"The challenge for the Greens under FPTP is that it is hard to convert a 9% poll rating that is spread relatively evenly throughout the country into actual seats."
It's very unlikely the Green vote is spread evenly around the country. It'll be concentrated in university seats and constituencies with very high percentages of young people, which is good news for the Greens under the FPTP system.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
Where that logic breaks down is that if we simply postpone and maintain the current level of openness, the new wave will still spread very rapidly, so what are we actually gaining? Either we need to suppress this wave or we don't.
The logic doesn't break down. While It may spread widely given the current restrictions, it will surely spread even more widely without. So even doing nothing is better (from a purely epidemiological standpoint) than removing the restrictions.
I’m not really sure this is true. In many places the rules already aren’t being followed. I think that really is the current situation the Govt is doing very little to control spread. Those who are worried are being careful, and will continue to be so regardless. Those who aren’t are not.
So the only people being harmed are the businesses playing hard and fast by the rules (or are shut).
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
FFS this is insane.
99% of deaths come from JCVI Groups 1-9
Double-vaccination is 99% effective.
JCVI Groups 1-9 have been double-vaccinated.
End this shit now.
What we are seeing is a third wave of cases running into a brick wall of the vaccinated. The millions who are unvaccinated are those who are at very little risk from Covid.
It depends what you call "very little". It appears to be a 21% of hospitalisation.
No doubt it'll be a tour of Camel Valley vineyard tomorrow followed by dinner at Rick Stein's then a leisurely walk around the Lost Gardens of Heligan on Sunday.
Silliness aside, a dinner at the Eden Project is a rather clever choice - dramatic setting, weather proof and yet feels like the open air.
Eden project was another eu funded white elephant that made a lot of people very rich without doing much to help the area it was sited in
Is that true? I don't think the guy who set it up has got rich off the back of it. And it employs a lot of people. I think it's a pretty incredible place, TBH, although it's always way too busy. I prefer the Lost Gardens though, that's a really magical place. The contrast of the two is interesting: one innovative and futuristic, the other nostalgic and traditional. We seem as a country to be more comfortable with the latter, which is a pity I think, although I guess I am as much at fault as anyone else.
It cost 80 million, it wasnt designed by anyone from cornwall, most materials sourced outside cornwall, most constructors came from outside cornwall. It does provide in season about 350 min wage jobs and for some of the off season less. Now while I agree its an amazing place but don't forget of the 80 mill it cost 40 mill was the eu returning british tax payer money and 40 mill was matched from the funds set aside to develop cornwall.
As far as I can see all cornwall got for 80 million was 350 odd min wage jobs and 2 hour traffic jams in the summer on roads that generally didn't have them before. Call me a cynic but I am not sure cornwall got that much benefit from it as mostly its people who would have been already visiting cornwall going to visit.
Now if they had spent money extending the m5 downwards maybe more benefit
350 ongoing minimum wage jobs for an £80m investment would actually be a staggeringly good performance as far as government spending goes.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
I doubt Great Yarmouth or Skegness would be turning up their nose at Cornwall’s success.
Norfolk should be the Netherlands of the UK.
Means?
Hopefully bicycles, windbreaks, canal vaulting, and bog snorkelling. Or it could be cover the county with 10 more Thanet Earths to grow all our tomatoes here.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
I think those are all fair points - there is very little *unnecessary* in the design, and thorough use of all the space in the volume. Which makes storage and extra growth potential difficult. I looked at a 4 bed and 3 bed designs. A couple had a big cupboard under the stairs.
In a living space, for example, you would need your sofa against the wall rather than having an extra 1.2m behind the sofa for a bookshelf, as that 1.2m would add more value as most of an eating space in the kitchen-diner next door.
One of the comments I made back was that "my relative looking for a house" would likely want spaces for dishwasher, washer, and tumble dryer - whilst there was only a single appliance space. And only one design has a utility. Everyone would definitely need a shed, or do the traditional dedication of garage to storage.
The one below is the most conventional in layout. In a couple of the others there were eg staircases exposed to living area - which gives a perception of extra space, and saves the need to build one stair wall.
President Biden looks forward to welcoming Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to the White House on July 15, 2021. Chancellor Merkel’s visit will affirm the deep bilateral ties between the United States and Germany. The leaders will discuss their commitment to close cooperation on a range of common challenges, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the threat of climate change, and promoting economic prosperity and international security based on our shared democratic values.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
Where that logic breaks down is that if we simply postpone and maintain the current level of openness, the new wave will still spread very rapidly, so what are we actually gaining? Either we need to suppress this wave or we don't.
The logic doesn't break down. While It may spread widely given the current restrictions, it will surely spread even more widely without. So even doing nothing is better (from a purely epidemiological standpoint) than removing the restrictions.
True but if R is substantially above 1, the wave won't subside until it reaches a natural peak. I think there's possibly an argument for applying the original 'shielding' plan for those who are unvaccinated but in a vulnerable category.
Are there any unvaccinated but vulnerable except by choice and a few unfortunates with medical reasons ?
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
No doubt it'll be a tour of Camel Valley vineyard tomorrow followed by dinner at Rick Stein's then a leisurely walk around the Lost Gardens of Heligan on Sunday.
Silliness aside, a dinner at the Eden Project is a rather clever choice - dramatic setting, weather proof and yet feels like the open air.
Eden project was another eu funded white elephant that made a lot of people very rich without doing much to help the area it was sited in
Is that true? I don't think the guy who set it up has got rich off the back of it. And it employs a lot of people. I think it's a pretty incredible place, TBH, although it's always way too busy. I prefer the Lost Gardens though, that's a really magical place. The contrast of the two is interesting: one innovative and futuristic, the other nostalgic and traditional. We seem as a country to be more comfortable with the latter, which is a pity I think, although I guess I am as much at fault as anyone else.
It cost 80 million, it wasnt designed by anyone from cornwall, most materials sourced outside cornwall, most constructors came from outside cornwall. It does provide in season about 350 min wage jobs and for some of the off season less. Now while I agree its an amazing place but don't forget of the 80 mill it cost 40 mill was the eu returning british tax payer money and 40 mill was matched from the funds set aside to develop cornwall.
As far as I can see all cornwall got for 80 million was 350 odd min wage jobs and 2 hour traffic jams in the summer on roads that generally didn't have them before. Call me a cynic but I am not sure cornwall got that much benefit from it as mostly its people who would have been already visiting cornwall going to visit.
Now if they had spent money extending the m5 downwards maybe more benefit
350 ongoing minimum wage jobs for an £80m investment would actually be a staggeringly good performance as far as government spending goes.
Which says more about the performance of government spending than it does about value for money
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
Where that logic breaks down is that if we simply postpone and maintain the current level of openness, the new wave will still spread very rapidly, so what are we actually gaining? Either we need to suppress this wave or we don't.
The argument (or hope) is that this new wave will not lead to overwhelming admissions or excessive deaths - as someone observed, the restrictions had kept R below 1 for the Alpha variant, but are not sufficient for this - so using the 4 weeks to get more jabs in arms (hello AZ stockpile) should be adequate.
And when the stupid R number is still above the magical 1.0 in another month, do we have another month, three months, six months of the current bullshit? Or do we tumble back into hard lockdown for a few years?
We're garrotting ourselves with piano wire to, in essence, try to extend the lives of a few thousand of the anti-vax morons and the very unlucky who are going to kick the bucket the moment the disease is allowed to spread again - the logic of which demands that we keep doing it forever, because there will never be a time when they are safe.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
yes and its a big problem when those pensioners are quite happy to ruin the lives of the young to feel "safe"
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
Especially when the main opposition is on the “lockdown more” side...
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
Yes, I can’t travel to see my family abroad. I can’t travel to my employment abroad. I can’t go to a restaurant without a theatre of the absurd. I watch people queuing outside banks, and shops. I can’t go to a theatre.
I have people treating me like a credit card with a virus.
You may be happy with your lamentable so called life. I’m not a pathetic drone.
Hope that helps.
I have a fabulous and very full life, thanks. No need to be so unpleasant.
I doubt Great Yarmouth or Skegness would be turning up their nose at Cornwall’s success.
Norfolk should be the Netherlands of the UK.
Means?
Hopefully bicycles, windbreaks, canal vaulting, and bog snorkelling. Or it could be cover the county with 10 more Thanet Earths to grow all our tomatoes here.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
I think those are all fair points - there is very little *unnecessary* in the design, and thorough use of all the space in the volume. Which makes storage and extra growth potential difficult. I looked at a 4 bed and 3 bed designs. A couple had a big cupboard under the stairs.
In a living space, for example, you would need your sofa against the wall rather than having an extra 1.2m behind the sofa for a bookshelf, as that 1.2m would add more value as most of an eating space in the kitchen-diner next door.
One of the comments I made back was that "my relative looking for a house" would likely want spaces for dishwasher, washer, and tumble dryer - whilst there was only a single appliance space. And only one design has a utility. Everyone would definitely need a shed, or do the traditional dedication of garage to storage.
The one below is the most conventional in layout. In a couple of the others there were eg staircases exposed to living area - which gives a perception of extra space, and saves the need to build one stair wall.
It does look a bit tight upstairs. Better to have 3 bedrooms of decent size imo. British houses are sold on number of bedrooms rather than per square metre.
I'd agree its a bit tight, but the market is mainly FTBs rather than fat middle-aged PB typicals with 30 years of junk to store.
You need 4 for 2/3 kids and a spare room.
Tight bedrooms are fine if you have children up to secondary school and several different areas where the family can be separate, and carefully thought through furniture etc. The beneficial environment, direct access to a big country park, walk to mini-Tesco, schools, playing fields, Macarthur Glen etc and easy access to the local trails network are more important, and provide an outlet.
I would be putting a veranda outside the patio doors, a shed, and carefully considering the aspect and garden when choosing the house, as there is quite a lot of variety.
This is the layout. The Council specified mix is very heavy on 3 beds. 10% social housing units.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
Yes, if only we still had Freedom of Movement...
I'm not talking about bloody Brexit. Most of us don't have high-powered careers or a few million down the back of the sofa. So we're stuck.
As a comparative, I looked at the figures for the London Borough of Bromley which is as similar to Newham as (fill-in-the blank) is to (fill-in-another-blank).
Population aged over 50 in Bromley, (129,584 according to NIMS), 116,008 (89.5%) have received one vaccination and 103,173 (79.6%) have received both.
So among those aged 50 or over, 79.6% are fully vaccinated in Bromley and 57.3% in Newham. 13,500 unvaccinated over 50s in Bromley and 24,000 unvaccinated over 50s in Newham (there are roughly half as many again over 50s in Bromley as in Newham as you might expect but that's the thing with percentages, they don't always tell the whole story.)
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
Yep this is the abstract iniquity of eg the triple lock in real life.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
FFS this is insane.
99% of deaths come from JCVI Groups 1-9
Double-vaccination is 99% effective.
JCVI Groups 1-9 have been double-vaccinated.
End this shit now.
What we are seeing is a third wave of cases running into a brick wall of the vaccinated. The millions who are unvaccinated are those who are at very little risk from Covid.
It depends what you call "very little". It appears to be a 21% of hospitalisation.
Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine and 2.7% died.
But that's saying something else.
In any case in the UK the vulnerable segments of the young have already been vaccinated.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
yes and its a big problem when those pensioners are quite happy to ruin the lives of the young to feel "safe"
As I said, it'll never happen but the value of the state pension should be index linked to the youth unemployment rate - set to a punishingly low level.
Impoverish them until they scream for mercy. That would concentrate minds.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never thought much about room size, but since I moved a couple of years ago from a place with 3 small rooms to a cheaper place with 2 large rooms, I've been struck how much better it is (for one person). You can't be in more than one room at once, and the feeling of space all round you is great.
It's all very individual though. The trick is to find some unpopular feature that you don't personally care about (noise if you're oblivious/bad schools if you have no kids/no parking if you cycle) and you can get a bargain.
There is SOME evidence that vaccines are working well against the Delta variant but given that most of the Delta cases are new it is too soon to be sure.
Again there is SOME evidence that fewer cases are leading to hospitalisations but again it is too early to be sure. Most of the Delta infections have only been reported in the last week/10 days or so and there is a lag in hospitalisation data.
Also the Government is ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE not to go backwards ie go back to Stage 2 rules or worse.
So this is why the Government will take 4 more weeks.
Matt Hancock told Parliament on Monday that of 126 Delta variant hospitalisations, only 3 had been fully vaccinated.
The Delta deaths number is "Total deaths in any setting (regardless of hospitalisation status) within 28 days of positive specimen date".
Considering that the 50% of the population who are double jabbed are the 50% most likely to drop dead, and include a whole bunch of really old people, one needs (as you say) to control for that.
Another way to look at this data is that the 50% of people who are double jabbed generated just 5% of the cases (indicating 90% efficacy against symptomatic Covid). And given it's the 50% of the of the population with the weakest immune systems who are double jabbed, should make us feel pretty confident about the efficacy of vaccines on the variant.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
Yes, I can’t travel to see my family abroad. I can’t travel to my employment abroad. I can’t go to a restaurant without a theatre of the absurd. I watch people queuing outside banks, and shops. I can’t go to a theatre.
I have people treating me like a credit card with a virus.
You may be happy with your lamentable so called life. I’m not a pathetic drone.
Hope that helps.
I have a fabulous and very full life, thanks. No need to be so unpleasant.
Don’t be that person going “It’s all ok because my live is very bland and isn’t affected.”
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
As a comparative, I looked at the figures for the London Borough of Bromley which is as similar to Newham as (fill-in-the blank) is to (fill-in-another-blank).
Population aged over 50 in Bromley, (129,584 according to NIMS), 116,008 (89.5%) have received one vaccination and 103,173 (79.6%) have received both.
So among those aged 50 or over, 79.6% are fully vaccinated in Bromley and 57.3% in Newham. 13,500 unvaccinated over 50s in Bromley and 24,000 unvaccinated over 50s in Newham (there are roughly half as many again over 50s in Bromley as in Newham as you might expect but that's the thing with percentages, they don't always tell the whole story.)
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here. They have very different demographics, and it has been demonstrated that vaccine hesitancy is higher amongst minority groups.
Looks like it may pan out as I predicted from the start. They'll get to the end of the fourth, the crowd will then be chucked out because of the idiotic French curfew (another example of completely useless Plague-related something-must-be-doneism,) and the end of the match will be played in an empty stadium.
Oh well, at least the French should be back to normal by this time next year. We fucking won't at this rate.
DAB and online only, I think. It has an odd business model- essentially a rolling advert for the concept of Taking the Times, with the aim of picking up more subscribers for the paper;
If true, then exactly as some on here predicted last year. The Government fucked up its response to previous waves by prevaricating, and is now fucking up its response to this one through overcompensation. It shits the bed every single time.
And if there's no absolute promise that this will end on July 5th, or July 19th, or whatever date they pluck out of thin air, then precisely no-one will trust them not to delay again and write off the entire Summer. Because they almost certainly will.
The UK's scientific establishment has shown itself to be as deeply mediocre as the rest of the UK's establishment.
I'm reluctant to go in too hard on the likes of Whitty without hearing his direct justification for all this nonsense, but if he really is arguing that we have to delay because of the rise in infections then the following questions need to be asked:
1. You warned us that infections would rise when the punishments were repealed. If this was such a disaster then why did you advise repealing them? Why aren't we all still suffering the same lockdown we were in Winter? 2. Moreover, why aren't we spinning straight back into lockdown now?
What they don’t know is has the link between infection and hospitalisation and death been broken
If it has then infection levels don’t matter
If it hasn’t then they do
But the rise in cases has been very recent - they need to know if the last couple of weeks of cases will result in lots of hospitalisation
If they do then we may need to lockdown to suppress the latest wave. We will be a couple of weeks later than idea but numbers are still at a relatively low level so we can get away with it. If they don’t result in hospitalisations we can open up more
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
Look - I love my life in Spain and would not leave - but there are irritations in all countries - not sure how people in the UK would have coped with the severity of the lockdowns here or the fact, eg, that mask wearing is compulsory here pretty much everywhere inside and out and both observed and enforced as appropriate. Has been the case for over a year now.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
yes and its a big problem when those pensioners are quite happy to ruin the lives of the young to feel "safe"
As I said, it'll never happen but the value of the state pension should be index linked to the youth unemployment rate - set to a punishingly low level.
Impoverish them until they scream for mercy. That would concentrate minds.
yes to be honest pensioners are a mixed bag but far too many have gone along with all this and not given a damn about how its affected the young. I think if their pensions were cut by 30% along with this lockdown extension they might change their tune a bit
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never thought much about room size, but since I moved a couple of years ago from a place with 3 small rooms to a cheaper place with 2 large rooms, I've been struck how much better it is (for one person). You can't be in more than one room at once, and the feeling of space all round you is great.
It's all very individual though. The trick is to find some unpopular feature that you don't personally care about (noise if you're oblivious/bad schools if you have no kids/no parking if you cycle) and you can get a bargain.
Mine is on a fairly busy road with a major bus route which is a worry for people with kids. It is great for me as, now I don’t need to commute, I can literally get a bus to the city centre just across the road
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
Yes; the great thing about a building that has been up for a bit is that it hasn't fallen down yet so has form on the subject. Looking at how many new estates are build all I could say is that I am not convinced that they are going to stay up for long.
Good plan that.
Many people think the Romans were great builders. In fact they were often shit. Building collapses were a daily occurrence in ancient Rome. It's just all their crap has fallen down by now. What is left is the stuff where they over specified to reduce maintenance costs.
When I become UnDicator of Britain, high on the agenda is the 5 Metre Law. *All* rooms in domestic dwellings must be constructed with a minimum dimension in any direction of 5m. Enforced by placing the breakers of the law in a variable geometry room in the style of the Pit and the Pendulum.
If true, then exactly as some on here predicted last year. The Government fucked up its response to previous waves by prevaricating, and is now fucking up its response to this one through overcompensation. It shits the bed every single time.
And if there's no absolute promise that this will end on July 5th, or July 19th, or whatever date they pluck out of thin air, then precisely no-one will trust them not to delay again and write off the entire Summer. Because they almost certainly will.
The UK's scientific establishment has shown itself to be as deeply mediocre as the rest of the UK's establishment.
I'm reluctant to go in too hard on the likes of Whitty without hearing his direct justification for all this nonsense, but if he really is arguing that we have to delay because of the rise in infections then the following questions need to be asked:
1. You warned us that infections would rise when the punishments were repealed. If this was such a disaster then why did you advise repealing them? Why aren't we all still suffering the same lockdown we were in Winter? 2. Moreover, why aren't we spinning straight back into lockdown now?
What they don’t know is has the link between infection and hospitalisation and death been broken
If it has then infection levels don’t matter
If it hasn’t then they do
But the rise in cases has been very recent - they need to know if the last couple of weeks of cases will result in lots of hospitalisation
If they do then we may need to lockdown to suppress the latest wave. We will be a couple of weeks later than idea but numbers are still at a relatively low level so we can get away with it. If they don’t result in hospitalisations we can open up more
The link is broken and they've said so.
As can be seen by looking at hospital numbers in Bolton or Blackburn or Bedfordshire.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
Look - I love my life in Spain and would not leave - but there are irritations in all countries - not sure how people in the UK would have coped with the severity of the lockdowns here or the fact, eg, that mask wearing is compulsory here pretty much everywhere inside and out and both observed and enforced as appropriate. Has been the case for over a year now.
I know, I'm just despairing. I assume you have some expectation that this will end at some point in Spain. At least that's something. It looks like it's never going to end here. Never.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
Yep this is the abstract iniquity of eg the triple lock in real life.
This triple lock business is silly. First, it's only been worth about a tenner. Second, the state pension is round about half what the government thinks people can live on. Opposing the triple lock seems to have become an article of faith.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
No you are not. We are talking here about the retention of some restrictions for a while longer. Generally we are in a good place with the vaccines, which has meant we can remove the vast majority of the restrictions. There some remaining concerns, which means we might want to be a bit cautious. But that's almost a luxury compared with the situation earlier in the year.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
Yes; the great thing about a building that has been up for a bit is that it hasn't fallen down yet so has form on the subject. Looking at how many new estates are build all I could say is that I am not convinced that they are going to stay up for long.
Good plan that.
Many people think the Romans were great builders. In fact they were often shit. Building collapses were a daily occurrence in ancient Rome. It's just all their crap has fallen down by now. What is left is the stuff where they over specified to reduce maintenance costs.
When I become UnDicator of Britain, high on the agenda is the 5 Metre Law. *All* rooms in domestic dwellings must be constructed with a minimum dimension in any direction of 5m. Enforced by placing the breakers of the law in a variable geometry room in the style of the Pit and the Pendulum.
15 foot ceilings will be expensive to heat
Not in the age of triple glazing and actual insulation...
If true, then exactly as some on here predicted last year. The Government fucked up its response to previous waves by prevaricating, and is now fucking up its response to this one through overcompensation. It shits the bed every single time.
And if there's no absolute promise that this will end on July 5th, or July 19th, or whatever date they pluck out of thin air, then precisely no-one will trust them not to delay again and write off the entire Summer. Because they almost certainly will.
The UK's scientific establishment has shown itself to be as deeply mediocre as the rest of the UK's establishment.
I'm reluctant to go in too hard on the likes of Whitty without hearing his direct justification for all this nonsense, but if he really is arguing that we have to delay because of the rise in infections then the following questions need to be asked:
1. You warned us that infections would rise when the punishments were repealed. If this was such a disaster then why did you advise repealing them? Why aren't we all still suffering the same lockdown we were in Winter? 2. Moreover, why aren't we spinning straight back into lockdown now?
What they don’t know is has the link between infection and hospitalisation and death been broken
If it has then infection levels don’t matter
If it hasn’t then they do
But the rise in cases has been very recent - they need to know if the last couple of weeks of cases will result in lots of hospitalisation
If they do then we may need to lockdown to suppress the latest wave. We will be a couple of weeks later than idea but numbers are still at a relatively low level so we can get away with it. If they don’t result in hospitalisations we can open up more
Please don't mention the "L" word. If there's another actual lockdown then we might as well all kill ourselves and get it over with, because we'll just be locked up in our homes for the rest of our natural lives anyway.
If the vaccines are no fucking good at the stage we've already reached in the game then they'll never be good enough, and we'll never see an end to this Hell.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
Not at all but play the man not the ball if it keeps you happy.
BTW do we know by which airline and through which airports the Indian variant was brought into the UK ?
Because if those airlines and airports had said no to travel to India without waiting for the government to say so then they'd be likely able to operate much more now.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
Yes; the great thing about a building that has been up for a bit is that it hasn't fallen down yet so has form on the subject. Looking at how many new estates are build all I could say is that I am not convinced that they are going to stay up for long.
Good plan that.
Many people think the Romans were great builders. In fact they were often shit. Building collapses were a daily occurrence in ancient Rome. It's just all their crap has fallen down by now. What is left is the stuff where they over specified to reduce maintenance costs.
When I become UnDicator of Britain, high on the agenda is the 5 Metre Law. *All* rooms in domestic dwellings must be constructed with a minimum dimension in any direction of 5m. Enforced by placing the breakers of the law in a variable geometry room in the style of the Pit and the Pendulum.
15 foot ceilings will be expensive to heat
My house is about 20 years old, and for its era has big rooms and plot of land. It would be made 5 bedroom rather than 4 doubles nowadays, I think. It is rather big for just the two of us now, but we have lots of stuff and the combination of sloth and liking the neighbourhood keeps us from downsizing.
Leicester has rather a lot of nice Edwardian villas, and for build quality, detail and aesthetic shape of rooms they are great.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
The government is - decisively - supported by pensioners. They therefore don’t really need to worry about the “economically active” vote.
Yep this is the abstract iniquity of eg the triple lock in real life.
This triple lock business is silly. First, it's only been worth about a tenner. Second, the state pension is round about half what the government thinks people can live on. Opposing the triple lock seems to have become an article of faith.
The reason for scrapping the triple lock is not dissimilar to the reason for imposing all these evil lockdowns, actually: runaway growth (in this case, through the miracle of compound interest.)
The longer the triple lock is left in place, the greater the percentage of Government spending and of national wealth that will be poured into the pockets of the elderly.
Carry on for long enough and the economy will simply collapse. It's not a question of if you should bin it, but of when - and whether this is done by choice or ultimately forced by necessity.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
Look - I love my life in Spain and would not leave - but there are irritations in all countries - not sure how people in the UK would have coped with the severity of the lockdowns here or the fact, eg, that mask wearing is compulsory here pretty much everywhere inside and out and both observed and enforced as appropriate. Has been the case for over a year now.
I know, I'm just despairing. I assume you have some expectation that this will end at some point in Spain. At least that's something. It looks like it's never going to end here. Never.
I do think it will end - although possibly too soon here. Meanwhile I've always taken the view that you make the best of what you can do until then. Obviously I'm older than average now but even for us remember that every month lost now is rather more critical in terms of what is left than those much younger.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
No you are not. We are talking here about the retention of some restrictions for a while longer. Generally we are in a good place with the vaccines, which has meant we can remove the vast majority of the restrictions. There some remaining concerns, which means we might want to be a bit cautious. But that's almost a luxury compared with the situation earlier in the year.
The government has made so many mistakes already that they don't want to risk another one by opening too early. That's very understandable, whether you agree with it or not.
I guess I'm meant to feel all outraged by their thoughtlessness and disobedience to authority, but frankly I find it very hard to blame them. We've all absolutely had it with this fucking virus - and if the restrictions are just going to go on and on and on forever then there's no incentive left to keep following them, other than the threat of worse inconvenience or draconian punishments.
No you aren't and perhaps you shouldn't go jumping to all sorts of conclusions but try to think a little.
I was pointing out the absurdity of the situation - I've had two vaccinations, why was I wearing a mask at all? They weren't bothered, I wasn't bothered - only the law was bothered.
Some of the children wore masks - most didn't. They were no threat to me - now, if you're telling me I've put too much faith in the power of vaccination, fine, but all the evidence I've seen suggests that two weeks after the second vaccination, you are in a pretty good place.
Leaving out the expletives which some on here seem to think are required as an form of public debate, we're back to where we've always been with this - the extent to which restrictions in the name of protecting public health are still relevant and the extent to which public health concerns trump economic concerns.
As @Northern_Al has said, I also feel pretty free - the mask wearing is now tedious but you either obey the law or you don't. My freedom today was far more constrained by the inability of SWR to run a proper train service than it was by any coronavirus legislation or guidelines.
If I were running the Government (and that auspicious day cannot be long delayed), I would still ease restrictions on the 21st June. I would emphasise those who wish to continue to wear masks and take precautions are perfectly entitled to do so and we should all respect that while at the same time stressing the importance and safety of vaccination and general personal hygiene and health measures and, as others have argued, offering a more imaginative process for individuals to get vaccinated.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never thought much about room size, but since I moved a couple of years ago from a place with 3 small rooms to a cheaper place with 2 large rooms, I've been struck how much better it is (for one person). You can't be in more than one room at once, and the feeling of space all round you is great.
It's all very individual though. The trick is to find some unpopular feature that you don't personally care about (noise if you're oblivious/bad schools if you have no kids/no parking if you cycle) and you can get a bargain.
The trick I find is always to buy on the piano nobile. You get an extra two feet of ceiling height but no one thinks about that - makes a huge difference to have 10 ft not 8.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never thought much about room size, but since I moved a couple of years ago from a place with 3 small rooms to a cheaper place with 2 large rooms, I've been struck how much better it is (for one person). You can't be in more than one room at once, and the feeling of space all round you is great.
It's all very individual though. The trick is to find some unpopular feature that you don't personally care about (noise if you're oblivious/bad schools if you have no kids/no parking if you cycle) and you can get a bargain.
The trick I find is always to buy on the piano nobile. You get an extra two feet of ceiling height but no one thinks about that - makes a huge difference to have 10 ft not 8.
Follow Max and buy on the top floor where you have the loft included...
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
I guess I'm meant to feel all outraged by their thoughtlessness and disobedience to authority, but frankly I find it very hard to blame them. We've all absolutely had it with this fucking virus - and if the restrictions are just going to go on and on and on forever then there's no incentive left to keep following them, other than the threat of worse inconvenience or draconian punishments.
If I were running the Government (and that auspicious day cannot be long delayed), I would still ease restrictions on the 21st June. I would emphasise those who wish to continue to wear masks and take precautions are perfectly entitled to do so and we should all respect that while at the same time stressing the importance and safety of vaccination and general personal hygiene and health measures and, as others have argued, offering a more imaginative process for individuals to get vaccinated.
Unfortunately Stodge, the government is run by idiots, and since you aren't one you don't qualify to be in the cabinet.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
No you are not. We are talking here about the retention of some restrictions for a while longer. Generally we are in a good place with the vaccines, which has meant we can remove the vast majority of the restrictions. There some remaining concerns, which means we might want to be a bit cautious. But that's almost a luxury compared with the situation earlier in the year.
The government has made so many mistakes already that they don't want to risk another one by opening too early. That's very understandable, whether you agree with it or not.
So they just end up making the mistake of stalling for far too long as a consequence. Like I said, if it drags on all through the rest of the Summer then it'll destroy a huge number of businesses, and the Public Health Taliban will insist on keeping masks and distancing all through the Winter. It still won't be over until well into 2022, and they might find excuses to keep it going literally forever.
What did we all do in a past life to deserve the Tories and Labour at a time like this? Were we all in the SS or something?
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
No you are not. We are talking here about the retention of some restrictions for a while longer. Generally we are in a good place with the vaccines, which has meant we can remove the vast majority of the restrictions. There some remaining concerns, which means we might want to be a bit cautious. But that's almost a luxury compared with the situation earlier in the year.
I agree - I've eaten out alone and with friends in cafes and restaurants. I've been to the pub with colleagues, friends and Mrs Stodge - ordering off an app works for me, the service was perfectly good and you haven't got all that standing at the bar waving a £20 vote, trying to get the bar staff's attention while shouting "two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please!".
The big restriction on my freedom is everyone has decided they want to go on holiday and you can't go to Cornwall because some chump and his mates have booked out the county for a meeting this weekend.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxxed).
Yes, I can’t travel to see my family abroad. I can’t travel to my employment abroad. I can’t go to a restaurant without a theatre of the absurd. I watch people queuing outside banks, and shops. I can’t go to a theatre.
I have people treating me like a credit card with a virus.
You may be happy with your lamentable so called life. I’m not a pathetic drone.
Hope that helps.
I have a fabulous and very full life, thanks. No need to be so unpleasant.
Don’t be that person going “It’s all ok because my live is very bland and isn’t affected.”
Oh, you are.
Hm. You're a bit of a twat, aren't you? Never mind.
I doubt Great Yarmouth or Skegness would be turning up their nose at Cornwall’s success.
Norfolk should be the Netherlands of the UK.
Means?
Hopefully bicycles, windbreaks, canal vaulting, and bog snorkelling. Or it could be cover the county with 10 more Thanet Earths to grow all our tomatoes here.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
I think those are all fair points - there is very little *unnecessary* in the design, and thorough use of all the space in the volume. Which makes storage and extra growth potential difficult. I looked at a 4 bed and 3 bed designs. A couple had a big cupboard under the stairs.
In a living space, for example, you would need your sofa against the wall rather than having an extra 1.2m behind the sofa for a bookshelf, as that 1.2m would add more value as most of an eating space in the kitchen-diner next door.
One of the comments I made back was that "my relative looking for a house" would likely want spaces for dishwasher, washer, and tumble dryer - whilst there was only a single appliance space. And only one design has a utility. Everyone would definitely need a shed, or do the traditional dedication of garage to storage.
The one below is the most conventional in layout. In a couple of the others there were eg staircases exposed to living area - which gives a perception of extra space, and saves the need to build one stair wall.
BREAKING: The British Medical Association is calling for a delay to the easing of all remaining lockdown restrictions in England due to case numbers ‘rising rapidly’.
They were also against the 12 week vaccination strategy.
Mood music is definitely against reopening properly. For Boris's calculation will it be more or less popular to hold off now? Sadly I think it will be more popular.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
Not at all but play the man not the ball if it keeps you happy.
Why not at all. It's exactly that. You would rather things didn't open up so quickly. But the young people are desperate to be unlocked.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
They'll prevaricate until they've finished double-vaxxing the whole adult population Then declare that's insufficient, and all the secondary school kids need doing - twice Then they'll keep everybody locked up anyway because there are too many anti-vaxxers They'll also decide that the olds all need boosters We are therefore going to be living like this forever. Might as well fucking give up
Honestly, this is making me reassess whether I want to stay in the UK at the moment. Italy might be chaos but at least it's a properly free country. The UK is run by busy body wankers.
You're lucky to have the option to move. Most of us are stuck in this dump.
I wish I could move to the EU..........
Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.
If I won the lottery and could persuade the authorities to excuse me from the usual rules (there must be some exception for people willing to sink serious capital into local businesses?) then I'd emigrate to Canada. Things are hardly perfect there either but compared to this shithole it truly is a land of progress.
A couple of piccies from my near-favourite modern house, built by an architect and his wife in 1967 and surprisingly small. They still live there in their 80s. Two views of the same space, and an amazing density of excellent, thoughtful design. Open for visitors sometimes. In Haddenham, Bucks.
eg It's a tiny galley kitchen, and those seats are against the worktop, but borrow the circulation space when in use; people sitting eating are not circulating.1967 bifold doors. Quarry tiles running inside to outside. Seat by a pond by the door case in situ. And so on - no end to it and the whole thing is perhaps only 1000 sqft.
Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine and 2.7% died.
But that's saying something else.
In any case in the UK the vulnerable segments of the young have already been vaccinated.
I guess I'm meant to feel all outraged by their thoughtlessness and disobedience to authority, but frankly I find it very hard to blame them. We've all absolutely had it with this fucking virus - and if the restrictions are just going to go on and on and on forever then there's no incentive left to keep following them, other than the threat of worse inconvenience or draconian punishments.
No you aren't and perhaps you shouldn't go jumping to all sorts of conclusions but try to think a little.
Jumping to what conclusions? If you think I was having a go at you then I really wasn't.
So, to conclude: • Third wave of hospital admissions clearly underway • Data still suggest this wave should be less lethal • But no clear sign yet of current wave subsiding • And still millions unvaccinated • Postponement seems the logical move
RESIGNATION OF THOSE WHO ALLOWED TRAVEL FROM INDIA
I've added the bit he left out.
This is the "never voting tory again" breaking point I believe some on here mooted.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
Not at all but play the man not the ball if it keeps you happy.
Why not at all. It's exactly that. You would rather things didn't open up so quickly. But the young people are desperate to be unlocked.
Now I have calmed down a bit I would mention that my youngest son has been out a lot over the last week or so - currently at a BBQ with mates.
I'm seeing my brother in law and his family for first time in a year tomorrow for a day at the zoo.
We have been out for several meals over the last 2 weeks
My son who runs a bar told me earlier today he hasnt had a day off since pubs opened indoors
I doubt Great Yarmouth or Skegness would be turning up their nose at Cornwall’s success.
Norfolk should be the Netherlands of the UK.
Means?
Hopefully bicycles, windbreaks, canal vaulting, and bog snorkelling. Or it could be cover the county with 10 more Thanet Earths to grow all our tomatoes here.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
I think those are all fair points - there is very little *unnecessary* in the design, and thorough use of all the space in the volume. Which makes storage and extra growth potential difficult. I looked at a 4 bed and 3 bed designs. A couple had a big cupboard under the stairs.
In a living space, for example, you would need your sofa against the wall rather than having an extra 1.2m behind the sofa for a bookshelf, as that 1.2m would add more value as most of an eating space in the kitchen-diner next door.
One of the comments I made back was that "my relative looking for a house" would likely want spaces for dishwasher, washer, and tumble dryer - whilst there was only a single appliance space. And only one design has a utility. Everyone would definitely need a shed, or do the traditional dedication of garage to storage.
The one below is the most conventional in layout. In a couple of the others there were eg staircases exposed to living area - which gives a perception of extra space, and saves the need to build one stair wall.
Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine and 2.7% died.
But that's saying something else.
In any case in the UK the vulnerable segments of the young have already been vaccinated.
You're right - I misread it. Thanks.
Crumbs. Someone admitting they are wrong and thanking the OP for pointing it out. Kudos to you Mr. Palmer.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
Not at all but play the man not the ball if it keeps you happy.
Why not at all. It's exactly that. You would rather things didn't open up so quickly. But the young people are desperate to be unlocked.
Now I have calmed down a bit I would mention that my youngest son has been out a lot over the last week or so - currently at a BBQ with mates.
I'm seeing my brother in law and his family for first time in a year tomorrow for a day at the zoo.
We have been out for several meals over the last 2 weeks
My son who runs a bar told me earlier today he hasnt had a day off since pubs opened indoors
We are getting there
Great to hear.
We don't want to go backwards because some old blokes feel nervous.
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
Not at all but play the man not the ball if it keeps you happy.
Why not at all. It's exactly that. You would rather things didn't open up so quickly. But the young people are desperate to be unlocked.
I don't even believe that is true for all young people although clearly of course you know them all so why would any other 'authority' be even considered. However, either way, I'd like to see restrictions eased but all of this focus on, all or nothing June 21st, is ridiculous.
BREAKING: The British Medical Association is calling for a delay to the easing of all remaining lockdown restrictions in England due to case numbers ‘rising rapidly’.
They were also against the 12 week vaccination strategy.
Mood music is definitely against reopening properly. For Boris's calculation will it be more or less popular to hold off now? Sadly I think it will be more popular.
Might be more popular amongst pensioners and the wfh types in leafy surrey. Will definitely not be popular amongst business owners and the young by which i mean anyone under 30 to 35
Am I the only person on here who thinks that there's very little that I can't do freely at the moment, that there isn't really a 'lockdown' now, and that all the talk about next week's decision is somewhat hyperbolic?
If we took backward steps, that would be problematic. But my 'freedom day' really came when the pubs and restaurants were open again for business. I'm not too bothered if the final handful of restrictions are delayed a bit for the greater good (and until a higher % are double-vaxed).
I agree with you. Living in Spain I think here they are lifting restrictions too much, too quickly in order to pile in the tourists. At 67 my 2nd jab is still 7 weeks away and we know the Delta variant is already in the country and spreading. Think how many millions aged 50-70 are still awaiting a 2nd jab mostly well after myself. We still have compulsory masks here both indoors and outdoors which helps but even that may go next month. I'm unclear how much protection my sinlge jab [AZN] gives me against Delta but I think there is a lot of complacency in Europe now because figures have fallen to a degree.
Old bloke in wanting young people to continue to give up their lives to protect old blokes shocker.
Not at all but play the man not the ball if it keeps you happy.
Why not at all. It's exactly that. You would rather things didn't open up so quickly. But the young people are desperate to be unlocked.
Now I have calmed down a bit I would mention that my youngest son has been out a lot over the last week or so - currently at a BBQ with mates.
I'm seeing my brother in law and his family for first time in a year tomorrow for a day at the zoo.
We have been out for several meals over the last 2 weeks
My son who runs a bar told me earlier today he hasnt had a day off since pubs opened indoors
We are getting there
Great to hear.
We don't want to go backwards because some old blokes feel nervous.
Its the politicians isn't it
Who are of course terrified that they will be blamed if more people die so seem quite willing to do the easy thing and follow (un)scientific "advice"
A couple of piccies from my near-favourite modern house, built by an architect and his wife in 1967 and surprisingly small. They still live there in their 80s. Two views of the same space, and an amazing density of excellent, thoughtful design. Open for visitors sometimes. In Haddenham, Bucks.
eg It's a tiny galley kitchen, and those seats are against the worktop, but borrow the circulation space when in use; people sitting eating are not circulating.1967 bifold doors. Quarry tiles running inside to outside. Seat by a pond by the door case in situ. And so on - no end to it and the whole thing is perhaps only 1000 sqft.
A couple of piccies from my near-favourite modern house, built by an architect and his wife in 1967 and surprisingly small. They still live there in their 80s. Two views of the same space, and an amazing density of excellent, thoughtful design. Open for visitors sometimes. In Haddenham, Bucks.
eg It's a tiny galley kitchen, and those seats are against the worktop, but borrow the circulation space when in use; people sitting eating are not circulating.1967 bifold doors. Quarry tiles running inside to outside. Seat by a pond by the door case in situ. And so on - no end to it and the whole thing is perhaps only 1000 sqft.
I doubt Great Yarmouth or Skegness would be turning up their nose at Cornwall’s success.
Norfolk should be the Netherlands of the UK.
Means?
Hopefully bicycles, windbreaks, canal vaulting, and bog snorkelling. Or it could be cover the county with 10 more Thanet Earths to grow all our tomatoes here.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
I think those are all fair points - there is very little *unnecessary* in the design, and thorough use of all the space in the volume. Which makes storage and extra growth potential difficult. I looked at a 4 bed and 3 bed designs. A couple had a big cupboard under the stairs.
In a living space, for example, you would need your sofa against the wall rather than having an extra 1.2m behind the sofa for a bookshelf, as that 1.2m would add more value as most of an eating space in the kitchen-diner next door.
One of the comments I made back was that "my relative looking for a house" would likely want spaces for dishwasher, washer, and tumble dryer - whilst there was only a single appliance space. And only one design has a utility. Everyone would definitely need a shed, or do the traditional dedication of garage to storage.
The one below is the most conventional in layout. In a couple of the others there were eg staircases exposed to living area - which gives a perception of extra space, and saves the need to build one stair wall.
They really have made the most of the space. Some of those rooms are tiny. Do they have a garden?
Tiny most of them would be more or less full with just a king size bed in them
King size beds are not *necessary*.
All have gardens - density of development is 118 on 10 acres.
I posted the estate plan in the thread.
1/12 of an acre each, not allowing for roads is pretty tiny, not that people seem to want big gardens anymore, except for parking and building on.
Looks like I could build 40 odd on my paddock at that density.
Just below standard "Prescott density" for a site in that position - guidelines established by Prezza in Blair term 1 or 2 when was Deputy PM. 10% open space mandated. Plus some ancient hedges have been preserved.
BREAKING: The British Medical Association is calling for a delay to the easing of all remaining lockdown restrictions in England due to case numbers ‘rising rapidly’.
They were also against the 12 week vaccination strategy.
Mood music is definitely against reopening properly. For Boris's calculation will it be more or less popular to hold off now? Sadly I think it will be more popular.
Might be more popular amongst pensioners and the wfh types in leafy surrey. Will definitely not be popular amongst business owners and the young by which i mean anyone under 30 to 35
This from Labour:
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said delaying the easing of lockdown would be a huge blow for families and businesses, and said ministers were at fault.
He said: “Despite warnings from Labour, Sage and others they continued with a reckless border policy that allowed the Delta variant to reach the UK and spread. Now the British people look set to have to pay the price.”
Now, if Starmer were to stop wibbling on about trans self-identification and hammer on about this, and nothing but this, for the next solid month then he might finally make a dent in the Government's seemingly impregnable polling position. You would hope so. Johnson and the rest of his bloody idiots deserve to pay a price for this. But I bet they won't.
BLM supporters (55%) are twice as likely as BLM opponents (26%) to say it’s hard to be friends with someone on the other side of the debate. Labour supporters (35%) are five times as likely as Conservative supporters (7%) to say so."
I doubt Great Yarmouth or Skegness would be turning up their nose at Cornwall’s success.
Norfolk should be the Netherlands of the UK.
Means?
Hopefully bicycles, windbreaks, canal vaulting, and bog snorkelling. Or it could be cover the county with 10 more Thanet Earths to grow all our tomatoes here.
Interesting visit to the showhomes on a new local housing development. Fairly small - 120 houses on a couple of sloping fields preserving ancient hedges etc, with an acre of open space on the 10 acre site including a 2000sqm balancing pond, adjacent to a country park, and good connectivity. Long views over Derbyshire but over an industrial estate further down the hill.
They have apparently sold 30 since the spring, and is very popular - apparently releasing the last 4 a few days ago they had several thousand calls in the first hour.
Prices around £220/sqft - £238k for a compact but very efficiently laid out small 4 bed detached with 2 double / 2 single, one with ensuite, double garage. Interesting trend compared to previous decades to oblong rooms rather than square in kitchen, living and master bedroom, which allows two activity zones. Decent spec but not high end. Well laid-out estate - I specified the illustrative layout and took it through planning. Some obvious tight cost control - lightweight doors etc, but some pleasant modern version of estate fencing.
The company is a regional developer Gleeson who specialise in 'affordable homes for ordinary people'. I'm sure that somebody can find issues with them somewhere .
Give us the room sizes then. I, before buying my present (4 bedroomed Victorian terraced) house, looked round a couple of new developments and was shocked at how narrow the rooms were, how little storage space, how minuscule the gardens, and how cheap were things like the guttering and down pipes. One of them, my wife was actually leaving the place as I walked in while chatting to the staff member. I insisted on looking at it and I really, really, hated it. Not as much as her though. Our previous properties were all 1960s or earlier and at least looked like the walls wouldn’t fall down with a sparrows fart.
I'd never consider a new build. Far too many horror stories of shoebox rooms and shoddy construction.
I think those are all fair points - there is very little *unnecessary* in the design, and thorough use of all the space in the volume. Which makes storage and extra growth potential difficult. I looked at a 4 bed and 3 bed designs. A couple had a big cupboard under the stairs.
In a living space, for example, you would need your sofa against the wall rather than having an extra 1.2m behind the sofa for a bookshelf, as that 1.2m would add more value as most of an eating space in the kitchen-diner next door.
One of the comments I made back was that "my relative looking for a house" would likely want spaces for dishwasher, washer, and tumble dryer - whilst there was only a single appliance space. And only one design has a utility. Everyone would definitely need a shed, or do the traditional dedication of garage to storage.
The one below is the most conventional in layout. In a couple of the others there were eg staircases exposed to living area - which gives a perception of extra space, and saves the need to build one stair wall.
They really have made the most of the space. Some of those rooms are tiny. Do they have a garden?
Tiny most of them would be more or less full with just a king size bed in them
King size beds are not *necessary*.
All have gardens - density of development is 118 on 10 acres.
I posted the estate plan in the thread.
1/12 of an acre each, not allowing for roads is pretty tiny, not that people seem to want big gardens anymore, except for parking and building on.
Looks like I could build 40 odd on my paddock at that density.
Just below standard "Prescott density" for a site in that position - guidelines established by Prezza in Blair term 1 or 2 when was Deputy PM. 10% open space mandated. Plus some ancient hedges have been preserved.
It's one thing that drives NIMBYism, lower density gets fewer objections but councils don't like. I was planning less than 20 on my paddock.
BLM supporters (55%) are twice as likely as BLM opponents (26%) to say it’s hard to be friends with someone on the other side of the debate. Labour supporters (35%) are five times as likely as Conservative supporters (7%) to say so."
Comments
It's very unlikely the Green vote is spread evenly around the country. It'll be concentrated in university seats and constituencies with very high percentages of young people, which is good news for the Greens under the FPTP system.
So the only people being harmed are the businesses playing hard and fast by the rules (or are shut).
I’d be surprised if they’re making any money.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-covid-19-younger-adults-are-at-risk-too
President Biden looks forward to welcoming Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to the White House on July 15, 2021. Chancellor Merkel’s visit will affirm the deep bilateral ties between the United States and Germany. The leaders will discuss their commitment to close cooperation on a range of common challenges, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the threat of climate change, and promoting economic prosperity and international security based on our shared democratic values.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/11/statement-by-white-house-press-secretary-jen-psaki-on-the-visit-of-chancellor-angela-merkel-of-germany/
We're garrotting ourselves with piano wire to, in essence, try to extend the lives of a few thousand of the anti-vax morons and the very unlucky who are going to kick the bucket the moment the disease is allowed to spread again - the logic of which demands that we keep doing it forever, because there will never be a time when they are safe.
Sounds familiar.
Yes I know I have jinxed it.
You need 4 for 2/3 kids and a spare room.
Tight bedrooms are fine if you have children up to secondary school and several different areas where the family can be separate, and carefully thought through furniture etc. The beneficial environment, direct access to a big country park, walk to mini-Tesco, schools, playing fields, Macarthur Glen etc and easy access to the local trails network are more important, and provide an outlet.
I would be putting a veranda outside the patio doors, a shed, and carefully considering the aspect and garden when choosing the house, as there is quite a lot of variety.
This is the layout. The Council specified mix is very heavy on 3 beds. 10% social housing units.
Brochure here:
https://gleesonhomes.co.uk/site/assets/files/2434/sutton_heights_t2_a4_-_web.pdf
Population aged over 50 in Bromley, (129,584 according to NIMS), 116,008 (89.5%) have received one vaccination and 103,173 (79.6%) have received both.
So among those aged 50 or over, 79.6% are fully vaccinated in Bromley and 57.3% in Newham. 13,500 unvaccinated over 50s in Bromley and 24,000 unvaccinated over 50s in Newham (there are roughly half as many again over 50s in Bromley as in Newham as you might expect but that's the thing with percentages, they don't always tell the whole story.)
There this bit with a 21%:
Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine and 2.7% died.
But that's saying something else.
In any case in the UK the vulnerable segments of the young have already been vaccinated.
Impoverish them until they scream for mercy. That would concentrate minds.
It's all very individual though. The trick is to find some unpopular feature that you don't personally care about (noise if you're oblivious/bad schools if you have no kids/no parking if you cycle) and you can get a bargain.
The Delta deaths number is "Total deaths in any setting (regardless of hospitalisation status) within 28 days of positive specimen date".
Considering that the 50% of the population who are double jabbed are the 50% most likely to drop dead, and include a whole bunch of really old people, one needs (as you say) to control for that.
Another way to look at this data is that the 50% of people who are double jabbed generated just 5% of the cases (indicating 90% efficacy against symptomatic Covid). And given it's the 50% of the of the population with the weakest immune systems who are double jabbed, should make us feel pretty confident about the efficacy of vaccines on the variant.
Oh, you are.
2 sets all, 2 games all.
Oh well, at least the French should be back to normal by this time next year. We fucking won't at this rate.
http://www.mattdeegan.com/2020/04/27/times-radio-launch/
If it has then infection levels don’t matter
If it hasn’t then they do
But the rise in cases has been very recent - they need to know if the last couple of weeks of cases will result in lots of hospitalisation
If they do then we may need to lockdown to suppress the latest wave. We will be a couple of weeks later than idea but numbers are still at a relatively low level so we can get away with it. If they don’t result in hospitalisations we can open up more
As can be seen by looking at hospital numbers in Bolton or Blackburn or Bedfordshire.
If the vaccines are no fucking good at the stage we've already reached in the game then they'll never be good enough, and we'll never see an end to this Hell.
Because if those airlines and airports had said no to travel to India without waiting for the government to say so then they'd be likely able to operate much more now.
Leicester has rather a lot of nice Edwardian villas, and for build quality, detail and aesthetic shape of rooms they are great.
The longer the triple lock is left in place, the greater the percentage of Government spending and of national wealth that will be poured into the pockets of the elderly.
Carry on for long enough and the economy will simply collapse. It's not a question of if you should bin it, but of when - and whether this is done by choice or ultimately forced by necessity.
Turkey good in defence but lacking creativity in midfield and cutting edge. Italy should win this, but could be nil nil.
I was pointing out the absurdity of the situation - I've had two vaccinations, why was I wearing a mask at all? They weren't bothered, I wasn't bothered - only the law was bothered.
Some of the children wore masks - most didn't. They were no threat to me - now, if you're telling me I've put too much faith in the power of vaccination, fine, but all the evidence I've seen suggests that two weeks after the second vaccination, you are in a pretty good place.
Leaving out the expletives which some on here seem to think are required as an form of public debate, we're back to where we've always been with this - the extent to which restrictions in the name of protecting public health are still relevant and the extent to which public health concerns trump economic concerns.
As @Northern_Al has said, I also feel pretty free - the mask wearing is now tedious but you either obey the law or you don't. My freedom today was far more constrained by the inability of SWR to run a proper train service than it was by any coronavirus legislation or guidelines.
If I were running the Government (and that auspicious day cannot be long delayed), I would still ease restrictions on the 21st June. I would emphasise those who wish to continue to wear masks and take precautions are perfectly entitled to do so and we should all respect that while at the same time stressing the importance and safety of vaccination and general personal hygiene and health measures and, as others have argued, offering a more imaginative process for individuals to get vaccinated.
What did we all do in a past life to deserve the Tories and Labour at a time like this? Were we all in the SS or something?
The big restriction on my freedom is everyone has decided they want to go on holiday and you can't go to Cornwall because some chump and his mates have booked out the county for a meeting this weekend.
All have gardens - density of development is 118 on 10 acres.
I posted the estate plan in the thread.
https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/11/punjab_vaccine_sim_card/
If I won the lottery and could persuade the authorities to excuse me from the usual rules (there must be some exception for people willing to sink serious capital into local businesses?) then I'd emigrate to Canada. Things are hardly perfect there either but compared to this shithole it truly is a land of progress.
eg It's a tiny galley kitchen, and those seats are against the worktop, but borrow the circulation space when in use; people sitting eating are not circulating.1967 bifold doors. Quarry tiles running inside to outside. Seat by a pond by the door case in situ. And so on - no end to it and the whole thing is perhaps only 1000 sqft.
https://www.turnend.org.uk/
I'm seeing my brother in law and his family for first time in a year tomorrow for a day at the zoo.
We have been out for several meals over the last 2 weeks
My son who runs a bar told me earlier today he hasnt had a day off since pubs opened indoors
We are getting there
Looks like I could build 40 odd on my paddock at that density.
Kudos to you Mr. Palmer.
We don't want to go backwards because some old blokes feel nervous.
Who are of course terrified that they will be blamed if more people die so seem quite willing to do the easy thing and follow (un)scientific "advice"
There are still 35 mins to go!!
Reminds me of Mitch’s ranch house in the original “Parent Trap”.
I'm sure GB Partridge will prove everyone wrong.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said delaying the easing of lockdown would be a huge blow for families and businesses, and said ministers were at fault.
He said: “Despite warnings from Labour, Sage and others they continued with a reckless border policy that allowed the Delta variant to reach the UK and spread. Now the British people look set to have to pay the price.”
Now, if Starmer were to stop wibbling on about trans self-identification and hammer on about this, and nothing but this, for the next solid month then he might finally make a dent in the Government's seemingly impregnable polling position. You would hope so. Johnson and the rest of his bloody idiots deserve to pay a price for this. But I bet they won't.
@epkaufm
BLM supporters (55%) are twice as likely as BLM opponents (26%) to say it’s hard to be friends with someone on the other side of the debate. Labour supporters (35%) are five times as likely as Conservative supporters (7%) to say so."
https://twitter.com/epkaufm/status/1403290214999728128