Work as usual for me sadly.

Who lives on just carrots & potatoes 😂

In my local area the big supermarkets give their close to sell by date food to the food banks; of course there is unlikely to be the things available in shops so they may well be more flexible in what they will take .. just not too sure how helpful big bags of carrots and potatoes will be to a rough sleeper though??

kimbers
Subscriber

I have seen this said a few times by some brexiter types on twitter, but not read it elsewhere, any source ?

As one of the Brexit Loony thread regulars it’s only expected you would try to turn this into Brexit related thread to spew your nonsensical and bitter views/opinions.

It’s clear you and the other Brexit thread loons have moved over to this thread, and as a result this thread too is getting too daft to read anymore .. so I’m out; you loonies can have another echo chamber to scare each other; enjoy🤪

Despite the lovely weather out there today, I had a few things to do around the house/garden.
So did the 16:05 3R Tick Tock Flat race.
Fast start as typical for a short and flat 19k race; it settled down after about 5-6k .. 8km in and sat fairly comfortably in front group, and lost connection again!
I decided to just finish the course and set a 250w TT effort. 10k in and just at start of the little climb the connection resumed; but I was a minute off from front group and 20 seconds in front of a group of C riders.
They caught me descending the little climb, so sat in with them for a km or two and went off the front with another rider 5km from the finish.
Bit frustrating losing connection again, and I seen by chatter on zwift it is happening to quite a few other riders too … I guess there’s lots people using it at moment.

Hoping to do the 17:40 Team Gladiators Race tomorrow .. fingers crossed the connection holds🤞

Its interesting to read the discrepancies between the UK 4.6% and Germany 0.3% of those dying with corvid19.
At the moment the UK is adding to the corvid19 fatality list anybody who dies with the virus, unlike Germany who are only recording those dying as a result of the virus.

tpbiker
Member
I hope when this shit storm is all done anyone who has put themselves on the front line gets the recognition they deserve from this country

I very much doubt it. The New Year’s Honours list will be full of those higher management types who self isolated and skyped throughout this crisis getting Knighthoods and CBE’s … Maybe a handful of nurses will get the lower baubles.

Those in our social work team were informed last week that we could/would be redeployed to cover care agency staff when their numbers start depleting.

High unemployment, return of austerity … increase in anti-immigration sentiment.

This huge government spending at a time when hardly any wealth is being generated is going to leave a very painful hangover for a large number of people in this country.

Brexit was a journey into the unknown that caused many on STW real anxiety – the negative fall out from this is a certainty.

It certainly isn’t perfectly thought out, but watchable.
After the effort and technology of invading a planet – you would imagine they would have brought a few more robot dogs to mop up survivors .. or maybe just repeated the pulse that wiped the majority out at random times for a few days/weeks after.

But I guess that’s giving it too much thought!

Will there be stipulations on businesses applying for the 80% government scheme, such as they need to keep the employees for 12/24 months after the scheme?

I guess I am just cynical, and imagine there be lots of employers looking to exploit it, and the Tory’s not making it as easy as it looks.

I have read of a few saying they think they had it in January this year; my wife and I also had the persistent dry cough and associated lurgy that this coronavirus seems to be identified by in January too … maybe there was an earlier strain doing the rounds in the UK before now, or is it more probable that it was just a similar virus?
I guess we shall see within the next few weeks when this thing really takes off …

The lack of PPE seems a common problem/issue.
My wife (nurse) has 4 patients on her ward confirmed as having the coronavirus, yet they are not in isolation from other patients, there is no testing for staff, and there is no PPE for the staff caring for them.

As gowerboy correctly states, NHS staff have no option but to carry on and do the job. Its not like some emergency services who will not put themselves at risk if they do not have the correct breathing apparatus to go into a building, NHS staff have no such safety net.

Only self diagnosis – so no actual confirmed cases for anybody yet then?

Does anybody actually know 100% of somebody with coronavirus; as in not just their word for it?

Fantastic move by the government; that will certainly avoid a lot of stress for many young families with mortgages. Hopefully a similar scheme will be available for the self-employed etc.

I wonder if they will extend it past the 3mths if things do not improve as much as they want?

Flaperon
Member

There are bell-ends everywhere in life. Besides you there was the guy who walked around the supermarket today coughing loudly and violently over everything, including other customers.

Should everyone in the shop be self-isolating now for two weeks? Wind your neck in a bit and see the bigger picture.

As you demonstrate yourself – bell-ends identify themselves everywhere.
But taking the opportunity to get off work – or whinging when they got to do their job is taking the pi$$. I expect that a large portion of front line NHS staff have older family members or young children too .. but they are getting on with the job.

I think it is you who needs to wind their neck in – who is saying people shop isolate if somebody is coughing in a shop: yep bell-ends everywhere!

maccruiskeen
Subscriber

How about we extend teacher’s pay and conditions to care workers 🙂

The idea that staff and space can just magically appear from somewhere just because you say £number seems extraordinary. It maybe shows just how far from most peoples thoughts the care sector is most of the time that the suggestion could be made.

I recognise that I have banged on about carers being the overlooked and undervalued sector a fair bit in numerous threads on this coronavirus, but it is still an area being overlooked in all this. I hope at the end of all this carers get the recognition that they fully deserve, and this is reflected in their working conditions and wage packets too.

I just find it frustrating that public sector employees who are employed to serve the public are using this coronavirus to get time off work, or whinge and complain that they have got to do their job. I am not just aiming this at teachers who are reportedly 35% down from staff self isolating already, because in my own social work team of 5, within 5 days three have already isolated themselves … its ridiculous and blatant that people are taking the pi$$.

That’s funny, I’ve not seen any of that on here. In the meantime, I give much thanks, appreciation and recognition to all carers except your miserable ass.

I applaud your recognition of carers, and even though I am not a carer .. I will take your appreciation and recognition of my role supporting them to do their crucial role in society; Thanks.

Will you extend that hope of recognition to teachers

Only the ones who don’t whinge about the unfairness of having to do their job.

The government have announced £2.9bn monies to free up hospital beds, of which the Local Authorities will receive £1.6bn to provide the adaptations and care staff to enable these already sick/frail older people to move into their homes or care homes … if only it was that easy!

Recruitment of carers was a huge challenge before coronavirus … I imagine it is almost impossible now; where are these potential carers going to be found? and care/nursing home places have always been few and far between, and from what I have seen the last two weeks, more of them have stopped taking new admissions anyways.

When all this is over I hope it leads to a greater recognition and value placed on carers. Rightly so the public recognise NHS staff who get on with their job without whinging; but at the moment care staff are given very little value in society; typically paid the minimum legally allowed; often given poor work contracts and conditions, and even now the likes of Domino Pizza who offer free pizza to NHS staff do not extend this gesture to them.

ayjaydoubleyou
Member
Not a teacher, but should the worst come to my job I’m someone that’s happy (being young, fit and healthy) to volunteer to do key work….most key work.

If you, or anybody else, is serious about volunteering then I suggest you contact a local care agency. They are struggling for carers ordinarily – now even more so. There will be procedures in place to enable you to carry out caring duties such as personal care as long as your accompanied by a DBS checked staff member.

Why is it that teachers whinge more than any other profession?

Nurses, social workers .. even talk of the army too being redeployed to different areas and different locations to do their job, or things not ordinarily part of their job descriptions. Most will have family at home too.

Why do teachers think they are any different?

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to all this.

A good measure they are bringing in is to test those key workers for the coronavirus if they think they need to isolate … that way its a deterrent to those trying to take advantage of the situation to get off work for 14 days.
At the moment my wife (a ward nurse) has been looking after a person all week who has just been tested positive for coronavirus. They tested the ward Doctor who was also tested positive, but as yet have not tested any of the nurses on ward – or even offered to test them; its bonkers!!

I am a key worker myself so I am not having a go at key workers before anybody starts complaining. Those working in the NHS or for LA are very fortunate that our jobs are not at risk as a result of all this – so with that comes the responsibility to do the jobs we are paid to do, and not be selfish if that means an inconvenience for the next few weeks/months.

Not ridden all week with the madness of work at moment; but 6 days annual leave from today, so the 14:10 3R Classique Flat Race looks good.

FB-ATB
Subscriber
One of the biggest problems is the fact that those people who look for any excuse to take time off work in normal times – are now taking time off work.

We’ve had a few of those. My employer doesn’t pay any sick pay so people either use holiday or have to go SSP. Once it was announced there is no 3 day qualifying period on Monday they phoned in and left voicemails that they had high temps etc so will be off. When their supervisor called back to confirm they had to stay away for 7 days only getting SSP (ie c 1/3 of their usual pay) it’s surprising how many felt better and wanted to come back!

We had two from team on Monday asking about company policy around this virus – they were informed full pay and it wont go on their absence record … three strikes and up before HR. The very next day one was off because she suspected a relative had it, and they had visited said relative recently; she had no symptoms. The other had a cough .. yet was vaping whilst video conferencing us to let us know. Both could have won an Oscar for performances whilst being told the LA policy was isolate for 14 days …. one had the audacity to let rip with “but I want to be there to help people” …. I am still fuming!!

loum
Member
Schools staying open for key workers children seems wrong and reckless to me…
A better solution would be for able volunteers ( eg including school staff) to offer key worker children child care in their own homes, whilst maintaining social distancing…
Id be happy to take a couple of children if it meant more doctor’s could keep working.
Please shoot me down if there’s a big flaw I’ve missed, as I will be talking to our headteacher later today.

Would you be happy to take delivery drivers, supermarket workers or carers children too? or just doctors children?

One of the biggest problems is the fact that those people who look for any excuse to take time off work in normal times – are now taking time off work.
My senior managers expressed their frustrations at this yesterday and added there is simply nothing they can do to avoid it.

As fantastic and responsible as some key workers are, it only takes those to make a difficult situation almost impossible.

I have already seen it in my work area, my wife who is a nurse has seen it in her area too .. reading above comments it seems teaching has those type of people too; things soon fall apart.

IHN
Member
More easily avoided here by not looking at the main CV thread.

Yeah, I stuck my head in there briefly. Makes the Brexit thread look like the Oxford Debating Society

To be fair the CV-Conspiracy thread has been taken over by the Brexit thread loonies .. its difficult to tell the two threads apart now. But I do think the Coronavirus is less anxiety provoking for them because there are facts to rein in their wild thought disordered views on Brexit.

The next 6 days off work. No more talk of coronavirus from lazy women looking for excuses to take time off work.

Mental health social worker here.
I still feel ambivalent towards the whole thing. On one hand I read its only the very old or the ones with significant underlying health problems who are at most risk .. fortunately all my family and I are in good health and below the at risk age, so I am not concerned there – but its the knock on effect that causes me concern.

Shops are ransacked, and things will only get a lot worse as stricter measures get introduced.
Work wise there is no way we can work from homes. GPs around our way are only doing telephone assessments, so already today there was a big increase in referrals from GPs for crisis and urgent next day mental health assessments … they arent putting eyes so everything is getting through; I have a full day of mental health assessments tomorrow!

Add to that the usual ones in team who use any excuse to have time off; a couple are already dropping the hint explaining their best friends cousins aunties next door neighbour has coronavirus .. and they too got a bit of a cough .. I am expecting they will be off by end of week and our work load goes totally bonkers!

An area that I feel will be hit hardest is the care sector. Not many want to do that at best of times … getting new people in when the workload is likely to be double is even more unlikely.

Sufferfest kinda trying to divert away from their inability to replicate Zwift.
Zwift (the longer 30-40K ones) races feel very much like the efforts I used to put in for crit races.
I have done many club rides that have felt the same, or tougher, than Road races … so road races all depends on the mix of who has entered .. meh!

Good result Weeksy; great feeling when the legs and lungs are pumping strong!!

Jiffy bag courier?

Watched 1st episode other night. Nice they have done it a bit differently.

Mental health social worker here.

1. Will company survive?

Yes – luckily no chance of needing to look for another job.

2. What risks/challenges are your work place facing?

As secondary MH service we typically respond to people at crisis. Our referrals for assessments are almost always at high risk of suicide, or ongoing involvement with people with serious mental health disorders. We need to meet face to face with the clients … we may be able to write up the assessments etc at home, but thats not even half the job.
We all have very high case loads – if even 1 person from team is off its puts huge pressure on rest of us – so if there are a few people forced to be off then it will be difficult to see us managing.

3. How are they dealing with the current problems/staffing/office/depot closures etc?

Nothing has been said as yet. A form went around yesterday asking us to write down potential child care issues and individual skills; the rumour was that the CPNs would get moved to general hospitals if they were medically trained at phlebotomy or any other general nursing skills.

5km from start lost connection again; so did the ODZ 29km Cat & Mouse hilly race .. hate those climbs!

The connection was fine for the ODZ race so I guess it’s just the TOZ that’s the prob.

It does seem pointless then accumulating millions of drops if there is nothing to use them for.

It seems I was very lucky to get the Lightweight Meilensteins; got them 1st or 2nd time up the Alpe. With the Spesh Tarmac I apparently have the best set up available for climbing … if only I had more fitness and less belly!

I shall be having another go at TOZ stage 2 race today at 14:10 .. hopefully no issues!

I only found out about the drops thing today. I had wondered what the counter on the side was for – well I got over 2 million altogether – but you have got to be at certain levels to purchase the better frames and wheels etc; bit pointless then isnt it!!

Changed frame for the Cervelo s5 with the zipp808 .. apparently its the fastest set up available for my level 28.

It not showing anything for me on zwiftpower or Strava for that ride. But showing my 10 minute warm up before. I am thinking that when I log on next time to zwift it will upload it then.

I had changed my wheels from my usual Lightweight Meilensteins for the Zipp808s … and they were a much better choice to race with. I had always used the Lightweight Meilensteins because I always seem to lose the front group on a climb, so assumed they would help avoiding that. But I guess the extra effort to stay with the pack robs the legs before you get to a climb. I shall be staying with the Zipps from now on. I had a PR flash up as I got to top of climb today, and stayed towards front of pack all way up instead of finding myself sliding off back as usual.

Yes bit frustrating. I expected for other riders to show after a couple seconds so just used the Aero and gave an extra effort hoping it would keep me towards front of pack by time it came back on .. unfortunately it didn`t. The ride hasnt even loaded to Strava.

Lost connection all together by looks.

… not even showing me on there now.

I guess i didnt really do it then.

I just did the 18:10 TOZ Stage2 race.

Less than 1km to go. Sitting fairly comfy in front group … Waiting for the surge to sit on to take me to the 300m sprint section … And all other riders disappeared 😩

So took chance and just went off hoping for the best.

ZwiftPower showing me as 15th .. but not showing times; thinking maybe all riders had glitch and it’s placed us where we were when it went down.

Bit frustrating because I still had something in legs to have had a sprint.

The kind of thing every person diagnosed with cancer dreams of.

For the Doctor to come back and say its a mistake, and she has not got cancer.

I would have given the Doctor the biggest kiss she or he had since their teenage days.

I would be too happy to be complaining they had made a mistake – what a great mistake!

1st case at my wifes hospital today. Not her ward luckily .. but its inevitable with both our jobs in the community and visiting busy local hospitals that we will get it pretty soon; I guess its better to get it sooner rather than later though.

Another day – and even more convinced we will not contain this anything like they have in China .. or even Italy for that matter.

Went to visit a care home last visit today. Sign on door before entering warning about sterilizing hands etc – No hand sanitizer available on entering.
After a bit of wandering about looking for a staff member, I finally found one and asked where to wash/sterilize hands … shown into a little bathroom with a sink, but no towels to dry hands.

On leaving I seen 2 people enter the building without looking to sterilize/wash hands. I went to speak to the housing scheme manager to raise my concern … her explanation was people have stolen it. She informed me there were 2 new cases in the local Merthyr area today too.

Yep not containing this.