Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084204)

Where is the sunny part of Wales?

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36084246)

The south coast of Pembrokeshire is hard to beat IMO. Tenby is a great seaside town and the quieter spots further up the coast, such as Manorbier, are beautiful.

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36084246)

Tenby is a great seaside town and the quieter spots further up the coast, such as Manorbier, are beautiful.

Originally Posted by GrimUpNorth (Post 36084271)

Just coming to the end of my first week of being involved in the surge testing in Leeds. Quite an eye opener!

Our team is concentrating on Headingley and Hyde Park which are predominantly student areas and while I'm no expert on what would constitute an epidemic I'd say that the areas are in the middle of a major outbreak. For example, we've spoken to the residents of around 500 of the 1500 doors we've knocked on. Of the 500, maybe 30 properties have had positive tests in the last week (since the first England game??). These are the people feeling ill enough to get tested. I would imagine there are many more who didn't answer the door (because they felt too ill??) or don't realise they're infected.

The morning after the last England game, the amount of sofas in front gardens, burnt out BBQs and beer cans and wine bottles was amazing so I'd not be surprised if the next major spreading event was the Germany game! One old chap was telling one of my team that on the Sunday evening after the first England game the police came to break up a gathering of 120 students!

It's also the end of term and many students are packing up to go home so it may be on it's way to your neck of the woods in the coming days! I spoke to a mother yesterday who was packing her daughters stuff in the car to head off down to the south coast. The daughter admitted they'd done a bit of partying in the last week or so and admitted she might need to get a PCR test. Her mother looked pretty shocked and angry!

However, on a positive note the number of students who said they've got vaccines booked was encouraging.

Originally Posted by daveeb (Post 36084279)

I live within walking distance of Headingley and avoid it like the plague (no pun intended) until the students have gone home as it's absolutely rammed with people.


Good luck with the testing, you should be pretty busy. :D

Originally Posted by TheDaddy (Post 36084295)

50% of recent deaths have been double jabbed to

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36084246)

The south coast of Pembrokeshire is hard to beat IMO. Tenby is a great seaside town and the quieter spots further up the coast, such as Manorbier, are beautiful.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084287)

Masks back in Israel so anyone dreaming of them being removed here is probably going to be disappointed, even for the uber-privileged Rishi Sunak, although he can work from home I suppose.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-57594155

Originally Posted by Mad Max (Post 36084330)

There's loads of stunning coastline on the west coast of Scotland.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084345)

We have now surpassed Israel in vaccinating people. I am now confident that mask-wearing and social distancing will cease to be a legal requirement from 19 July.

I am less confident that we will have a sensible process in place for trips abroad, but there is no reason I can see why fully vaccinated people should be subject to quarantine.

---------- Post added at 19:49 ---------- Previous post was at 19:48 ----------



Just make sure you bring your thermals and a brolly! Don’t expect to see your kite again if you get that out up there!

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084345)

We have now surpassed Israel in vaccinating people. I am now confident that mask-wearing and social distancing will cease to be a legal requirement from 19 July.

I am less confident that we will have a sensible process in place for trips abroad, but there is no reason I can see why fully vaccinated people should be subject to quarantine.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084355)

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084355)

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084345)

WJust make sure you bring your thermals and a brolly! Don’t expect to see your kite again if you get that out up there!

Originally Posted by 1andrew1 (Post 36084364)

More to a holiday than €2 lager and sweating in 35 degree heat by the pool. A fantastic walk followed by a meal of local produce and local beers...and perhaps a local dram...can't beat it!

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084366)

You’ve never drank Tennents, have you? :D

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084366)

You’ve never drank Tennents, have you? :D

Originally Posted by 1andrew1 (Post 36084381)

Probably not, I think it's banned in England :) But have been to Glasgow and Edinburgh and just had whatever was ordered in the round so may have partaken. ;)

Originally Posted by Carth (Post 36084384)

I shout Bullcrap . . . Scotsmen buying a round HA!

;)

Originally Posted by Carth (Post 36084384)

I shout Bullcrap . . . Scotsmen buying a round HA!

;)

Originally Posted by Maggy (Post 36084389)

Originally Posted by Mad Max (Post 36084360)

It doesn't always piss down, it also pisses down in many parts of England.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084462)

I am banking on Boris exempting double-jabbed people from quarantine. That would show a bit of mettle.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084462)

Two wrongs don't make a right!

I admire people who decide to holiday in the UK. But most wouldn't do it a second time!

I am banking on Boris exempting double-jabbed people from quarantine. That would show a bit of mettle.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084462)

Two wrongs don't make a right!

I admire people who decide to holiday in the UK. But most wouldn't do it a second time!

I am banking on Boris exempting double-jabbed people from quarantine. That would show a bit of mettle.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084502)

If you are banking on anything I’m betting absolutely against.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084509)

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36084511)

I went to Cornwall. Also looking forward to being able to go abroad though. Good call on Vienna, very nice city.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084509)

Originally Posted by 1andrew1 (Post 36084542)

Originally Posted by Paul (Post 36084555)

So nothing more than what thousands of people get every year then.

Originally Posted by 1andrew1 (Post 36084551)

Would you be prepared to quarantine for 10 days in Vienna before enjoying that splendid city? Or would you decide it's not worth the hassle?

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084356)

If I were you I'd be more concerned about the EU banning UK travellers given the prevalence of the delta variant here and - perhaps - even Boris bottling July 19. The original freedom day got canned as Boris thought 6,000 infections a day is too high. If R stays at 1.4 as some predict it is we could be looking at 50,000 a day by July 19.

Originally Posted by nomadking (Post 36084629)

It's not just about hospitalisations. The more the virus is allowed to swirl around, even with asymptomatic cases, the more chance of a new variant emerging that one way or another, could be more serious. On the other hand a new variant might be more innocuous. Do we want to take the risk?

Originally Posted by nomadking (Post 36084629)

It's not just about hospitalisations. The more the virus is allowed to swirl around, even with asymptomatic cases, the more chance of a new variant emerging that one way or another, could be more serious. On the other hand a new variant might be more innocuous. Do we want to take the risk?


Vaccinations in general don't give protection immediately after infection. It takes a few days for the immune system to get going. The idea is that it is fewer days than the natural course of immunity, and hopefully avoid reaching the infectious stage.

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36084625)

It’s clear by now that the question HMG has always been interested in is at what level can covid be allowed to circulate through the population without overwhelming the health service. A bald figure representing number of infections tells us nothing about the likelihood of unlocking occurring on 19 July because we no longer know what the correlation is between infections, hospitalisation and death. The reason we no longer know this is because of the vaccination programme. The whole point of the delay is to gather that data, not to drive infection numbers down. Had the intention been to reduce infections by population control measures, we would have been back in lockdown by now.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084635)

So the vaccination programme is a total waste of time then.

Sorry, nomadking, I don’t buy it. The public will not accept never-ending restrictions on their freedoms and it simply isn’t necessary any more. We’ve lived with germs and viruses since humans first arrived on this planet. It’s a bit ridiculous to start worrying about them now and hide ourselves away in fright.

We will become a nation of risk-averse hermits if we carry on like this!

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084632)

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084638)

I think Australia and New Zealand have a false sense of security. I have relatives out there and I am appalled that they still don’t know when they will be vaccinated.

I worry that both governments have assumed that by keeping the numbers of cases low courtesy of lockdowns and shunning the urgency of getting the vaccinations done, they are exposing their respective populations to major outbreaks this winter which could have been avoided. This is not over.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084637)

Yet despite this the Government continues to be extremely popular, despite the odd scandal too.

I’m not sure how we become a nation of hermits. Some (many?) are completely unaffected by the small number of remaining restrictions.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084639)

The irony.

You do know our winter is their summer? Who knows it could go away by itself.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084640)

Obviously you are one of the lucky ones who have not become impoverished as a result of their businesses or jobs being lost. Obviously, you also don’t care about the businesses that are continuing to struggle while the remaining restrictions stay in place. For example, there are many restaurants who find that they cannot make a profit while social distancing is still mandatory.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084669)

It’s almost as if comforting lies are more likely to get them through the by election.

Plus once we hit 45,000 cases a day it’ll be an easier sell.

Originally Posted by Pierre (Post 36084678)

I hope we get to 45,000 cases per day, or higher by next week with any luck and deaths & hospitalisation remain static, as they are now.

Then, there will be no doubt that there is no longer a link between cases and serious illness. And we can stop worrying about case numbers and get on with normality with no need for masks or distancing.

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

Originally Posted by Hugh (Post 36084692)

Here’s hoping that Long COVID isn’t serious for a reasonable percentage, for all those people hoping for more infections…

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/20...field-and-hull

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084689)

Fanciful, but we’ve been here before.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084705)

No we haven’t. Back in the day, hospitalisations were rising exponentially, two weeks behind the infection rates.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084642)

Bollocks Old Boy. I support all the schemes the Government have put in place through the crisis. I’m more than happy to pay more tax to fund them - are you???



If you think folk on zero hours contracts in nightclubs and lap dancers are propping up the Tories in the polls because of the furlough scheme that’s an interesting take.

I can’t understand why, despite being consistently wrong throughout the pandemic, you continue to push this economy over public health agenda.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084707)

There are plenty of employers who are struggling, including pubs and restaurants, who either do not qualify for support or who are still losing money. The way you just brush all this under the table as if this was not a serious concern is astounding.

I have not been ‘consistently wrong’ but you have consistently tried to twist everything to suit your sense of superiority. In that, you have certainly excelled - congrats for that.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084642)

And you will be on your knees praying they fail no doubt.



Indeed. It’s almost as if it’s a good idea to vaccinate more people.

Nevertheless the evidence won’t support no restrictions from July 19, and if anything as other countries close their borders to UK citizens it’ll have a greater economic impact for us to not manage case numbers.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084708)

Can you link me to a post you were right?

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084709)

Another puerile comment instead of entering into a discussion.

Of course it is appropriate to vaccinate. You seem to suggest that someone has indicated the opposite.

I am pretty confident that restrictions will be ended from 19 July and the new Health Secretary has confirmed that today. We will still have restrictions on overseas travel and the track and trace will still be in place, but all the mask wearing and social distancing nonsense will be at an end, allowing businesses to operate normally.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084709)

You have twisted my comments to suit yourself and used new information available at a later date which we did not know when comments were originally made, one example being the Kent variant, which was far more infectious and took everyone by surprise.

It’s so easy being Mr Hindsight.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084712)

As I’ve said before your optimism has failed you to date and there is no evidence that it will go the other way this time.

It’s not puerile to point out that for some of the “we could do no better” brigade the positive outcomes New Zealand and Australia have seen in both health and economic terms are a challenge. So for one, or both, to fail would be vindication for an argument that has been wrong to date.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084715)

Australia and NZ are in a rather different position to us, but frankly, they cannot assume they are out of the wood. Most of their populations are exposed to the full force of the pandemic and not to take early advantage of a vaccine that could avoid major problems in the future is negligent.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084715)

Australia and NZ are in a rather different position to us, but frankly, they cannot assume they are out of the wood. Most of their populations are exposed to the full force of the pandemic and not to take early advantage of a vaccine that could avoid major problems in the future is negligent.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084558)

Yes, he says it was ‘really quite unpleasant’ and in another breath he says it was ‘like a summer cold’.

Surely, both statements cannot be right.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36084709)

Another puerile comment instead of entering into a discussion.

Of course it is appropriate to vaccinate. You seem to suggest that someone has indicated the opposite.

I am pretty confident that restrictions will be ended from 19 July and the new Health Secretary has confirmed that today. We will still have restrictions on overseas travel and the track and trace will still be in place, but all the mask wearing and social distancing nonsense will be at an end, allowing businesses to operate normally.

---------- Post added at 20:47 ---------- Previous post was at 20:44 ----------



You have twisted my comments to suit yourself and used new information available at a later date which we did not know when comments were originally made, one example being the Kent variant, which was far more infectious and took everyone by surprise.

It’s so easy being Mr Hindsight.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084632)

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084745)

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 36084751)

Chris Whitty out partying with a couple of mates

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/14...-latest-cmo-vn

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 36084751)

Chris Whitty out partying with a couple of mates

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/14...-latest-cmo-vn

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 36084751)

Chris Whitty out partying with a couple of mates

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/14...-latest-cmo-vn

Originally Posted by Mick (Post 36084766)

Bad parenting and lack of proper discipline, is the common denominator here. I hope you weren’t suggesting or hinting that “leaving the EU”, was the problem, be it as you have flogged that scapegoat to death. :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by tweetiepooh (Post 36084785)

As a nation or society becomes more secular it loses any logical imperative to behave morally. (This is not to say that secular people aren't moral, or that "religious" people do behave morally).

Originally Posted by tweetiepooh (Post 36084785)

As a nation or society becomes more secular it loses any logical imperative to behave morally. (This is not to say that secular people aren't moral, or that "religious" people do behave morally).

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36084791)

<SNIP>

I agree that any moral system requires an anchor point, or a set of reasons *why* people should act in accordance with it. For most cultures, in most of history, some concept or other of deity usually provides that. In secularised Western Europe, vestigial attachment to those same ideas usually still lies behind it even though secularists prefer to deny this and construct alternative justifications for their moral systems. But it is still incorrect to equate secularism with lack of morality. It is possible to construct a basic, consequentialist ethical system without reference to any deity at all (not that I’d recommend doing so).

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084795)

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084795)

Did a deity create Covid? But the design behind life seems to me to be too clever to have been mere evolution. So, to my mind, something must have designed all this - but is now dead.

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36084798)

Remember that the odds of life happening are (probably) very, very low but the Universe has a near-infinite number of chances for it to happen. ;) Plus evolution is almost the textbook case of survivorship bias.

Probably going a bit off-topic there though.

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36084790)

It's some drunk guys who wanted a selfie with the guy off TV. It's stupid of them to accost someone like that, and intimidating, but I don't think they intended to hurt him. At one point you can ever hear them say 'Please, Sir' in the hope of a picture with him. It drunken, loutish, behaviour but let's not read that much into it other than Chris Witty probably does need some Government provided protection because had these been anti-vaxxers it could have been worse.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084795)

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36084807)

Evolution of the virus maybe.

Originally Posted by Hugh (Post 36084783)

Originally Posted by Sephiroth (Post 36084795)

[COLOR="Blue"]
Did a deity create Covid?

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 36084790)

It's some drunk guys who wanted a selfie with the guy off TV. It's stupid of them to accost someone like that, and intimidating, but I don't think they intended to hurt him. At one point you can ever hear them say 'Please, Sir' in the hope of a picture with him. It drunken, loutish, behaviour but let's not read that much into it other than Chris Witty probably does need some Government provided protection because had these been anti-vaxxers it could have been worse.