Westministenders: Brevid

[RedToothBrush]

The government have FINALLY started to treat no deal brexit and covid as one entity in terms of fucking the economy.

On the one hand you have one camp who think they can sneak No Deal through as a consequence of Covid. On the other you have people who realise that it might be quite a good idea not to doubly screw your entire economy and to continue to be able to import medical supplies freely.

We now no that No Deal Brexit will involve passports to get into Kent and 7 mile queues of trucks because this has passed the lips of Gove. Y'know one of those who has been denying this for the past 4 years and presenting it as 'scaremongering'.

We are now firmly into the end game where businesses have to make plans based on the government plans and technology. Y'know the ones that aren't complete yet despite it only being 2 months to go.

Johnson has today done an interview about covid restrictions in the NE in which he got all the detail wrong. Its almost as if he forgot the lines he was instructed to recite and have no fundamental understanding of what rules he's putting into place to control the lives of the population.

As we lurch into October, there is speculation of full local lockdowns being brought in to try and deal with the spiralling number of cases which have to be the result, in no small part, of a dire lack of local testing facilities in the North of England. Meanwhile we've got The App finally. The one that doesn't work and the police and many health care staff are being advised not to use cos its so bobbins and will lead to them constantly isolating needlessly. Thats just something the rest of us have to contend with.

The feeling is that Cummings is up for No Deal. Johnson has been brainwashed into it, which lets face it, isn't too hard given how hard of thinking he is. However there is a growing sense that Johnson may now bottle it and declare victory in the jaws of defeat. That might be a premature hope.

We await the answer and the all important question of whether Christmas is indeed cancelled - that is for everyone who hasn't already cancelled it due to financial hardship...

Clav was this said tongue-in-cheek?

Interesting that Steve Baker’s go-to analogy is a character from Lord of the Rings. I can see it being read from a Little Englander point of view, especially by someone born too late to recall the immediate post war years.
He’s a bit infuriating because apart from being a Brexiter he generally manages to sound sane and normal when speaking on other things (well, as far as I’ve heard him on the radio).

Peregrina - the accommodation thing I get. But I also get that some kids would prefer to have that debt, and maintain independence. A good friends DD is definitely in that situation- being at home I think was starting to affect her mental health negatively.

It's like everything in this pandemic- the approach is how they want it to go, not realistically what is going to happen. Independent sage have been warning of this... this government are incapable of having adult conversations about actions and consequences...... it's all half truths, wishing and hoping.

Snivelling students I am sorry but I do feel very sorry for students who find themselves hundreds of miles from home and confined to a 10 by 7 room with random food being, or not being, delivered to their door. These are 18 year olds and whilst some DCs may be street smart and independent many are not. I was very homesick even in more normal times, hundreds of miles away from the small village I grew up in, and I know there was a huge gap in the levels of maturity and life experience in my DCs peers at university.

This issue goes right back to the commodification of university education over the life of this government and back to the coalition. Those students (and staff) are being exposed to the virus and even confined to tiny rooms in halls because the government is forcing universities to treat them as cash cows.

So a bit of snivelling is entirely justified

This left my husband and I speechless - it's from 2002

www.indy100.com/article/rik-mayall-brexit-believe-nothing-adonis-cnut-9717566

It's not the students as it is the parents. The threads on MN going on about how they all want to rush up and 'rescue' their children ( young adults) and moaning about they didn't know about what it would mean if they got isolated and it's all the unis fault is what I meant. I should have left out snivelling students and just put snivelling parents!

mathanxiety
Clavinova, your vague reply on the Irish Leaving Cert and university application/admission process is what I expected.

You asked me how much I knew and I replied; "I do know a little about the Irish Leaving Cert." If I knew 'a lot' I would have said so.

The process is almost completely automated, anonymous, and impersonal

I did in fact know this - perhaps they should try something more personal next year - your link (advice to students) reveals the following;

"Some 30% of third level students drop out or change course, so something is going wrong with students initial decisions" ... "If you decide to change course and repeat 1st year in college you will pay the full cost for that repeat year - a total of approximately 8,000 euros."

HesterThrale
I was in fact replying to BigChocFrenzy's post about technical issues.

We offered to go and get ds so that he could recuperate following his appendectomy.

He said No.

Worst so far has been a panic call from him when he couldn't get into the child proof containers that the hospital gave him his medication in Fortunately one of his friends who lives in the same courtyard (not student accommodation, but ds helped find his friends a similar 2 person flat to the one he's in) was able to open it - and more importantly show him how to do it himself

🐿 "Art competitions formed part of the Olympic Games during its early years (1912 to 1948). Medals were awarded for works of art inspired by sport, divided into five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. Therefore, we should draw the conclusion that the ToryBrexitannianNationalPlague project is going bigly well!" 🐿

This issue goes right back to the commodification of university education over the life of this government and back to the coalition.

Oh it goes back long before then. It's the commodification of everything that's at the heart of what's wrong with capitalism. (Better be careful here, don't want a ban for being radical). By definition - certainly by example - commodification leads to hoarding of resources. Does Jeff Bezos really need $100,000,000,000 in the bank ?

One of the leaps of civilisation was to commodify things, so that people could trade skills rather than engage in ongoing nicking each others stuff. For the sake of our children, we have to hope that it proves a one-way transition and we don't descend back into nicking stuff from each other at weapon-point and needing to hire bigger protectors than aggressors and restart the Dark Ages all over again.

As my Latin teacher noted, the most remarkable thing about the Roman Empire (which makes the modern EU look like the Isle of Wight) was it's decline and fall. We had to do a whole essay on why that was the most pertinent feature that Gibbon centred on in his masterpiece.

Keeping things Brexit, the Chinese know a thing or two about massive stable empires.

Well given I am currently full time carer and in isolation ahead of another operation a much older and very independent grown up DC following an accident last year then there are always going to be times when even your incredibly independent grown up children need you so I am not going to condemn the snivelling parents either.

And surely the whole point of Mumsnet is to provoke indignation / anger / derision / —support— for the parenting of others.

The support option is meant to be crossed out.....

One of the things that dh and I often talk about in fact it's how we first got talking, on a plane on the way back from Junior Chamber World Congress in Miami is the obsession with "the price of everything and the value of nothing".

It's something that Thatcher seemed to codify during her years in power, with the need for competitive tenders that in the long run cost money rather than saved it as cheapest isn't always best.

We've also been saying for nearly 30 years (God, is that how long I've known dh?) how we seem to regularly copy/introduce the worst of US culture/society/practices without understanding some of their mitigating factors - nor understanding the value of what we're over-writing.

Brexit is just the latest example - but seems to be the one most likely to turn us into Puerto-Rico-on-Thames

DD1 and my foster son are definitely happier being away at Uni. DD1 lives off campus in a shared house and has a part time job in the local museum, which is currently still open. Foster son is on campus - there have been some issues with students partying, but Uni is coming down on that and in general his life there is much better than being stuck here - especially as his mum is currently very needy and dependent with an impending house move which is making her difficult to be around. Far better I be the one to deal with all that (and mum's support worker).

And they're both working and studying the subjects they chose and love.

Clav
"essentially they've only sent a letter!" They have sent a letter of formal notice ("mise en demeure"), which is the first stage in legal proceedings, not a biro on Basildon Bond "Hi Mr Johnson, We think you're a bad egg" affair.

Re online teaching, it may work for some fields, but it is a very poor substitute for FtoF in my classes.
The financial stakes are different in France, due to low student fees and cheapo accommodation: the main concern at my university which fuelled the initial disastrous blended teaching decision was the significant number of students without a computer/wifi connexion. They are now Zooming on campus in dedicated rooms with backup, while everyone else Zooms from home. Stops the campus wifi crashing all the time, too... There are still very underprivileged students attending French universities. Unlike most English students, for whom the price of a laptop/wifi connexion is a drop in the ocean of what they borrow for their studies.

If our students were paying the equivalent of £9k for the poor provision, they'd be rioting.
As it is, they are very understanding of how hard we are struggling to do the best we can in shite circumstances.

I have a child living in University Hall at the moment.
They are also having face to face teaching this coming week.

I am extremely chilled about it, as are they.
If they were here they would be alone in their room all day, because their friends are either at Uni or at work.
Also the collapse in employment over the next three months will be much worse here than there.

The hall is laid out in multiple low rise blocks with no more than 70 students per external door so isolation lockdowns should not be an issue.
So long as my child stays able to go to the gym and walk around the campus, they are better weathering the storm there than here.

AuldAlliance
They have sent a letter of formal notice ("mise en demeure"), which is the first stage in legal proceedings

I am aware of that.

"How common are they?
"Very common — there were 800 pending infringement proceedings on December 1, 2019, up from 692 a year before. The average number of infringement cases per member state was 29."

"Spain, Italy and Germany were the most likely to have drawn Brussels' ire with a respective 57, 49 and 47 pending cases against them."

"With 33 cases against it, the UK was in 10th position."

Ds' block of student flats in his 1st year (all 1st years are guaranteed a place on the halls of residence campus, 20 minutes walk from the Uni) had 30 students (6 flats) per entrance.

[quote Clavinova]Smiffys - we opened a Dutch limited company in 2015 before the referendum: so that we were prepared for both scenarios (leave or remain).

That's good forward planning - nevertheless, their HQ has clearly not left the UK;

20 Aug 2020 - "Lincolnshire fancy dress firm Smiffys secures £20m NatWest boost to support growth plans. The money will help Smiffys expand further into the global market."

www.business-live.co.uk/manufacturing/lincolnshire-fancy-dress-firm-smiffys-18758352[/quote]
No mention of creating jobs in the UK in that story, though.

A company director is quoted as saying
“The funding from NatWest will enable us to continue expanding and developing the business in all markets.

“We have an excellent relationship with the team at NatWest, who have taken the time to understand our needs as a business and can provide the tailored funding support we require to continue moving forward.”

"expanding and developing the business in all markets" could very well involve having more manufacturing facilities in China, where all its manufacturing is undertaken and more distribution centres abroad, like the ones it has in China, Germany, Australia and the US*.

Natwest doesn't care where the company uses the money, just that it gets its interest and that its capital is safe.

*www.manufacturingglobal.com/lean-manufacturing/dressing-story-smiffys
** in the story linked above

mathanxiety interesting insight into life in Washington. Feel for your friends though...

No mention of creating jobs in the UK in that story, though.

Probably not many opportunities to host fancy dress parties at the moment.

This doesn't appear to have happened;
2016 - "Fancy dress specialists Smiffy’s - established in 1894 - are to quit the UK following the country’s decision to leave the European Union in June."
"Their headquarters will be making the move from Gainsborough to Holland, taking one of Lincolnshire’s biggest companies with it."

@Clavinova

No mention of creating jobs in the UK in that story, though.

Probably not many opportunities to host fancy dress parties at the moment.

This doesn't appear to have happened;
2016 - "Fancy dress specialists Smiffy’s - established in 1894 - are to quit the UK following the country’s decision to leave the European Union in June."
"Their headquarters will be making the move from Gainsborough to Holland, taking one of Lincolnshire’s biggest companies with it."

"One of Lincolnshire's biggest companies"

It employs, or did in July this year, 90 people in Gainsborough (200 worldwide).
Source: Financial Times, 20th July 2020

And as I say, I doubt whether any jobs created via the NatWest loan will be in the UK.

I only mentioned Smiffys because it was claimed they had left the UK.

April 2019;
"Currently headquartered in Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, Smiffys has taken on a 15-year lease for an additional 13,000 sq ft of space at the Central Park development in Leeds."

“Despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit, we decided to invest in this new larger facility in Leeds as part of our long-term growth strategy for the UK and European markets,” stated director Dominique Peckett. “The new premises will house the key account management function, along with the creative team, including design, technical, art, marketing and product development, cementing Leeds as the creative hub for Smiffys, globally.”

“Our new facility will support our business growth plans, offering us space to expand and the opportunity to attract the brightest talent Leeds has to offer,” added Sharon Poulter, senior marketing manager. “We intend this to be our home for many years to come. Smiffys offices and showroom in Gainsborough will remain fully operational as will the international facilities in Amsterdam, two offices in China and premises in Australia and US.”

partyworldwide.net/smiffys-expands-into-leeds-with-new-creative-office-space/

I only mentioned Smiffys because it was claimed they had left the UK

and it was the first company listed by Yorkshire Bylines in the link.