PM Press Conference. Anyone else feeling despair?

Hetty, I am not upset of wearing a mask- in France and other parts of Europe, this has never stopped, thank goodness. You can't get into a shop, bus, train, or anywhere public without wearing one. I am not upset about having to cancel 'social arrangements' for goodness sake, but about not being able to spend Christmas with DDs and grandchildren, after not seeing them for months, and previously, for 1.5 years.

And I am not talking about me, in fact- but about being concerned about the effect all this is having on teenage grand-children. And NO I will not blame them for being upset that the excitment and happiness of going back to school at last, meeting friends at lst, doing sport and getting involved in 'normal activites' - is now coming to an end again. Confusing enough being a teenager, without going through years of this.

I think you should show your concern for your grandchildren Kali because it shows you care about them personally. I know you care about refugees too, but in this instance you are upset for your nearest and dearest which is just as important as fretting about world problems. Totally understandable.

growstuff

Josianne

That's an unfair growstuff if it was meant for me. Is one not allowed to have a down moment without having to think outside one's own box just for one day? No one mentioned not being grateful.

No, it wasn't specifically meant for you, but I don't have much sympathy for anybody with first world problems.

I'm just wondering what First Wirld problems are?

Coping with cancer? Not being able to travel to Australia to visit a dying parent? Losing friends who've died? People not being able to hold the hand of a dying relative because of Covid?
Losing your business, your job and not being able to pay your bills, feed your family?
Do you mean those kind of First World problems?

But equally to top up this bog awful year, I cry for those suffering hardship, war, famine, death. It is all so bloody and I can’t ever remember a time in my life when I have felt that everything is so wrong.

Yes, empathy isn't a limited quality.

Sorry if the cancellation of a choir concert sounded pitiful and whimpering to some. I would just add that our group were giving this concert in aid of the local hospice where several relatives have been so kindly looked after. So the disappointment goes way beyond just one person. We are all human after all.

I wasn't upset by that, Josianne.
It's all relative and we were all hoping getting back to some kind of normality now so it has knocked us back again.

I just thought some of us in the 'First World' have had a pretty tough couple of years too.

So no point booking that flight to Australia then……three years almost to the day since my last visit.

No, Calistemon, it was earlier comments, not yours.
I think everyone is on edge after the weekend just gone, so even small, somewhat seemingly trifling things can trigger a fleeting feeling of despair. Whichever world, and yes we've all been there.

Lucca

So no point booking that flight to Australia then……three years almost to the day since my last visit.

You see, is that a First World problem? but every time I read something like that it makes me tearful.

Kali I’m so sorry about your family, and I hope they’re all recovered very soon. Are you not coming to the UK now because of the ten day quarantine when you return to Switzerland? I’m thinking you’re in Switzerland. You should come and see your children and grandchildren, it’ll do you so much good.

Lucca I do hope you get to Australia to see your family soon. Is there no way you feel able to go to visit your family?

No one should belittle the worries and concerns of others, simply because it’s unkind. And there are plenty of troubles here in the UK. A lady I know has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and is worrying about how that will turn out. My mother’s care home has gone into lockdown because they’ve got three cases of Covid. My mother in law died just over a week ago and we’re travelling north for the funeral on Thursday. Josianne and many others will be upset because there’ll be no nursery or Reception class nativity and therefore no photos of those little people at a milestone in their lives. Many Gransnetters are so very saddened because they haven’t seen their beloved families for years because of Covid. These are real people with real emotions and they should not have their concerns belittled by anyone.

I feel despair everything BJ opens his mouth!

Maddyone “
Lucca I do hope you get to Australia to see your family soon. Is there no way you feel able to go to visit your family? ”

I was planning to book a flight for March as I would have been allowed as the parent of an Aussie citizen which my son now is. However with omicron Currently it is “essential travel only”. So I’m assuming that’s a no !

Lucca, maddyone and others, I can feel your upset too. It will amount to despair in people who had hoped for better outcomes. One of my cousins in NZ has a friend in Australia who has been given April 2022 as his return date home. And that is a NZ national, (admittedly no longer working). There is such a back log with processing and quarantining returning ex-pats, that capacity is reportedly full for months.
Very sad, real people with real emotions.

I too am feeling very low . Covid is still with us and with Christmas looming we are not sure what to do about being with family - will this be another cancelled Christmas. My mood is low at the moment - four nights without electricity after the storm didn't help!! So unlike me to feel this way but I am fighting hard to be more positive. Of course I am well aware of the horror for migrants, the stabbings of so many young people on our streets , global warming, child cruelty etc. All these issues add to my anxiety.

It's understandable Shelflife that all these external bad happenings accumulate and just add to our own sufferings, be they far less on the grand scale of things. Everyone should show compassion for the tiniest of worries which sometimes can tip a person over the edge.

Petera, of course there's valid concern for children living through this. My grandchildren (I've seen very little of, except on Zoom) seem to be coping well overall, though.

I haven't seen my eldest for two years - he's sensibly staying in NZ - but I'm reassured that he's relatively safe there. Still, I'm not sad, just so grateful for vaccination and remaining well so far.

Shelflife be as kind to yourself as you can
Lucca I hadn’t realised that Australia had gone back to essential travel only, I’m sorry about that for you and others here on Gransnet (and those not on Gransnet) who were hoping to finally see their families after all this time. My daughter and family only left for New Zealand in May (they were admitted as essential workers) but it feels so long ago, and I miss them so much that I haven’t got words to explain. She has told us that New Zealand is now working towards opening up, and we were looking at travelling out there in May possibly, but now we don’t know how things will work out or if we’ll be able to go at all.
Hetty

There are no limits to compassion. I feel desperately saddened by the awful situation that ended with 27 people dead in the Channel, and the situation that ended with a little girl killed by other children, but that doesn’t mean I have a lack of compassion for Gransnetters (and others) whose lives have been turned upside down by Covid, or indeed by other circumstances. To be compassionate towards others is a natural human response and should never be rationed.

Excellent sentiments, maddyone

I hope it won't be too long before families kept apart by Covid will be reunited.

Nobody's feelings should be dismissed its often the small stuff that trip us up
Sometimes just the exercise of writing and expressing those feelings can be helpful and to realise you are not alone
Not a lot in life phases me even ruddy Covid but i have good people around me to share any worries with and have learnt the art of not worrying about things or people I can do nothing about It is actually imperative to my wellbeing to keep an even keel

We have no choice but to hang in there. Nonetheless feeling despair and anxiety are all par for the course. We have to shake it off the best we can and try to boost each other’s morale. At present one dd has 1 out of 3 positive lateral tests and is off for a PCR, the other is the only teacher in her primary school who hasn’t had Covid and now her teaching assistant has it. A foreign delivery driver thrust his phone in my face for me to talk to someone as his English is so poor. Now dh keeps worrying about it which makes me worse. I have got my Sudoku’s out, my go to, for calming me in seriously worrying situations of which I’ve had a few.

So try to keep calm. Our parents survived 5years of war. We may feel like we can’t but we can do this. I have survived things I never thought I would. Others have survived things far worse. The human capacity for survival is amazing.

Our parents survived 5years of war

Not all of them did.

Am I in despair about the news of this new variant? No, is the simple answer.
The news from South Africa where it originated is that it could well produce a milder illness than the Delta strain, as the Omicron variant has not caused an increase in deaths there.

Dr.Angelique Coetzee, writing in yesterday’s Mail says that no one in SA has been hospitalised with it, nor has anyone there been seriously ill with it.
I have read though that SA has a mostly young population which of course is relevant, but the message seems to be positive so far.

Obviously it’s early days and our government has stated that it will take two to three weeks before we know for sure, but the early signs are most definitely positive aren’t they?

I remember reading a while back that experience has shown that viruses have a habit of mutating into a much milder form, and this may be what we are seeing here.

True Calistemon. Some didn’t and some won’t survive Covid. All we can do is try to hold the line.

I am just beginning to feel a hint of despair, but I refuse to sink into a pit of misery. We are, unfortunately, going to have to live with this dreaded virus. It is two years since I have been able to visit my only (step) son and fabulous dil in Australia, there was a glimmer of hope I could go early in the new year, but that looks impossible again now with this new variant. My gas engineer was coming yesterday to service my heating system but his son tested positive, so they are isolating now! I don’t know anyone who has not been affected in some way and although I am not a pessimist, I really do fear another lockdown just as soon as Christmas is over, so make the most of it!

It bothers me that the government might not let things go for the purpose of projecting yet more doom and gloom for every single variant that turns up with the 'possibility' we might get another wave. There could be loads of them in the pipeline because that's what viruses do - they mutate continually. Will it never end?

I have read that this new variant is actually very mild compared to the original Covid we had to deal with.

I'm the type of person who believes in dealing with something tangible in front of you rather than worrying about endless possibilities in the future which may or may not materialise.