Social isolating - Not!

[bigmac77]

Throughout this, I’ve never really seen a problem with people isolating themselves in second homes, especially if those second homes are in more remote parts of the country. I even contemplated leaving London and parking ourselves in Emsworth for the lockdown at my parents second home.

Jesus Christ you'd be lynched, I went to the shops yesterday in the village where my parents live to get them some fruit, veg and milk and was accused of not being a local and by inference a second homeowner isolating in their village. In truth they were partly correct, I live 10 miles away.

 

[steve_b]

If you had a nut allergy you would be looking to sue the company if it didn’t contain the warning.

It's frustrating having a nut allergy and having every 'kin piece of food stamped "NOT SUITABLE FOR NUT ALLERGY SUFFERS". Fortunately I am mildly allergic and the "not suitable" tends to equate to me to be "definitely suitable" - as the ones I need to avoid actually contain them rather than "our lawyer says we can't guarantee that a member of staff hasn't eaten a snickers and come to work". That only bit me once when I found something that said "Not suitable" that did actually contain nuts as an ingredient. Bastards

On a tangent, peanut butter does not contain nuts. It contains peas. Clue is in the name!

 

[Amarillo]

Jesus Christ you'd be lynched, I went to the shops yesterday in the village where my parents live to get them some fruit, veg and milk and was accused of not being a local and by inference a second homeowner isolating in their village. In truth they were partly correct, I live 10 miles away.

Yet here in the epicentre of the outbreak, people take a more pragmatic view of the virus. Busses still running, busy parks with people lounging about at respectful distance from one another, children fishing for eels in the Thames, cyclists in abundance in harmony with other road traffic. Yet try driving a few minutes from your home for a walk in solitude in the place you are least likely to meet another person and the police will track your every move with a drone. Try to head out to sea away from all humanity, and where you can infect no one to catch some fish, and the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will set up a roadblock and send you packing back to the centre of greatest population density.

In many ways it is like the pre-election Brexit debate all over again: communities least affected by immigration had greatest fear of immigration, communities most affected by immigration had the least fear of immigration.

 

[Lightning]

Jesus Christ you'd be lynched, I went to the shops yesterday in the village where my parents live to get them some fruit, veg and milk and was accused of not being a local and by inference a second homeowner isolating in their village. In truth they were partly correct, I live 10 miles away.

There is something going very wrong with how this is panning out in the U.K.

 

[OGII]

In many ways it is like the pre-election Brexit debate all over again: communities least affected by immigration had greatest fear of immigration, communities most affected by immigration had the least fear of immigration.

This is off topic and may stir up much debated old ground. But your point is self reinforcing.

Areas without "diversity" enjoy the status quo. They have long established routines, options etc. that over time could/will be changed by others. As examples the churches and by extension other activities that often run from them (WI, Scouts, Guides etc) are struggling in some urban areas. Pubs close. "Clubs" and bars aimed at certain groups open that are not "open" to all, massive social clubs aimed at one particular segment or religion take over. I am always surprised when I go to shops in my or my wife's old hometowns (in the South West and almost North East) to find teenagers doing "Saturday" jobs in shops and restaurants , both earning some cash and learning that money needs to be earned, hours can be long and that good interactions with colleagues and customers are a life skill.

Where we are on the outskirts of NW London we ironically drive to a pub, there isn't one within walking distance (despite being within 400m of a local high street with a tube station.) Virtually all the people working in retail/ hospitality are economic incomers being paid minimum wage, allowing an excess of duplicate shops (coffee, fast food etc.) giving us a choice that we don't really need. Often, but not always we see local businesses staffed entirely by people of a similar background which based on the usual Equalities Acts suggests that recruitment isnt being done in the way that it should. I don't remember the last time a delivery driver was home grown. All this change drives more change. London is overpopulated and expensive, needing more teachers, NHS, police, housing, etc. The number of languages spoken in some schools in some areas is outstanding, in others almost monocultural.

Why is London diverse but not inclusive? I could name areas or quadrants and you would probably be able to name the dominant ethnic populations. Cultural differences drive this even further, families helping other family members onto the housing ladder in a commendable but more extreme way than is the norm, vertical families where kids, parents, siblings, grandparents live in the same house. Where we live all recent property purchasers have been from one ethnic group, radiating out from areas where their parents and probably grandparents bought before them. Council tax based on house value rather than the number of economically active adults? Another contentious debate we aren't having.

Is there anything wrong with all this? Of course not. It's market economics and human nature. People love cheap goods and services and will most often flock to people of their own type, however liberal they are.

But I can see why more traditional communities around the country are less welcoming of immigration. It's just not PC to voice it.

 

[bigmac77]

There is something going very wrong with how this is panning out in the U.K.

People are scared, also there have been people who despite it being three weeks into lock down are still travelling to rural areas and it only takes one or two posts on a local community Facebook group saying something like ‘the Tesco delivery van driver told me he followed three motorhomes heading towards the village this morning’ to add to that fear.

 

[Velma's Dad]

People are scared, also there have been people who despite it being three weeks into lock down are still travelling to rural areas and it only takes one or two posts on a local community Facebook group saying something like ‘the Tesco delivery van driver told me he followed three motorhomes heading towards the village this morning’ to add to that fear.

Exactly. At an individual level, the risk to someone in a rural area of someone from another part of the country driving through their village and ending up thereby killing them with a coronavirus infection is obviously negligible. They'd be more likely to be killed by that same outsider running them over in the road. But that's how fear takes hold and becomes irrational.

I live in a hilltop Chiltern village not that far from London and even here people seem to be looking suspiciously at anyone driving through in case they're not 'local'. I've been joking that the next stage will be parish council road blocks.

 

[Bellcrew]

This is off topic and may stir up much debated old ground. But your point is self reinforcing.

Areas without "diversity" enjoy the status quo. They have long established routines, options etc. that over time could/will be changed by others. As examples the churches and by extension other activities that often run from them (WI, Scouts, Guides etc) are struggling in some urban areas. Pubs close. "Clubs" and bars aimed at certain groups open that are not "open" to all, massive social clubs aimed at one particular segment or religion take over. I am always surprised when I go to shops in my or my wife's old hometowns (in the South West and almost North East) to find teenagers doing "Saturday" jobs in shops and restaurants , both earning some cash and learning that money needs to be earned, hours can be long and that good interactions with colleagues and customers are a life skill.

Where we are on the outskirts of NW London we ironically drive to a pub, there isn't one within walking distance (despite being within 400m of a local high street with a tube station.) Virtually all the people working in retail/ hospitality are economic incomers being paid minimum wage, allowing an excess of duplicate shops (coffee, fast food etc.) giving us a choice that we don't really need. Often, but not always we see local businesses staffed entirely by people of a similar background which based on the usual Equalities Acts suggests that recruitment isnt being done in the way that it should. I don't remember the last time a delivery driver was home grown. All this change drives more change. London is overpopulated and expensive, needing more teachers, NHS, police, housing, etc. The number of languages spoken in some schools in some areas is outstanding, in others almost monocultural.

Why is London diverse but not inclusive? I could name areas or quadrants and you would probably be able to name the dominant ethnic populations. Cultural differences drive this even further, families helping other family members onto the housing ladder in a commendable but more extreme way than is the norm, vertical families where kids, parents, siblings, grandparents live in the same house. Where we live all recent property purchasers have been from one ethnic group, radiating out from areas where their parents and probably grandparents bought before them. Council tax based on house value rather than the number of economically active adults? Another contentious debate we aren't having.

Is there anything wrong with all this? Of course not. It's market economics and human nature. People love cheap goods and services and will most often flock to people of their own type, however liberal they are.

But I can see why more traditional communities around the country are less welcoming of immigration. It's just not PC to voice it.

People are naturally very protective of their own culture, it is not uncommon to hear people of adjacent villages making disparaging comments about each other based on some remembered slight or crime.
It is likely that the Maori's and "First nation" Americans were not exactly thrilled about a bunch of British people turning up.

Exactly. At an individual level, the risk to someone in a rural area of someone from another part of the country driving through their village and ending up thereby killing them with a coronavirus infection is obviously negligible. They'd be more likely to be killed by that same outsider running them over in the road. But that's how fear takes hold and becomes irrational.

I live in a hilltop Chiltern village not that far from London and even here people seem to be looking suspiciously at anyone driving through in case they're not 'local'. I've been joking that the next stage will be parish council road blocks.

Most small villages lost their shops years ago so the locals drive to nearby towns to stock up or get a stranger to come and deliver from lord knows where. England is a very small country with high population densities, talking about isolated areas is laughable compared to say Canada or Russia but hey must keep those killer strangers away.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Now THAT's how to do social isolating.

King busts out of lockdown with 20 mistresses for party 12,000 miles away

King Maha Vajiralongkorn went into lockdown in the Bavarian region of Germany, staying in a luxury hotel with 20 of his girlfriends - but it seems self-isolation is not for the controversial royal

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Jodalo]

Now THAT's how to do social isolating.

King busts out of lockdown with 20 mistresses for party 12,000 miles away

King Maha Vajiralongkorn went into lockdown in the Bavarian region of Germany, staying in a luxury hotel with 20 of his girlfriends - but it seems self-isolation is not for the controversial royal

www.mirror.co.uk

What’s the problem if they all keep 2 metres apart?

 

[Amarillo]

I'm sorry, but I do not have a link to the report, but if I do find it, I will edit this post.

Mystery In Wuhan: Recovered Coronavirus Patients Test Negative ... Then Positive

NPR interviewed four residents of Wuhan who contracted the virus, recovered — but then had a retest that turned positive. What does that mean for China's recovery from COVID-19?

www.npr.org

 

[Zerax]

Agree, if the rationale behind stopping travel to second homes is to stop burdening local hospitals with people from outside their normal catchment, then it shouldn’t matter, assuming he is now safe from further infection.

No... the rationale is that you don't spread the virus.