Tiery Weary & Crackers!

[Bikingbear]

As a carry on from the last thread

Oh @Puddington I get you so sorry.

BIL's flight was cancelled today too, they're pulling everything just about

@GoldenOmber

ParentClub is the website equivalent of your sister who doesn’t have any children but has watched Supernanny a few times and doesn’t understand why parents are making it all sound so complicated.

This.

For @Puddington that’s awful. Any other way of getting to each other- hire car? If stopped you have a valid reason, you are moving to X place. Single households being stopped because flight destinations now being controlled by government. 🤦‍♀️

@Bytheloch I did consider that in a moment of madness but it would be about 5 hours of driving for him (and then 5 hours back a few days later) plus a ferry trip (I don't know if they have even been cancelled too?) as I'm living in NI currently. The funny thing is I sort of doubt people on the roads WILL be stopped in great numbers but because that's not really a travel option for us we're just tossed to the side.

I'm not going to do anything silly but I feel like I am absolutely drowning under the weight of the sadness and loneliness, they've always said there are provisions for support bubbles or for helping people who are really lonely but there's nothing for us because we live an hour apart by plane. It's just all cancelled in one fell swoop.

Thank you for the kind words and @Coquohvan too

And the terrifying fine even should the police enforce it is £30 if paid promptly.

@Puddington that’s awful.

I think it would be worth the trip if you/he can do it

Puddington. That is so so unfair. Could either of you work from home? Therefore extending your stay.
I'd be so tempted to even look at driving to Liverpool or somewhere for a flight.

Is anyone starting to think that this might be more serious than they're letting on? (Or in fact that this might be as serious as they've been pretending every other outbreak was..?)

I really don't know. If the Bold Boris was closing the English schools I'd say yes. But at the moment it think is Boris going to Tenerife Nic going to Elevenrife!

I am wondering because the school closure seems strange even if you think kids can spread it, but given all the other hysteria it's hard to say. We're in a boy that cried wolf situation aren't we?

We've had 3 positive cases last week at our school. 2 classes further up both self isolating.

Interestingly we're outside most days at nursery and our attendance has been about 99.9% but last week with classes SI, parents were keeping all siblings home.

I really don't want to do online learning. The iPad I have from school is crap. The ipads promised for permanent staff were due in October, still haven't arrived.

It was rife at my nieces school. So much so they closed on Dec 11th. There were over 200 in her year alone self isolating. Closing the schools longer definitely makes sense

We're wondering the same - typical one step further, something they're not telling us, or just lack of knowledge re new strain plus regretting not going full Jacinda the first time round?

There appears to be no evidence at all that the new strain is more deadly

@icanboogieboogiewoogie

Is anyone starting to think that this might be more serious than they're letting on? (Or in fact that this might be as serious as they've been pretending every other outbreak was..?)

@icanboogieboogiewoogie

I'm beginning to think the same. I don't usually allow myself to think so negatively but I was thinking this is it. This is the virus that is going to wipe out humans. We've always known it was a possibility.

@icanboogieboogiewoogie

Is anyone starting to think that this might be more serious than they're letting on? (Or in fact that this might be as serious as they've been pretending every other outbreak was..?)

I actually said to DH today I’m starting to feel a bit paranoid about what we’re not being told. But I think that’s how we’re meant to feel, right? So I think I’m still sane enough to work that out. I have to keep reminding myself that the fear of future litigation cases over any of this is worse for any government (e.g. care homes deaths) than taking a hit over announcing Christmas is cancelled. So they have to overeach to ensure compliance?

I’m relying heavily on these threads to keep me smiling and thinking normally.
Otherwise, aliens landed a few months ago and we’re all doomed, the great reset has begun etc, etc. If I start sprouting any of that, there’s plenty of FB groups I can join...

If it was that serious wtf are they allowing some schools to open this week? I just can't fathom that. I know closing at short notice is a pain but why allow extra mixing pre Christmas if it's that dangerous.

Also if he percentage of swear words v normal words coming out my mouth has risen exponentially over the past 20 odd hours.

Cases are currently low in Scotland. People have and will travel from higher areas and mix with others. There's been daily flights from Heathrow to the Highlands for example. All the governments know this has been happening. They should have brought in quarantine for those travelling in right at the start. Sydney has 17 cases and it's seen as an outbreak.

@LizzieMacQueen Ok, that's me not sleeping tonight now.

I don't think there's any secret information they're not telling us, I think it's basically what she said: new variant, seems to be not any more dangerous or any more resistant to the vaccine, but does seem to be more transmissible, therefore shut down everything now and hammer cases right down to get on top of it before we end up with London-level rates. What she said in the press conference about wishing she'd acted faster in February and March sounded about right.

But it's just shit. And hearing about it all so last minute, and having it drag on for so long. And feeling like we're going back in time, not just in the 'oh no lots of covid' sense, but it feels like we've backtracked on everything they said about putting children first, keeping schools open, making sure people got clear messages. One unexpected piece of news about a new strain and that's all out of the window, fuck the levels, fuck all the blended learning they told schools to spend all that time preparing for, and we're finding out nurseries and OOSC are closing through Twitter on a Sunday morning.

If this really is the only only way to keep the virus under control, especially now we've got vaccines coming round the corner, then all right I suppose. Better two weeks now than six weeks later on. But surely SURELY if they're going to take a step this drastic, they could at least acknowledge what it is they're saying?

At least say: 'we think this warrants closing the schools, closing all the childcare, and putting parents in a hideously impossible situation, and let's be honest that's going to impact mothers most and set back women's prospects in the workplace, as well as damaging children's education and mental health. We appreciate this is awful, here is how we are going to limit that damage.' But nope, it's all pretending it'll be 'online learning' for everybody and forgetting to even mention childcare and nothing for parents except 'I appreciate this will be difficult.' No it will be fucking IMPOSSIBLE.

Still, never mind, eh. I'm sure ParentClub will be updated soon to rescue us with some top tips about knitting hats for parsnips.

@GoldenOmber I think you're right in your assessment there but I don't see how it can just be for two weeks. Presumably this new strain will still be a threat no matter how low we get the cases by the 18th of Jan, then what...

Well they're planning to really ramp up the vaccinating if the Oxford vaccine comes through, so hopefully even if nothing else changes that in itself will be enough to reduce the R number, and reduce the impact on the NHS because they're vaccinating the most vulnerable first.

But who even knows any more. I am fully resigning myself at this point to being in Level Forty-Seven come 2021, where we're not allowed to make eye contact or speak to anyone in our household, can only leave home if more than 72% of it is on fire and must all carry out three jobs while balancing a toddler on our heads.

It is slightly freaking me out that so many European countries are banning UK flights.