I've had a ridiculously sociable weekend

[LegendaryReady]

I seem to have well and truly got back to usual, without even considering the risks. That's quite a change for me and now, in the cold light of day seems quite reckless.

Saturday - I shared a car with 4 others to a sports event that I competed in with numerous others (albeit outdoors). Lunch in a cafe. We started outdoors but then it rained.

• Then I went to a museum, which was fairly quiet and people were wearing masks and distancing.

• Then 20 of us went for a curry. Very busy restaurant

Sunday - long bike ride with half a dozen friends. Coffee and cake stop. All outdoors except for toilet and ordering.

Monday - Group of six (different people to previous 2 days) train journey (masks worn) to busy seaside town to see a band play at a pub. It was outdoors but indoors for the bar and toilet. Then on to a restaurant for dinner and home on the train.

It's been a great weekend and was good to see places buzzing again. Writing it all down I also just realised how much I must have spent! It was good to "live" a bit, finally, before going back to work in school tomorrow.

I am a bit nervous about the LFT I will do tonight ahead of the return though. And also horrified at the number of contacts I will have had, if I did test positive.

I've really been very "good" until the last couple of weeks. No wonder the numbers are increasing so much I'm fully vaccinated and so are the vast majority of people I know, but despite that I think I known more currently positive people now than I have at any point in the pandemic. Thankfully though, they don't seem to be getting very ill and people are testing regularly and doing the right thing as soon as they test positive.

Have others suddenly found themselves relaxing? There were certainly lots of others doing similar to me this weekend.

Masks and SD never should've gone.
Agree. I still wear a mask indoors in shops, cafes etc even in those where the staff no longer wear them.

@QueenofKattegat

Can we stop framing normality as "taking a risk"? Who is it helping? Why is this narrative being pushed? "Gambling", "risk taking". It's just called living. We used to do it.

Exactly, ordinary living isn't taking a risk.

There is clearly a lot of unpicking thinking to be done for some people, the "stay at home and be terrified" strategy has clearly worked on an awful lot.

Good for you.

That sounds like an awesome weekend OP. I'm glad people have started to live again. We have to live our lives.

And cases (admittedly before mostly English and Welsh schools have returned) are currently decreasing quite sharply

@NannyAndJohn

This thread does a good job of explaining why cases are sky high.

You stay in forever if you want. Crack on, love.

That's if you're real, which I often doubt.

Good for you OP!

I've socialised a lot more, although largely outdoors. Have an indoor wedding this weekend.

I've been vaccinated. Nothing more I can do to protect myself and others. Just got to get on with it now. DCs are out and about as normal. They and their friends all do LFTs regularly and DD will soon be fully jabbed. This is the best it's going to get imo.

That's if you're real, which I often doubt

Yep.

And begin to draw up the plans for our next Lockdown.

A lockdown so serious it warrants a big L.

However @NannyAndJohn hasn't actually explained why she thinks that a Lockdown (note capital) would actually work, given that the ones we have had in the past manifestly have not.

@HesterShaw1

And begin to draw up the plans for our next Lockdown.

A lockdown so serious it warrants a big L.

However @NannyAndJohn hasn't actually explained why she thinks that a Lockdown (note capital) would actually work, given that the ones we have had in the past manifestly have not.

They haven't been hard enough! We need a Hard Lockdown for 12 months apparently. Given the current state of Carnage. And that the entire population has Long Covid.

@HesterShaw1

And begin to draw up the plans for our next Lockdown.

A lockdown so serious it warrants a big L.

However @NannyAndJohn hasn't actually explained why she thinks that a Lockdown (note capital) would actually work, given that the ones we have had in the past manifestly have not.

Because we didn’t lock down hard enough, of course!! Nothing short of a Wuhan style, front doors nailed shut, army delivering food parcels lockdown will do. @NannyAndJohn advocates critical workers living apart from their family for 12 months to ‘control the virus’.

That's without even mentioning the Variants.

We'll all be Safe if the Army deliver Food Parcels and everybody who isn't a Critical Worker follows the Rules and Stays At Home.

In all seriousness, @NannyAndJohn, why do you persist in ignoring the vaccines? No they don't work 100%, but they are preventing enormous numbers of hospitalisations and serious illness, and actual infection also. I have covid at the moment - the Cornish Carnage unfortunately caught up with me - and I have felt reasonably poorly. However my close colleagues and my boyfriend have tested and, nothing. They're fine. They have been able to carry on working and living their lives. That's a good thing, right?

@Jourdain11

That's without even mentioning the Variants.

We'll all be Safe if the Army deliver Food Parcels and everybody who isn't a Critical Worker follows the Rules and Stays At Home.

:o:o:o

How are you doing @Jourdain11?

I'm starting to think that NannyandJohn is some sort of negativity algorithm set to go off anytime someone dares to behave like a human being and not a real person at all. Maybe the dodgy maths is a glitch.

@HesterShaw1

And begin to draw up the plans for our next Lockdown.

A lockdown so serious it warrants a big L.

However @NannyAndJohn hasn't actually explained why she thinks that a Lockdown (note capital) would actually work, given that the ones we have had in the past manifestly have not.

They have worked!

The issue has been that our government has ended Lockdowns too early, leading to cases rising and the whole cycle starting all over again.

I felt the same as you this morning op.

I wouldn't even know where to start to list my contacts if I had to, and there are likely be hundreds or even thousands that I couldn't even name. No one is wearing a mask anywhere here now, and we have all just relaxed and are enjoying our lives. I have been on holiday overseas as well. Over the bank holiday we were just having fun, and it felt like things were back to normal and I had largely forgotten about covid.

Planning big parties now for the autumn and winter, and whatever happens I feel refreshed, back to a happy place mentally - recharged and ready. It has been a long time coming, and I am so grateful we have had this time. I am not expecting a lockdown but I am wondering if a few restrictions will come back mid winter.

No @NannyAndJohn they have not worked. They have not worked in NZ or Australia either, who had far earlier lockdowns, relatively, than we did. Having, as one poster mentioned earlier, Mrs Mangel-style informers ratting on maskless children playing in their back gardens isn't an effective way of controlling a virus. (It's a bloody effective way of destroying neighbourhoods and friendships though.)

Locking down life and education and commerce and happiness is not a long term solution to contain a virus which is now endemic, and one which we now have a vaccine for, and one which the vast majority of people have no lasting ill effects from. And yes I am aware of Long Covid, obviously. Long Covid is not a reason to lock down life either.

I suggest you go out and get one.

Honestly, there's no point in trying to convince those who persist with a Zero Covid strategy that it is not now, nor has it ever been, possible for the U.K. and that therefore people living fairly normally now is actually ok. They are entrenched.

I think your weekend sounds brilliant. The last year (although necessary) has been a shit show for everyone and, quite frankly, if that was how life was going to be pretty much indefinitely I'm not sure I really see the point of it. So functional and miserable.

I think more and more people are mentally making the shift away from living a restricted life now and we're really starting to see that in how people are behaving.

The issue has been that our government has ended Lockdowns too early, leading to cases rising and the whole cycle starting all over again

At what level of cases should we have ended lockdown?

The issue has been that our government has ended Lockdowns too early, leading to cases rising and the whole cycle starting all over again

We. Have. Vaccines. Now.

People need to decide for themselves what is acceptable to them. They take the risk, or not as the case may be. The virus isn't going anywhere. China, Vietnam and New Zealand are still dealing with cases. Ive got to be honest, I feel more safe in venues than in my local supermarket. I think venues are stricter. The only exception being nightclubs and I won't be in them anyway. Ive enjoyed being able to go out a bit more, but I always wear my mask where requested. We really cannot afford constant Lockdowns. Look at the amount of businesses that have folded.

Sounds fabulous! I’m having a bit of last hurrah 😀 before I’m back to school on Friday. Met several friends last week, went into Town twice, then just local. I’m off out again Thursday. I’m double jabbed and had Covid. I’m having fun before the joys that a new term and few mitigation’s in school occur! May hay whilst the sun shines! We are still allowed to have fun right?

@Neverrains

The issue has been that our government has ended Lockdowns too early, leading to cases rising and the whole cycle starting all over again

At what level of cases should we have ended lockdown?

Zero obvs

Doesn’t matter how long it takes and how many lives are ruined in the process or the scale of the economic destruction it entails.

Long walks in the park, taking up a couple of hobbies, spending loads of time with my very nearest and dearest family, finding time to go running... I feel like I’ve done a lot more ‘living my life’ during the past 18 months than the whole commuting/socialising/etc whirlwind usually permits!

@TwinMamaLlama

Long walks in the park, taking up a couple of hobbies, spending loads of time with my very nearest and dearest family, finding time to go running... I feel like I’ve done a lot more ‘living my life’ during the past 18 months than the whole commuting/socialising/etc whirlwind usually permits!

I'm glad you enjoyed your long walks in the park. Both my local parks walking distance from me (in a city) were overrun with those extra people who I assume would have usually spent the day shopping, going for a coffee with friends, watch the game in the pub, going to the cinema or 10 pin bowling, kids' parties at soft play, going to the parents for Sunday dinner, or even sleeping off a hangover from the nightclub before. My local parks were HELL unless you went at 8am when they were full of dogs, or 9pm when full of dodgy types.

So crowded you were literally unable to walk in a straight line on the paths, dodging people, just having to shuffle walk along. Cars parked all along the perimeter sometimes blocking crossing etc and sometimes even inside the perimeter. The Jan lockdown especially was bad, as people who had gardens didn't even garden or just want to sit in it as too cold/not the right time of year to garden, but still (understandably) wanted to get some nature & fresh air and exercise, and also the rules allowed meeting up with friends outside for walks.

So I'm glad there are now places inside for lots of people in my city to actually go. So I can get the quiet park back! Made me realise how overpopulated my city is, and how many inside places people must usually spend their free time in.