Westministenders: A Year of Johnson

[RedToothBrush]

So having given the benefit of the doubt...

... whats your reflections?

Good (and yes do have some thoughts on the positive - challenge yourself on this one as its important) and the bad (and yes this is the easy bit but keep it within reason)?

Depressing. I couldn't help but think, listening to BJ just now, that he was missing the word "again". We can't be complacent ... We can't be caught out ....

Hands Face Space ...

Wait for it, in a fortnight or so they will add:

knees, and toes or we all fall down....

why does this Govt seem so determined to infantilise us?

So, R rate rising, lots of local restrictions at 3 hours notice, but it's all back to school and the office folks? Ooof !!!

Did Chris Whitty look uncomfortable when Johnson first cut to him?

The prime minister also announced that rules around face coverings would be extended to make them mandatory in all public indoor settings, "such as museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship" news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-lockdown-easing-postponed-and-masks-to-be-mandatory-in-all-public-indoor-settings-12039792.

Well, apart from pubs

Again, making mask mandatory by law demands a public health campaign on use. Even one of the dimmest students from my peer group has now posted an iconography image showing how to use them on her fb. If she can get there and see it is needed...

Talking to other parents of children with SEN - DS is not alone. But he is in the really fortunate position that he's at a private school and there online provision has been amazing - even down to home still having his 1 to 1 learning support lessons.
But there is a whole raft of kids in state schools that have been offered nothing - and that is a travesty. Chrome books are peanuts - the government could have done a deal and got them for every student in the state sector ( at friend who has done work floor both the gov and google said she thought google would have probably supplied them for free for the data opportunity- not sure how I would have felt about that). Instead we have opened up weather spoons and the poor bloody kids are the ones that will suffer with school not going back properly- extending the social divide , reducing social mobility..... it makes me so bloody angry. What DS school has done is not rocket science.

On the other side of the SEN coin DD has a classmate - who she gets on well with, but not a particular friend. She has a quite bad stutter - lockdown and online learning has apparently meant she has regressed terribly.

With regards to landlords - dear friends have had their rental sold from under them - and they just can't find anything. There are so many people looking .....they keep on missing out - I have lost count of the number of offers they have put in. I have said they will just have to squat until they find something - I think they thought I was joking ......but I am not sure what they can do....

.

Hands Face Space
Arse Elbow Space

We could do a new dance for 2020.

Meeting people in homes is barred
but the mosques are still open

which bit of Hurricane Katrina has the UK government forgotten ...
you have to make sure that everybody gets the message and is able to act on it

Cutting out the local councils
who often have good relationships with the mosques and gudawaras and temples
means that the most vulnerable are not understanding that they need to change their actions too

on the other hand,
have a look at the google maps traffic for the roads towards Bournemouth beach
stupid is as stupid does

Reactions on my Facebook are mainly bafflement, frustration, and anger. Loads of people highlighting contradictory messages and how the rules defy all common sense.

British trafficking victim sues Priti Patel alleging abuse of personal data

Misuse of data again, this time of the most vulnerable people

No wonder the govt wants out of EU data protection, HRA, ECHR

• leaving everything where there are rules to constrain their power or punish their abuses

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/30/british-trafficking-victim-sues-priti-patel-alleging-abuse-of-personal-data

The woman, who cannot be identified and has learning disabilities, is currently living in a safe house, assisted round the clock by support workers due to her complex mental health problems.

She was drugged, abused and trafficked on a number of occasions for the purposes of sexual exploitation and drug trafficking.
She has suffered extensive sexual and physical abuse, and was exploited to undertake criminal activities.
She has been confirmed by the Home Office to be a serial victim of modern-day slaveryy^.

The case she is bringing focuses on the Home Office’s claim that it owns the extensive data collected on victims of trafficking by charities contracted by the department, under the victim care contract.

@mrslaughan
I cannot put into words how disgusted I am at what my two kids (both ASD and Dyslexia/Dyscalculia etc etc) have 'received' in the way of 'education' since March (and will do, Sept-Dec I have no doubt whether schools re open fully partially or not at all. They want to go back as they want some social interaction (very remote here) but they will not learn anything and will then be too exhausted to learn at home. I have mentioned before but I am good friends with an elderly JRM type who used to be fairly high up in Treasury before retirement. He is a staunch defender of all things Tory and THE GOVT / WHITEHALL. Even HE is beginning to have doubts about this crew (and he has previously described IDS as 'misunderstood' and is a fan of Gove, so he has a considerable cognitive leap to traverse)

Still, bish, bosh, face hands space, and bumpsadaisy goes Johnson taking us all down the merry path to hell, frankly.

@BigChocFrenzy
That is truly shocking, in all senses :(

Cutting out the local councils
who often have good relationships with the mosques and gudawaras and temples
means that the most vulnerable are not understanding that they need to change their actions too

The local public health strategy in Bradford has certainly been very proactive as you can see from local media. Ignoring the fact that man has sex with chicken is the most popular headline it has been full of guidance including cases by area and especially on how to celebrate Eid safely, generated by the Council, local NHS and the Muslim community. A campaign of very clear targeted messaging that has clearly been thought out carefully and prepared well in advance eg

www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/18618357.bradford-council-urges-people-stay-safe-celebrating-eid/

Who would you trust most to keep you safe, the officials in your local mosque working with the local Council or your pub landlord? Not to say that local pub landlords in our area have not done a brilliant job but that clearly is not true nationwide

www.facebook.com/ITVCentral/videos/3355217991370826/UzpfSTU4MDEyODE3MjoxMDE1NzkwMjQ5MDg4MzE3Mw/

Clearly for Boris's government the answer is the latter

Let's see if they cancel Christmas on Christmas Eve......

Just got back from ASDA - mask usage about 70%, compared to 100% at Sainsburys last Saturday.

(There's a demographic exercise waiting not to be done ...).

As I was leaving, I saw two kids - maybe 3,4 playing together by the window waiting for their parents to go through the checkout. They were both wearing masks. I managed to make it to the car and then had a good old sob ... it gets to you at the oddest times.

Let's see if they cancel Christmas on Christmas Eve......
This
the cloth eared public school arrogance of the Whitehall team
in not allowing those with expertise and knowledge to make decisions is
disgraceful.

The rules for my gym are the same as for every gym in the country
daft
because every building and club demographic is different
the signs on the pool have made us laugh
"only 6 to a lane" says HMG
pah, we call it crowded at three to a lane
but the club have to obey the idiots, not apply common sense

It does not bode well for the Brexit communication later in the year

It isn't that lockdown hasn't been long anticipated and seems to be broadly welcomed but as with elsewhere it was young people partying in the parks that was the source of concern, not Eid.

Meanwhile, from history ...

and

www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/giant-post-brexit-lorry-park-is-very-different-from-what-we-were-promised/30/07/

fans of cut'n'paste might appreciate this little gem, buried towards the end ...

Richard Lavender, president of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, said that, from a business perspective, it has “got to be” in that location because of the proximity to the motorway and junction 10A.

. He added: “Somewhere we need three or four of these throughout Kent. .

DGR I think the reality of just how the autumn is going to go and how long this is going to carry on for is just hitting or just about to hit a lot of people. Heads are really going to go down and people are just going to have a bloody good cry.

At the height of the crisis you could see the issue but you could also see the point, purpose and progress of what was happening. It gave it a sense of direction and as if this were moving forward.

We are now at the really long slog fatigue stage where there is no end in sight and a lot of people don't know how they are going to carry on. For some people the reaction has been to go 'fuck the rules' and for others it will be a renewed going back into their shells and disconnecting from the world.

Everyone has done all their home 'projects' or completely run out of motivation for another.

There is no longer a collective sense of community. Its everyone for themselves once again. People are bored and fed up and the hot weather isn't helping.

Having a good cry is healthy imo, at this stage.

In terms of masks - yesterday we went out and everyone was wearing at the garden centre - including in the outside area, but it was awful in the heat and we made a sharper exit than we'd planned. I bet that is a factor today and not just about demographics.

Why would "they", whoever "they" are, be cancelling Christmas on Christmas eve? Christmas is family time for me, if I can celebrate with family I will, if I can't I won't, very simple.

DS just called. He's now not starting tomorrow (despite going in for training Wednesday) as casinos aren't opening for another 2 weeks.

It's a perversely glorious day here in the West Midlands (nudging 31C) with blue skies as far as the eye can see. Kinda jars with the way we're all feeling.

Our school hasn't provided any SEN for dd's dyslexia either. I'm trying not to think about her education for a month as my anxiety goes up every time. I find it so hard to know when you have done enough or what level others are at. I had the same at uni and was on the y3 reading list in y1 (which just made for a very boring 2 years going over and over seemingly obvious things tbh) and I think perhaps I am being over ambitious with dd. I keep looking at the SEN provisions at my old school where they have an Oxbridge specialist and thinking how much more thorough that would be and hoops I need to jump through to make it happen. Now considering whether an MA/MSc would be throwing good money after bad...quite liking the look of Medical Ethics & Law but scared it may not be vocational enough. Need to be on around £25k which just seems so impossible around here. Wondering if I should just be applying for London jobs and hope that for the forseeable it would be work from home.

@LouiseCollins28

Why would "they", whoever "they" are, be cancelling Christmas on Christmas eve? Christmas is family time for me, if I can celebrate with family I will, if I can't I won't, very simple.

Last year Christmas was very much a friends occasion for us. Including friends on Christmas Day.

Christmas this year will be pretty depressing regardless because a lot of the usual tv and original content is likely to not have been made. Lots of people won't be able to have a big dinner etc for financial reasons, so the importance of being around family will be even bigger.

I don't think it will be possible though.

I think by Christmas I may have watched everything on Amazon Prime too.

I normally love Christmas shopping and thats already gone out the bloody window cos I'd browse for hours and that sure as hell isn't happening this year.

I need to formulate a Christmas plan.

I have already started my Christmas shopping and planning. I'd normally start in August but given everything it something I need to get ahead of the game on.

Our local gym is closing again on Monday, as the rugby club has been told to shut down. Wonder if something is in the pipeline re gym / pools etc.

www.politico.eu/article/terrorists-and-organized-crime-will-be-the-winners-of-a-no-deal-brexit/

Christmas is also 7 days away from the no deal Brexit Johnson has steered us to.

"Winterval" anyone ?

Louise So you won't have a problem if they announce lockdown by Twitter at 9.30 on Christmas Eve after you have planned your celebration with family according to the current guidelines, taking into account all the local messaging on how to stay safe, bought your Turkey and stuffed it and met Delia's timetable for the Christmas meal prep for the night before. It will not be as if you weren't expecting lockdown would happen at some point because cases have been rising and all the kids have been meeting in the park (lets pretend it is a very balmy December) but all seemed clear to celebrate this important festival according to the current guidelines.... You might find it hard to believe that 9.30 on Christmas Eve was the moment it finally had to happen?

Oh and certainly in Bradford it is happening across the borough, even if you live in one of the villages up on the moors that have not seen a single case... or at least, have not had a single case that tested positive. Plenty of villagers went down with something in March when even the GPs were not taking it seriously if you had a fever, crashing headache, sore throat that feels like razor blades, loss of taste and smell and breathing difficulties. These are affluent villages, lots of the red trouser brigade who went to Italy skiing.

But it is now they lock you down..... You wouldn't be the teeniest bit pissed off?