Good news for those living alone.....but

I live alone and have family living nearby, but DD is a school key worker so I am not prepared to take the risk. I am immunosuppressed and over 70 but not shielding. I have chopped my own hair recently, but when it has grown again I might ask DD to trim it back into shape (she trained as a hairdresser). However, I shall ask her to do it in the garden, and there will be no hugging of her or teenage GCs.

DD does a supermarket shop for me once a week and leaves it at the door, when we have a short chat at a distance. I am plucking up the courage to do an Asda shop for myself soon, with a face covering, but am very apprehensive. Local small shops operate a 'one in one out' policy so I currently use small Co-op, butcher and bakery.

I am not a needy person and used to being alone. I can honestly say I haven't been at all depressed or anxious to see anybody.

The virus isn't going anywhere soon!

Hetty I never spotted that trick. Of course, that’s the motivation. And there was me thinking that Boris cared about the old and lonely (except those in care homes).

Those of us who share our lives with a partner are very fortunate. MawB is right, be careful what you wish for mollypussy - I'm lucky, my husband is still alive, unlike close friends and family who were widowed recently, one just two weeks before lock down.
We all need to remember, it isn't all about ME - and this strange time is tough for everybody.
Shielding or not shielding, those of us in our late 60's upwards, are more likely to be very sick and possibly to die, than younger people. that's why most of us are trying to make the best of the positives we have in our lives and missing our loved ones. I yearn to see and hug my daughters and grandchildren. I've seen the children over a garden wall every couple of weeks, and very briefly. I count my blessings, as other grans live too far away to be able to do that
I'm with other posters who say we have to look at the science ,read and listen to the advice and decide what we do to keep ourselves safe. For most of us, that means things won't change much for a good while.

I thought it was exactly what Johnson said at the daily briefing
MamaC it was certainly my understanding at the time I was watching it, and the BBC seems to confirm it.

wendyann you misunderstand me I m completely doing what you do and I also am not holding my breath for one minute about a vaccine BUT my question was really about the governments woolly advice IF I or anyone else alone was going to my new bubble and my grandchild that I m now allowed to hug is at school and my son or daughter is going out to work each day what on earth is safe about that ? I may as well be out and about (which I am Anyway with care and being sensible When I say ‘I‘ I don’t me but a general ‘I’)

Why not just end the lockdown and get on with it

soarklefizz but how many do use their own common sense those that do get screamed at and called idiots most people hang on to the government advice as if it’s the Ten Commandments Whilst not really understanding it

Isn’t it amazing how our mental health is suddenly at the forefront..l after three months of their own company I would think most lone people’s mental health is shot to bits anyway

I say well done to anyone who has a family to go to and feels safe I do but I won’t be going because they are all out at work each day I m NOT afraid to catch this virus at all, but my daughter would be mortified if they gave it to me So I ll just carry on seeing them from 2 meters away for now anyway

Lemongrove Thu 11-Jun-20 08:19:43
Kate54
This is from the BBC news website and seems quite clear:

‘What is a support bubble?
From this Saturday in England, single adults living alone - or single parents with children under 18 - can form a "support bubble" with one other household. The second household can be of any size but the measure does not include anyone who is shielding.
Everyone in a support bubble will be able to act as if they live in the same household and spend time together in each other's homes, and not stay 2m (6ft) apart. They will be able to stay overnight.
The bubble must be exclusive and you cannot switch households. If anyone in the bubble has coronavirus symptoms then everyone in both households will have to self-isolate.’

Now, people have just got to work out how to get there...

Come on fellow GNers, it’s hardly rocket science to follow is it?! ^Any younger members of the forum will think we are a load of confused elders.^?
It’s all about mental health (well being, )not that it’s suddenly safe for an older person or indeed a younger person to bubble with another, it’s a balancing act , the chance of getting the virus against terrible loneliness.It will still be their own choice to do it of course.

The problem is, Lemongrove, that what has been said by the BBC does nor actually match what was said by Boris or Whitty.

It's perfectly possible, of course, that the BBC and other media were given a more detailed official account of the new rule, on which they have based their interpretations, but without knowing that for certain for certain, it is not surprising that people are confused.

Also, I guess many people only hear this type of news in snippets, rather than from detailed/accurate sources, leaving a lot of potential for other misunderstandings.

I agree MawB . And as you say especially unfair to people recently bereaved, when advice would usually be “get out and about, keep yourself busy” and that has been impossible with clubs and meeting places closed down for now.

This is not about fairness, it’s about containing a pandemic and we’re all getting highly frustrated by its constraints.
However it is all about weighing up and managing risks as we move slowly out of lockdown.

Whoa there mollypussy - be careful what you wish for!
There are several, of us on GN who have lost our husbands some within the past few months, some after years of isolating care and who may live far from their grown up children.

So it’s “unfair” if you are still a couple is it?
How much more bearable lockdown would have been with someone to share our lives - instead we had “ nobody to do nothing with”.
As to what your friends or acquaintances do, breaking the law or taking risks, that is entirely their affair.

BlueBelle I think it’s a ploy to pass the blame to us if things go wrong

But the onus is on us to do whatever we personally think is best for ourselves. We have to take personal responsibility.

Mollypussy

No we are furious as we are a couple and live 5 mins from our daughter and grandchildren , friends already breaking rules I know seeing them indoors and even staying overnight and I don’t blame them , as penalised for being a couple , nanny and grandad

You are not ‘penalised’ for being a couple for heavens sake!
You have somebody to live with therefore you are not suffering from being lonely, therefore also you do not need to risk getting Covid and becoming ill.

Kate54

This is from the BBC news website and seems quite clear:

‘What is a support bubble?
From this Saturday in England, single adults living alone - or single parents with children under 18 - can form a "support bubble" with one other household. The second household can be of any size but the measure does not include anyone who is shielding.
Everyone in a support bubble will be able to act as if they live in the same household and spend time together in each other's homes, and not stay 2m (6ft) apart. They will be able to stay overnight.
The bubble must be exclusive and you cannot switch households. If anyone in the bubble has coronavirus symptoms then everyone in both households will have to self-isolate.’

Now, people have just got to work out how to get there...

Come on fellow GNers, it’s hardly rocket science to follow is it?! Any younger members of the forum will think we are a load of confused elders.?
It’s all about mental health (well being, )not that it’s suddenly safe for an older person or indeed a younger person to bubble with another, it’s a balancing act , the chance of getting the virus against terrible loneliness.It will still be their own choice to do it of course.

No we are furious as we are a couple and live 5 mins from our daughter and grandchildren , friends already breaking rules I know seeing them indoors and even staying overnight and I don’t blame them , as penalised for being a couple , nanny and grandad

That cynical voice you heard, Missadventure? I’m sure I read/heard somewhere that 700 elderly people in London have died at home, alone, from the disease, either scared to go out or not getting the help they needed for other reasons. Many were not discovered for some time. That’s the tragic truth behind the word ‘loneliness’.

Ok here’s a hypothetical scene, a granny goes to visit her son daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, they are her new bubble, lovely, the Son is a key worker, the daughter-in-law does the shopping, and one child is at school where is the safety in that..?

Bluebell, I agree , it doesn’t sound that safe to me either. That’s why we have to decide if we want to take the risk. Nobody is being forced to do so.

Can I just say that if so many of us (presumably intelligent people ) are confused a) it has not been clearly explained and b) there will be many many people getting it wrong

I was wondering about that.

Hetty 58 - there is no guarantee a vaccine will ever be found, there is none for AIDs, SARS or Ebola. I really hope one is found and they are certainly trying. That is the only way life will ever return to “normal”

Our grandchildren come into the garden and use the toilet and use and play in our conservatory if raining but don’t go through the main house .. what can we do but help our obe daughter with 3 girls under 6 , we cant have a bubble as I have a hubby and so does she .. so bloody unfair , I know friends who are baby sitting all day their grandchildren and staying overnight as they have no choices but to help

I’m not happy as my hubby and I cannot help our only daughter ( she has a husband) with her three girls and see then in side , only in the garden .. that’s our bubble my hubby m my daughter ,her hubby and our only grandchildren , it’s not fair , I need to live on my own then we could ! Utter madness and unfair

I’ve just listened to Chris Witty again on iPlayer and at 57.50 mins in he clearly states that 2 households with a single adult each can get together - that doesn’t seem to fit with what everyone else is saying i.e. the second household can have any number of people. That’s why we were confused but obvs he must have worded it wrongly!

maddyone if your family of 4 garden visit are they allowed inside your house to use the toilet?
Otherwise visit is limited timewise, especially if you’re enjoying a few drinks outside. Some people/children need to visit the loo quite frequently.

I'd rather remain 'almost solitary' until a vaccine is available. I have the peace of mind I need, knowing that I've done everything I can to avoid catching and transmitting the virus. I really do miss my family - but I can wait.

Blue belle yes I am sure I can go and stay overnight with a family of 4. I live alone, under 70, not in shielded group and working from home since before lockdown. I have been following the guidelines and so has my son. I think we have to accept that we have to learn to live with this virus as I don’t think a vaccine is imminent. There is an element of risk in everything, a friend of mine died in January just crossing the road. I don’t want to live an almost solitary life until a vaccine is found - if ever.

Ginny it just isnt as easy as you you seem to think

Ok here’s a hypothetical scene, a granny goes to visit her son daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, they are her new bubble, lovely, the Son is a key worker, the daughter-in-law does the shopping, and one child is at school where is the safety in that..???

Surely granny may as well just go out and about

I didn’t read that the new bubble must all be stay at homers

I think it’s a ploy to pass the blame to us if things go wrong