Beau Peep Notice Board > Outpourings

Oops, our bad, children probably are driving the pandemic

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Tarquin Thunderthighs lll:
I can't agree, Roger. It's the "Give them an inch" Principle. Yes, of course some people are going to do what they want, come what may. They already have been. That is absolutely no reason to put your hands in the air and say it's okay. The people they are going to do it to need protecting. Give them four days and they'll party for six. Elderly relatives will die as a result of Christmas visits. And it won't just be the elderly. It will be the weak and the frontline health professionals too. The virus is already on a steep rise across the UK at the moment, and in many other places around the world. Potentially this could be worse than the first wave. Many, and probably even most, people will obey if the Christmas Relaxations are cancelled. Many will also be mightily relieved that they're removed from the very awkward and potentially lethal position of having friends and family drop by with the best of intentions, and possibly the virus. They will not feel so pressured into opening doors they'd rather keep closed, just for this year. Lives will literally be saved. It doesn't have to be strictly policed in order to work. Most people will take heed of the law if they can see the reason for it. Not killing Granny is surely a pretty good reason.

People are not being asked to follow the rules for the rest of their lives (unless their lives are tragically cut short by this plague, as many thousands already have been). They're not being asked to take up arms, to kill or be killed. They're being asked to stay at home and watch telly, play games and bake biscuits. I fully accept that there are mental health issues in all of this which can be devastating, and that has to be considered, yes. Support needs to be in place for those affected. But the virus figures are currently rising, and for those who will have to deal with the trauma of loved ones dying because of Christmas, those mental health issues will be every bit as devastating.

My own 'bubble' over the past months has been with my eldest daughter and her family, including her husband and my two older grandchildren. They'd like me to spend Christmas Day with them in the magnificent new house they've been building themselves for the past three years (they move in this coming weekend, at long last). I can think of nothing I'd like more. But it was my daughter who last week reminded me (not that I needed it) that she is a secondary school teacher, mixing with kids from multiple households every day, my two grandchildren are both now school age and do likewise, and their Dad is a plumber, who is in and out of many  households every day. As bubbles go, it ain't the safest. And that is why I shan't be taking up their offer this year.

It's not the thought of fighting the virus that worries me most, although I have an 'underlying health condition' that wouldn't make that a picnic. What scares me most is the notion that if I got it and succumbed to it, my beautiful grandkids would be left with the suspicion that they might have passed it on to me, and that is unbearable to contemplate. I wouldn't have to live with it of course, but they would. That is completely unacceptable to me.

Once I have the vaccine, I will be unstoppable. Till then, Christmas isn't cancelled, but it's on hold.

Roger Kettle:
I can't say I disagree with anything you say, Steve. You're taking an extremely sensible approach to this Christmas and I'd like to think that many others will do the same. As you know, our First Minister has stated on a daily basis that, while it won't be illegal to visit family over the festive period, she strongly recommends that we postpone all get-togethers until a safer time. Many people will do this. We just have to hope they're in a majority.
It's a wee bit unfair to say that people have been asked to "stay at home and watch telly, play games and bake biscuits". Thousands of people have already lost their jobs because of lockdown. (Including my own daughter, an award-winning editor at you-know-where). Thousands more are GOING to lose their jobs. Lockdowns, I believe, are necessary but they surely can't be any kind of long-term solution. The results are utterly devastating. I have everything crossed for the vaccine...
I'll finish by repeating my original thoughts. I am so glad I'm not the one to have to make these impossible decisions.

Tarquin Thunderthighs lll:
I'm certainly with you all the way on your last line, Roger, and I do have a lot of sympathy for everything you've written on this thread, even if I've disagreed with some of it.


--- Quote from: Roger Kettle on December 15, 2020, 10:31:47 AM ---It's a wee bit unfair to say that people have been asked to "stay at home and watch telly, play games and bake biscuits". Thousands of people have already lost their jobs because of lockdown. (Including my own daughter, an award-winning editor at you-know-where). Thousands more are GOING to lose their jobs. Lockdowns, I believe, are necessary but they surely can't be any kind of long-term solution. The results are utterly devastating. I have everything crossed for the vaccine...

--- End quote ---

You're being generous. It's more than a wee bit unfair - it's grossly unfair. But then so is the virus - which is the real reason people are suffering, both in terms of health, lives and personal fortunes (I'm really sorry to hear your daughter has lost her job - I hope it's not long before she can find another one). And the fortunes of the virus itself are entirely dependent on people. We spread it. We can choose to do everything we can not to spread it, or choose to leave that to others. And we can choose to take the vaccine and, fingers crossed, effectively kill it off. Or we can let others do that, and hope that enough do, so that we don't have to. It's entirely down to all of us. Not governments, but the people they serve.

I've rarely, if ever been associated with the words "extremely sensible", but they made me smile, Roger - thank you for that. One of the main items on my Covid List (kind of the opposite to a Bucket List, where I have a bunch of things I'm desperate to do once we're allowed to live again) is to zip over to the Kingdom for a long-overdue coffee at Kettle Towers. That's always been a joy, but right now, it's one of a number of very shiny beacons at the end of a tunnel which draws ever nearer.

Bring on the vaccines! 

Roger Kettle:
Hear! Hear! To the vaccines AND the coffee!

Mince:

--- Quote from: Tarquin Thunderthighs lll on December 15, 2020, 11:05:18 AM ---One of the main items on my Covid List (kind of the opposite to a Bucket List, where I have a bunch of things I'm desperate to do once we're allowed to live again) is to zip over to the Kingdom for a long-overdue coffee at Kettle Towers.

--- End quote ---

I bet I won't be invited. Again.  ;D

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