I do not for a second believe it makes any difference to transmission. Equally, given the weather, beauty spots aren’t going to get overcrowded. For both these reasons I think it’s a silly rule.. but it is the rule.

Then why are there queues to get into some FC car parks above Cardiff due to multiple households driving there to meet up? The police have been around to my local park and sent people away from the car park there (Parc Tredelerch) after reports of people meeting their family there and other reports of a complete lack of social distancing. Why they haven’t locked all the car parks is a mystery to me, it would stop the piss-takers making a bee-line for the hotspots and anyone who needs to drive there due to a disability can park on the access road and use a blue badge.

It’s properly pissing me off all these rule-breakers but I refuse to join them as I would love to be able to have a christmas with my family and if that’s not allowed I don’t want to feel like I could have done more to make it happen.

We are in Tier 3 here in Greater Manchester – so people can drive to exercise but quite a few facilities are shut.

The sun came out on Sunday and it was mental busy at the local beauty spot, like when they first allowed us to drive again.

But they can’t just rule against going to popular places when it’s sunny, so I guess it has to be one-size-fits-all and otherwise harmless activity gets banned.

Anecdotally driving to work (i cant work from home i’m a hospital Doc) seems about as busy as usual, During the first lockdown it was dead. Loads of people seem to be using the carparks too. I strongly suspect that this ‘lockdown’ will continue to knacker the economy without making very much difference to the virus transmission due to poor compliance. People are fed up, rightly or wrongly.

Chester recycling centre was full and long queues today its been reported as welsh residents cross the border to dump all their nearly new stuff because their tip sites are closed for 2 weeks plus.

But looking at the welsh traffic cams at various times in last few days there seem to be very few LGV,S few small vans but quite a lot of cars, exercising.

This is why we are doing it:

I can’t see the point of locking down Powys for instance. It has a very low incidence and folks are naturally distancing. Hardly anyone lives there.

Except there are no major hospitals in Powys. Anyone needing hospital care will be sent out of County. Very little infrastructure to deal with an outbreak if it occurred. Lots of visitors from areas outside too because ‘there’s no one there’.

It didn’t spread much here last spring or at any point including now.There were several isolated clusters but they were dealt with. If old Dyfed Anglesey and Powys were grouped together as the nation of Wales then the welsh government wouldn’t have announced a lockdown given the very few cases there have been. By all means tell folks not to leave high incidence areas but the rural areas are being lumped in with the Valleys and Liverpool overflow. Flint’s full of Scousers. Powys MPs and Councillors are hopping mad.

I’m in Carmarthenshire. I work with a very large group of people, two of whom have tested positive. The identity of one has not been made known but I trust my boss when he tells me that he is 100% certain that there has been no contact between that person and anyone else.

The other I have worked with but not closely. It was very thought provoking when the email arrived.

Despite Llanelli being ‘removed’ from the rest of Carmarthenshire the infection rates in ‘greater’ Carmarthenshire continue to rise. It’s a bit horrible tbh. I’m lucky, I have a nice house, a big garden and the BBNP starts less than a mile away. It’s going to be a really hard time for a lot of people but I really, truly and honestly believe that a massive reduction in movement can and should lead to a similar reduction in rates of infection.

There will always be selfish idiots in this world who feel that they do not need to follow rules that they don’t like. People who feel that by questioning what they don’t like because they don’t understand it/ don’t like it/ don’t like the politician/ method/ whatever… …they feel that they are thus entitled to do what they want, despite best-informed scientific advice.

But the best-informed scientific advice is that it doesn’t transmit easily outside so long as you maintain social distancing. They could have put the 7 mile restriction in, or maintained the don’t leave your area rule and given people flexibility without increasing risk.

From the 9th Wales are reopening businesses that do increase transmission. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

However I think what will happen is Boris will finally wake up to the need for a National lockdown a week or so after the welsh firebreak is over and we’ll be back in.

I’m following the rules and understand the need for them but I do find the approach slightly non-sensical. Also things will be so much worse in the new year when we have combined COVID and brexit it would be nice not to spend the entire time till then completely restricted

Whole Gorlech trail at Brechfa is open, for the record.

good to know

I’m following the rules and understand the need for them but I do find the approach slightly non-sensical.

It’s a plan made under pressure and on the hoof, with shifting information in a constantly changing situation. So yeah it’s not always going to be perfect. So let’s pull together do our best and press on. Only one more week.

It’s a plan made under pressure and on the hoof, with shifting information in a constantly changing situation. So yeah it’s not always going to be perfect. So let’s pull together do our best and press on. Only one more week.

It might be pedantic, but our “2 week” lockdown is actually 16 days. There’s 9 days to go.

That said, I don’t miss the pub, or the shops and certainly not the traffic, my stress comes from the impact on work/economy.

That said, there’s some indication that local restrictions will end, at least initially meaning I can go back to being a Trail Centre Pussy. Happy Days.

It’s a plan made under pressure and on the hoof, with shifting information in a constantly changing situation.

It’s not constantly shifting – it was predicted many months ago that cases would increase in the autumn and winter. It’s also not difficult to say what the plan is – what the aim of the circuit break is. The WA can’t just make it up the day before, based on the figures for the previous few days. They must have a plan, and if they do then why not make it public? (eg if the circuit break achieves X, then we can open up this over here, but if it achieves Y then we’ll need those companies there to stay shut.) But everything they do is reactive and chaotic, and therefore ineffective in persuading us to ‘pull together’ and in reducing the spread.

I do find the approach slightly non-sensical.

A ride I did with some of the Pigs the other weekend technically made me a criminal because I strayed 800m into NPT. A few weeks before it was absolutely fine. This week it’s fine as long as we do it solo. In two weeks, who know?

So once we come out of this Firebreak there will be No more local lockdowns. Seems sensible to me as presumably that means it’ll be like we have now or ‘freedom’ to move about. Bets on another 2 weeks in December so we can hopefully see family over christmas?

Almost a certainty I think

I think what he means is that (for example) N Wales will be treated the same as S Wales – the rules will be national.
I doubt there’s going to be more freedom of movement at all – you’ll simply all be under the same restrictions whatever they are and whenever they’re imposed.

Agree Sharkbait, he still needs to protect areas with little cases.

I wonder though if we are going to find ourselves caught up in a uk lockdown as soon as we end ours or whether WG will argue for keeping England and Wales separate?

I’m guessing bojo will take half of this week to plan and then let everyone have a final weekend so it might be a case of one finishing as the other starts<\del>

edit. see it may be ass soon as Monday and only England..

I live in Englandshire, but currently building a solar farm in Newport.

I’m allowed to move freely, as I have an essential worker status (energy sector).

I completely forgot I was in Wales the other day, went to a retail park and stood outside JD Sports, wondering why the doors wouldn’t open, until I saw the notice on the doors – stupidly, also did the same at McDonalds until a lovely little Welsh girl came out and told me it was takeaway only. She will have heard my English accent and probably thought ‘you f’ing English tit’

Now planning how I’m going to stay away from home all week when we drop back into full lockdown in England – currently staying in Worcestershire, building another solar farm

She will have heard my English accent and probably thought ‘you f’ing English tit’

Probably! Ancedotally* it seems quite a few people from England decided Welsh lockdown wasnt relevant to them and decided to have their Welsh half term holiday anyway.

*As in ‘I saw a big posh 4×4 and it was a family with English accents’ .. so maybe not evidence that would hold in court!

Lockdown going as expected…

It was good to see people on my street contravening the lockdown and having a big Halloween party last night 🙄

Is anyone else slightly uneasy about WG’s insistence that we will definitely come out of lockdown on the 9th? I fear they are strengthening their position to be a point of difference from the UK govt., when in fact the cases are still high and in another two weeks we’ll
Just find ourselves locked down again. It seems to me extending lockdown a bit while the UK is giving financial support would be sensible. I can see when we do go back in UK govt will refuse to fund

It seems to me extending lockdown a bit while the UK is giving financial support would be sensible. I can see when we do go back in UK govt will refuse to fund

This is the same question Nicola Sturgeon is seeking an answer to. It could mean Scotland matching the English lockdown.

Is anyone else slightly uneasy about WG’s insistence that we will definitely come out of lockdown on the 9th?

A little, but the situation in Wales is different to most of England.

We’ve always lagged behind them as they’ve lagged behind counties further east, plus we went earlier.

If Boris had listened to SAGE or WHO or PHE and locked down a month ago, then a 2-3 week break would have done, but he didn’t so they need it to be longer.

Valid point @P-Jay

Also I guess we aren’t going back to low restrictions yet I don’t think, just nationally uniform rules

Is anyone else slightly uneasy about WG’s insistence that we will definitely come out of lockdown on the 9th?

They have to, politically. They’re already risking a lot of good feeling and they didn’t have that much to begin with.

The question will be when the next one is.

Very impressed with Mark Drakeford this morning, asking people to think how they can help others rather than themselves.

Will be interesting to see if Wales comes out in a much better place than England as they are 1/2 way through their lockdown now…

& we have yet to start ours…

If Boris had listened to SAGE or WHO or PHE and locked down a month ago, then a 2-3 week break would have done

Or we’d be closer to the next lockdown which will very likely come as the rates will simply rise again once lockdown is over. Thinking that they won’t is wishful thinking.

NS & BJ both want(ed) regional restrictions to work for economic and “other health” reasons but it hasn’t in England because tier 3 isn’t tough enough – there should be a top tier that is effectively a regional lockdown …. which is what NS has introduced. Maybe this will work, but it’s also likely that the [younger] population don’t care so will ignore it causing rates to not fall as much as hoped.

Chances are there will be a UK wide cycle of lockdowns until spring and [hopefully] a vaccine.

Hopefully Scotland will get away with it but MD has already put all his eggs in the nationwide restrictions basket which is a shame for those in less affected areas.

So, we’ll find out in about 5 mins what sort of new, new normal we’ll have.

Plaid are calling for a staggered approach like in March, the Welsh Tories (both of them) are calling for a targeted approach, which probably means they know what the plan is and are suggesting alternative ones ahead of time to grab the attention of the public.

I’m sure Westminster suddenly extending Furlough will have an effect, in Hindsight they might have gone for a longer firebreak as this will have changed the equation, but maybe politically it will be easier to end it a week from today and just change the new rules, but we’ll find out shortly.

Hopefully he won’t delay it, but I guess he can’t coincide the Q&A at the end with Strictly to divert everyones attention 😉

Very impressed with Mark Drakeford this morning

Drakeford >> Johnson. I’d have him for PM.

I wonder how this will affect Welsh politics after this is all over. People might start becoming accustomed to looking to the FM for solutions to the COVID fallout and they’d be able to say ‘there’s nothing I can do, Westminster doesn’t give us enough money or power’.

Can’t say I’m not pleased with the new restrictions. They’re far less restrictive to me personally that local lockdown was.

I’m also pleased to hear that MD has the common sodding decency to respect the restrictions in England, so we’re not allowed to trot on over the England for a little Holiday whilst they’re going through their lock-down. It’s a shame Boris couldn’t do the same for us.

There is that strange thing that I can’t go to see my Mum in her house, because we’ve chosen to Bubble with another family with similar aged kids, but I could in theory meet my Mum, Dad, 3 siblings, their partners and children (if I leave out that one in-law I don’t like) in the Pub. I’m sure that can’t be right, but there we go.

Fingers cross it works, because if this is like until, well Jan probably, it’s pretty much life as normal for me.

I wonder how this will affect Welsh politics after this is all over. People might start becoming accustomed to looking to the FM for solutions to the COVID fallout and they’d be able to say ‘there’s nothing I can do, Westminster doesn’t give us enough money or power’.

It’s an interesting point, frankly until now, WAG has had very little impact on normal life in Wales. 5p carrier bags years before England is frankly the only thing that springs to mind.

Without tax raising and spending powers, we don’t have a lot of self-rule in Wales, Covid has been very useful to the likes of ‘Yes Cymru’, and I suppose Plaid too. But I can’t see Welsh Labour pushing for more devolution.

Can’t say I’m not pleased with the new restrictions. They’re far less restrictive to me personally that local lockdown was.

Same here really. I can go see my parents regularly and can go ride my bike anywhere in Wales. the two things that are important to me from a mental health perspective. Won’t be able to see my sister though under the 1 household bubble rule though, which is annoying but I’d rather be able to see and look after my parents so that’s a sacrifice I’ll live with.

As for the politics of all of this? Hopefully it’ll make people realise we can fight our own corner when it’s required under the current system as long as we pick the right fights. I don’t want it to lead to the idiots of Yes Cymru and Plaid pushing for independence but they will try. We just need to maximise all the opportunities we have available to us to make things work for Wales as a whole, something we’ve not been very good at and will become critical now that the EU funding has gone that we relied on so much.

I also don’t wish harm on the English but hopefully our numbers stay low and we can show Westminster that our route has been the better route.

Without tax raising and spending powers

I think we do have tax-raising powers now don’t we? We can add up to 10p on the £ in each band. I think already something like 1p goes to the WG no?

I also don’t wish harm on the English but hopefully our numbers stay low and we can show Westminster that our route has been the better route.

Very hard to compare the two given the differences in population density and greater diversity.