Are you intending to see your family this Christmas come what may, or if there are restrictions will you abide by them ?

maddyone, it won't be forever - we just have to wait it out.

I would expect my insurance company to contact me if for any reason they were suspending coverage of my insurance for any reason.

It is what my travel insurance provider did. It wrote to us and told us when COVID was covered by the insurance and when it was not.

There has been nothing on the personal finance pages of the newspapers.

During the first lockdown the insurance companies described this rumour, that went round then as well as an 'urban myth' www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1267461/car-insurance-uk-invalidate-policy-agreement-coronavirus-lockdown

I've just consulted google. There are several reputable news outlets posting articles that say car insurances may be invalid if drivers use them during lock down for non essential journeys. The articles were all posted within the last 24 hours.

Thank you Hetty for kind words, I’m just having a bad day today. We’ve been flung back into lockdown (from a Tier One area so we had relative freedom) and it’s just affected my mood and made me feel low and teary. Others have it worse , their families live abroad.

I feel the same today maddyone, just going with it for now. Please don’t give yourself a hard time, we’re coping with something unthinkable a year ago, bound to be down times. Sending a hug.

I agree with Ilovechheese - my DDs have lost their Dad this year. In no way would I do anything at all related to them that might result in my death or serious illness - and especially anything that might make them wonder if their actions were to blame.

If I get it from going shopping or whatever, that is down to me. If I get it from contact with them, they might be left feeling it was down to them.

To those who think the pandemic is "effectively over" I would say: it could be TRULY over if people would abide by the rules all the time - Christmas or no Christmas.

Is there anyone who thinks the pandemic is effectively over? I also suspect that even if everybody abides by the rules all the time the pandemic will still be with us for some time. The main purpose of the rules is to spread the load on the hopsitals, not reduce the pandemic.

Viruses find ways of spreading and they mutate - we already have a mutated version with mink as the vector species in Denmark and looking at the effect it is having on the economy and on national debt, there has to be a trade off between the infection and complete economic collapse.

I think

Do not know where the last two words came from. I am thinking deeply about them!

Thank you for kind words cornergran, I’m feeling better this afternoon. I hope you’re feeling okay too. We do have the good news of a virus today, so that gives us hope. For me, I need to see light at the end of a tunnel, the vaccine is a light.

Glad to hear you’re mood has lifted maddy. I think it will be a beacon of hope for many grans here.
We all need something to look forward to as it’s been a hard year.

We will be doing nothing to endanger anyone else so no mixing but may go for a drive in the country for a walk if it's not raining.
That may be breaking rules.

Me too MOnica I’ll be daeing as I’m telt within the guidelines and keeping everyone safe. We’ll meet up soon I’ve no doubt.

There’s my dh back in from hanging the washing out he’s blooming freezing ( what’s he like?) my mans a real gem my ds is still in bed -thought she came to help out only when it suits oh well beggars can’t be choosers as they say. Have a nice day everyone be kind to yourself and others less fortunate.

Our immediate, extended and in law families are luckily in agreement. We won't mix if the R rate remains high. Christmas will be different this year but we will make the best of what we can.

We have to adjust our expectations from time to time. When Covid began, I thought it'd be over by the summer, then the winter. Next, with the prospect of vaccination, I thought maybe by Christmas or the spring.

I watched Andrew Marr this morning, with Ugur Sahin - and he thinks by this time next year we'll have defeated it! Such a long time to live a different life but I'll wait it out.

I have a friend of many years, who, like me, lives alone. She has been isolating through no choice of her own, so I plan to self- isolate for two weeks before Christmas so that her son can bring her to me for Christmas. If allowed, my sister, who lives nearby, will meet us in a restaurant on Christmas Day and spend Boxing Day with us in my home.

My daughter will not come near because she looks after her grandchildren, who are at school. She is scared of passing something on to me. She is quite convinced, from hearing others’ opinions, that, whatever the rules, families will spend Christmas together and cause a spike in January.

No family Christmas dinner for us and we are all in agreement about it. We are hoping that we can have some sort of picnic outside at some point, but that is weather dependent and tier dependent so we will wait and see.