Those of us with family/friends at a distance have been forgotten again

[Thecoppertree]

My family and close friends live too far away to visit for the day and we have a toddler so the journey would be unbearable as it’s 4 hours there and 4 hours back.
I thought overnight stays with one household or bubble would be permitted by Easter, but I’m reading/hearing possibly June?! So that means I won’t see my family until then. There is an option to meet somewhere halfway, but as my parents don’t drive and they have physical limitations on getting around, it would be difficult to organise. I just feel gutted that everyone is feeling happy about the rule of 6 outdoors in parks and gardens, but those of us who don’t have family/friends nearby have nothing to look forward to.
Sorry for the downer post, but it’s making me feel really sad.

I hear you! It’s been almost 2 years since I last saw my mum. But indoor mixing is very different to outdoor mixing (and the farce that was Christmas caused a lot of the mess we are now mopping up).

Just visit them..

Fed up here to- I’m lucky in so much as my parents are local but DH’s family are 5 hours away. My son is 15 months- his cousins are desperate to meet him but due to the various local lockdowns/ tiers both our plans for last summer and for Xmas haven’t happened. My MIL has met him twice- once pre covid and once last summer when she came to us. DH is military and it is looking like he is going to be away for 6 months from June. He would
just like to introduce his first son to his family.

@Piinkjuice

Im wondering why that is allowed.

It's not, but presumably she's told the authorities at the airport that it's 'essential', probably lied that a relative is sick/dying and who's going to check?

I'm in the same boat OP. 4 1/2 hrs to nearest family and I've not seen them since early September. It sounds like June will be the earliest so lockdown will have prevented me from having any contact with the people who ground me and I feel connected with for 9 months. My mental health is getting poorer and poorer by the day and it is now a struggle to get out of bed or engage in anything much at all. Not sure we've been forgotten but messages that suggest changes are making it possible to see family are just silly and alienating to those of us still unable to do so.

I'm in a similar position. Family are far away. Too far away for a day trip.

I won't be breaking the rules to see them. I don't want to be responsible for making them unwell.

I also had been hoping that we could stay in an air bnb and see family outside for Easter.

Plan now will probably be to meet in the middle at a park. Could that work for you OP?

@Singlenotsingle

I'm surprised that people are so obedient, even though all this is causing misery and depression. I've always worked on the basis that if I'm free of covid then I can't pass it on, so I just take a test if I want to visit family. (I am in a support bubble and a separate childcare bubble anyway so strictly speaking it's legal). And now I've had my first dose of vaccination, it'll be even safer. I know I'll get flamed for this, but I just think people's mental health is important.

We've been really obedient (not even taken up theoretical key worker places as we can work from home) but I'm feeling this now!

Most of my family is in different countries. Some in a red list country so it may be years before i see them again. It really hit home when I saw guidance from that government saying you need explicit approval from the department of home affairs to visit there if you’re coming from the U.K.

We were trying to figure out if we could visit my in laws and it would cost £1,600 just to do all the tests you’re supposed to be doing when coming back from another country. Maybe this summer we’ll be able to see them again

I think hotels will be open before June 🤷🏼‍♀️ .. in which case, that’s what we’ll be doing. Also have family 4/5 hours away, haven’t seen them since August. They’ve met DD just once in her life..

OP what is the fine?

If it's near what you'd have spent visiting in normal times, just go.

You have no idea what's coming next. You could be waiting months.

Same here. There’s an assumption that everyone lives within 10 minutes of their loved ones. And those that do have always been able to see them for walks, doorstep chats, form bubbles etc.

Same but we're going to go anyway.
Mil lives nearly 200 miles away.

Can't meet halfway she doesn't drive.

We can form a support bubble with her as she is single. (We are in one with my mum but you can change)

Enough is enough she has met our 9 month old twice and its killing her.
Shes had both her jabs weeks ago.
She's 86 so who knows when it could be her last day sadly.
I get we need some caution but the road we are going down is ridiculous.

To add to my earlier message of “just go” it really is too much to ask of people not to see their family for another year now the weather is improving and covid winter respiratory season is reaching its natural pause anyway, not to mention the fact most vulnerable people will be vaccinated within the next month or so. What if you wait until the government “allow” us to see our own families and then they start introducing all the tiers again before we head into autumn and covid season? Another year of live missed? Another year of missed children growing up, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and weddings? That risk is higher to me than covid quite frankly!

I do think that if you are a single parent you should be able to travel to see family but it would be so difficult to police this so I can see why they’ve stopped everyone from doing it.

I’m hoping it’ll be allowed by the summer at the very least!

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

I make it a rule not to get upset about announcements till I hear the actual announcement not just rumours, so I am holding on, but same boat here. Mil lives alone and the plan was to do what we did last summer and stay somewhere else and meet outside. She can’t possibly travel to us.

I was happy to be stoical about Christmas because it was clear there were all kinds of risks, but what we would be doing at Easter, with her fully vaccinated (and probably dh and me partly by then) and being outside anyway and community transmission lower by many times is so unrisky it’s ridiculous.

Can’t she just be in your bubble and go and stay with her ?

@toocold54

I do think that if you are a single parent you should be able to travel to see family but it would be so difficult to police this so I can see why they’ve stopped everyone from doing it.

You’re allowed to travel to be with your bubble

My dp and I live 300 miles apart for eg

I think its the strap line of "reuniting families" that is getting to me most. Its like the papers and Boris think they will do this, and suddenly everyone can see their family, when in reality sone of us cant (and some where international travel is involved have predictions even further into the future).

No bubbles, no key worker places (despite 2 key workers in the house, place denied as we dont know far enough in advance to get a place), no family visits here. It sucks.

Similar situation here.

Haven't seen my family for a whole year. It's a 10-hour round trip so we can only see them if allowed to stay overnight. My parents have been vaccinated and are happy for us to visit. Where they live is very isolated and we would literally not be mixing with anyone other than them. Stopping once for petrol (which we would have to do once a month even if we stayed at home).

I'm an obedient person but sorely tempted to break the rules at Easter. What is the consequence if we were caught? A fine? Criminal record?

I guess the only way you’d get ‘caught’ @hippospot is if someone reported you? Which is highly unlikely.

Lots of things will be open by Easter. Maybe even self catering accommodation. We won’t be in full lockdown so they won’t be stopping people on motorways and asking where they are going.

I think many will just do a personal risk assessment with regards to family indoors at Easter. I can’t see neighbours reporting at that stage.

I guess it would be a fine. You’d hope the police would have better/more important things to do than police families meeting up.

@twelly

I think we should allow people to make their own choices that way people can assess their risk. The virus will not go away and like everything we do there is a risk. Staying with relatives is not so dissimilar to meeting friends

This. Just go and meet them anyway.

Has the announcement happened already or are these just leaks?

I feel about sad too, but I know Mum will want her 2nd jab before meeting, so it will wait.

A little bit of a bummer as it is my Dad's 75th beginning of April.

Not forgotten about, they just can't do everything at once.

"Leaks" are accurate 99% of the time if it's the Day Of. I don't even bother watching the announcements any more.