The Covid-19 community thread

by **RDW** Thu Mar 19, 2020 5:37 am

First topic message reminder :

With not much sport going on I want to create a thread for anything to do with the global pandemic.

Feel free to use it however you want.

If you need to release stress or anxiety about what's going on to a bunch of strangers who don't know you then go ahead.

If you're self isolating and want some benign chat then crack on.

If you're struggling and looking for anyone to help with anything then reach out here and see if anyone can help out.

This may not be used or it may kick off and help someone out - either way please be nice. We're literally all in it together!

by tigertattie Wed May 20, 2020 10:24 am

Pal Joey wrote:Yes, I'm doing that too. Nothing much to report. 4 cases all recovered.

Went and got a hair cut today. Had a good long chat with my Korean friend. She was complaining that they are too causal over there (I did hear about a mini outbreak in some locale in Seoul last week) but I said I thought they were pretty much on top of things.

Nevertheless, she still seemed quite furious about the way it's being handled over there and agreed with me that Australia has been open and transparent about the whole thing... not to mention very lucky indeed. Gave her a $5 tip because she put that little extra effort into the micro-cutting of hairs behind the ears.

It's the hair inside the ears that become a problem as you get older Joey!

Sad times!

by tigertattie Thu May 28, 2020 11:05 am

And so we're easing off up here fomr tomorrow.

Hopefully folk dont take the utter urine and take things too far.

I've not been fishing for Makrel for years but as my salmon river is 60 miles away and I think it wouldnt be in spirit of things to go travelling that far, I'm not going to Barnard Castle afterall, then I may need to dust off the seacaster and walk down to the local harbour.

I'll most likely catch bugger all, but then if I went salmon fishing, I'd most likely catch bugger all there too!

by **Pal Joey** Thu May 28, 2020 7:42 pm

tigertattie wrote:And so we're easing off up here fomr tomorrow.

Hopefully folk dont take the utter urine and take things too far.

I've not been fishing for Makrel for years but as my salmon river is 60 miles away and I think it wouldnt be in spirit of things to go travelling that far, I'm not going to Barnard Castle afterall, then I may need to dust off the seacaster and walk down to the local harbour.

I'll most likely catch bugger all, but then if I went salmon fishing, I'd most likely catch bugger all there too!

As long as you keep wearing your "I heart

Sturgeon" T-shirt, tattie, you should be fine. Both people and fish should give you plenty of space.

by Samo Fri May 29, 2020 3:26 am

They were able to send out letters to every house in Britain detailing what lockdown would look like, so I’d like to think they would have thought to send letters out detailing what restrictions are being lifted. But no.

I’ve got a bad feeling people are going to think thats lockdown done with completely and think we’re back to normal and its just going to get worse.

by WELL-PAST-IT Fri May 29, 2020 3:34 am

With regard to care homes and the failure to even try and stop the spread of Covid-19, the Guardian reports that health officials proposed what it describes as "a radical lockdown of care homes" to curb coronavirus deaths. The strategy, it says, was submitted last month by Public Health England.

But the Guardian says it was rejected by the government. The Department of Health responded by saying it's working tirelessly with the care sector to reduce transmission and save lives - and all decisions are based on the latest scientific and clinical advice.

How many people could have been saved if they had listen to that piece of advice from their full time health specialists?

by tigertattie Fri May 29, 2020 5:32 am

Pal Joey wrote:
tigertattie wrote:And so we're easing off up here fomr tomorrow.

Hopefully folk dont take the utter urine and take things too far.

I've not been fishing for Makrel for years but as my salmon river is 60 miles away and I think it wouldnt be in spirit of things to go travelling that far, I'm not going to Barnard Castle afterall, then I may need to dust off the seacaster and walk down to the local harbour.

I'll most likely catch bugger all, but then if I went salmon fishing, I'd most likely catch bugger all there too!

As long as you keep wearing your "I Sturgeon" T-shirt, tattie, you should be fine. Both people and fish should give you plenty of space.

Noooooooo, I'd never wear such a thing!

I did want to buy a London Scottish rugby club tshir where the sponsor logo is "Thank You NHS" but stipud Macron (the manufacturer not the French Prez) dont think anyone taller than 6ft exists in the UK.

by jimbopip Fri May 29, 2020 5:49 am

Tigertattie, I love the fact that you spell "stupid" as "stipud ".

Carry on Baldrick.

by **Pal Joey** Fri May 29, 2020 5:53 am

I knew I'd bedazzle his speeeling.

by tigertattie Fri May 29, 2020 6:34 am

jimbopip wrote:Tigertattie, I love the fact that you spell "stupid" as "stipud ".
Carry on Baldrick.

its an anagram of Turnip and Spud! Two of Baldrick's favourite ingredients!

by lostinwales Fri May 29, 2020 9:26 am

'cluster bourach'

by **RDW** Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:15 pm

Anyone else just completely disillusioned by the state of the world right now? It's just such a sh!t show!

Anyone got any good stories to show the word still has some positivity left??

by tigertattie Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:47 pm

Here you go flounder

https://youtu.be/VwaMQSqeAMA

It’s about a dog though. If humans could show as much care as this doggie though, the world would be a far better place

by **LondonTiger** Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:58 am

Apropos of nothing, I have lost 35lbs in weight since the lockdown started in UK and next week will complete the Couch to 5 K program (though my running is not fast enough to do 5K in the time).

Small wins, but so long as the easing of restrictions does not kill me I shall be re-entering the world in a healthier place.

by **BigGee** Mon Jun 08, 2020 10:21 am

Well done LT

I do hope a lot of people take this opportunity that has been put upon them, to make some lifestyle changes for the better.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:36 am

I’ve not been to the gym in months, drink heavily every day and post political points on Facebook.

Some of us have gone backwards in lockdown

by **RDW** Mon Jun 08, 2020 6:18 pm

Well done LT. Mrs RDW has taken up the piano and I have started playing again - I've never practiced so much in my life! If only I practiced this much when I was a teenager I would be half decent.

I am wary of people feeling like they are being forced to make something of themselves in this lockdown period - it's hard enough for some people to get through this kind of stress and anxiety never mind people continually going on about them to take up the recorder or quilting. It's a balance of course as these kind of activities can also really help people and give them some variety to their day.

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:12 am

No-one should ever take up the recorder. Foul instrument.

by **RDW** Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:19 am

I dunno - in the grand scheme of 'annoying instruments to hear someone badly play' it's quite low down IMO. It doesn't take much skill at all to make the noise the instrument is intended to make. Compare that to a string instrument or any brass!

I think everyone just has flashbacks to childhood school music classes playing 3 blind mice on a recorder (I bet you're all hearing that in your head now)

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:56 am

My eldest is in a Youth Symphony Orchestra (though they have not played since a concert at the Royal Albert Hall at the start of March) as a First Oboe. Boy my ears suffered as she learnt that instrument - but at least it gets better. For me the recorder always sounds bad - though yes it is simple.

by **RDW** Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:33 am

Talented daughter! Oboe is a difficult instrument. How many times have you heard Gabriele's oboe?

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:46 am

RDW wrote:Talented daughter! Oboe is a difficult instrument. How many times have you heard Gabriele's oboe?

More often than I can count, but not in the last few years. Several times she had to play it at her school concerts etc (she was always busy being in the choir, chamber choir, jazz club (sax), Woodwind Band and School Orchestra).

by **RDW** Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:50 am

Does she get that from you??

How are the kids managing everything just now, particularly the disruption around school?

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:44 am

RDW wrote:Does she get that from you??

How are the kids managing everything just now, particularly the disruption around school?

I love music, but have never been musical - so not from me.

My two are 17 & 18. Oldest should be sitting an A Level right now, but instead is researching the US Constitution in preparation for a Politics and International Relations Degree. She is stressed about what will happen come the autumn, wants to be sitting her exams so no-one can denigrate the grades she will get, and is depressed that her trip round Europe has been cancelled (she was working several shifts a week at McDonalds to fund this). But she comes out running with me in the mornings and all in all is coping better than most.

Youngest is mega pissed off that she is not going back to Sixth Form until September (at the earliest). She wants to do Law at Cambridge and is convinced that the typical students (privately educated) will be pulling ahead of her as they are getting much closer to a proper education. Having just made a decent group of friends at her college she is slightly peed off at the isolation. But again I feel that she is coping better than many. She does all the work set, abides by her "normal" timetable and face parties friends at lunchtime.

Certainly we are doing better than their mother and half-sister in London.

by **RDW** Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:47 am

That's good to hear. Sounds like they're keeping you busy too!

We keep thinking how lucky we are to have got out of London just at the right time. We love London, but certainly aren't missing it just now.

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:57 am

Their mum is an intensive care consultant in a major London hospital - so work has been, shall we say, frantic.

by king_carlos Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:28 am

LondonTiger wrote:Their mum is an intensive care consultant in a major London hospital - so work has been, shall we say, frantic.

Ouch. My partner is a surgeon working in orthopedics in the North East currently. That has been brutal enough given that emergency ortho surgery tends to be an older demographic, with covid chances of returning home from surgery/hospital have plummeted. Hence it's been a case of 3 months of very tough discussions with family members.

I hope Mrs LT is holding up OK!

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:47 am

Ex-Mrs LT

She is struggling a bit tbh. That her older kids live with me, means she is stuck alone with her 11 year old daughter (who is coming to grips with her father walking out on Boxing Day).

by BamBam Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:10 am

LondonTiger wrote:Apropos of nothing, I have lost 35lbs in weight since the lockdown started in UK and next week will complete the Couch to 5 K program (though my running is not fast enough to do 5K in the time).

Small wins, but so long as the easing of restrictions does not kill me I shall be re-entering the world in a healthier place.

That's a massive achievement LT - congrats!

I started the same programme a few weeks ago after feeling like I was being more and more of a couch potato since the start of lockdown. I've not done any running for years, have always preferred weights and treadmills are incredibly boring, so this was a real change

It's been something I've looked forward to through the week, and I'm really enjoying it so far. Took it up after being challenged to run a 5k when it was going round social media, and realised I have zero stamina!

by king_carlos Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:26 am

LondonTiger wrote:Ex-Mrs LT

She is struggling a bit tbh. That her older kids live with me, means she is stuck alone with her 11 year old daughter (who is coming to grips with her father walking out on Boxing Day).

Apologies for the presumption. Sad to hear that, it's such a tough time for so many people at the moment. That does sound particularly brutal though. My best wishes to the family.

With a partner working in the NHS and having just opened a street food based business prior to the lockdown I felt that my situation was tough. My partner being in the North East, unable to visit one another, financial stress etc.

Since being able to open, hearing other peoples stories has really put things in perspective. The business is based about 200m from a children's hospital so have had many parents and carers who have had to deal with sick kids on top of lockdown. A regular yesterday came by looking noticeably distraught compared to usual. After asking if she was OK she just broke down. Turns out that her immediate family were visiting the extended family in Canada when the lockdown hit so she has been extremely isolated for 3 months and now a close friend has passed away unexpectedly from covid in London. The poor lady had spent all day on Zoom calls, notifying friends and family and trying to organise funeral arrangements she can't attend.

Such a tough time for so many people. Local communities do seem to have pulled together in some regards. The neighborhood noticeboard next to the business has a notice on it about weekly Zoom calls with locals for people to join in on. My auntie is involved in the Dumfries and Galloway food train (providing meals and supplies for the elderly and at risk) they have seen their volunteer numbers and donations go up significantly. The societal effects are only beginning though with a recession and unemployment expected. Tough times ahead.

by **Pr4wn** Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:29 am

View from the Philippines: A neighbour of mine went out with her five year old daughter for a walk last week, now that our "Enhanced Community Quarantine" has been lifted and kids can finally go out. She was out for no more than 10 minutes before she was accosted by a group of military police in full camo, shouting at her that kids are not allowed outside. They threatened her with arrest and said to her daughter that they were going to take her to jail. She went straight home, her daughter was very upset and was asking whether the police were going to come back and get them.

Three days later, she left the country for good.

I cannot wait to leave here.

by **RDW** Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:31 am

Jeez Prawn that's grim. Have you got the chance to get out anytime soon?

by king_carlos Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:36 am

My flatmate, also one of my best friends is half Filipino. His mother having been born and grew up there. We were out for dinner once and a friend asked her about her experience growing up there. She simply pointed out that she and her husband decided to emigrate to South Africa in the 90s with two young, mixed race children as they felt that it would be a safer environment to raise their children.

That sounds horrible in the current circumstances Pr4wn. I hope you are doing OK currently?

by **LondonTiger** Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:56 am

Some sobering stories Prawn & KC.

by **Pr4wn** Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:21 am

king_carlos wrote:My flatmate, also one of my best friends is half Filipino. His mother having been born and grew up there. We were out for dinner once and a friend asked her about her experience growing up there. She simply pointed out that she and her husband decided to emigrate to South Africa in the 90s with two young, mixed race children as they felt that it would be a safer environment to raise their children.

That sounds horrible in the current circumstances Pr4wn. I hope you are doing OK currently?

I'm ok, I'm fortunate enough to live in one of the most affluent parts of the city, so I'm comfortable at least. But the police have been unbelievably strict here, purely because the draconian government policies are actually enforceable in this part of the city, due to the relatively low population density.

Other parts are completely different. I drove no more than 20 minutes at the weekend to a supermarket, passing through some of the more deprived parts of the city. Obviously no rules are being observed there but worse still, I saw countless people going through huge piles of rubbish and people camped and living underneath elevated highways.

Our declared numbers, as far as infections and deaths here, are very low but this is purely because the vast majority of the population here can't even afford to see a doctor, let alone get tested.

As for getting out, I've got a dog that I'm not willing to leave behind so I'm here for now. But the wife and I are actively making plans to move back to Canada.

by tigertattie Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:43 am

Put stuff into perspective eh!

We moan about not getting to go to the pubs right now or the fact that TV has gotten even worse with no new shows. Meanwhile in other parts of the world folk dont have clean water or food.

by **LondonTiger** Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:30 am

A Level results today, with my eldest getting 2xA* & 2xA.

Sadly her maternal grandfather has already described them as inflated and worthless. furious

by **RDW** Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:34 am

Well done LT junior!

Strange perspective.to take given all the news headlines is 40% of grades were marked down....she could have actually had 4A*!

by king_carlos Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:58 am

Congratulations to LT Jnr!

Is there a university place awaiting in the new normal?

by BamBam Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:13 am

Many congrats!

by **LondonTiger** Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:42 am

king_carlos wrote:Congratulations to LT Jnr!

Is there a university place awaiting in the new normal?

Aye. She is off to Bath.

by king_carlos Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:08 am

LondonTiger wrote:
king_carlos wrote:Congratulations to LT Jnr!

Is there a university place awaiting in the new normal?

Aye. She is off to Bath.

Cracking uni. Cracking city.

Do they have a rugby team?

by alfie Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:11 am

Some good news in with all the gloom ! Congrats to your clever lass , LT thumbsup

by jimbopip Sun Aug 23, 2020 12:09 pm

LT, belated congrats. You must be very proud clap

by **LondonTiger** Tue Sep 15, 2020 6:50 am

I take my eldest off to Bath next week. Will be weird.

In other news the bike I ordered at the start of June has arrived and been put into use. One of my employees persuaded me to download Strava - so I start to see some "leaderboards" for different sections (or segments). One which is a long steady uphill I noticed that my times were about 70% longer than the Top 10, who were mainly female riders. Slight sexism on my behalf to be upset at being beaten so much by the fairer, till I noticed that two of the names looked familiar - they were Laura Trotts team mates in winning the 2016 Olympic Team Pursuit and 9 of the top ten times on further investigation were created during teh 2015 Ladies Tour of Britain.

by king_carlos Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:41 am

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/21/uk-could-have-50000-covid-cases-a-day-by-mid-october-says-chief-medical-officer-chris-whitty

We are in it for the long haul basically, 606ers.

Presumably a return to a nationwide lockdown, though not as strict as the initial one is in the pipework. A curfew for pubs and restaurants closing earlier in the evening seems inevitable. Stricter sanctions to motivate enforcement of the 2 households rule for gatherings will be needed as well I'd imagine. A reasonable number of people seem to be keeping to the 6 persons part, 2 households is more restrictive in terms of socialising though.

As a business owner in hospitality I hope for the sake of friends, former colleagues, etc with significant investment in restaurants and bars that we don't end up in a situation where pubs and restaurants are told that they can stay open but the restrictions on opening hours and group gatherings are so strict as to render opening fruitless. I'm fortunate to be running a business that can trade reasonably as takeaway only for the foreseeable future due to low overheads. Many others in Edinburgh aren't so fortunate though given how high most commercial rents are and the reliance on tourist trade.

I hope everyone's doing OK!

by king_carlos Wed Nov 04, 2020 10:31 am

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/54702500

A good Beeb article about 'long covid' featuring Oonagh Cousins the GB rower.

I hope everyone's keeping well both physically and mentally.

by **navyblueshorts** Wed Nov 04, 2020 12:00 pm

king_carlos wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/54702500

A good Beeb article about 'long covid' featuring Oonagh Cousins the GB rower.

I hope everyone's keeping well both physically and mentally.

Yeah. See also: https://metro.co.uk/2020/11/04/major-structural-changes-in-the-lungs-could-explain-long-covid-13535583/

by Samo Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:43 pm

If anyone is struggling and feels like they need a chat then feel free to hit me up. Even if you just need to vent.

by **RDW** Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:29 pm

I thought I would resurrect this thread given the recent developments in the UK. I know my family back home are pretty miserable with the whole thing and this really does feel like the final straw that has broken a lot of people.

How is everyone doing?

As always this thread is a good place to rant/vent/complain/ask for help. If anyone doesn't feel comfortable talking about something publicly, and want an independent random on the internet to speak to, my PMs are always open.

by **LondonTiger** Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:21 am

I second RDW (and Samo) from above.

Things are weird for all of us I guess, and if you are like me you are moving (at times rapidly) from stoicism to almost despair with a mix of anger/denial/hysteria on the way.

Perhaps I need you guys to talk to me more than you need me to listen, but if you want to vent send me a message etc.

Take care everyone and try to look after yourself and your loved ones. This may only be online, but do not suffer alone.

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