Christmas called in the UK

claireychn074 · December 2020

Shout out to everyone else in the UK coping with the crappy news from yesterday. Not disagreeing with the seriousness of the situation, but the government should not have promised Christmas time and again then changed their mind at this short notice. Would have been better to tell us all they would make a decision nearer the time. I won’t forget the sound of my elderly mother sobbing her heart out on the phone last night as she realised she can’t see us. Not cool Boris.

ExpressoLove11 · December 2020

Sorry to hear about your mum - it certainly is tough for those of us in Tier 4, especially as it was so sudden. Hope you manage to enjoy the day as best you can.

missysippy930 · December 2020

It is disheartening. So sorry for your pain❤️

If I understand it correctly, it’s due to the discovery of a more contagious strain.

Sadness of 2020🥲

claireychn074 · December 2020

I wrote a long rant and deleted it. There’s no point!

Ddsb11 · December 2020

Here’s another perspective. You said it wasn’t fair, and I understand that can be frustrating. But when has life ever promised fair? It truly matters how we choose to deal with challenges that matter.

I lost my father to Covid this year. I also lost an aunt, an uncle, our family dog, and I’m still dealing with losing my daughter to late term miscarriage. What it has helped me see is how precious my family and friends are, and how fleeting life can be. I feel grateful for modern technology during this time, that most of us can FaceTime our loved ones anytime we want. I realize how fortunate I am for my health, and for the luxuries we have that many take for granted. I’m reminded what the people in Syria would do to have my problems.

So for Christmas, try to see all that you have instead of what you don’t. And see how your perspective can help those around you and change their reality for the better. We are all in this together ❤️

claireychn074 · December 2020

Deep breath - okay here goes (feel free to skip this everyone - rant coming). This is a horrible virus and I’ve had friends in intensive care because of it. I have also had to shield owing to health stuff. BUT: when the government announced the five day free for all a couple of weeks ago, the SAGE independent members went to the national press saying it would cause a spike. It was all over the media - they said it shouldn’t happen. The government was asked repeatedly about the Christmas bubble plans and why it was five days, they went on record saying it would be fine and to cancel Christmas would be “inhumane”. So people made careful plans, those who had struggled mentally with the lockdowns looked forward to seeing loved ones and having company. The government went on record every single day saying Christmas was safe.

Then they cancelled it. People like my lovely, kind and altruistic mum who had been shielding got excited about escaping their four walls. Lulled into an incredibly fake sense of security, that their nightmare was going to end for just five days. If the government had only said they would make a decision nearer the time it would be sooo much easier. Instead we have a”””holes in my local area getting drunk outside pubs, when my mum can’t leave a tier 1 area and come to me tier 2 area for five days break.

And really? If the new variant is SO infectious (not doubting that) then why allow a day free for all? If someone is going to catch this horrible virus they will get it on that day regardless of whether the 5 day bubble is allowed. The virus doesn’t think “ooo Christmas Day - I won’t spread then”. If it’s this bad find the balls and put the entire country into a full lockdown. Don’t do this half measure which is causing so much harm to mental health but still allowing the virus to spread.

Announcing a lockdown in tier 4 just meant those who could, left London in a hurry last night, probably fuelling a super spike by being ramming onto trains. And where are all those people staying? In homes with others. So spreading it again. And I don’t blame those people for escaping.

Told you it was a rant.

ExpressoLove11 · December 2020

It is only tier 4 who can't have people round. If you are tier 2 and she is tier 1 then you are still allowed to see each other on Christmas day but Christmas day only.

vivo1972 · December 2020

I'll be alone and my plans have changed last minute.

Good.

Christmas isn't cancelled. I have Zoom, a cooker and a TV.

The bigger picture is way more important than Twitter etc going in uproar about how Christmas has been ruined for the UK. It hasn't. It's perception.

I'm gonna go for a short ride, chat to my friends and family via phone or Zoom then surround myself with good food and a G&T. Sorted.

So being on a health forum let's talk about the food we are gonna scoff , not UK politics.

claireychn074 · December 2020

Please don’t think I’m downplaying the seriousness of this virus or inanely focusing on one day at the expense of the greater good. I know I am lucky - I have food, a home and money to heat it - I just needed to rant about the way the government has handled this. I’ve defended them all the way through as God knows, no one has handled a pandemic for 100 years and it must be near enough impossible. It’s just that my parents live 3 hours away, are too elderly to drive here and back in one day and I just didn’t know what to do to make my mum feel better. I genuinely feel we should be in full lockdown if it’s as virulent as they suspect. But I can’t help worrying about my mum 🤷‍♂️

vivo1972 · December 2020

kerrym1980 wrote: »

vivo1972 wrote: »

I'll be alone and my plans have changed last minute.

Good.

Christmas isn't cancelled. I have Zoom, a cooker and a TV.

The bigger picture is way more important than Twitter etc going in uproar about how Christmas has been ruined for the UK. It hasn't. It's perception.

I'm gonna go for a short ride, chat to my friends and family via phone or Zoom then surround myself with good food and a G&T. Sorted.

So being on a health forum let's talk about the food we are gonna scoff , not UK politics.

Christmas, for many people, is about food and sharing that food with family. For many people in the UK this is now, quite literally, cancelled. The 5 day Christmas was one of the few things this year that people, especially those who have been alone for many months now, had to look forward to. For those who are alone without access to the internet to enable zoom calls, and unable now to stick to plans made prior to the new changes - as many, many elderly people will be - it's easy to see how they will perceive it as ruined.

That you are ok is great, but perhaps consider that others aren't so fortunate, either in terms of their practical situation or mental health, and will be eating their Christmas dinner alone, or without important relatives.

Christmas is VERY important to me as I am in a vulnerable disabled group. It's that rare time I get to see others rather than them coming around to see me as a carer.

Please don't assume I am ok, I'm not. If I get covid I have a high chance of being a statistic.

So it's a tough call but I don't want COVID or god forbid I give it to someone else if I am asymptomatic. We all have to suck it up and get on with it. All I have to say really.

“The Needs of the Many Outweigh the Needs of the Few”.

Especially on Christmas Day.... which is still happening according to my calendar

claireychn074 · December 2020

kerrym1980 wrote: »

Hard to see how we're not going back into full lockdown after Christmas really, which makes such a sudden, last minute change so much harder to accept.

Might be a daft suggestion but could you go to your parents for the day? No doubt you've already considered it.

yeah issues mean I can’t, and it’s more about the fact that my outgoing mum has been sensibly shielding and just thought she might get a taste of normality. It sucks for everyone, I know that.

missysippy930 · December 2020

I can relate a bit. Between 2/23/20 to 5/10/20 I couldn’t see my daughter. My only child. Pre-covid, she came to visit every week. We missed our second Easter of her life. Ironically, she was in England the first Easter we missed being together, attending a semester of college abroad. As I finished my gift wrapping today, in the back of my mind I was thinking how quickly things could change. I feel a little guilty. It could very easily happen here.

Hug those that you can. If you’re alone contact your loved ones and let them know how much you care. We really are all in this together.

JustSomeEm · December 2020

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Christmas called in the UK

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