tlr

There was a viral video a while ago (pre-Covid) of a dad taking his son to a supermarket to make him apologise to the staff after he'd acted like a little shit towards them. Kid looked mortified but I bet he never did it again.

Who was the Newcastle fan who I think lived in America? No idea if he ever migrated over here from the old place, if he is here and I've missed him, or if it was so long ago I've just misremembered the whole thing

I fully expect, as I think many do, the next batch of Tier reassessments will see the whole country into Tier 4. I think the only unanswered question in all this is what to do with schools really.

With their form the five days relaxation will be back on by Monday evening.

This has just pissed me off. People will know from my post a couple of days ago I am not one for Christmas anyway, but to have mishandled what is probably the most special time of years for millions of people in this country so horrendously is fucking criminal. Millions will have gotten their hopes up for one flicker of light at the end of an atrocious year and it's literally been snatched from them at the last. There'll be a lot of mentally and emotionally shattered people in this country tonight and it's all because of one useless cunt in London and his abysmal handling of every turn since mid-March. And the really galling bit? What @Lucas says - there'll be people who adhere to all this now and take the hit on their health and wellbeing, and there'll be people who carry on regardless and elongate this misery for us all.

So we've gone from three tiers reviewed every fortnight to changing things on random days of the week and creating a new tier out of thin air when required?

No fan at all of this government but they were damned if they did, damned if they didn't from the off with this one. Keep restrictions in place? How could they, obliterate mental health, it's only one day, I miss me mum etc. Ease them for a couple of days? How could they, they've condemned every person over 59 years old to a long, slow, painful death. It is as true now as it has been since this pandemic first started affecting our day to day lives - people will do what they want at Christmas, it's too ingrained in our way of life as a nation for some to even contemplate going without. Given a choice I wouldn't celebrate Christmas, I get dragged into it by family by and large, so the concept of treating the 25th December just as I have the 25th of any other month is fine by me. As much as I would love to see my family, with the price for it being all hell to pay in the New Year, with its traditional mental health problems at the best of times, really doesn't do much for me. I am honestly dreading what this country will look like come mid-February.

I get the impression you don't care for Welsh Labour @Bluebird Hewitt Surprised given their form they haven't ordered supermarkets to tape off their alcohol aisles after 6pm. The impression I have always gotten from traditional pubs at least is that they make practically nothing on beer but an absolute killing off soft drinks, and even more of one off food; sadly making the places dry means you won't actually get anyone in to begin with. How long does this current set of restrictions last (in theory)? Edit - Noticed you answered that question the first time. I'll read posts properly next time...

Selfishly thought as we're probably the safest Tory seat in the West Midlands they'd do us a favour and we'd be spared Tier 3 again. Always next time I suppose. (I would like to clarify I do not contribute to the Tory majority!)

Yes, the government are far from innocent. However, from what I have heard of Croydon and the various other headlines that seem to crop up from time to time, I don't think you can absolve the councils themselves either. Some of the amounts of money banded about and tales of goings on are incredible. I accept most are genuinely doing their best in trying circumstances, but some others are, let's be frank, their own downfall.

I never normally read Private Eye but have seen a couple of recent issues, and needless to say this has come up in it. Impression I get is classic local government shambles, in this instance a massive ongoing payout to an old Leader, and some dodgy investments and dealings on commercial properties in the borough, etc. Northamptonshire County Council were on the verge of going under years a couple of years ago too. Suspect as part of the post-Covid fallout we'll see a proper rationalisation of local government in England which'll hopefully work out better financially in the long run.

I don't think it's an amendment to the tiers per se, more bespoke fiddling just for local areas. A bit like how when Liverpool City Region went into tier 3, gyms had to close, but when Lancashire did, they didn't. (I think!) A bit like Greater Manchester and Lancashire was during the first wave of local lockdowns - the worst areas ended up dragging the everywhere nearby in with them, as borders between districts are so unremarkable and indistinguishable they had to I suppose. Places like Rossendale and Tameside were relatively average yet got the same treatment as those with hundreds of cases a day.

Bristol in talks to move into 'Tier 1 Plus'. About as straightforward as nuclear physics is this simplification.

You honestly don't know what's going to happen next these days, do you?

Greater Manchester up to Tier 3, London and Essex up to Tier 2 from this weekend according to the BBC. Question for those of us living under restrictions, does anyone find this more shit than the nationwide lockdown? All of the forbidden stuff without the novelty and 'all in it together' carry on; whilst people literally streets away in some cases can go to the pub with mates, etc. Depressing as fuck.