General Chat

There's nothing like notice of a lockdown to spread the virus.
I expect the shops will be packed with christmas shoppers over the next few days.
Sad gits - just give it a miss for once. :-\

There were photos of people queuing for Primark in Middlesbrough on Sunday around blocks and blocks of buildings. Absolute madness!

We have decided that any normal Christmas isn't going to happen for us whether we are in lock down or not. For the first time ever I have not even bought an extra box of biscuits yet this year and the family already know we are not buying any presents and to be honest the feeling of relief is great.

We have really cut down our contacts this year and think we will carry on the same way for quite some time to come. I'm pretty anti-social at the best of times so it's no great hardship.

Kath. x

I'm very late on the boards tonight but I've been otherwise occupied.

I love Christmas so my trees will still go up.

This year, though, I'm mostly with you Kath.

I've told everyone I am not sending cards and don't expect any. I'll be transferring money for children and grandchildren. I have a few items I collected in the Jan sales so they will be wrapped and we shall exchange gifts using the doorstep method - same as we've done with groceries bought for each other during lockdown.

We usually have Christmas Dinner with daughter and family who live a five-minute walk from us. She works from home but because her OH and our grandson are still going out to work (and school) we have decided to eat in our own homes. Daughter is rigging up the screen on the dining table and we shall do the same, timing dinner to eat together and we ought to be able to sit and chat as usual - but from the safety of our own homes.

Daughter was travelling to Wiltshire from Kent during half term, so on her return made a quick pop-in visit to family in Hampshire, to drop off Christmas presents, which we usually take there in late November before bad weather sets in.
We anticipated that lockdown might happen, so got ourselves organised early.

Christmas itself, we will just wait and see how everything pans out. We are usually a group of 6 together for dinner on 25th, but as that represents 4 households, we will wait until nearer the time to plan.

Pre Christmas birthday cards have all been bought. I need to get the overseas ones weighed at a Post Office this week, then they can just be posted when needed.

Gwyn, don't leave it too late to post overseas cards. Mine have all gone because the man in the post office said post to Australia was taking up to 6 weeks at the moment.

Because of this I have sent all cards for anywhere abroad and I've written on the backs that they are early in case of postal delays. Some people will think I'm mad if they get them early November but at least they are gone.

Joy - we cut down on presents a lot last year. We used to buy a large Christmas sack load each for our two sons, daughter-in-law and grandson but it was getting harder for me to know what to buy and I felt I was just buying for the sake of it and the pleasure had all gone so we cut down. This year it will just be money for them all and I don't think we will do our usual trip to my married son's house the weekend before Christmas as we usually do as they are all still working so have lots of contacts and we are trying to limit ours. We have only seen them once this year just after the last lockdown was lifted.

Kath. x

This airborne theory was something I wondered about during the March lockdown when I had in mind hanging out washing. (I queried this on one of the threads around April.)

It is difficult to see into gardens both sides of ours but knowing that both had hospital workers I asked them what they were doing. Both were still drying outside. I was a little surprised and still a tad perturbed and curious so I did not entirely follow their example.

Although I continued to hang out, I tended to use the rotary dryer which I placed near the kitchen door and a long line, placed diagonally across the lawn, where large items such as sheets were able to be hung about 20 feet from borders (extended from 15/16 as I thought more about it). I only use the dryer for towels during the summer.

No such concerns during winter when I either use the dryer, hang up in the garage or sling things onto radiators. Also, but I have yet to check, I'd be surprised if anything airborne was carried along as far on heavier, more damp air than it is on light summer breezes. (I await for someone with a better grasp on physics, dynamics, laws of motion or whatever (or the will to look it up) etc to put me right!). Or, I could phone a friend (my brother). :-D

Just had a pal on the phone. When she went for her click-and-collect there was only one shop with a queue - and a very long queue it was.

The card shop!

Crumbs, all of that handling of Christmas cards and packs is enough to put me off for life!

Kath, the last time I saw son and his family was just before the March lockdown and I don't expect us to get together for quite some time. Son has been out to work throughout the lockdown - he has no choice - so he has not been near us.

The best we can expect is a doorknock and a doorstep drop as there's no way he'll get close. I am not even expecting that, to be truthful, as while grandson is now working from home, of the other two, one is working in a large hospital and the other is often in contact with those families who have major problems.

Daughter is the one I've seen regularly as she is a five-minute walk from us. We have stuck to the rules though.

In fact, I think all of us have been particularly rigid in our thinking - we want to live!

Yes Joy, we have been pretty strict with sticking to the rules although I have friends who still think it is o.k. to have family members from a different household in their houses regularly.

My son lives a good hour and a half car journey from us so can't even see him on the doorstep, but a friend who has her daughter and granddaughter round regularly was a bit put out when I said she really shouldn't. She told me that she was sure that if my son lived round the corner I would do the same as her. She didn't believe me when I said I wouldn't.

I know that some of the rules seem a bit over the top (which is what she always says) but if half the country just tweak the rules a little bit for their own purposes we'll never get rid of this virus.

I'm sure compliance was a lot better before that dreadful Dominic man decided to do his own thing.

Kath. x

JoyLouise - I noticed a long queue outside the card shop yesterday :-S

I'm taking the lockdown as an opportunity to get rid of all those cards left over from previous Christmasses - you know, the ones in boxes that are it bit like your gran would have sent.
This year, Granny is going to send 'Granny' cards, but rename them 'Covid' cards :-D :-D

:-D :-D :-D Maggie.

Kath, I feel the same about the DC debacle and you'll know that we don't live a million miles away from his parents! Some people just won't hold their hands up to anything. :-|

Our son lives an hour's drive away (can be two hours at Christmastime because of A1M traffic) but he travels the A19 for work which, along with the reasons I mentioned earlier, is the reason that I don't really think we'll see any of them.

I agree with you. I think your friend is wrong. x

JoyLouise hanging your washing outside was a good idea as UV light helps to break the virus down.
As for the cold air I actually think it's worse than warm air, in warm air there's bigger droplets and they fall to the ground quicker but in colder air the droplets are smaller and stay airborne longer (think the mist you see when it's cold from people breath)...at least that's what we're being told over here. Also if you're wearing your mask outside once it's wet from either your breath or rain then it's not as effective.

This reminds me of the late seventies when someone I knew had gone to the Doctors. His reaction was ‘another one’ - all your neighbours have it and you should stop hanging out your washing’.

I did wonder if it was a euphemism or an accusation.

i never thought hanging washing out could spread viruses :-S
I've just put sheets out - not much sunshine, but plenty of cold wind.
There are (usually) 6ft fences either side of my garden - and I'm another 6ft above my horrible neighbours.
However, a panel of my nice neighbours fence has fallen down - actually 2 have, but one's being propped up by the huge bramble in my garden :-(

Names :-D

Maggie, Our fences are also 6 feet high at the back of the house but border bushes and trees extend much higher which is the reason I could not see what others were doing.

We live between two neighbours working in the NHS (one an Intensive Care Sister) and the other a retired NHS employee whose daughter (also an NHS worker) caught the virus.

I 'hung out' in the end though - cos I am a friendly sort. who believes in sharing. ;-) :-D

It was only one item of underwear she was told not to hang because ‘it’ flew ( clue there) over the fences.

Oh for the days just after I was married when, after the initial honeymoon period when I thought I was being very housewifely, I did very little washing.

All sheets, shirts and anything that needed to be pressed went to the laundry. Looking back I think I was absolutely idle!

It all changed when children came along.

See what kids do to you! ;-) :-D

Grandson and his wife completed on their house buy on Friday

Have been living in rented for a year as house is a new build and with Giris changing schools and the home they were living in was being sold they moved from Kent to outside Doncaster July 1919 to wait for the house to be ready

Due to lockdowns the build was delayed and won’t be ready till next year so they cancelled and looked for one that was available now
Cost more but means the girls won’t have to move school and college again and they love the new place more

They had hoped to complete and move before the end of Oct but didn’t happen so they have had to pay another months rent

They were going to get blinds and curtains fitted and the internet up and running before they moved in but are going to move this Saturday in case later in the month they can’t .

They don’t want to have to pay rent and mortgage

I think removals can still go on, COVID safe of course. The same with deliveries.
We are in the process of moving our daughter into her new flat, Hopefully her new sofa bed arrives tomorrow. Bot we are going to be brave and order chairs extra off the internet.

Hope the move goes well for the family. It is a long way to go.