It was around this time 3 years ago when things were beginning to lock down.
First time I'd ever heard of the phrase Furlough.
It was wierd to see the long que to get into somewhere.


Not bringing politics into it, thread will be deleted by the mods.

We should have a lockdown every year for a month. I thought it was great with hardly any cars on the road.

8 Furloughs = 1 mile.

The final Friday evening in the New Brewm after the lockdown announcement, when pubs were legally allowed to open for the last time in order to shift unsold stock, was one the best nights out in my bloody life! Rammed full, party atmosphere and cut price beer into the bargain! Should have a reunion!

Made me realise how manipulative the human race was. With people obsessed with rules and bossing people around.

claptrappers_union wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:30 pm

Made me realise how manipulative the human race was. With people obsessed with rules and bossing people around.

You can’t say that!!!!

Many good things came out of lockdown
- not catching a cold every month
- no commuting (still working from home )
- not having to mix with annoying people
- not having to look before crossing the road
- wildlife was easier to see/hear

What is Furlough. Not sure, but it cost the government millions.

Croydon Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:33 pm

Many good things came out of lockdown
- not catching a cold every month
- no commuting (still working from home )
- not having to mix with annoying people
- not having to look before crossing the road
- wildlife was easier to see/hear

It did make you realise how much of nature’s ‘soundtrack’ is blocked out by the noise of the human race. Used to love my daily walks round the local woods, so many sounds I’d never heard there before.

martin_p wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:31 pm

You can’t say that!!!!

It was Monday 23rd March when Boris told us all to stay home.
I worked another 3 days before being sent home for 5 weeks.
The strangest thing was when the vending machine company came and emptied the machines of everything, crisps, chocolate bars etc, and removed all the ingredients from the tea and coffee machines.
Driving home, Thursday 26th, M65 E and Padiham bypass, I only saw 2 other cars on the road.

claptrappers_union wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:30 pm

Made me realise how manipulative the human race was. With people obsessed with rules and bossing people around.

Didnt take long

martin_p wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:31 pm

You can’t say that!!!!

1) He just did.
2) He's correct.

Lip wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:24 pm

8 Furloughs = 1 mile.

Unfortunately, instead of a Furlough it felt more like one of the 10 chains!

The good times. Looking back, just how mental was it?

I mean, this was literally on the UK’s biggest TV programme:

https://youtu.be/HItp8hjnR9o

Changed my life immeasurably for the better. I’ve gone from being on the road 8-6 6 days a week, to now being at home all the time (maybe 1 day a month out). I see my kids way more and can help the missus with household chores way more. And I’m nowhere near as tired. And I’m actually much better at my job. I am drinking wine a lot more though.

Sorry 5 days a week

martin_p wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:37 pm

It did make you realise how much of nature’s ‘soundtrack’ is blocked out by the noise of the human race. Used to love my daily walks round the local woods, so many sounds I’d never heard there before.

Exactly. One of my "proudest" moments was sitting in the back garden listening to the sound of a robin singing his heart out, his song no longer blotted out by the traffic of the nearby road. Whilst mankind was in turmoil we could still rely on nature to keep soldiering on.

Tony Livesey on 5 live was asking how people were coping with lockdown that day and he shared my robin story on air

HiThere wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:19 pm

We should have a lockdown every year for a month. I thought it was great with hardly any cars on the road.

Delivering food was much more fun/easier without everyone else on the road..
Also made more money then too

Whatever your stance on vaccines, lockdowns etc - we all lived through something absolutely mental when you look back.

I loved the lockdown.

Hated every minute of lockdown, glad it’s in well in the rear view mirror.

Covid…the time we’ll look back on as the moment when the phrase “Avoid like the plague” was proven to be a fallacy!

claptrappers_union wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:30 pm

Made me realise how manipulative the human race was. With people obsessed with rules and bossing people around.

I know of several managers/supervisors that were micromanagers who hated people working from home, it really upset them

The weather was great for most of it too, which helped enormously.
All the lockdowns have merged together - was it March until september, then november til january, then another small one around april 2021?

But I loved it, really. I drank all the spirits from the back of the cabinet, ate all the food from the back of the cupboards, there was no routine to follow, and I'm fortunate enough to have a nice place to live where I can thrash out distorted guitars to my hearts content.

I'm glad it happened whilst I was single and in my 30's though. It'd have been grim being 18 and stuck at home with parents, or in my dotage needing help, or having a tribe of kids running around.

claptrappers_union wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:30 pm

Made me realise how manipulative the human race was. With people obsessed with rules and bossing people around.

This.

It was a time when all the jumped-up officious little bureaucrats crawled out from under their stones waving their little rule books, barely able to hide their erections at the thought of having a bit of power at last.
Even here on a tiny isolated island with barely a single serious case for the best part of 2 years the village bobbys were relishing it and acting like Mussolini.

Horrible time where the first casualty was common sense, and the second was personal responsibility.

Worst thing about lockdown - not seeing people
Best thing about lockdown - not seeing people

Strangely Influenza Virus never taken anywhere near as seriously. Similarities are both viral, both ghastly, both extremely serious to the vulnerable and the elderly. The Hoo Haaa it caused was Unbelievable. The money it's now costing the Taxpayers eye watering. I appreciate some people were thrilled how their lives gave changed for the better - Lucky them. Some of us not so lucky still out if the house 12 hours a day working. That does grate a bit. Now we are all paying the price of Furlough... For What?

Good times , empty roads superb weather , never made so much money or got so fit running ,most of time sunbathing drinking gin , playing guitar, sparring and watching box sets at night .
Most surreal memory was visiting London (empty train) during the “ eat out” deal time . London was almost deserted , empty tubes, no tourists , had an empty cruise boat trip down the Thames ,proper 28 days later stuff .
Though the world is gonna be paying for it for a good few yrs yet ( the furlough not my actual trip !)

We had a 2-year-old and a 3-month-old. I was trying to work 60 hours a week (I work in the DIY industry which exploded) from home whilst trying to help my exhausted, emotionally fragile wife juggle the kids.

One of the worst periods of my life, hands (washed for 20 seconds) down.

It was ****

Absolutely ****

But the alternative was circa 800,000 deaths and the complete collapse of the health system (which actually happened in Umbria in Italy remember)

Just hope it never happens again

It stole 3 of my retirement years which sadly I can never have back

Absolutely ****** my lungs. Could barely go up the stairs for months afterwards and have had a bad cough for about 2 and a half years.

FCBurnley wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:24 pm

It stole 3 of my retirement years which sadly I can never have back

You had a 3-year lockdown? You should try watching the news from time to time. The last lockdown ended 2 years ago.

Billy Balfour wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 7:01 pm

You had a 3-year lockdown? You should try watching the news from time to time. The last lockdown ended 2 years ago.

I had 3 years of not being able to do what I want especially travel
Restrictions / masks etc. Even today visitors to America need proof of vaccination. Clearly you live in a different world to me and are of a different generation. Good luck in the new world. You are gonna need it

FCBurnley wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 7:06 pm

I had 3 years of not being able to do what I want especially travel
Restrictions / masks etc. Even today visitors to America need proof of vaccination. Clearly you live in a different world from me and are of a different generation. Good luck in the new world. You are gonna need it

You've had 3 years of this? Yes, you're right. I do live in a different world to you, and so does everyone else.

The first lockdown and subsequent wave was a weird one. I saw the very best in people and the very worst.
People were scared and some met that with courage and others with cowardice.

At work there were more deaths in the second wave but we were more prepared and people soon realised who were negatively effected the worst. Elderly and overweight, predominantly male.

During the first wave it changed how I viewed people. I used to think the best of people as a baseline. I used to assume most people are good and brave and courageous.
Because how a lot of people I work alongside behaved, and how many member of the general public behaved, I have a more realistic view of people. My the assumption now is a large proportion of people (both the public and the nhs) are selfish

Gunfury wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:11 pm

Worst thing about lockdown - not seeing people
Best thing about lockdown - not seeing people

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” sums it up quite nicely for me.

It doubled a lot of people’s final salary transfer values.
Loads of people retired who otherwise could not have afforded to.

Interestingly those who chose to not retire and stay in work, now that value has halved will now have to work to mid 60’s when they could have retired 3 years ago. They are not happy campers.

Inchy wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 8:51 pm

The first lockdown and subsequent wave was a weird one. I saw the very best in people and the very worst.
People were scared and some met that with courage and others with cowardice.

At work there were more deaths in the second wave but we were more prepared and people soon realised who were negatively effected the worst. Elderly and overweight, predominantly male.

During the first wave it changed how I viewed people. I used to think the best of people as a baseline. I used to assume most people are good and brave and courageous.
Because how a lot of people I work alongside behaved, and how many member of the general public behaved, I have a more realistic view of people. My the assumption now is a large proportion of people (both the public and the nhs) are selfish

Pretty much spot on.

Inchy wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 8:51 pm

Because how a lot of people I work alongside behaved, and how many member of the general public behaved, I have a more realistic view of people. My the assumption now is a large proportion of people (both the public and the nhs) are selfish

I haven't quoted the whole post.

I know five people who work in a similar environment as you, and any one of them could have made that post. There must be loads feeling the same way.

Healeywoodclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:15 pm

Strangely Influenza Virus never taken anywhere near as seriously. Similarities are both viral, both ghastly, both extremely serious to the vulnerable and the elderly. The Hoo Haaa it caused was Unbelievable. The money it's now costing the Taxpayers eye watering. I appreciate some people were thrilled how their lives gave changed for the better - Lucky them. Some of us not so lucky still out if the house 12 hours a day working. That does grate a bit. Now we are all paying the price of Furlough... For What?

I don’t wish to get into a covid debate but I feel some people have forgotten how many people died during the first two waves. Far far far more than flu takes out every year. Also it was taking out far younger people.

I audited every patient my team took to ICU during the first 2 waves. The average age was in the 50s. The main comorbidity was being overweight. The average BMI was between 28 and 32. That’s between overweight and obese, not morbidly obese. Many of these people were previously fit and healthy, their only ‘crime’ was being overweight, which 40 percent of the U.K. population is. The majority died.

The first patient I took to icu was 30. He died. Ive never taken a 30 year old to ICU with flu. And ICU rarely has a patient who is there with flu as the primary problem. And it’s almost unheard of for a 30 year old to be on ICU with flu. I’ve never known it to happen in 10 years.

Lock down saved lives without a doubt but it clearly wasn’t managed well in many ways. I think we probably locked down too hard further down the line. The brief omicron lockdown was utterly pointless because it was very quickly clear the virus had mutated to a much milder illness.
But without the first two lockdowns the many deaths that occurred would have been much greater.

I think we can all agree many aspects of lockdown and the inconsistency of rules (no mask at a table in a restaurant but a mask on when you stand up) we’re stupid

FCBurnley wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 7:06 pm

I had 3 years of not being able to do what I want especially travel
Restrictions / masks etc. Even today visitors to America need proof of vaccination. Clearly you live in a different world to me and are of a different generation. Good luck in the new world. You are gonna need it

Was in San Fran for Xmas and we were turned away from some places for not wearing face masks, which we found odd when compared to how relaxed it is here in the UK.

I turned away from a shop in the Lakes last October for not seeing a 'please wear a facemask' sign on the door.

Billy Balfour wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 9:15 pm

I haven't quoted the whole post.

I know five people who work in a similar environment as you, and any one of them could have made that post. There must be loads feeling the same way.

Don’t get me wrong the vast majority of people I worked along side were brilliant, but a lot of the people I indirectly work with were not.

Here are some examples why my mindset has changed.
I have many more examples

When the first wave was coming, vulnerable people were told they could be non-clinical, work from home or in an office. People who had mild asthma now suddenly had brittle asthma (although had never been admitted to hospital with it). My trust still paid those people their average monthly wage (which included estimated night and weekend hours based on their normal volume of unsocial hours). My trust changed that rule after a while and those in offices and at home lost that unsocial pay. Overnight people came back to the front line for the unsocial pay, which is only about 300 quid a month. So they were apparently now willing to risk their lives for 300 quid a month.

Theatre staff were drafted to work in ICU during covid. Some were brilliant and seized the opportunity to learn and make a real difference. Many literally went missing whilst ICU nurses were going 8 hours without taking a **** because they didn’t want to waste the PPE which we didn’t have enough of.

Just before covid my my daughter was referred to ophthalmology. A month or so after the first wave I hadn’t heard anything so I rang the department. I was just wondering if they had received the referral as I know they had been shut and I hadn’t heard anything, so like any parent I wanted a bit of reassurance. When I said “i hadn’t heard anything and was wondering if the referral had been received?” I was going to say I understand because of covid things will be slower than normal but I was cut off by the receptionist who said “well I don’t know if you know this but there’s been a global pandemic going on”. I firmly explained I was aware there had been a global pandemic going on as I had been looking after covid patient everyday, whilst she had been sat at home!

Duplicate post *

I take it the mods are at the game...

claret2018 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 8:53 pm

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” sums it up quite nicely for me.

I read that in Greg Davies’ Chris Eubank voice

I could cycle to work and not be nearly killed everyday! Other than that, it was dreadful.

Gunfury wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 10:19 pm

I read that in Greg Davies’ Chris Eubank voice

Love that clip!