5 day break...

There has just been a Granddad on tv who is in hospital with COVID which he caught recruiting from his grandson. He said if you saw the look on his Grandsons face when he couldn’t get his breath and was taken to hospital you would change your mind re getting together.

I toataly agree with you mama Caz it's a nightmare I have a big family but we definitely will be on video and not mixing.
I will miss them terribly but the alternative is worse.

It’s complete madness! I have a teenager still at school. Day to day this is a big enough worry but he will be expected to return to school in January with all the pupils that have been mixing and visiting relatives over Christmas. If they don’t extend the school holiday then we will keep him off until things settle down.

It's madness! There would have been less upset and bad feeling if Christmas was banned for everyone.

Children aged 10-18 are now the risk-carriers, usually asymptomatic.

A 73 yr old friend in Wales will be hosting in her small cottage for 5 days and nights .....which will be a tight squeeze with people sleeping on sofas and the floor and only 1 bathroom ......her daughter and 12 yr old granddaughter, who are travelling all the way from the Isle of Wight on the ferry and through England and into South Wales to stay in a small cottage. Added to this mix will be her other daughter and grandson travelling from Dorset to Wales, and then her sister from the South of England.

All those different tiers travelling into Wales and mixing in a small cottage with one small bathroom and staying overnight for 5 days.

My friend says she is "allowed" to do this and "needs to" because she lives on her own.

I was speechless. She breaks the rules all the time so perhaps she is the "Wales superspreader".

The sensible thing would be stay in your own home. But 2/3 families mixing will only be a major problem if there are large numbers of different age groups who haven’t been careful.....in my case I have a household of 2 and a single person and a 2 person household will join us ..... 5 people ....all who know how to wash and behave. No children ...no teenagers....age range 23-73.My house is big enough for social distancing.....we won’t all be squashed on a sofa....and can leave a space between us at the table....windows will be opened! However this will not be the case for those households with 5/6 people each....unless you have a mansion how will 15/18 people distance? They are the problem especially when you factor in little superspreaders! Common sense.

Sorry don’t know how I put recruiting in my message !!

We've just cancelled Christmas, its just too risky as DH has a dodgy heart, though not classified as vulnerable.

I honestly think people would of met up anyway and Boris knows this.byes it’s been a tough year for us all and he’s trying to reward us for the majority of us doing the right thing.mimgoing tonbe careful only seeing two sons for limited time host to exchange presents still no hugging and let’s get this over as fast as we can. Let’s be sensible.

Just because the Government says you can, it doesn't mean you have to! We all have the choice. Don't blame the Government if we choose to take the risk. We've, sadly, chosen to stay at home. No visitors - too risky.

Yes, Situpstraight. I so agree.
People are unable to accept responsibility for themselves and if the Government don't ‘ban ‘Christmas, then Boris will get the blame.
People have a choice,but evade the responsibility of making it; so much easier to put the blame on the government, and then talk about infringement of civil liberties.

I think that cautious and sensible people will be careful, and sorry, but I think those who meet up in large groups would do that anyway as they did during lockdown. I fear that we will go into another full lockdown but I hope that this time the police and military will actually monitor people's movements.

"Why does it have to be legalised by the government? Can we not just use our own individual common sense?"

I completely agree. I hate this idea that people are expecting their lives to be dictated entirely by government decree. If you don't want to mingle or think it's unsafe to see people, then stay away. We're going to our cottage in the country so we can at least be in the same postcode as the rest of our family but won't be having riotous Christmas fun. Christmas day will be just the two of us after dropping off presents at one daughter's, then much the same the next day seeing the other one. We've also isolated for several days now so we won't be taking any bugs with us.

We've cancelled Christmas inside. Its one Christmas. We'll meet various family outside for a socially distanced walk as we have through the year.
Family over the road DD coming from highest spreading area of Wales along with DS from new strain south east area. No doubt they'll all nip to local shops and spread it.
Its about time Boris said sorry folks no mixing.

I agree with Fairview.

What is the point of not seeing our family indoors all year to undo everything for one day?

We are currently in a Corona hot spot so will not be seeing our family. Our children have decided not to see each other - we will all be separate.

We hope to meet up outside on a clement day and suitably masked and socially distanced, go for a (hopefully not too long!) country yomp. We will throw presents at each other!

'Crismouse' day itself will be celebrated in June with a Barbie, complete with crackers, Brussels sprouts and Crismouse pudding.

lets be fair most people will be very careful and follow the rules over xmas its the mindless people who could not care less about spreading the covid-19 that are the problem in this country did you see them on thec covid-19 march against the lockdown on television in london yesterday they are a disgrace and they should all have been fined £200 each for not keeping there distance

There are loads of folks who have different understanding of what precautions are. Followed a young man into a supermarket yesterday, he had no mask, didn't stop to sanitise his hands and spotted him giving no thought to social distancing. There will be an awful lot of people meeting up at Christmas who will think they have been given permission to do as they please and will do so. And there are those who think because there is a vaccine we don't need to bother now. It's one day of the year, surely worth staying safe to be able to celebrate next year.

Boris is a populist and so whatever the data Christmas was going ahead. The rules could have been stricter but certain newspapers would have made a song and dance. It's called caving in. I suggest folks google Italian mayors and Covid 19. Its funny but pertinent. One mayor speaks to the camera and says 'I hear students are thinking of having a graduation party... He says, 'if you do we will send the army around with flame throwers!'

I agree with Cambia. Just because you can doesn't mean you have to but it seems perfectly reasonable not to wish to criminalise those who do wish to meet over the festive period.
Best to to stop accusing others of stupidity, selfishness etcetera, do your own risk assessment and take it from there.

The PM doesn't want to go down in history as 'the one that cancelled Christmas'. He is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

There is bound to be a Corona virus rise in hospital admissions in January after the mixing over the festive season, possibly leading to another full lockdown.

Our family has children and teenagers and we can't ask them to keep away from their friends, so we just can't see them - and we are really missing our huggles!

Candelle..made me smile..
mamacaz awful situation for you...

travelsafar

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a real Father Christmas who could deliver all our gifts to each other thus avoiding us having to meet up to do so

There IS such a thing as a postal service, and we can send wrapped gifts to arrive a few days before Christmas, to be opened on Christmas day. Nobody needs to deliver gifts actually in person.

This is a virulent and deadly virus so sitting in the same large dining room with windows open is still a huge risk. A big conservatory isn’t a safe place even with one person from another household. None of us know who is carrying this virus or how careful they have or have not been.
Safest thing to do is stay at home, no visitors at all and wait for the vaccine to be rolled out.
Those who don’t do that are putting everyone else at risk.

No, at this point, with an unpredictable new strain and flu season coming on, with peoples normal non-covid care put on the back burner for months - NO we shouldn't be meeting indoors and we ought to be very careful meeting outside as well.

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LauraNorda
Thank you , thank you , thank you
You are absolutely correct.
We need the Stay at Home message more than ever now.
All of these 'careful', 'sensible' people...
No one could have been more careful than me.