Just as a wee bit of comic relief, I'm very much enjoying this particular conspiracy theory. Someone (unclear exactly who) has successfully manufactured a global pandemic without anyone noticing, but has now gone and tripped themselves up by very clearly labelling the trains they're using to transport it (which, as we all know, is how a pandemic is spread). Some caper.

What's absolutely mental is that we haven't all been put on a lockdown. If they've got £25k to give every small and medium business then just shut everything for 2 weeks. Sending folk to school and work at a time like this is just a total wiggo. Trusting in kids to wash their hands 

(03-17-2020, 06:06 PM)Morph Wrote: Sorry pondy, glad you have savings to help.  If things get tough mind the TH are here we could get a wee pot together if people need it

Cheers buddy, got me tearing up here. Nahh, already just applied for another just the now.

One thing I hope this govt gets going as a priority is the anti-bodies testing that I think SKorea have been so successful (15K of them a day). Prioritize medical staff, then other essential services then get onto folks that want to volunteer to help. There would be tens of 1000s wanting to help but who are too worried that they'll pass it on but don't know what they have or have had.

They should have been on that from the start, ramping up the effort.

(03-17-2020, 06:06 PM)Roger H. Sterling Wrote: If they close schools before they close offices then kids need looked after and they'll probably end up with elderly grandparents.

Thankfully my work are saying if the schools (in my case nursery) close then we get paid leave. There's a lot of people that aren't that lucky. At least they have somewhere to go for now until the government makes a solid decision.

I understand that argument, but I'm not convinced of how valid it is when balanced with how easily it will be spreading in a school setting, where you are in small classrooms with 29 other kids and up to 2 or 3 adults at any one time. I just don't believe that the damage being done by some kids being looked after by grandparents is worse than that of kids infecting each other by the hundreds and all the incidental contact with others staying at school will bring. Just doesn't ring true as being for the protection of the elderly.

This would never have been an issue if women had known their place and remained homemakers, of course

There will be hunners of cunts looking for the kids looked after soon pondy. :begbie:

Seriously though, shite news. Chin up.

It's all just deflect, deflect, deflect. Can't close schools cos the kids will have nowhere to go; can't close the offices because the companies can't pay their workers; can't close transport because folk need to get to work. All this does is deflect from the fact that everything needs shut down, without argument and without haste. We need to do a very non-British thing and follow other countries' leads by closing businesses and handing cash to every cunt who needs it, no questions asked and no fannying about.

Folk turning up at work half-dying is what happens when you condition a population to think their only worth to society is economic. So many folk running scared of not having work without a mandated time to come back because it's not something they've even countenanced as possible as they've never had to fill that void before.

https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/123...86498?s=21

*£300 billion of loans. Pretty sure the banks weren't loaned the cash in 2008.

We had a mass briefing in our department at the council today and they were quite adamant that schools were being kept open as long as possible to keep pressure of NHS staff who would need to take time off to take care of them. If that's a genuine reason, I can see the point behind it.

The result of the briefing is I've now to work from home for the next 3-4 months since I'm in the high risk category. Not to rub it in, Pondy. Brutal stuff people losing their jobs over this shit.

(03-17-2020, 07:02 PM)Lil Sebastian Wrote: We had a mass briefing in our department at the council today and they were quite adamant that schools were being kept open as long as possible to keep pressure of NHS staff who would need to take time off to take care of them. If that's a genuine reason, I can see the point behind it.

The result of the briefing is I've now to work from home for the next 3-4 months since I'm in the high risk category. Not to rub it in, Pondy. Brutal stuff people losing their jobs over this shit.

Again, it makes sense on the face of it but is quite flawed logic as every day the schools are open, the kids in them catch and spread. It's just as likely to cause pressure as ease it.

A better way of mitigating that impact would be to keep them open for essential workers like nurses etc to send their kids for childcare. I've spoken to a good few folk and we all say the same; we'd be happy to work on if it meant NHS staff could get to work without worrying about their kids.

They could survey NHS staff to see how many need childcare should schools close.

My work are continually coming up with these half arsed measures, apparently one of the boys is to isolate himself at work somehow because he's got diabetes and asthma so will be more at risk than others if he was to get it.

It's all fucking shite like, just announce lockdown and let us all stew in our houses playing the PlayStation and wanking ourselves sore.

(03-17-2020, 07:59 PM)Shteve Wrote: My work are continually coming up with these half arsed measures, apparently one of the boys is to isolate himself at work somehow because he's got diabetes and asthma so will be more at risk than others if he was to get it.

It's all fucking shite like, just announce lockdown and let us all stew in our houses playing the PlayStation and wanking ourselves sore.

Wee diabeto boy from my work sent packing today

(03-17-2020, 07:59 PM)Shteve Wrote: It's all fucking shite like, just announce lockdown and let us all stew in our houses playing the PlayStation and wanking ourselves sore.

This is my PM right here

(03-17-2020, 07:40 PM)rojo Wrote: They could survey NHS staff to see how many need childcare should schools close.

They've announced in several US cities that the kids of parents who work in healthcare or other key services have the option to attend special daycare centre's should they require that assistance. Surely they could provide some of these in suitable locations in the UK.

They can't do fuck all in the UK, useless cunts, it's too much hassle to do anything but the most half arsed shit they can think of.

The current governments are in way over their head and too incompetent to deal with this right now.

It's not rocket science - keep the schools open for NHS staff and put on a skeleton staff in schools based on who is allowed to work.

All for making Begbie work for his salary

Good luck with that san, I'm a teacher

Got the last packet of gnocchi from Lidl today.

(03-17-2020, 08:47 PM)Adonis Aceyjaj Wrote: Got the last packet of gnocchi from Lidl today.  

I got the last bag of flour from Tesco yesterday.

THE SOURDOUGH LIVES!!