I went to the SM on Saturday and took the car for its usual run after to keep the battery charged. Coming round the bypass (that I don't normally do due to roadworks), the traffic was tailed back. Police were stopping the cars and checking if people had had a drink the night before. When the nice policeman asked me, I initially said no without thinking, then realised that I had had a couple of pints - so he asked me to pull to one side (probably thinking I was some old idiot who couldn't even remember the night before) so I could be breathalysed. I've never had one before and I didn't see what he did in way of sanitisation, but he put a new mouthpiece on the device, gave me the instructions and put the device in through the window. Not thinking (I assume he expected me to use the device while he held it), I physically took the device off him and held the device as I did the test. Stupid eh? I passed the device back, he removed the used mouthpiece and gave it to me.
It wasn't until after that I thought how vaguely insane that was - as I say, I didn't see what protocol he used for handing the device, fitting and removing the mouthpiece etc -
especially in an area that is a rising infection zone.
This map, from the gov's site, is informative - especially as its timelined - the slide bar at the top showing how the spread has changed over time. Worth noting though, that the latest data is a week behind. We're the South East - between Brighton and Hastings - and you can see the spread down through Kent to the coast and going East->West.
We bought some alcohol on our shopping delivery which needs a proof of age despite us being very obviously nearer eighty than eighteen. The delivery man was trying to take hold of the driving licence my other half proffered at arms length. OH had to pull away out of reach twice before the driver said oops..... (If it was not so stupid it would be funny). He must be doing this on a regular basis everyday. It might be company policy but for goodness sakes.
@Dovefromabove that is shameful, isn't there cctv, know it is busy times for police but that person needs arresting, vile. Perhaps Employees in stores should be issued with a can of spray dye and spritz "customers" that behave so blatantly badly.
I do blame Boris, because he keeps defaulting back to this position of 'trusting the British people's common sense to do the right thing'. Dove's story illustrates the folly of this. Obviously Boris isn't to blame for individual acts of senseless stupidity but in terms of the *overall* picture, the government is causing more harm than any one individual through not setting the right sort of policies. They have this ideological mantra of 'British Common Sense' which obviously falls short in terms of collective action during a pandemic.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
They are right to, the new strain is 70% more contagious and will throw their own Covid responses into disarray. We've learned how important swift and decisive action is with this virus. For once this isn't actually Boris's fault.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
We had to have waiver certificates and be locked down to the extent that we weren't allowed further than an hour from home. Shops for non-essentials were closed as were and still are bars and restaurants. We have to wear masks or pay a heavy fine. Maybe if these rules were enforced in the UK then there wouldn't be a new strain. Yes, it is a dictatorship as Macron didn't trust French Common Sense. So, bully for the Good British Common Sense - I really thought that the English could pull it off - you've pulled together before so many times.
I don't understand it either. Outside in town centres, residential areas and on public transport a mask is obligatory. We cannot go to a supermarket or any other shop without our masks. They have staff at the building entrances to ensure we do, trolleys are gathered to a central point and disinfected every time and there are hand sanitiser sprays at the entries to the store.
The new variant is not confined to the UK but has been identified there faster because of superior genomic sequencing expertise. It's only sensible to cut traffic between nations, just as , in theory, the UK cannot now leave Tier 4 areas or travel to Wales.
You can blame Boris and all the rest as much as you like but rules only work if people follow them and if people continue to wriggle round the restrictions and believe they don't have to follow the guidelines this virus will just carry on infecting whomever and whenever it can because it wants to live and will use sneaky methods like asymptomatic transmission and constant mutation.
Better by far to stay safe and thus protect loved ones and all the carers and essential workers. Celebrate next spring or summer with no "if only"s.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
@pansyface yes my wife has quoted that Roger Mcgough poem frequently ever since BoJo was elected. Ian Hislop summed it up ages ago after the Brexit vote, when he said " I imagine the conversation went something like this- Boris to Gove bl**dy hell we won , Gove to Boris what do we do now- Boris no idea pub anyone?
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The delivery man was trying to take hold of the driving licence my other half proffered at arms length.
OH had to pull away out of reach twice before the driver said oops.....
(If it was not so stupid it would be funny). He must be doing this on a regular basis everyday.
It might be company policy but for goodness sakes.
@Dovefromabove that is shameful, isn't there cctv, know it is busy times for police but that person needs arresting, vile.
Perhaps Employees in stores should be issued with a can of spray dye and spritz "customers" that behave so blatantly badly.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The new variant is not confined to the UK but has been identified there faster because of superior genomic sequencing expertise. It's only sensible to cut traffic between nations, just as , in theory, the UK cannot now leave Tier 4 areas or travel to Wales.
You can blame Boris and all the rest as much as you like but rules only work if people follow them and if people continue to wriggle round the restrictions and believe they don't have to follow the guidelines this virus will just carry on infecting whomever and whenever it can because it wants to live and will use sneaky methods like asymptomatic transmission and constant mutation.
Better by far to stay safe and thus protect loved ones and all the carers and essential workers. Celebrate next spring or summer with no "if only"s.