months of hardship what we have endured is nothing compared to the trenches lets not act like it is the same thing !!

Sorry but I disagree with no bubbles. My 60yo dad is unable to work (driving instructor) during full lockdowns. He lives alone. I'm not having him not see another soul for 6 weeks. He has chosen to bubble with my brother but that's absolutely fine - he has a great garden and they work on it together. They're still sensible.

Just because other people take the piss (and they absolutely do!) doesn't mean everyone else has to.

Totally agree, people are utterly taking the piss.
But hell no do not stop the legitimate bubbles, I live alone and being able to see my boyfriend who also lives alone has been a life saver for us both. We both have mental health issues and I’m not certain I’d have come out of another lockdown without being able to see him.

@lozjay

Your not meant to be staying round other households how thick are some people that's the damn point of STAY HOME these people are INSANE

The irony of calling people “thick”, yet not knowing the rules.. I will continue to be in a bubble with my DP where we will sleep at each other’s houses as allowed by the law, we spend 4m apart last March and it nearly crippled us.

@HarrietOh yes exactly, we are all being lumped together - I dont know the solution though if I'm honest

Oh my what a world we live in !!!! Can please people stop saying they would kill themselves if they can't see people seems like everyone is throwing that about these days saying they wouldn't be here if they couldn't have their way military families are apart for months !!!! Society really has got sick these days

@lozjay

Oh my what a world we live in !!!! Can please people stop saying they would kill themselves if they can't see people seems like everyone is throwing that about these days saying they wouldn't be here if they couldn't have their way military families are apart for months !!!! Society really has got sick these days

The people who are saying they felt suicidal at times because of loneliness are lying?

Are none of your counselling clients struggling?

People just seem to have a fundamental need to do whatever they want. There is little regard for 'the Common Good' - it's all about Me/my kids/my immediate family. That's why there is so much bending of the rules - putting it charitably. Sadly, it's not until someone gets seriously ill, that people reflect on what actions they have taken.

Unfortunately, we are now seeing the effects of the lifting of Lockdown 2 at the beginning of December. People rushed off down the pub/gym/shops/out for a meal and took the kids to grandma's - even if it wasn't actually a great idea to do so. And this spike is going to continue for another month at least because of mixing over Christmas.

Once the vaccination really gets underway and immunity has begun to kick in, we should see a levelling off of the most serious cases. But that is still several weeks away.

Are you actually a counsellor?!

This world is so toxic suddenly there's a deadly virus killing people and all some can say is I need to see my bf or I don't wana be here anymore !!!! How are you saying this is normal behaviour

God knows where counsellor came from think someone made it up to be toxic