Hogmanae

[rookiemere]

This is an ongoing thread for Scottish mumsnetters - or indeed non Scottish mumsnetters such as myself, to comment on ongoing covid matters pertinent to ourselves, in a hopefully not too partisan and friendly fashion.

There are sorts of strange data about life expectancy - I read a depressing crap newspaper article saying the length of time you can balance on one leg was indicative of your life expectancy.

As someone who has terrible balance and kids with terrible balance it made me slightly terrified. I'd better start flossing.

Oh and eat a handful of nuts daily, this buys you an extra 10 years.

The why question is particularly interesting in the context of it being worse than other deprived areas across the UK, because then that suggests there's more to it than the obvious poverty-related issues like lack of good quality food and/or the means to prepare it. I've seen various theories, including that our alcohol and drug problems are much worse than other parts of the UK (around Glasgow anyway), that we get relatively little natural sunlight in the West of Scotland leading to lower Vitamin D levels but also things like NO which are linked with the risk of cardiovascular problems. I've also heard (although I haven't seen solid data) that pollution may be a factor, both from poor air quality (some parts of Glasgow are barely breathable) and industrial/heavy metal waste left over from heavy industry.

Dinnafesh Yip I get exactly what you mean. Although I grew up in a multi, and all my family lived in flats of some description. I never thought about just the shear numbers of people touching stuff, handrails, lift buttons, bin lids or chutes. Some blocks were cleaner than others but I'd bet nobody ever disinfects the handrails

Haggis

Now that I remember I have a hazy memory of watching a programme about diseases that are related to the immune system. Glasgow had a high prevalence of them and once conclusion was it was related to how early the immune system was asked to kick in.

What Dinnafesh said ties into that.

I think it may also be related to the cellular immunity response thingy. Apparently this diminishes with age and ill health so might explain things here.

Youcannot I always assumed Food Banks wanted tinned food because it's easy to store. No need to refrigerate and it keeps.

However you probably do have a point about cooking skills or lack of. Back in the day skills were passed mother to daughter. But many skills were not passed on due to time, mother resorting to quick food due to working full time. Its quicker to bung something in the oven than start from scratch. If its 6pm by the time you've finished work at 5, commuted, collected kids and your just in the door, you've no time to faff for an hour before dinner is served.

Have you ever tried to find 'mince or stew' like you mum makes in a recipe book. You ask an oldie how to make anything it always includes "a wee bit" how much is "a wee bit"
Then theres the art of navigating the butcher. How much do I need for 3 folk? The oldies all know what they are asking for, what to do with it. Butcher food lacks instructions on the packet.

Maybe a dummies guide to low cost cooking is what we need

I think it’s to do with hopelessness as well as poverty and the easy pleasure of a pie or chips, or whatever: a wee bit of comfort when life is bleak

Yes just look at how many of us (who me?) consumer much now alcohol and gained weight during lock down.

Me too.

There’s no judgement from me. First lockdown I kept eating square sausage 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yip alcohol was never part of my weekly shop

I had to restrict myself deliberately post lock down as so many bad habits developed!

@anon444877 I’d really knuckled down to serious exercise and better eating. My exercise regime is now banned 🤷🏻‍♀️

Only one thing for it 🍷

I'm trying really hard to exercise a few times a week and not to eat too much chocolate. I'm still about a stone heavier than at the start of lockdown though.....

I was just thinking today it was time for a pre-Christmas attempt at shifting the last stone here too, but it's cold and cold and dark goes so well with a peat-y whisky.

It's a work night so I must be good...sigh.

Any thoughts on the virus taking annual leave from 23-27? (Sooo much confusion surrounds the 28th, what happens then? Are we arrested if not back in our tiers before bedtime?)
Scenario: everyone meets up, but doesn’t necessarily then test positive within 14 days after. How do you ask people to comply again from that point onwards?
Or is this offer from politicians based on the theory many people will give festive meet ups a miss in favour of waiting for a vaccine🤔 it’s hard to tell?

Personally, I still can’t believe we are being told by politicians how we should ‘behave’🤦‍♀️ And the fact they’re now crowing about having worked together on the decision. We needed a more joined-up UK approach months ago.

Can I go to sleep now and wake up on the 1st January please.
This bubble thing for Christmas is just making me more miserable. As much as the loneliness is killing me I don’t want to bubble up.

If you bubble with two families for meeting indoors etc can you then not meet a friend for a walk or something socially distanced again until after the 27th as you are tied in with your Christmas bubble?

@runningpink

Can I go to sleep now and wake up on the 1st January please. This bubble thing for Christmas is just making me more miserable. As much as the loneliness is killing me I don’t want to bubble up.

If you bubble with two families for meeting indoors etc can you then not meet a friend for a walk or something socially distanced again until after the 27th as you are tied in with your Christmas bubble?

Yep, it sounds like your Christmas bubble is fixed🤷‍♀️ Obviously that can’t be policed, so I guess people will be interpreting that to see a mixture of their family and friends.

Nicola seems to be suggesting it's a limit not a target! Only use if you think it's necessary .

I wish I trade our bubble allowance for something we need more!

I'm just gonna spend Christmas chilling in my pyjamas. Can make up for it next year. My closest family are shielding and my best friend is a carer for a vulnerable relative so she's basically shielding to protect her relative. Bubbles mean absolutely nothing to me!

I hate the word bubble now.
Baubles is being used for the Christmas arrangements, it’ll just ruin baubles as a word too. Urgh.

I'm really hoping people give it a miss. Cba with the lectures in January.
I'll be having Christmas Day just with my own wee family. It'll be the only 'normal' day we've had for ages, as everything is closed normally so the furthest we'd go would be a walk in the park.

Running pink, I'd take it that you can still meet someone for a SD walk even if they aren't in your bubble, just the same as you can meet people outwith the house.

Remember currently you aren't meant to be in someone else's house. Or share food with them. So households who bubble up will be able to share food etc.

I'm a bit confused about the 3 household 'bauble' thing - does this mean all three households become like one big extended household for the 5 days with no need to distance etc.? Or is it like it was in the summer where we could meet inside but we were supposed to stay 2m apart and use separate bathrooms etc. where we could?

This is the latest document showing the reasons for each area being in the level it is at. Interestingly the levels set for hospitals and ICU are low in every case.

www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-allocation-of-levels-to-local-authorities-24-november-2020/#Decision-making%20process

You can compare with the previous week by just going back a level on the website.