FlyTheNest

Morning all.

My news - I am signed off for three weeks with anxiety and stress. Even though I'm absolutely not, I feel a tiny bit like I'm playing their game (there are complications here, the NAS rep is a friend and has been talking to me about things the head has said and one of them is 'if it comes to it people can see their doctors and get a note for stress') but actually I couldn't work on Thursday, couldn't sleep at all on Thursday night. I'm obliged to tell school if I'm not actually available for work whilst I'm at home, and I wouldn't have gone in to work after a sleepless night normally, but it was the last day of half term and you're not allowed to self-certify sick leave on the last day before a holiday, so I had to phone the doctor anyway,and a conversation about that day led to being signed off more generally for now.

The NEU are being fucking useless, just as a bytheway. I wrote the action line about what had happened so far and asked for advice, they told me to do the things I'd told them that I'd done so far, they referred me to region and all region have done, repeatedly, is asked me to be the rep.

I've applied to local schools on spec - nothing actually going at the moment. We'll see.

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I still believe in a town called Hope

So then, Cummings.....

Morning all.

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

Meanwhile...



"Move along now! Nothing to see here"

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

Sorry to hear about your problems Adam. I've been in a similar situation in the past and it sucks.

So No 10 are putting a protective ring around Dominic Cummings. I wonder if it'll be as effective as the one they put around care homes.

Points against him compared to other lockdown breakers is that he and his wife knew they were infected when they broke lockdown rules; a mother had to miss her 13 year old's funeral by properly following the same self-isolation rule he broke & many other like stories; he and his wife lied about where they were at the time indicating they knew it was inappropriate; a non-poorly friend or relative could have come to them if they really needed help; Dominic Cummings is a wuss who couldn't cope when his wife was ill and had to run to his parents to help out - ok that last one's conjecture, but it's what it looks like!

Points for Dominic Cummings - his and Johnson's handling of the coronavirus outbreak has been so shambolic and the communication of lockdown rules so pisspoor they can rewrite the rules anyway they want to retrospectively and get away with it; Johnson knew where he was and didn't do anything at the time making him culpable too if he accepts Cummings was in the wrong, so he won't. People who have followed the rules to the letter may still be pretty unhappy about it though.

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"Fall seven times, get up eight" - Japanese proverb

That's nice for anybody who has ever stolen out of absolutel desperation, anyone who has ever made a questionable benefit claim, anyone who has lied to authorities in order to avoid their legal responsibilties in those circumstances - and everyone who has kept put and done as they are told when the law says without any question at all that not staying at home and shielding when you are infected is a crime.

Where does this myth that some of these people are intelligent come from? It's difficult to imagine a more fucking stupid thing for anybody to say.

ETA - I would imagine it's possible to obtain a list of offences that the Durham Police have arrested people for during this, so we can compare their attitude to this with their attitude to not famous people.

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I still believe in a town called Hope

I see Laura K is covering herself in glory again

@adam

I'm glad you're able to avoid the 1st June restart. It's easier to make decisions when you know the lie of the land, the uncertainty and ad hoc nature of a lot of these arrangements is part of what makes things so difficult for everyone to know what to do for the best. We initially had a letter from the hospital saying our son was in the high risk group, so I had a look at the shielding advice and it really is extremely onerous and difficult to follow if you have people working in the same household as a shielding child or person, so I know how hard this must be for you, although fortunately in our case our son was later changed to moderate risk so we haven't needed to isolate him within the household, despite my husband's continued working.

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"Fall seven times, get up eight" - Japanese proverb

There is the Ferguson precedent amongst other things, though.

Await with interest the first polling on this, would be majorly surprised if a clear majority don't want Cummings to quit. That of course might influence how the government reacts.

It'd be interesting to know whether the Spectator editor was aware of the fact that Mrs Cummings article was a bit economical with the truth.

He's keeping very quiet right now...

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

So far as i can see if they moved Diabetes into Shielding (not that I think this is something that will happen) I would still be expected to attend and it would be my responsibilty to make things safe at home. A friend lives with his six months pregnant partner. She is shielding. He is expected to attend and to isolate from her at home.

There is a name for what my school/trust is doing and it's a name usually given to bolshie unreasonable union behaviour - they are working to rule. It's impossible for staff to communicate with each other out of the school's eyes about what's happening and, as I said, the NEU are being worse than useless at the moment.

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I still believe in a town called Hope

Where's PorFavor?

Good afternoon, everyone.

I use profanity more than ever these days.

@adam
I'm sorry

Ah, my mimosa has arrived at last!

Stop digging, Tory ministers

To link that rather tenuously with the Cummings story, some of the comments on twitter made me think of our neighbours, the son is 'shielding' because he has cystic fibrosis.
Right from the start they've had visitors, outside, presumably bringing 'urgent supplies' though that rather falls down when there's 4 lots in one day.
The last 2 weeks they're having some work done in the garden so there's been a succession of different men with machines there.

If the boy's inside and the visitors are outside there's probably no risk at all - but that's not what the guidance says.
Some people just think rules are for others, it's not confined to the top ranks of the tories.

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One world, like it or not - John Martyn

Padraig Reidy
@mePadraigReidy
Level 1:
The question is: if Cummings and Wakefield thought driving to Durham to stay with family was fine and within the rules, why did neither mention it in their respective Spectator pieces about life under lockdown?

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One world, like it or not - John Martyn

Anyone complaining is 'trying to score political points' then, I see.
Hope this takes the gloss off Sunak for some.

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One world, like it or not - John Martyn

The biggest indication that he's in real trouble is the reaction of Hartley-Brewer, of all people.

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One world, like it or not - John Martyn

You would have put money on this happening...




He's a bit of a weirdo at the best of time but he's gone completely over the lockdown.

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

And fairly predictably...

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

Yep, the high risk letter I had just said parents of shielding children should work from home "if possible" so if your employer wants you in you haven't much choice as far as I can see and are left having to try to keep them isolated within the home, a pretty miserable situation and hard for those with only one bathroom as you have to clean it every time someone uses it, pretty much. I'm not too stressed about my son now he's off the steroids as I haven't seen anything to suggest IBD is a particular risk but diabetes definitely seems to be so it's a shame your school isn't willing to be more flexible.

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"Fall seven times, get up eight" - Japanese proverb

It's almost uncanny how similar some of the Cabinet tweets are...



Pretty bizarre to see this happening about an unelected official - usually the approach is "Everyone thinks you should go..."

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

Yes, but....


https://mobile.twitter.com/agallacher26 ... 4564983808

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"Fall seven times, get up eight" - Japanese proverb

Not according to Boris Johnson it isn't.

Anyway I don't know what all the fuss is about, I'm almost pretty sure they definitely said it was ok to drive hundreds of miles to the North East to visit your elderly parents.

The only reason I've not done it is I don't like mine.

Government ministers' tweets are so asinine, it makes me wonder what the hell is really going on.

Damn it, Crace says it much better than I did.



https://twitter.com/JohnJCrace/status/1264178260885331968

Is Cummings's infraction a dead cat of some sort?

Can't say I'm finding Shapps' warm up act very funny.

At least we know that the rail improvements are in Wellington, Somerset, and not the one in New Zealand. So let's look on the bright side, and be thankful that Dominic Raab's not Transport Secretary.


Edited - typo

Jennie Harries doing her level best.

Does anyone actually believe that Jennie Harries doesn't know the circumstances (re Dominic Cummings) inside out?

Btw, what is the 255th of May whilst we are at it?

Sorry

I'm finding Shapps pretty funny now, it seems he's claiming Cummings and his wife had no friends, family or support for hundreds of square miles in any direction.

and then...



Although I'm still struggling to work out how or why she was ever the AG.

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If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.

Are you suggesting our beloved Jennie is feigning ignorance so she didn't have to give a straight answer to a question which could upset the government?

I find that hard to believe.

Some slightly more positive news https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/23/author-michael-rosen-out-of-intensive-care-after-47-days

He sadly died on his feet, I feel. And he wound up with - "We've come a long way."

Some people are so picky about having the correct amount of numbers in their dates

Fixed.

However much No 10 rewrites the rules to try to get Dominic Cummings off the hook, what they can't get around is the fact that his wife publicly lied about their whereabouts and situation in an article for the Spectator, claiming they were in their London home and No 10 helped cover up his relocation to Durham by repeatedly refusing to answer questions about his whereabouts. There is nothing excusable about such deception.

As for his actions, either he was too ill to look after his child, in which case he shouldn't have been driving, else he was well enough to drive, hence well enough to look after his child, making the 'safeguarding' defence pretty shaky. I could understand a non-contagious family member going to them to collect their child to look after if they were truly very unwell, but for him to take his contagious wife and child across the country 'just in case' he became ill because it would be more convenient for him is obviously not in the spirit of the rules, risking spreading the virus purely to make his own life easier. In other words he's a selfish, self-serving prick. But then we already knew that.

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"Fall seven times, get up eight" - Japanese proverb

@willow

Great post

I wonder if Number 10 know that there is some even more incriminating news to follow on the Cummings story.

Anyone seen the front page of tomorrow’s Observer yet?

For example evidence that the Cabinet knew he had gone to Durham.