COVID19 - How it's affecting you

I have been unimpressed with Boris, but I do not wish a death-by-Covid on him by any stretch. Hopefully he will make a full recovery, although we should not expect that to happen and if it does it will take quite a long time.  (The BBC's tv stories about him were looking like eulogies, last night. Are they prepping the public?)

I am actually just as worried for his girlfriend's baby-to-be. Viruses can do some particularly wicked things to a fetus in the first trimester.

Changing directions - Waitrose is making all their "Partners" pay back any paid time off they take for Covid if they exhaust their leave time. (They pay for leave based on a full year's accumulation at any point, so if, say, someone uses their full year's tally of vacation time off for Covid by staying at home/in hospital in April, if they don't go back to work for them, their final pay will be docked or they will owe Waitrose the pay back.) If they do go back to work for them and they have exceeded their annual leave time, they are expected to work overtime for free to make up any pay that Waitrose fronted to them while they were ill. 

So much for taking care of the "heroic" front line people.

I wish him a swift recovery, but I wouldn't say he has been amazing.

Agreed.
I think he is an embarrassing, ridiculous buffoon... surpassed only by Trump, but I wouldn't wish this illness on him.

Jacinda Ardern would be good to have in charge!!!

Aww, well Dominic Raab here we come.... 

Changing directions - Waitrose is making all their "Partners" pay back any paid time off they take for Covid if they exhaust their leave time. (They pay for leave based on a full year's accumulation at any point, so if, say, someone uses their full year's tally of vacation time off for Covid by staying at home/in hospital in April, if they don't go back to work for them, their final pay will be docked or they will owe Waitrose the pay back.) If they do go back to work for them and they have exceeded their annual leave time, they are expected to work overtime for free to make up any pay that Waitrose fronted to them while they were ill. 

So much for taking care of the "heroic" front line people.

And my level of being unimpressed with how supermarkets have responded to this continues. *sigh*

Does anyone know of places doing online compost delivery? I ran out of compost for potting up my little seedlings and don't have enough for my pots when they are ready to go out. I feel like garden supplies should be considered close to essential because they allow us to grow our own food.

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Our local garden centres are delivering. If yours aren’t, maybe B&Q, Wicks, or Rolawn are?

Does anyone know of places doing online compost delivery? I ran out of compost for potting up my little seedlings and don't have enough for my pots when they are ready to go out. I feel like garden supplies should be considered close to essential because they allow us to grow our own food.

I would try your local independent garden centres first, they may be delivering now and I'm sure would be glad of the business.

Homebase seem to be delivering some but not all.https://www.homebase.co.uk/westland-multi-purpose-compost-with-added-john-innes-10l_p175275

Depending on your garden soil, you might be able to use it. And now would be a great time for you to start composting!

And my level of being unimpressed with how supermarkets have responded to this continues. *sigh*

Does anyone know of places doing online compost delivery? I ran out of compost for potting up my little seedlings and don't have enough for my pots when they are ready to go out. I feel like garden supplies should be considered close to essential because they allow us to grow our own food.

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Longacres delivers

Our local garden center is delivering. We also have a B&M in town that our son drove to a few days ago and loaded up with bags of compost.  B&M also deliver

Questions for the Brits:

The BBC insists on running a big "breaking news" banner about Boris. I'm sorry for Boris, but it stopped being "breaking news" many hours ago. As in like yesterday.  There is also a running crawler/statement (I don't remember which) at the bottom of the screen periodically that says something to the effect that the Queen is being kept updated. Also, Boris is in ICU. He didn't get into ICU by choice, given the state of affairs at the NHS and his current diagnosis.

So:

Why do they keep phrasing the situation as he's in ICU as a safeguard at the recommendation of his doctors. You don't go into ICU for shirts and giggles, you go into ICU because you need to be there. It's not as if he's decided to go to his country house for the weekend, on doctor's advice to rest. If he's there, he's in serious danger.

Why do they keep saying that the Queen is kept informed. Did they think people would think she would not be? And what does it matter, really? The Queen apparently has no political power. (?)

And the Queen. Bless her, a dear old lady. But what was that speech thing supposed to do? I'm sure she meant the best, but would a scripted statement from her actually mean anything to anyone anymore?  (Bless her for doing it, anyway. I mean, she's 94 and from a different era, and she certainly didn't have to do it.)

Thanks for the translations. 

[Garden centers are still open?]

Questions for the Brits:

The BBC insists on running a big "breaking news" banner about Boris. I'm sorry for Boris, but it stopped being "breaking news" many hours ago. As in like yesterday.  There is also a running crawler/statement (I don't remember which) at the bottom of the screen periodically that says something to the effect that the Queen is being kept updated. Also, Boris is in ICU. He didn't get into ICU by choice, given the state of affairs at the NHS and his current diagnosis.

So:

Why do they keep phrasing the situation as he's in ICU as a safeguard at the recommendation of his doctors. You don't go into ICU for shirts and giggles, you go into ICU because you need to be there. It's not as if he's decided to go to his country house for the weekend, on doctor's advice to rest. If he's there, he's in serious danger.

Why do they keep saying that the Queen is kept informed. Did they think people would think she would not be? And what does it matter, really? The Queen apparently has no political power. (?)

And the Queen. Bless her, a dear old lady. But what was that speech thing supposed to do? I'm sure she meant the best, but would a scripted statement from her actually mean anything to anyone anymore?  (Bless her for doing it, anyway. I mean, she's 94 and from a different era, and she certainly didn't have to do it.)

Thanks for the translations. 

[Garden centers are still open?]

The BBC are trying to keep the country informed without instilling panic.

The Queen is deployed to boost morale.

Garden centres are delivering. They aren’t open.

The media is the media no matter where you are. They will take the most current story and run with it until they beat it into the ground.

I’m sorry you didn’t find the Queen’s speech amazing. She knows exactly what to say and the right time to say it.  Except for her Christmas Day speech, this is only the 5th time she has spoken on a subject.  She has been Queen for 68 years. So her speaking is a big deal.  And it’s well known that she largely writes her own speeches. They are vetted and such before delivered. But the message is from her and her alone.

I thought the Queen was awesome - Even many of the Scots thought so too

A lot of Americans watched it too! They wanted some morale boosting too!!

I hope they are taking very good care of her!

Questions for the Brits:

The BBC insists on running a big "breaking news" banner about Boris. I'm sorry for Boris, but it stopped being "breaking news" many hours ago. As in like yesterday.  There is also a running crawler/statement (I don't remember which) at the bottom of the screen periodically that says something to the effect that the Queen is being kept updated. Also, Boris is in ICU. He didn't get into ICU by choice, given the state of affairs at the NHS and his current diagnosis.

So:

Why do they keep phrasing the situation as he's in ICU as a safeguard at the recommendation of his doctors. You don't go into ICU for shirts and giggles, you go into ICU because you need to be there. It's not as if he's decided to go to his country house for the weekend, on doctor's advice to rest. If he's there, he's in serious danger.

Why do they keep saying that the Queen is kept informed. Did they think people would think she would not be? And what does it matter, really? The Queen apparently has no political power. (?)

And the Queen. Bless her, a dear old lady. But what was that speech thing supposed to do? I'm sure she meant the best, but would a scripted statement from her actually mean anything to anyone anymore?  (Bless her for doing it, anyway. I mean, she's 94 and from a different era, and she certainly didn't have to do it.)

Thanks for the translations. 

[Garden centers are still open?]

  I thought it was interesting that on the news last night they allowed the BBC to film inside an ICU and explained what happens there.  It was essentially bright lights, tons of machines  and about 20 doctors and nurses running around doing stuff constantly around unconscious patients.  It seems ridiculous to me that Boris is essentially just fine but was moved in there just in case like the government says.  If you were conscious, at the very least you couldn't sleep and it would be loud and terrifying.   

  I thought it was interesting that on the news last night they allowed the BBC to film inside an ICU and explained what happens there.  It was essentially bright lights, tons of machines  and about 20 doctors and nurses running around doing stuff constantly around unconscious patients.  It seems ridiculous to me that Boris is essentially just fine but was moved in there just in case like the government says.  If you were conscious, at the very least you couldn't sleep and it would be loud and terrifying.

Precisely