Whackamole is the right analogy and the right tactic.
The Government thinks the pandemic is
1. a game 2. can never be beaten
Awesome.
As someone who knows Game Theory (a bit) -
- Yes, this is a game. Like nuclear war. - The current measures cannot beat the virus. All they can do, at best, is suppress it to a very low level. - The only way to beat the virus is a vaccine.
Whackamole is the right analogy and the right tactic.
The Government thinks the pandemic is
1. a game 2. can never be beaten
Awesome.
As someone who knows Game Theory (a bit) -
- Yes, this is a game. Like nuclear war. - The current measures cannot beat the virus. All they can do, at best, is suppress it to a very low level. - The only way to beat the virus is a vaccine.
There are several other ways to beat the virus other than a vaccine, but they are too costly and draconian given the likelihood of a vaccine being available and effective in the not to distant future. Otherwise they would have to be considered.
Aside from a vaccine - only a complete shutdown with everyone in a sterile box, with no contact with each other. At all.
The Chinese tried a form of that - and the virus is still popping up.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
"burger and side salad"
LOL
A typical Mickey D's customer writes...
Yes I am a typical customer there, I'm not ashamed to say that. Are you?
Or are you too posh and too good for McDonalds?
LOL x2
When you need a McDonald's you need a McDonalds, me included, but I can tell you now when I go I don't have a "burger and side salad".
Yeah, who goes to McDonald's for the healthy options? If I'm going there I'm either getting a double sausage and egg mcmuffin or a big mac based meal. Though I probably only go once every few months, at least after they closed the London Wall branch.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
"burger and side salad"
LOL
A typical Mickey D's customer writes...
Yes I am a typical customer there, I'm not ashamed to say that. Are you?
Or are you too posh and too good for McDonalds?
Oh dear God it gets worse with the sneering. Philip. Its just possible that what *you* choose to order isn't what *most people* choose to order. And yes, I eat at Maccie D's and yes on the odd occasion I've had a salad pot instead of fries. You and I both know that the vast majority of customers choose fries so drop the idiocy that you are a typical customer.
Is McDonalds healthier than it used to be? Absolutely. Its like eating 3/4s of the pack of lard instead of the whole thing. Healthier? Yes. Healthy? No.
Half price Big Macs. Paid for by government. As part of its healthy living drive.
So what? Again, this just means any eatery should not be supported unless it is the 'right' kind.
I am genuinely baffled at the conclusions reached on this one which seem to rely on government not being able to have more than one priority, and an assumption people are idiots and cannot understand a message of moderation where you could reward yourself with a big mac occasionally.
Seriously were they supposed to not support businesses at all or delay talking about obesity until after the pandemic?
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
"burger and side salad"
LOL
A typical Mickey D's customer writes...
Yes I am a typical customer there, I'm not ashamed to say that. Are you?
Or are you too posh and too good for McDonalds?
LOL x2
When you need a McDonald's you need a McDonalds, me included, but I can tell you now when I go I don't have a "burger and side salad".
Would you like to tell us more about this McDonalds addiction you have Toppo ?
Personally I only go when I receive the 'meal for £2' vouchers.
Happy to open up on this one Ricky.
When you need a Big Mac only a Big Mac will do and then it's Big Mac, large fries, full fat coke. Or perhaps chocolate milk shake.
I love McDonalds.
Just like @Philip_Thompson I worked there also - my first holiday job. In Wembley. It took two weeks before someone (one of the guys there) pointed out that I was the only white bloke working there.
Oh I've lived. No shootings, mind, while I was working there.
Edit: oh and there was a time of my life when I'd buy a couple of chicken nugget boxes and then have them with a beer.
I currently have a stoma, and have had one for the past 2 years. It’s due to be removed in 3 weeks time, however having it has given me an appreciation and quite a deep understanding of how the body digests food - what digests well, and what does not. I’ll tell you that in my experience, McDonalds burgers digest pretty well however the chips are awful.
Doesn’t stop me getting a Big Mac and Fries, although it really should. You can tell the body does not like them.
They are fried in a blend of non-hydrogenated sunflower oil and rapeseed oil according to Google. That isn't good. Beef tallow or Palm oil or Coconut oil would be better.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
"burger and side salad"
LOL
A typical Mickey D's customer writes...
Yes I am a typical customer there, I'm not ashamed to say that. Are you?
Or are you too posh and too good for McDonalds?
LOL x2
When you need a McDonald's you need a McDonalds, me included, but I can tell you now when I go I don't have a "burger and side salad".
Personally, at the price of a McDonalds hamburger, i already effectively mentally assume i'm getting the product at half price anyway! (Or at least i did until Burger King started introducing their saver menu in some outlets.) I usually order one in addition to a meal (or in a rush i used to just order two).
Whackamole is the right analogy and the right tactic.
The Government thinks the pandemic is
1. a game 2. can never be beaten
Awesome.
As someone who knows Game Theory (a bit) -
- Yes, this is a game. Like nuclear war. - The current measures cannot beat the virus. All they can do, at best, is suppress it to a very low level. - The only way to beat the virus is a vaccine.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Whackamole is the right analogy and the right tactic.
The Government thinks the pandemic is
1. a game 2. can never be beaten
Awesome.
As someone who knows Game Theory (a bit) -
- Yes, this is a game. Like nuclear war. - The current measures cannot beat the virus. All they can do, at best, is suppress it to a very low level. - The only way to beat the virus is a vaccine.
There are several other ways to beat the virus other than a vaccine, but they are too costly and draconian given the likelihood of a vaccine being available and effective in the not to distant future. Otherwise they would have to be considered.
Aside from a vaccine - only a complete shutdown with everyone in a sterile box, with no contact with each other. At all.
The Chinese tried a form of that - and the virus is still popping up.
Hiding away until we die of something else isn't that attractive anyway.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
I’m more of a medium butterfly chicken with two sides - chips, and more chips, kind of guy.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
Whackamole is the right analogy and the right tactic.
The Government thinks the pandemic is
1. a game 2. can never be beaten
Awesome.
As someone who knows Game Theory (a bit) -
- Yes, this is a game. Like nuclear war. - The current measures cannot beat the virus. All they can do, at best, is suppress it to a very low level. - The only way to beat the virus is a vaccine.
There are several other ways to beat the virus other than a vaccine, but they are too costly and draconian given the likelihood of a vaccine being available and effective in the not to distant future. Otherwise they would have to be considered.
Aside from a vaccine - only a complete shutdown with everyone in a sterile box, with no contact with each other. At all.
The Chinese tried a form of that - and the virus is still popping up.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
What is the UK policy towards the French colonies? ("Treating countries as a whole"). Basically i reckon the Govt forgot about the islands when making the original announcement, and then decided to double down rather than clarify the other way.
I suspect foreign holidays are over for most for this year
Time to holiday in the UK
It is a grim place, albeit much improved like most places in the sunshine. I should be there in a few weeks.
If it was a ruined castle by the beach. for example Scarborough, instead of a steelworks then it would be viewed as 'romantic' even 'chocolate box'.
But in reality the Redcar steelworks has done more for the UK than any number of ruined castles.
Yes it has. And there are some lovely towns and villages nearby in fact, I like Guisborough, but Redcar and some of its dormitory suburbs can be grim. The steelworks image didnt enter into my mind.
Why go to Redcar when Saltburn is just a few miles further on?
Saltburn to Redcar out and back along the beach is a pleasant walk. Just need to know your tide times.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
+2 - I can't stand the taste of full sugar Coke or Pepsi but will happily drink Diet coke and Pepsi Max.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
I don't think the government's announcement on Spain was entirely about Spain. It's about making sure the man in the street knows this isn't over.
Back to campaigning, then? Do something pointless just to send a message. Then undo it again shortly afterwards, no doubt.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Given a full on coke is a far sized bag of sugar, not adding it on top of the rest makes a certain kind of sense.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Peri chips and garlic bread. Rice instead of chips if I'm feeling healthy. The thigh fillets are actually a pretty good meal, I actually changed my nandos order for the first time in probably 20 just before lockdown and I got the thigh fillets.
We have plenty of data, in lots of detail. The government has more - mainly in terms of ultra low level and splitting of pillar 1 and 2 testing.
The header is poor. Simon Jenkins is a photo-Heffer - a weird reactionary on a number of subjects.
As usual, he is wrong - the government advice isn't from Imperial. Just about everyone in the country in the field is providing input - all with their own models. Jenkins is just too lazy to go beyond a few sneers.
Managing this epidemic is a matter of snap decisions, made within days. This is because of the rate of take off (potentially exponential).
What a lot of people don't seem to realise is that just because current UK and Spanish infection rates are similar at the moment, it doesn't mean that the situation is the same. The UK infection rate is still falling slowly, but the Spanish infection rate is rising fast. So we need a quarantine now because in a week's time — or two weeks, or however much "notice" people think should have been given — things may be significantly worse than they are now. You don't want to wait for a fire to take hold before calling the fire brigade.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
"burger and side salad"
LOL
A typical Mickey D's customer writes...
Yes I am a typical customer there, I'm not ashamed to say that. Are you?
Or are you too posh and too good for McDonalds?
LOL x2
When you need a McDonald's you need a McDonalds, me included, but I can tell you now when I go I don't have a "burger and side salad".
I'm guessing you don't go in and order a Supersize fries and Supersize sugary Coke either.
Ergo, men can eat five Big Macs a day. Four for women. It would be a boring diet but as @Philip_Thompson says, McDonalds is not bad nutritionally, their food is British or Irish, and they treat their staff well from what I've heard.
Adding fries to your Big Mac means another 337 Calories, which makes 845 Calories which is the same as the fish and chips I shall be having for lunch before tackling Glorious Goodwood.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Peri chips and garlic bread. Rice instead of chips if I'm feeling healthy. The thigh fillets are actually a pretty good meal, I actually changed my nandos order for the first time in probably 20 just before lockdown and I got the thigh fillets.
Their wing roulette is pretty good, when I want to be a bit mad.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
+2 - I can't stand the taste of full sugar Coke or Pepsi but will happily drink Diet coke and Pepsi Max.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
I’m more of a medium butterfly chicken with two sides - chips, and more chips, kind of guy.
I've never been a big potato fan. Chips are just "meh" for me.
KFC staff get irritated with me because I substitute the chips when I go through their drive thru which makes the ordering complex. Variety Bucket but swap the 4 fries for two corn on the cobs and a large coleslaw. KFCs chips are notably s**t though.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Given a full on coke is a far sized bag of sugar, not adding it on top of the rest makes a certain kind of sense.
It does make a certain kind of sense but then the impact of sweeteners might make it more damaging than the sugar in the long run so it depends. I know neither option is good for me, but I prefer the diet option on taste grounds.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Peri chips and garlic bread. Rice instead of chips if I'm feeling healthy. The thigh fillets are actually a pretty good meal, I actually changed my nandos order for the first time in probably 20 just before lockdown and I got the thigh fillets.
Ooh not tried the thigh fillets, may have to give them a go. Is that as a burger or on its own?
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
When my children loved Nando's - a while ago, they've moved on - I used to eat the salad when we went there. There was a rather nice one with avocado and halloumi.
Completely off-topic but for those people in an area with Amazon Fresh (London) I've just seen that you can discover what a decent supermarket is like - Amazon Fresh has all of Booths' ready meals available.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Given a full on coke is a far sized bag of sugar, not adding it on top of the rest makes a certain kind of sense.
Huh? Coke is coke. A large one at McDonald's is a smadge over 200 calories.
All the "healthy" fruit juices are far worse (if only because people think they are not pure sugar and somehow "healthy").
We have plenty of data, in lots of detail. The government has more - mainly in terms of ultra low level and splitting of pillar 1 and 2 testing.
The header is poor. Simon Jenkins is a photo-Heffer - a weird reactionary on a number of subjects.
As usual, he is wrong - the government advice isn't from Imperial. Just about everyone in the country in the field is providing input - all with their own models. Jenkins is just too lazy to go beyond a few sneers.
Managing this epidemic is a matter of snap decisions, made within days. This is because of the rate of take off (potentially exponential).
What a lot of people don't seem to realise is that just because current UK and Spanish infection rates are similar at the moment, it doesn't mean that the situation is the same. The UK infection rate is still falling slowly, but the Spanish infection rate is rising fast. So we need a quarantine now because in a week's time — or two weeks, or however much "notice" people think should have been given — things may be significantly worse than they are now. You don't want to wait for a fire to take hold before calling the fire brigade.
The UK infection rate is rising slowly but otherwise your point is well made.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Peri chips and garlic bread. Rice instead of chips if I'm feeling healthy. The thigh fillets are actually a pretty good meal, I actually changed my nandos order for the first time in probably 20 just before lockdown and I got the thigh fillets.
Ooh not tried the thigh fillets, may have to give them a go. Is that as a burger or on its own?
On their own. You get 4 of them so it's a good sized meal as well if you go to the right nandos in the right part of town.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
+2 - I can't stand the taste of full sugar Coke or Pepsi but will happily drink Diet coke and Pepsi Max.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
Heads exploding in Atlanta right now.
Remember when Coca Cola disastrously changed its formula in the 1990s, and had to revert in the face of customer anger? Well, New Coke lives on as Diet Coke. Diet Coke = diet version of New Coke (which no longer exists) Coke Zero = diet version of proper Coke.
That's why forcing restaurants to put calorie counts is such a bad idea.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
+2 - I can't stand the taste of full sugar Coke or Pepsi but will happily drink Diet coke and Pepsi Max.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
Heads exploding in Atlanta right now.
That was the point Coke Zero is coke without the sugar, great if you like the taste of Coke, not much use if you don't...
And if you want really stupid, given the choice of Coke Zero or Coke Light (i.e. Diet Coke in the rest of europe) I will go for Coke Zero as it's usually the only option - searching for Pepsi is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
You seen the calorie counts? My gods it's delicious but wow!
Id have a hot chicken pitta (437) with chips (467) and a diet drink, not great but not terrible, if I swapped the chips for spicy rice (246) it would be very healthy for an eat out meal.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
You seen the calorie counts? My gods it's delicious but wow!
Calorie counting is pretty silly if you ask me (not targeting this specifically at you). A calorie isn't a calorie - fuel isn't just fuel. Ask anyone who's ever put petrol in a diesel engine. And how much more complex than a combustion engine is your body? If you're going to subject what you eat to such intense scrutiny, make it about something that matters to your health.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
+2 - I can't stand the taste of full sugar Coke or Pepsi but will happily drink Diet coke and Pepsi Max.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
Heads exploding in Atlanta right now.
Remember when Coca Cola disastrously changed its formula in the 1990s, and had to revert in the face of customer anger? Well, New Coke lives on as Diet Coke. Diet Coke = diet version of New Coke (which no longer exists) Coke Zero = diet version of proper Coke.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Given a full on coke is a far sized bag of sugar, not adding it on top of the rest makes a certain kind of sense.
Huh? Coke is coke. A large one at McDonald's is a smadge over 200 calories.
All the "healthy" fruit juices are far worse (if only because people think they are not pure sugar and somehow "healthy").
A pint of draught Guinness is healthier - 125 calories.
That's why forcing restaurants to put calorie counts is such a bad idea.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
I don't think its a bad idea at all for big brand restaurants to do that.
McDonalds have had the calorie information on their drive thru menu for years now and it does no harm. It nudges me if I'm going for a wrap to go for the grilled chicken rather than the crispy chicken (~150 kcal saving) but its just awareness and letting people choose. It doesn't mean everyone has to pay attention but let those who want to do so do so.
That's why forcing restaurants to put calorie counts is such a bad idea.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
Tbh, I'm not sure it will make a difference. People are going to get what they want anyway. I think mandatory labelling of whether something was prepared and cooked on site is more helpful.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
That's why forcing restaurants to put calorie counts is such a bad idea.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
I don't think its a bad idea at all for big brand restaurants to do that.
McDonalds have had the calorie information on their drive thru menu for years now and it does no harm. It nudges me if I'm going for a wrap to go for the grilled chicken rather than the crispy chicken (~150 kcal saving) but its just awareness and letting people choose. It doesn't mean everyone has to pay attention but let those who want to do so do so.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
I’m really looking forward to Government subsidised half price Nando’s to be honest.
Same!
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Peri chips and garlic bread. Rice instead of chips if I'm feeling healthy. The thigh fillets are actually a pretty good meal, I actually changed my nandos order for the first time in probably 20 just before lockdown and I got the thigh fillets.
Ooh not tried the thigh fillets, may have to give them a go. Is that as a burger or on its own?
On their own. You get 4 of them so it's a good sized meal as well if you go to the right nandos in the right part of town.
Completely off-topic but for those people in an area with Amazon Fresh (London) I've just seen that you can discover what a decent supermarket is like - Amazon Fresh has all of Booths' ready meals available.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
Crowded restaurants where tables are at least two meters apart, where there are no buffet options, the table isn’t set until you sit down, only single use condiments, staff wearing masks, no menus unless down loaded or on the door, masks required when not actually eating. Limits to size of groups. To name a few restrictions.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
+2 - I can't stand the taste of full sugar Coke or Pepsi but will happily drink Diet coke and Pepsi Max.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
Heads exploding in Atlanta right now.
Remember when Coca Cola disastrously changed its formula in the 1990s, and had to revert in the face of customer anger? Well, New Coke lives on as Diet Coke. Diet Coke = diet version of New Coke (which no longer exists) Coke Zero = diet version of proper Coke.
Don't forget Dasani.
Dasani was water; I was commenting on the Coke Zero/Diet Coke discussion.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
What is the UK policy towards the French colonies?
Clearly an oversight that one more war would have fixed used to be the traditional line, not sure if the FO has caught up with more recent developments.
@noneoftheabove the nearest “Leon” to me is in Manchester...
Nando's might sit in between McDonalds and Leon in terms of healthy options and thats everywhere.
You seen the calorie counts? My gods it's delicious but wow!
Calorie counting is pretty silly if you ask me (not targeting this specifically at you). A calorie isn't a calorie - fuel isn't just fuel. Ask anyone who's ever put petrol in a diesel engine. And how much more complex than a combustion engine is your body? If you're going to subject what you eat to such intense scrutiny, make it about something that matters to your health.
This is a typically stupid comment from you @Luckyguy1983
Let me guess - you never had to worry much about your weight.
What do you think matters more to an obese person's health than their weight?
How do you suggest someone who is overweight addresses that?
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Given a full on coke is a far sized bag of sugar, not adding it on top of the rest makes a certain kind of sense.
Huh? Coke is coke. A large one at McDonald's is a smadge over 200 calories.
All the "healthy" fruit juices are far worse (if only because people think they are not pure sugar and somehow "healthy").
A pint of draught Guinness is healthier - 125 calories.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Given a full on coke is a far sized bag of sugar, not adding it on top of the rest makes a certain kind of sense.
It does make a certain kind of sense but then the impact of sweeteners might make it more damaging than the sugar in the long run so it depends. I know neither option is good for me, but I prefer the diet option on taste grounds.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
I am with your wife, metaphorically speaking. Full sugar coke is great if served really, really, really, really cold, otherwise too syrupy, whereas diet is more forgiving.
And let's not forget the tooth hostility of the full sugar stuff. Bariatric surgery is on Mr Attlee, but dentistry actually costs.
Around a 100 Tory MPs are affiliated to the One Nation Group so they still have influence even if they have lost big hitters like David Gauke, Rory Stewart and Amber Rudd
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
Guilty, but prefer the taste of diet coke to normal coke, not ordering it to save calories, just a taste thing.
Drank lots of coke as a kid but now I don't like it. Or rather I do, I like the initial hit, but I don't like the sugary resin that coats your teeth afterwards.
Another fond memory is the Macs apple pie. I don't know if they still do them but they were a real health risk. Not for calories and sugar but for something more immediate - 2nd degree burns to the mouth. They used to be served up with the liquid filling at a temperature akin to an erupting volcano.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
We can argue about the Canary Islands all day. I think ultimately whether it was a sensible decision comes down to whether their inclusion was deliberate or a cock-up/oversight. I tend towards the "cock up" view, hence bad decision. I don't understand otherwise why they were originally left off the changes to the guidance on non-essential travel. Perhaps somebody can explain.
Once the Government had announced the contradictory/inconsistent position on the Canary Islands they were basically forced to rectify one way or another. ie. clarify that quarantine only applied to the mainland, or extend the guidance of travel to the Islands. If HYUFD is to be believed, having jumped one way, they might now revert to the other. Although personally i think that is unlikely, unless they were REALLY confident that cases won't grow there.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
That's why forcing restaurants to put calorie counts is such a bad idea.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
Tbh, I'm not sure it will make a difference. People are going to get what they want anyway. I think mandatory labelling of whether something was prepared and cooked on site is more helpful.
Yebbut there you are, you and your significant other. Candles flickering, just so atmosphere, subdued lighting, special occasion, perhaps an anniversary. They get the menu...I'll have the Suprême de pintadeau fermier rôti, cuisse confite et farcie aux poireaux, pommes de terre Anna parfumées à l’ail doux, sauce à la truffe.
Oh wait. It's a kazillion calories. No. I'll just have the salad please.
Around a 100 Tory MPs are affiliated to the One Nation Group so they still have influence even if they have lost big hitters like David Gayle, Rory Stewart and Amber Rudd
Only if Parliament matters.
Cummings literally holds it in contempt. They are no brake on his plans.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
That's an argument about holidaying in general not about the Canaries decision specifically.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
We can argue about the Canary Islands all day. I think ultimately whether it was a sensible decision comes down to whether their inclusion was deliberate or a cock-up/oversight. I tend towards the "cock up" view, hence bad decision. I don't understand otherwise why they were originally left off the changes to the guidance on non-essential travel. Perhaps somebody can explain.
Once the Government had announced the contradictory/inconsistent position on the Canary Islands they were basically forced to rectify one way or another. ie. clarify that quarantine only applied to the mainland, or extend the guidance of travel to the Islands. If HYUFD is to be believed, having jumped one way, they might now revert to the other. Although personally i think that is unlikely, unless they were REALLY confident that cases won't grow there.
The focus of the surge in cases is mainland Spain, especially Aragon and Catalonia, the Canary Islands have barely any new cases
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
LOL did I post this at the beginning of lockdown? I cut my daily 2x slices of toast, butter, peanut butter breakfast down to 1x slice of toast, butter, peanut butter breakfast.
5x slices of toast, butter, peanut butter calorie saving = I bottle of wine at the weekend!
I think with Coke, I have it so rarely that I'll always go for the real thing. I find that fizzy drinks are an unnecessary calorie expenditure that I'll need to spend 30-60 mins extra on the bike to work off. Better not to have them often. Beer, wine, water. Three drinks that you can't go wrong with.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
Crowded restaurants where tables are at least two meters apart, where there are no buffet options, the table isn’t set until you sit down, only single use condiments, staff wearing masks, no menus unless down loaded or on the door, masks required when not actually eating. Limits to size of groups. To name a few restrictions.
And, unlike at home, eating out actually means outside, quite often. Not inside a stuffy pub on a day like yesterday.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
No you don't. If you are on a desert island you can live on beer alone because the H2O content is higher and it would keep you from becoming dehydrated, but for wine you would die (albeit what a way to go) because you would eventually become dehydrated.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
Is that true?
Yes, the calorific value of it is in alcohol and sugar. You'll keep the sugar and piss away the alcohol. Beer has most of its calories in carbs which is why beer bellies exist.
Around a 100 Tory MPs are affiliated to the One Nation Group so they still have influence even if they have lost big hitters like David Gayle, Rory Stewart and Amber Rudd
Only if Parliament matters.
Cummings literally holds it in contempt. They are no brake on his plans.
If Cummings went too far they do matter as Boris cannot get anything through without Parliamentary support, if those 100 One Nation MPs voted with the opposition he would no longer have a majority. Though that is unlikely
That's why forcing restaurants to put calorie counts is such a bad idea.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
I don't think its a bad idea at all for big brand restaurants to do that.
McDonalds have had the calorie information on their drive thru menu for years now and it does no harm. It nudges me if I'm going for a wrap to go for the grilled chicken rather than the crispy chicken (~150 kcal saving) but its just awareness and letting people choose. It doesn't mean everyone has to pay attention but let those who want to do so do so.
Independent restaurants I wouldn't make do it.
Many people would be horrified to discover that their "posh" meal has more fat, salt, sugar etc than a Big Mac and fries.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
Is that true?
Yes, the calorific value of it is in alcohol and sugar. You'll keep the sugar and piss away the alcohol. Beer has most of its calories in carbs which is why beer bellies exist.
I thought you absorbed and kept the alcohol calories too?
I mean if you're not absorbing the alcohol then you wouldn't get drunk.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
Crowded restaurants where tables are at least two meters apart, where there are no buffet options, the table isn’t set until you sit down, only single use condiments, staff wearing masks, no menus unless down loaded or on the door, masks required when not actually eating. Limits to size of groups. To name a few restrictions.
And, unlike at home, eating out actually means outside, quite often. Not inside a stuffy pub on a day like yesterday.
I forgot that although tomorrow is nichoden’s birthday and we will be inside for lunch as it’s too hot, 13 for a €10 menu del dia she’s paying but doesn’t know and won’t remember
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
We can argue about the Canary Islands all day. I think ultimately whether it was a sensible decision comes down to whether their inclusion was deliberate or a cock-up/oversight. I tend towards the "cock up" view, hence bad decision. I don't understand otherwise why they were originally left off the changes to the guidance on non-essential travel. Perhaps somebody can explain.
Once the Government had announced the contradictory/inconsistent position on the Canary Islands they were basically forced to rectify one way or another. ie. clarify that quarantine only applied to the mainland, or extend the guidance of travel to the Islands. If HYUFD is to be believed, having jumped one way, they might now revert to the other. Although personally i think that is unlikely, unless they were REALLY confident that cases won't grow there.
The focus of the surge in cases is mainland Spain, especially Aragon and Catalonia, the Canary Islands have barely any new cases
Not the point. It would have been easy to exempt (or even clarify in relation to the original announcement) on that basis.
To reverse ferret is a whole different kettle of fish, and will require far greater level of confidence that a problem won't emerge there in the future (which is a bit of a risk if the decision is taken specifically to encourage Brits to travel there and party).
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
Is that true?
Yes, the calorific value of it is in alcohol and sugar. You'll keep the sugar and piss away the alcohol. Beer has most of its calories in carbs which is why beer bellies exist.
I thought you absorbed and kept the alcohol calories too?
I mean if you're not absorbing the alcohol then you wouldn't get drunk.
Different mechanism. Do people get fat from drinking gin?
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
Is that true?
I was told by a good friend that the calories in alcohol don’t count. As she was doing her DPhil in biochemistry at the time and is now a professor at a very well known university I am inclined to believe her.
My anecdata from two different friends that were in Spain when "quarantine" measures were re-introduced is that they have no intention whatsoever of following the advice. One is already back at work in his office (for the first time since March ironically). The other intends to fly back 48 hours before the school term starts.
What annoys me most about this government is that they insult our intelligence with the messaging. Stop playing games. Either imported cases matter, in which case stop fucking about and ban RyanAir from flying and take arrivals to central quarantine facilities. Or it doesn't matter in the grand scheme with good flight hygiene and pre-boarding testing and let people do what they want.
It's like the country is being run by the two facets of Tyler Durden.
My first reaction on hearing the news on Spanish holiday returnees was that a lot of people would ignore the quarantine rule.
Some will but I would expect many will either work from home or respect their responsibilty for the common good
If they are returning from the Canaries there is no common good in self isolating. They are simply harming their employment prospects and their kids for no good reason.
You cannot possibly know that
If I had the enforced choice of meeting someone from Leicester or someone just back from the Canaries, Id be choosing the one coming from the place with a 10 times lower infection rate rather than the one that isnt foreign.
Who mentioned the Canaries? The OP Moonshine said "Spain", which implies the mainland, at leasdt in common parlance.
The Foreign Office. Foreign Office also extended its travel advice for Spain, now telling people to avoid non-essential journeys to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as mainland Spain on grounds that it was simpler and countries had to be treated as whole.
The Canaries are technically part of Spain but are isolated far away and have a much lower incidence of the virus than the UK. That's what this discussion was about.
I support the Government's actions on Spain as a whole but the Canaries bit was rubbish and undermines the Government's credibity - which is a bad thing in controlling the virus.
From what I understand the government are in discussions on exempting the Canaries from quarantine which makes sense as they are closer to Africa than mainland Spain
Good to hear. It is the only part of the Government's actions on Spain that I disagree with. It is just so rubbish. Lots of holiday makers go to the Canaries and their economy depends on tourism. And the incidence of the virus is much lower than the UK's.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
I am not sure that is a particularly good point. When on holiday people tend to spend a lot of time in crowded restaurants, mixing with lots of people from a variety of places, getting to know some of them quite well, drinking a lot to impair judgment and all kinds of other irresponsible behavior. It's not the same risk as a masked trip to your local Tescos, whatever the local incidence of the virus is.
That's an argument about holidaying in general not about the Canaries decision specifically.
Agreed. But it is also a reason why making the Canaries an exception is not particularly rational.
I currently have a stoma, and have had one for the past 2 years. It’s due to be removed in 3 weeks time, however having it has given me an appreciation and quite a deep understanding of how the body digests food - what digests well, and what does not. I’ll tell you that in my experience, McDonalds burgers digest pretty well however the chips are awful.
Doesn’t stop me getting a Big Mac and Fries, although it really should. You can tell the body does not like them.
They are fried in a blend of non-hydrogenated sunflower oil and rapeseed oil according to Google. That isn't good. Beef tallow or Palm oil or Coconut oil would be better.
I try and keep potatoes in the “treat” box, sugar bombs that they are. But when you have them there’s no point unless you smother them in tallow or rendered lamb fat before you put them in the oven. Super easy to make great healthy animal fats at home, all you need is a fatty joint / bones of “grass fed for life” red meat. Much better than the bottled hydrogenated rubbish most people use.
And yes, calorie counting is counter productive. By now the evidence is convincing that obesity is largely a symptom of insulin resistance. Cut out sugar and digestible carbs and substitute for fibrous carbs (green veg) and high quality fats (grass fed meat, oily fish, full fat dairy, nuts etc...) and you get skinny in no time. It’s not even very difficult.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
Is that true?
Yes, the calorific value of it is in alcohol and sugar. You'll keep the sugar and piss away the alcohol. Beer has most of its calories in carbs which is why beer bellies exist.
I thought you absorbed and kept the alcohol calories too?
I mean if you're not absorbing the alcohol then you wouldn't get drunk.
Different mechanism. Do people get fat from drinking gin?
I think the vodka my other half had on sunday was net negative calories.
I won't be at all surprised if the government don't swiftly rescind the Spain thing following the obvious pressure from the entire travel sector about how many people they are about to make redundant. Contradiction and hypocrisy to do so? Perhaps, but as they're making it up every day with no clue what they did previous days (cf eat half price burgers / don't eat burgers) it fits the pattern of behaviour.
If the "quarantine" was actually quarantine then perhaps they had a point. As it is if someone is even there at the airport to collect your form the authorities appear to spend zero enforcing it as them calling on you and you not being there is fine for a whole host of reasons. As with so much of their stuff it is nonsense on stilts.
That would require the Government to admit that they made a mistake. And as with Cummings when forced to choose between admitting they made a mistake and doubling down the Government will double down.
So if we all need to lose weight and the government is announcing a stack of anti-obesity measures from August including the plan to scrap buy one get one free on food, was not buy one burger get one free in August a mistake...? Or just the usual disorganised chaos.
QTWAIN.
Not a mistake. The industry is devastated at the minute. And while going out it's entirely possible to think about what you order and choose a healthier option and not a supersized meal with sugary drinks.
The key to having a healthy weight is to make smart choices ... it is categorically NOT to never go out!
I know you are on the libertarian end of the spectrum and I respect that. Which means that you know as well as I do what people are in most cases likely to be eating. It is not "sneering condescension" to point out that half price burgers in McDonalds paid for by the government is a direct contradiction to "stop eating burgers" said by the government. Yes its a fine balance between jobs and health. They don't attempt a balance or nuance. Its "eat burgers / don't eat burgers" in the same breath.
No hypocrisy. It's half price anything but be careful and don't overeat.
One meal does not obesity cause. A lifetime of smart choices is required to keep healthy.
The government should not be saying all or nothing. Education and moderation are key, what is wrong with that?
Philip. "Be careful and don't overeat". In McDonalds. On Half Price Big Macs. With restaurants specifically reopened to allow people to do so.
Come on. You know what McDonalds punters are in there for. Its not for a salad bowl.
How often do you eat at McDonald's? I do, do you with your sneering pretensions?
If you actually eat their nobody puts a gun against your head and forces you to buy a meal with large fries and large sugary Coke.
When we go we get out children chicken nuggets with carrot sticks instead of fries in their happy meal. I tend to get a burger and side salad instead of fries and Coke Zero.
Personal choice and responsibilities are things for people to learn.
You are clearly their average consumer.
Perhaps. There is a very snobbish attitude on this site sometimes that people here are "too good" for McDonalds, KFC etc and their customers. Its not big and its not clever.
More than one things can be true at the same time at the moment two things are true. 1: The hospitality industry has been devastated by the virus and the government mandated social distancing and lockdown and needs support to get back on its feet. 2: Obesity is an issue and people need to try and make smart choices.
The government is trying to tackle both truths. No hypocrisy.
McDonalds have actually done a lot to offer healthier meals than 10-20 years ago. And healthier fast food joints like Leon have become more popular too.
Indeed. You can tell by some posts here those who are going based off preconceptions of what McDonalds is, versus customers who actually go there and know what it really is.
I worked there while a student at uni 20 years ago when Supersize meals were still an option and Supersize Me came out as a movie. The menu then, compared to the menu now, is completely different. Supersize options were dropped immediately when that movie came out and carrots sticks, fruit bags, salads, grilled chicken and far more other options have long been introduced too. Its entirely possible to have a fully healthy meal at McDonalds now in a way that wasn't possible 20 years ago.
This is true. You can play Macs safely if you keep your wits about you. I, for example, never have fries unless it's with a single burger, and even then it's small fries. So if I'm doing a Big Mac that is all I'm doing. A Big Mac. And no puddings obviously.
Others get it all wrong. I've seen it many times, heard people ordering in ways that make no sense at all -
"Quarterpounder with cheese, large fries, apple pie, please ... and a diet coke."
I mean, c'mon.
My wife actually likes the taste of diet coke. She finds full fat coke far too sweet and won't drink pepsi. It takes all types I suppose. Personally, I don't like McDonalds. But good luck to anyone who does. Its probably a lot better for you than a creamy curry or a fatty Chinese, both of which I am quite partial to.
A Big Mac & Fries = around 900 calories = around a third (just over) the RDA so for one meal there's nothing wrong with it. At 3pm after lunch and before supper is not such a great idea.
In comparison there is about 600 calories in a bottle of wine, ahem.
You do, however, piss most of that out.
Is that true?
I was told by a good friend that the calories in alcohol don’t count. As she was doing her DPhil in biochemistry at the time and is now a professor at a very well known university I am inclined to believe her.
This may explain my shape of course...
She is of course right. Plus calories consumed standing up or on a plane likewise don't count.
Comments
The Chinese tried a form of that - and the virus is still popping up.
When you need a Big Mac only a Big Mac will do and then it's Big Mac, large fries, full fat coke. Or perhaps chocolate milk shake.
I love McDonalds.
Just like @Philip_Thompson I worked there also - my first holiday job. In Wembley. It took two weeks before someone (one of the guys there) pointed out that I was the only white bloke working there.
Oh I've lived. No shootings, mind, while I was working there.
Edit: oh and there was a time of my life when I'd buy a couple of chicken nugget boxes and then have them with a beer.
I was hoping for this one -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOoXwxqeVzg
Half chicken extra hot with roasted veg and corn on the cob is my "healthy" go to choice from Nando's. Spicy rice and coleslaw if I'm not trying to be healthy.
Just need to know your tide times.
I can't however drink Coke Zero because it's too close to real Coke.
I have no "skin in the game" but I just don't like clearly rubbish damaging decisions.
https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/menu/reduced-menu.html
... and men (on average) needs 2,500 Calories a day.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/cut-down-on-your-calories/
Ergo, men can eat five Big Macs a day. Four for women. It would be a boring diet but as @Philip_Thompson says, McDonalds is not bad nutritionally, their food is British or Irish, and they treat their staff well from what I've heard.
Adding fries to your Big Mac means another 337 Calories, which makes 845 Calories which is the same as the fish and chips I shall be having for lunch before tackling Glorious Goodwood.
KFC staff get irritated with me because I substitute the chips when I go through their drive thru which makes the ordering complex. Variety Bucket but swap the 4 fries for two corn on the cobs and a large coleslaw. KFCs chips are notably s**t though.
https://twitter.com/jessicaelgot/status/1288028171342958592
https://unherd.com/2020/07/why-boris-johnson-just-keeps-on-winning/?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups[0]=18743&tl_period_type=3
(Would probably love it if there was one locally though.)
All the "healthy" fruit juices are far worse (if only because people think they are not pure sugar and somehow "healthy").
Nearby JD Sports have an evening wear section for dates at Nando’s.
Diet Coke = diet version of New Coke (which no longer exists)
Coke Zero = diet version of proper Coke.
People don't go to restaurants (or shouldn't) thinking - how can I minimise my calorie intake. They go to enjoy. If they are halfway sensible they know that it is unlikely to be a diet option.
And if you want really stupid, given the choice of Coke Zero or Coke Light (i.e. Diet Coke in the rest of europe) I will go for Coke Zero as it's usually the only option - searching for Pepsi is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Bit like re-reading Neuromancer.
McDonalds have had the calorie information on their drive thru menu for years now and it does no harm. It nudges me if I'm going for a wrap to go for the grilled chicken rather than the crispy chicken (~150 kcal saving) but its just awareness and letting people choose. It doesn't mean everyone has to pay attention but let those who want to do so do so.
Independent restaurants I wouldn't make do it.
But any excuse to link the Tom Scott Dasani video should be taken!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD79NZroV88
Let me guess - you never had to worry much about your weight.
What do you think matters more to an obese person's health than their weight?
How do you suggest someone who is overweight addresses that?
https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/how-many-calories-in-guinness#:~:text=A pint of Guinness has 210 calories, a bottle just 125.
And let's not forget the tooth hostility of the full sugar stuff. Bariatric surgery is on Mr Attlee, but dentistry actually costs.
Another fond memory is the Macs apple pie. I don't know if they still do them but they were a real health risk. Not for calories and sugar but for something more immediate - 2nd degree burns to the mouth. They used to be served up with the liquid filling at a temperature akin to an erupting volcano.
Once the Government had announced the contradictory/inconsistent position on the Canary Islands they were basically forced to rectify one way or another. ie. clarify that quarantine only applied to the mainland, or extend the guidance of travel to the Islands. If HYUFD is to be believed, having jumped one way, they might now revert to the other. Although personally i think that is unlikely, unless they were REALLY confident that cases won't grow there.
Oh wait. It's a kazillion calories. No. I'll just have the salad please.
Cummings literally holds it in contempt. They are no brake on his plans.
5x slices of toast, butter, peanut butter calorie saving = I bottle of wine at the weekend!
Voila!
I'm currently eating high fat/low carb and find that is working for me. Which means a lot of red fat warning labels on things I'm picking up.
Let them know.
I mean if you're not absorbing the alcohol then you wouldn't get drunk.
To reverse ferret is a whole different kettle of fish, and will require far greater level of confidence that a problem won't emerge there in the future (which is a bit of a risk if the decision is taken specifically to encourage Brits to travel there and party).
This may explain my shape of course...
But Dr Pepper, now that's a drink worthy of its calories and sugar. An amazing creation.
And yes, calorie counting is counter productive. By now the evidence is convincing that obesity is largely a symptom of insulin resistance. Cut out sugar and digestible carbs and substitute for fibrous carbs (green veg) and high quality fats (grass fed meat, oily fish, full fat dairy, nuts etc...) and you get skinny in no time. It’s not even very difficult.