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Original poster

October lockdown?

999 replies

Goingdooolally · 04/10/2020 13:24

Hi
I can’t see another thread on this and I think it’s more Scotland than general CV related.

Any thoughts on this? I’m a teacher and there’s been no word at work but I’m hoping to go away for a week in half term (west coast) and really really hoping lockdown doesn’t happen! Selfish I know, but we need a break!

Anyone got any views on the likelihood?

OP posts:
BrazenlyDefying · 08/10/2020 19:35

On the libraries - my mum really misses her 3 books weekly.

She can no sooner click and collect than fly to the moon. She doesn't have a smartphone or a laptop to click on, for a start. She wants to be able to go into the library, and browse.

Justmuddlingalong · 08/10/2020 19:40

@BrazenlyDefying could your mum maybe pick up some books at a charity shop? I know it's not the same but maybe better than nothing. Our local one's selling 3 paperbacks for £1

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 19:48

And what about pubs that serve food? Why can't they open and sell food and soft drinks?

It's this arbritary shite that is doing peoples heads in.

And dentists? DH has a tooth that a bit of filling/tooth has broken off, he is getting on and off infections, they can only offer to remove it however that would then effect the plate he's just had made for ££££.

DS has really bad tinnitus, he has a click in his jaw and thinks his tooth has moved. Dr said he needed a hearing test which he was better going to get elsewhere, which he did. He needs to see the ENT but not happening, Hearing tester said he should have been referred anyway and not have to wait for the hearing test.

My SIL had similar before covid and had to go for an MRI pretty quickly. Not now though.

Scotslassie1 · 08/10/2020 19:49

Brazenly if they want to stay open ( central belt) they just need to suspend their alcohol license. Quite straight forward.

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 19:50

I have boxes of books looking for a home, a lot from my mum so suitable for a mature lady :) If you are anywhere in the Stirling area, let me know @BrazenlyDefying

WaxOnFeckOff · 08/10/2020 19:53

@Scotslassie1

Brazenly if they want to stay open ( central belt) they just need to suspend their alcohol license. Quite straight forward.
Why the fuck should they have to though?

Okay, let's not let fok get rat arsed (in case they go nuts and hug someone?) but why can't folk have a glass of wine or a pint with a meal? Or even just go into the pub that does lovely meals and don't have alcohol? Clearly it's now the fault of alcohol. Just as well folk weren't drinking in their homes and having folk round.

readsalotgirl63 · 08/10/2020 20:05

@brazenlydefying - does your mum's library service do any service to housebound people - many library services do. ?

readsalotgirl63 · 08/10/2020 20:10

Also do check - in my area some libraries are open but lots of people don't realise they are - especially those who are not on social media/ internet

AgentCooper · 08/10/2020 20:24

My local library is only open for click and collect. I miss it. It’s rarely quiet in there - OAP song time twice a week and wee ones’ song time four times a week. DS (who is 3) keeps shouting the library is OPEN every time we go past, like a tiny Ru Paul, but he’s wrong.

However, the library near my parents is open a few days a week and they take him there when they are looking after him while I work. Different local authority.

Rae36 · 08/10/2020 20:31

We've just had my parents round for their dinner. Did our best to get the patio looking nice, put out a blanket for each chair, fire bowl full and roaring, make the best of it and all that. Started at 5pm while there was still some sunlight. By 5.15pm my poor old mum was wearing 4 layers and a big coat, hat, scarf, gloves, wrapped in a blanket, still looking freezing. We ended up letting her sit indoors by the open door while we all stayed outside. Bloody miserable. And it's only October. We are trying so hard but it's going to be a long long winter.

BrazenlyDefying · 08/10/2020 20:53

[quote readsalotgirl63]@brazenlydefying - does your mum's library service do any service to housebound people - many library services do. ?[/quote]
Quite possibly. But even though she's 76, she;s most definitely not an elderly person. Hmm

She's' keeping the charity shops going and swapping with friends. I think she just wants things to go back to the way they were though - don't we all.

Arkadia · 08/10/2020 21:03

@iskwobel, that is what I knew and was told.
If you need drilling (and who doesn't at the dentist's?), tough luck - unless you go private, in which case it is fine.
For something urgent you can go to the hospital where you can get your tooth pulled out.
Pretty normal, huh?

readsalotgirl63 · 08/10/2020 21:22

Didn't mean to suggest MumofBrazen was incapable - sorry. I do know exactly what you mean. I know for fact that altho in my area some libraries are open it's been really hard to get that message out especially to people who aren't digitally connected - and this is a very real concern.

The challenge is not just the quarantining but being able to ensure space for staff to work while distancing and providing staff areas for breaks etc where they can distance also. Lots of libraries in old buildings just don't have the space - thinking of several poky little staff rooms I've been in Hmm

Do hope your mum gets back to her local library soon. The widening gap between those who are digitally connected and those who are not, and who haven't the wherewithall to adapt or cope is a very real concern.

readsalotgirl63 · 08/10/2020 21:23

apologies see I've been repetitive - must learn to use the preview Blush

BrazenlyDefying · 09/10/2020 07:44

The digital divide is worrying . With my mum it's most definitely that she' won'r rather than she can't. We have offered so many times to get her a phone or a tablet and guide her through it. It's all "Oh no, that;s not for me, nothing wrong with the olds ways". She's quite sneery about the internet in general and people "being on their phones all the time". Nothing wrong with a landline. Hmm This isn't a new thing. She refused for years to have a cash card and used to insist on going
into the bank to get cash out over the counter.

And then a pandemic come along, and she can't/won't get shopping delivered, can't facetime her grandchildren, can't interact with her GP because they want to do video appointments.

And she IS an elderly person - I know that, everyone else knows that, but she won't accept it.

Iggi999 · 09/10/2020 07:45

You can try and go to church. That's like entering a war zone
What does this mean? I've a relative who is a minister. After doing online stuff they can open again, distancing and masks, limited to 50. (Which to be fair they never came close to anyway). Nothing war-like about a Scottish Presbyterian service!

Rae36 · 09/10/2020 09:14

Nothing war-like about a Scottish Presbyterian service

We've got over 100 regular attenders and can only fit in 19 people. So we haven't opened at all, due to the hassle of deciding who can go on what day, who wants to go the same day as their friends (even though they can't sit together) or the person who usually gives them a lift (even though we can't car share) etc etc.

My favourite rule here though is that no-one can sit upstairs in case they sneeze and their sneeze droplets fall on someone below them. Even though they could sit a few rows back from the front and their sneeze would presumably just drop on the floor and not fly 4m in front of them and then leap off the balcony railing. (Unlike the time my kid dropped a hymn book off the balcony and nearly knocked someone out, that is much more dangerous imo)

(Sorry, I think I'm going slightly mad today)

waitforitwaitforit · 09/10/2020 09:31

The Catholic Churches near us have been opening up. I think the more reluctant attenders Wink have been deciding to prioritise their own safety, so while the church hall is available for overspill, they've not needed to use it.

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 09/10/2020 09:47

What does this mean? I've a relative who is a minister. After doing online stuff they can open again, distancing and masks, limited to 50. (Which to be fair they never came close to anyway). Nothing war-like about a Scottish Presbyterian service!

My mum's church is running 4 services a week. You have to "book" online, first come, first served so to speak. There have been loads of issues and people are apparently moaning all over the place. It is a big congregation though. Mum goes but says it's really depressing.

I miss our library. It was tiny but did Book Bugs, lego groups and the librarian is wonderful. Concerned it won't ever reopen.

As for the NHS, I'm currently unimpressed. My psychiatrist appointments are via the phone. Can't have a time slot, just a day. That coupled with the fact I have to do the school run and the fact that our village has limited to non existent mobile reception means that despite almost getting sectioned in May, we haven't spoken since early July. I have asked multiple times for him to call the landline but no... (due to massive stone walls and a cliff there is no mobile reception in the house unless you're holding the phone up in a certain part of the attic). I'm supposed to be referred for more trauma therapy but as they don't think online is suitable, they have no idea when that will actually take place.

Ds got discharged from the eye clinic with a curt letter telling us to take him to the optician...which is how he got referred in the first place.

Dh has issues from a hernia op. He's going private.

Dd is due a 27 month review. No word from the hv. I'm not blaming that on the pandemic though as she never got an 8 month one and her 13 to 15 month took place at 19 months after much chasing.

No word on preschool flu jabs.

I know no one who has died of covid or who has suffered with long term ill effects. I know at three people who are dead/dying due to cancer treatment being paused/not diagnosed fast enough despite them contacting the GP. I know multiple people whose qualify of life has been massively negatively affected, physio paused/online, surgeries repeatedly cancelled, attempting DIY dental care and children whose speech is going backwards without proper therapeutic input.

There should be a balance, as far as I can see there isn't at the moment and hasn't been since the pandemic arrived.

Arkadia · 09/10/2020 09:51

My Catholic church has reopened. It is rather large, so it can accommodate easily 50 people.
You need to book in advance, at the door you are greeted by a stewart armed with hand sanitizer which he dispenses freely, then you are greeted by stewart no. 2 who is going to escort you to your seat. 2/3 of the pees are cordoned off and wherever you look there are arrows highlighting the direction of the one way system.
Not to mention the rule book at the door (they even put Luther to shame).
The best bit is the priest actively discouraging people from attending because the congregation is too big, so he wants people to take turns (increasing the number of masses clearly is not on the cards).
A coupe of weeks back there was a very interesting podcast by the Spectator where they analyzed how the churches (CoE and Catholic, but I am sure it applies to other denominations too) reveled in the regulations imposed in this new "safe" world and in so doing they failed to meet the challenges put forward by the pandemic becoming pretty much (even more) irrelevant.
Here is the link.

WaxOnFeckOff · 09/10/2020 10:15

So, apparently only one virus has ever been completely eliminated world wide by vaccine and that's small pox. It was eliminated as it has a very visible rash which develops quickly and the gap between being infected and contagious and showing the signs is really small. It took decades. Other diseases have been less successful as people are infectious before they have any signs.

Now, i know we live in different times so that communication and tracking can help, but we also live in a world with anti vaccers.

It's also very difficult to create a 100% effective vaccine.

I really don't know where I am going with that info, but just feeling today that I am in my 50s, I maybe have 20-30 years left? I don't want to live them like this.
.

RaraRachael · 09/10/2020 10:29

I agree WasOnFeckOff I'm a similar age to you and have got to the stage when I've got plenty of money to spend on me for a change after spending it all on the kids. There's absolutely nothing to look forward to - I can't go on holidays, I hate internet shopping with a passion as 90% of the stuff goes back. I could go on and on. I just feel like my life is on hold and there's no end in sight.
I know people have died of this but this is how I feel about my situation.

ScaramoucheFandango · 09/10/2020 10:35

WaxOn I really think this will fade into a background virus that like flu can have awful consequences for a minority but with a vaccination programme to mitigate.

Next summer we will be back to a fairly normal situation.

Tomorrowisanewday · 09/10/2020 10:38

WaxOnFeckOff, RaraRachael - that's exactly what I've been saying to people for the last few weeks. I've had a couple of people comment that I'm wishing my life away, but I'm not living just now, I'm just existing. I've (mostly) had a great life, and traveled the world - but there's still so much I want to see (including in this country)