Will lots just say 'stuff it' come the 23rd?

[JuneSummer]

It'll soon be a year since lockdown was first called and me and DH have been watching lots of TV coverage over the last few days. It's just dawned on us this week that we have now not seen our parents for a year, the DC haven't hugged their grandparents, we haven't been for any days out as a family, DC1 hasn't had a single uni class in person. The list goes on.

DH and I are now quickly coming to the conclusion that we just cannot and will not go on living like this any longer as a family. Particularly when there seems to be no end in sight if you listen to people like Chris Whitty and Christina Pagel (who was wanting masks and social distancing for the foreseeable future last night on the news).

Both sets of parents are in their mid 60s and have been vaccinated. We are now strongly minded to visit both at the beginning of April and allow them to see their DGC.

I suspect we will not be alone. Will lots of people simply say 'no more' upon realising they've spent a year of their lives not living?

Please stop with this , "You can't, you can't, you're not allowed!". Don't wait until a specific day when Boris Johnson tells you you're allowed to see your own family.

Reading some posters saying that they would obey potential rules as late as next year for "the greater good" actually makes me shudder.
The government have really brainwashed many of us.
What if , heaven forbid, a family member suddenly died tomorrow , of something non Covid related, and you hadn't seen them for over a year? Would it still be worth it ?

@MrsFezziwig maybe @Beaniecats was only in a relationship with Whitty (or trying to pursue him) as she wanted to be first in line for the vaccine (for something that doesn’t exist/is mild/we don’t need a lockdown for).

P.s. I have seen and lived the devastation of covid, fantastic that beanie thinks it’s all a joke.

What if , heaven forbid, a family member suddenly died tomorrow , of something non Covid related, and you hadn't seen them for over a year? Would it still be worth it ?
I wish people would stop saying this. You do realise there are people who have already had family members they haven't seen for ages die suddenly of not COVID? How do you think it makes us feel reading this? We don't have to imagine "what if", we're already experiencing it and can't change things now even if we wanted to.

@RichardMarxisinnocent exactly. Or in some peoples cases their family members have lived longer because they have shielded and then died, which everyone is happy that they got longer life, but crushed that they died. People keeping the covid numbers down means more people get other healthcare and more people live and not die from all causes. I just don’t understand why people just don’t get this.

What if , heaven forbid, a family member suddenly died tomorrow , of something non Covid related, and you hadn't seen them for over a year? Would it still be worth it ?

My mum died suddenly last year, she had been shielding, we had been shielding ds....before March we saw her 2 or 3 times a week, ds was utterly devoted to her. It was and is awful, how could it be anything else. I'm not sure of the point of remarks like this, I can't turn back time, I can't shout my hurt and our grief at Covid. We are in a pandemic....my mum wanted to keep ds safe, we wanted to keep her safe....We have done the best we could, 'is it worth it' - what a crass fucking comment, my mum died, I can't hug my sister, I had her funeral alone....ds has been well all year and hopefully will avoid Covid until we can get him vaccinated...
At this point it's just about getting through it.

@HazeyJaneII I am very sorry about your mum. You have put it into words exactly. You are doing awesomely looking after your son. I hope you get to hug your sister soon when it’s safe x

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

In 30 years time History GCSE and A level will include:

‘Whitty’s five steps to power’
‘The rise of the medical dictator’
‘Whitty’s hidden agenda in his quest for world domination’

You couldn’t make it up. It’s like a video game😂

It's funny. It seems most countries have their own version of Prof. Whitty - the unlucky bureaucrat in charge of the medical response to COVID who, in turn, becomes the mark of the public's ire. It's happened in my own country to not only the overall country-wide medical officer in charge, but also the state-wide.

So I don't believe Prof. Whitty is taking over the world, unless it's numerous Prof. Whittys in disguise.

Thankyou @HedgeOwl

The anti-lockdown people on here are coming across as breathtakingly selfish, but also as incredibly ignorant. They post as though they are the only ones suffering in lockdown.

We all are, but we also understand that we need to stay at home to avoid too many people dying, and us overburdening the NHS. Not because we enjoy it. I detest it, and it has had a hugely negative impact on my family’s lives - but it has also affected others’ lives too. I am not special.

I will follow the rules for the greater good. I certainly don’t know better than Chris Whitty or the scientists. We have been offered a tentative end date, so why endanger the loosening of restrictions by breaching the rules now?

Covid has certainly helped to identify the self-obsessed and unpleasant members of society. The comments of some posters not caring about anyone apart from their own families beggar belief.

If we were all like that, no one would give to charity or volunteer to help others. Surely that is not the kind of society we want to become?

The tone of the rule breakers is rather gleeful and childish. They are not the kind of people I know in real life, I am glad to say. People are just doing the best they can.

And sympathies to HazeyJaneII 😰💐

By raging against the lockdown and flouting the rules, you are the ones who are spiking the numbers and prolonging this purgatory for everyone.

Utterly contemptible behaviour.

I find the vitriol from those who seem themselves as morally good rule followers against the most scary thing about the pandemic. Right up there with laws that make it a crime to give a loved one a hug or visiting each other indoors.

Because the self-appointed morally good have the police & entirety of the state on their side in faulting the "covidiots"

I sure have learned a lot about Never Trust the Neighbours.

I am selfish because I've been seeing a friends in their house for a cuppa, a drink etc. I'm not denying it.

At the start of lockdown I wouldn't have dared, I understood what we were to do and why. But a year in and I realised I was on the way to the start of becoming depressed so I put myself first.

I dont know what the folk on here shouting selfish want me to do about it though. A year of lockdown and restrictions has literally made me selfish so how do you change this?

People won't change other people's mind on this so it's pointless trying.

I have put the needs of faceless strangers before the mental health of my children for a year now. Now that the most vulnerable have been vaccinated, we are taking the DCs to my in laws for Easter and I don't feel an ounce of guilt about it. Most of my friends live close enough to thier families so that they have been able to form bubbles with them even though they are not essential for work, yet they seem to be the most vocal about 'the rules'.

We have had one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. It isn't selfish to decide to put your own mental health and needs first and see your family after a year.

@VelveteenChair

By raging against the lockdown and flouting the rules, you are the ones who are spiking the numbers and prolonging this purgatory for everyone.

Utterly contemptible behaviour.

The blame game is still alive and kicking I see. Disgusting.

I think the Government want this, for us to blame each other, as it takes away from their own inadequacy.
Most cases are caught in hospitals, care homes, factories, prisons and the like.

The JCVI 9 priority groups are still being vaccinated, and will be for several months yet.

First doses haven't finished and Second doses have yet to get going and are still only at about 2% of the population.

My uncle who is 62 has his first next week and his second in June I presume.

Most people in the most vulnerable groups 1-4 have not had their second jab yet.

And about 150,000 haven't had a first jab yet because of ill health or hesitancy.

Just the facts.

We have had one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. It isn't selfish to decide to put your own mental health and needs first and see your family after a year.

I never thought in this country after living under restrictions for a year that people would be demonised for daring to see their family

I think the Government want this, for us to blame each other, as it takes away from their own inadequacy.
Most cases are caught in hospitals, care homes, factories, prisons and the like

Agree

Personally don't understand the 'not living'. In the last year I've started a new business, my son has broken up with his first love and got a new one, he got furloughed, redundant and a found new job plus got his first professional qualification; my daughter has applied, had nine interviews, several entrance exams and got in to an excellent sixth form, I've sold two investment properties, my own house and am in the process of buying a new one (near the new school) in London, and I've become a step grandmother.
A pretty well-lived life this past year I think.
Of course i haven't seen some family nor many friends except briefly in the summer, but Zoom and houseparty has kept us all in touch. I won't see my grand daughter until she is five months old but I'll know her for the rest of my life. And yes I have two very elderly (90s) relatives whom I will unlikely to ever see again, but they have their immediate family in support bubbles so are not alone.
Of course I know some people have really struggled due to personal circumstances, but the majority have not.

Still following the rules here and so are majority of people I know.
If people want to see family and friends do it outside if you can.
I'll be seeing my family outside during easter hols.
Hosting several households at once is very irresponsible.

Of course I know some people have really struggled due to personal circumstances, but the majority have not.
Really? Seriously? You actually believe this? I honestly don't have the words to respond.

Those of you who have decided not to follow the rules any more.....

Can you please remember that if hospitalisations/deaths do rise, we may not get restrictions lifted according to the roadmap.

Meaning that those of us who don't have the option to see family either outdoors or indoors because they live too far away have to wait even longer, for UK travel restrictions to be lifted. Meaning people with family abroad have to wait longer before they can travel to see them/they can travel here. I am sure (and know in my own case) that they wish to see their families just as much as you do. I'd be happy with an outdoor walk.

And that's without even mentioning those poor souls who are waiting for restrictions to ease so they can start earning money again.

I'm still following the rules but can understand why people are breaking them. It's been nearly 1 year but initially we were told 3 weeks "to flatten the curve".

I read earlier the government want to extend the lockdown for 6 months, I wonder if this will end even after vaccinations are complete. Just fed up of them dangling the carrot and then changing their minds at the last minute.