Matt Hancock is 'allowed' to play Rugby with his kids. As health minister it is incumbent on him to go above and beyond to model 'good behaviour' but he wasn't breaking the rules, or the spirit of them.
There is such a lot to criticise Hancock and the whole Govt for, but focussing on this is a red herring. The govt is clearly exploiting England's 'curtain twitching' tendencies to shift blame for their muddled pandemic response. I wouldn't be surprised if the press wasn't tipped off, to keep the conversation focussed on the individual actions of Govt ministers in their private lives, rather than the collective response of Govt.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
I know it seems harsh but those are the facts aren’t they ... every time we visit the vulnerable we are risking their lives.
People can of course make their own decisions, subject to the law and government guidance ... and if you decide that risk is acceptable then that’s up to you ... but I’m glad my children don’t want to risk harming me.
I'm the other way round to thinking i don't want my family to harm me. I don't want to harm them!
We all have questions to face and our own issues - totally agree. My daughter lives about 10 miles away - and we were supposed to be with her at Christmas. We decided against it, as it simply just wasn't worth the risk. No second thoughts - a simple decision for all of us. Stupidly though, when talking to my daughter about it, I was saying that had my mum still been alive, I would have been in two minds about seeing her. But that was insane wasn't it? I had no doubts about not seeing my 30 year old daughter, but would have had second thoughts about seeing an 80+ woman. Barking how my mind works.
You talk in hindsight though - what would your feelings be now if your mum had gone down with the virus? OK, she didn't, but weren't the extrapolated figures yesterday that 1 in 10 in the UK show signs of anti-bodies, so have had the virus? That would mean in my immediate family (bro, sis and their kids included), one of us could potentially have had it. Do you not think there are loads of people now who look back at mixing and wish they hadn't as they were one of the unlucky ones where the virus did spread amongst the close family?
That still to me doesn't address the double standards in the message put out by Boris and then Matt though.
I know it seems harsh but those are the facts aren’t they ... every time we visit the vulnerable we are risking their lives.
People can of course make their own decisions, subject to the law and government guidance ... and if you decide that risk is acceptable then that’s up to you ... but I’m glad my children don’t want to risk harming me.
I'm the other way round to thinking i don't want my family to harm me. I don't want to harm them!
Well of course not ... my son in law is on the highly vulnerable list and is having to shield ... so much as I would love to hug my daughter ... it’s 15 months now since I’ve given @WonkyWomble a hug and she’s having a very difficult time ... so I’m not going visit them either.
But as my OH and I haven’t been anywhere other than a quick walk around the block when there’s no one about ... and with our masks on ... it’s unlikely that we would pass anything to them. I’ve not been in a shop since 5th March.
I won’t risk their lives and they won’t risk mine.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I made a mistake at the weekend. On the rare occasions when I had gone out for a walk (just around the local streets), I'd gone out in the early morning as the sun was coming up - hardly a soul about. Sunday, I was going to walk with my son, but after waiting around for him to finish some uni work, he decided he had to finish some more stuff off, so I went by myself about lunch time. So many people out - all doing the pre-Sunday lunch stroll. People with dogs, families coming off the hills, joggers, cyclists.. Never again. Vastly toooooo many people. Would have been fine on the hills, but around the streets trying to distance on pavements - noooooooooooo.
You talk in hindsight though - what would your feelings be now if your mum had gone down with the virus? OK, she didn't, but weren't the extrapolated figures yesterday that 1 in 10 in the UK show signs of anti-bodies, so have had the virus? That would mean in my immediate family (bro, sis and their kids included), one of us could potentially have had it. Do you not think there are loads of people now who look back at mixing and wish they hadn't as they were one of the unlucky ones where the virus did spread amongst the close family?
Yes I do talk from hindsight and if she had caught the virus I would still have done the same. When you see your Mum in tears a few feet away would you really be so cruel as to deny them a hug?
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
Yes I would ... and it wouldn’t be cruel ... it might make you feel better for a little while tho ... but then you and she might have to pay the ultimate price for it ... It reminds me of the story in the Old Testament about the Judgement of Solomon when he showed what you do if you really love someone.
I know without doubt that if my mother had been told that hugging me might cause me harm she would never have touched me ... much as she loved me ...
I knew a family whose child had an extremely severe condition where just touching him could cause excruciating pain, skin damage and possible death https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermolysis_bullosa Those parents could not hug their child .... not ever.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I didn’t hear about the rugby in the park, I assume by the comments here that there were two teams all huddled together in a scrum. If I saw anyone in the park playing Rugby I would give them a wide berth.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
There is an argument that seeing people at distance, particularly when they are upset or feeling low, is somehow worse than not seeing them at all. I feel lucky that I live close to my Dad so I can occasionally drop shopping off and see him across the front garden when I do, but my MIL finds seeing me emotional. That’s the funny thing with emotions though - if someone makes them come to the surface (intentionally or not) it seems like you have done the wrong thing, but actually those emotions are still there whether they are brought out or not.
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There is such a lot to criticise Hancock and the whole Govt for, but focussing on this is a red herring. The govt is clearly exploiting England's 'curtain twitching' tendencies to shift blame for their muddled pandemic response. I wouldn't be surprised if the press wasn't tipped off, to keep the conversation focussed on the individual actions of Govt ministers in their private lives, rather than the collective response of Govt.
I'm the other way round to thinking i don't want my family to harm me. I don't want to harm them!
But as my OH and I haven’t been anywhere other than a quick walk around the block when there’s no one about ... and with our masks on ... it’s unlikely that we would pass anything to them. I’ve not been in a shop since 5th March.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When you see your Mum in tears a few feet away would you really be so cruel as to deny them a hug?
It reminds me of the story in the Old Testament about the Judgement of Solomon when he showed what you do if you really love someone.
I knew a family whose child had an extremely severe condition where just touching him could cause excruciating pain, skin damage and possible death
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermolysis_bullosa
Those parents could not hug their child .... not ever.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If I saw anyone in the park playing Rugby I would give them a wide berth.