Tracks of my tiers

[tinseltitsbumfannythelot]

New thread!

Morning all.

@rookiemere re the alcohol sales, there will be plenty of people absolutely skint after Christmas and don't get paid until the end of the month.

I remember having years like this myself with only a few quid in my account until pay day. We are not in this position anymore but I remember it well. I would think this is common.

Sorry it’s not a credible, official source friend told me, then another messaged separately that she’d just been told it. Given that not even garden centres are classed as essential this time round, thinking why would specialist wine shops be open too? So supermarkets/local convenience shops are only source of alcohol- grabbed at the last minute by young people who don’t generally subscribe to home-delivered wine clubs ahead of meeting outside this year for Hogmanay?

Just filling in the gaps a bit, it fits with the rumours of young people meeting up being stopped too.

Anyway, who knows. We’ve been at this weekly tension point for most of the year- except for the random joint announcements with U.K. gov, especially on a Saturday teatime. So who knows for Tuesday.
Only the virus is forward-planning in a strategic way, apparently🤷‍♀️

@polarisation

The 2m cracker had to be stabbed in the middle to get it to rip. Can't easily anonymise a photo of us pulling it, but here's a photo of half of it on my 93cm 3yo for scale?!

This is fab! Well done. Cracker-based fashion is the way forward.

Hope everyone else had as good a time as possible, and is sitting in the seasonally correct fug of too much food, drink and chocolate. And that you're all feeling thoroughly protected in protection level 4. Have to say I haven't noticed it yet as I wouldn't have left the house yesterday anyway - Twas truly grim weather. Even the cat didn't go out and ended up hurling herself through the first floor bannisters through to the ground floor in frustration. She was fine, but a bit embarrassed for the rest of the day.

I think there will be the next announcement on Tuesday. There was talk of revising the restrictions of the levels, to be announced in the new year (presumably making level 2 and 3 stricter because they haven't really done much?) but I think if they are going to tighten level 4 too it will have to be done before then. And obviously that will mean changing the regulations without even attempting any parliamentary debate, which I do think is skirting on dodgy ground.

I really, really hope they don't remove the exemptions for children and young people. That is one thing that I think the Scottish system has done better than the English one, having regard for relative risk of children/ outdoors vs indoors and so on. But if they close playgrounds again I'll cry. I will if they ban booze sales too... especially given the upcoming school closures. I think we're OK til hogmanay, but I can't vouch for our stocks beyond then.

Ha, I missed the 2m cracker post. Great work @polarisation ripping it open sounds good therapy, tbh😆

I can't see paediatricians being ok with rules for children being charged again to further hamper them - surely the schools not going back is enough to wait and see...

Fingers crossed...

Can’t really see them stopping booze sales. People would just go to England then

@WouldBeGood

Can’t really see them stopping booze sales. People would just go to England then

And the circle is closed

Thanks folks. I was thinking it would possibly be Tuesday if anything. I hate the anticipation of yet more impending doom.

I can't imagine booze sales being stopped. But I wouldn't put it past them, I'm sure they've considered it. I have a good stash anyway to see us through new year.

Sorry I've no posted for a couple of days.
My 2m crackers, one was slightly too short. Neither cracked in the middle despite having perforations.

DH did suggest they'd consider a booze ban, but I can't see it happening. Asda at Carlisle would end up with plenty transits doing a booze cruise.

I don't actually believe they are turning people away at the border, I don't believe SG have the authority to close the border.

Christmas went well, marginally more chilled than hosting dinner. I'm banning video calls next Christmas morning. I hate them and find it really intrusive.

I could see them banning take away alcohol from bars. I encountered large groups drinking outside bars, on my way home from work this week.

That's the only lifeline a lot of bars are left with.

@Perihelion to be fair, this should be banned. I can't see the logic of bars selling ready to drink takeaways which people then congregate and drink outside together.

[quote rookiemere]@Perihelion to be fair, this should be banned. I can't see the logic of bars selling ready to drink takeaways which people then congregate and drink outside together.[/quote]
We bought pints from our local. You have to collect by car, presumably to avoid the congregating outside thing, but it was nice to have a cold pint.

Ah ok collecting by car is different.

A takeaway pint isn't much different from a takeaway coffee.

I really am starting to feel if SG had been a bit more relaxed in summer when numbers were really low people would have more patience now. It doesn't help that so many times we have been told restrictions are for 3 weeks and then extended / renamed m. Peoples patience is rapidly running out.

Agreed @Bikingbear - hard lockdowns only work if there is a discernible difference between being in one and not. Oh and if actions and consequences work. So no point having tiers when places are in close proximity or there is a new variant, or Christmas is coming. I actually think overall lockdown is preferable because there is no false weekly hope about restrictions getting lifted and the churning disappointment when they are not - even when the numbers have gone down.

I know it's very difficult but I think putting some parameters on things would really help. So lockdown now, but go hell for leather to get as many vaccinated as possible in January including teachers. Open schools post Feb half term regardless of numbers - provided Oxford vaccine is approved vaccination program is going on in the background- and muddle along until Easter when surely the numbers vaccinated will make a real dent in hospitalisations and covid listed deaths.

[quote rookiemere]@Perihelion to be fair, this should be banned. I can't see the logic of bars selling ready to drink takeaways which people then congregate and drink outside together.[/quote]
Yes, that's basically the same as serving alcohol in outside seated areas, isn't it, except less under control of the pub? So I'd have thought that would be stopped. In fact, I think it's illegal in some cities (glasgow? St Andrews?) to drink outside anyway. I thought it was the council that set byelaws and the police can fine you. Which would be one way I suppose, as its difficult to distinguish between people who are buying a bottle to take home, and one who's going to neck it right outside. But selling pints in glasses is asking for trouble!

Excellent work on the cracker front bear They look great! Shame they didn't crack though. There's probably some equation about force applied vs length that could keep some engineering or physics students busy for a while.

Excellent crackers @Bikingbear well done!

Yes, this year only briefly looked up between September and about mid October, and it's a shame now that the latest strain seems to be worst - the darkest hour before the dawn let's hope.

We are getting socially distanced walks in with friends before Tuesday in case it changes especially the 5 mile limit from the boundary exclusion. We live in a large local authority but a lot of our friends live in a tiny one with not much outdoor space!
I think they will be waiting and seeing 3-5 days after Christmas will start to see the effects of Christmas together!

I hope they won't go back to the 5 mile limit from march we struggled to getting past the end of our house as we are near a nature walk and everyone from our town decided to do it every day!

Condolences to Derxaand Groovee. It's so difficult at the best of times....

I love the 2m crackers.

I am trying not to dread January when DS will probably be going back to uni in England. (His course is very practical). Like a pp I am mentally preparing for a lockdown until mid Feb then hoping for a slight easing up.

An in- law of mine who lives in a rural area of Scotland is cross that some of the islands (who have had no cases for weeks) are going to be in level 3 instead of level 4 because she considers that her area is equally remote, as it incurs extra delivery fees and has reduced postal options to the same extent as the islands. I think I managed a sufficiently vague response to her outrage.

@rogueantimatter do you think your ds will be going back in Jan? My ds is also doing a practical course and isn't going back til the beginning of February. I'm nervous that it will be pushed back further. I feel sorry for him as he's really getting his teeth stuck into the subject matter. (Now he's returned he's being a little shit mind you!)

[quote SymbollocksInteractionism]@rookiemere re the alcohol sales, there will be plenty of people absolutely skint after Christmas and don't get paid until the end of the month.

I remember having years like this myself with only a few quid in my account until pay day. We are not in this position anymore but I remember it well. I would think this is common.[/quote]
I bet there are loads of people in this position this year. Think of self employed, people in leisure and hospitality or anyone else who has been furloughed for any length of time.