COVID - 19

[Postmodern Smoking]

Mar 16, 2020 21:34:09 GMT charliehorse said:

Me and the girlfriend have a cruise booked for the middle of April

Hasn't been cancelled yet but I reckon it's only a matter of time now.

But even worse than that ..... Just heard that this years Grand National has been cancelled !

Tis officially serious now




(This post, though entirely true, is meant in a light hearted way)

That'll teach you for booking a fancy crusie!!!  #jealous
Re. lack of Grand National... if you feel hard done by by not being able to throw away your money this year... PM me for where to send a cheque!! 

[ceedee]

Mar 15, 2020 0:25:48 GMT Greg said:

And why is everyone clearing the shelves of spaghetti.

The latest mass panic-buy is apparently Peanut Butter - completely cleared shelves in my local Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys.

I'm sure it'll make sense in a day or two when it turns out to be a miracle cure...

[dagl]

Nipped into my local Sainsburys for some essentials earlier, was like the day after the apocolypse. I asked the guy on the check out if they were having troubles with their suppliers and he replied "The empty shelves are all down to people panic buying!"
my bottle of Merlot, bag of stirfry and tub of coleslaw will see me through..
Tbh the Merlots already finished.
Good health everyone!

[DaveJ]

Yeah, stripped supermarket shelves is now the new normal here too.

Everything out, or very short. Even fresh stuff.

Local big name supermarkets have just setup a "old and infirm" only shopping hour betwix 7 and 8 am - so they have a chance before the crazy mass are allowed in after 8 am.

It's nuts. Completely crazy how "normal" folk are so over-reacting.


Like other places around the globe, many normal things are getting canned - all big gatherings. Theatre, sports, conventions and such. Talk of the need for harsh triage to decide who gets treatment should the medical system get overrun. Scary that it may come to that.

[Perpetua]

Yesterday was the worse since this all started, at 8am when we opened . . . . a stampede of people came through the doors, ramped up by the deteriorating situation from news reports over the weekend. By the time I left at lunch time our shelves were blitzed.

There is enough of everything to go around as our deliveries are unaffected so far, if only people would buy ' normally ' the reality is, that won't happened.

We've set up designated areas of basic items in our warehouse, chillers and freezer specifically to cater for elderly, disabled customers or their carers who are having difficulty obtaining supplies.

Online deliveries have gone through the roof, there's now a cap on these as our drivers simply can't cope with the volume and neither can our system or stocks.

It's exhausting if nothing else working in a supermarket right now, but we're continuing to do our utmost with the resources we have available.

[Greg]

Mar 17, 2020 7:00:48 GMT Perpetua said:

Yesterday was the worse since this all started, at 8am when we opened . . . . a stampede of people came through the doors, ramped up by the deteriorating situation from news reports over the weekend. By the time I left at lunch time our shelves were blitzed.

There is enough of everything to go around as our deliveries are unaffected so far, if only people would buy ' normally ' the reality is, that won't happened.

We've set up designated areas of basic items in our warehouse, chillers and freezer specifically to cater for elderly, disabled customers or their carers who are having difficulty obtaining supplies.

Online deliveries have gone through the roof, there's now a cap on these as our drivers simply can't cope with the volume and neither can our system or stocks.

It's exhausting if nothing else working in a supermarket right now, but we're continuing to do our utmost with the resources we have available.

We shop online every week at Tesco, book a slot Tuesday for delivery Thursday. Last week tried to book a slot and nothing available until Saturday. I’m now booked at my usual time on a Thursday for the next 4 weeks 👍

[DaveJ]

I hear ya Perpetua . Mucho empathy from here about your plight - and that of your co-workers.

The blitz on supermarkets here was at the stage you describe early/mid-last week. Last weekend saw numbers of metro folk drive to outlying towns to raid shops of all. I mean everything. In one case I heard of a group who chartered a bus to take 'em on their pillage and ransack jaunts.

Staff are being harrassed badly - "when is xxx coming in", "but I'm a regular" and so on.
Some places have had to employ guards to protect the staff bringing in fresh pallets of TP.

It's crazy and defies comprehension.



++ And there's going to be a LOT of economic fallout from all this. Many jobs will be lost and I dare say a lot of businesses will be unlikely to recover.

For simple starters: who'd currently want to be a shareholder of an ocean going cruise liner? Or be one of their employees?

[DaveJ]

Mar 17, 2020 7:05:06 GMT Greg said:

We shop online every week at Tesco, book a slot Tuesday for delivery Thursday. Last week tried to book a slot and nothing available until Saturday. I’m now booked at my usual time on a Thursday for the next 4 weeks 👍

Here - all on-line shopping & deliveries with the major supermarkets has been cancelled. They've simply have ceased the service completely - at least for the time being.

Too many were hitting it up as a means to avoid the mass queue for the TP isle.

[thebishman]

Mar 16, 2020 21:23:17 GMT charliehorse said:

Hope you get home okay thebishman

Thanks mate

A cruise you say... Im the last person to panic but id probably try and get your money back. I assume you have have seen the cruises that got locked down for 2 weeks?

Well our flight appears to be on still. 3.15pm today

[Greg]

Mar 17, 2020 7:22:17 GMT DaveJ said:

Mar 17, 2020 7:05:06 GMT Greg said:

We shop online every week at Tesco, book a slot Tuesday for delivery Thursday. Last week tried to book a slot and nothing available until Saturday. I’m now booked at my usual time on a Thursday for the next 4 weeks 👍

Here - all on-line shopping & deliveries with the major supermarkets has been cancelled. They've simply have ceased the service completely - at least for the time being.

Too many were hitting it up as a means to avoid the mass queue for the TP isle.

Yes that might happen here too but for now it’s ok. My boss was telling me he went to Costco and left due to trolley rage and folk climbing the shelving to get to high stored TP, it’s madness.

[snow]

I found out last night that I'm in the social distance stay at home for 12 weeks group due to a couple of underlying conditions. I have been on annual leave for the past week and was supposed to be off this current week so I haven't actually been out through choice - it was Cheltenham and I take that off every year. I'm able to work from home to some extent as we have a few paperwork/technical things that need doing but always got put on hold because we never had the time so I can get on with those things remotely but I'm unsure if thats enough to keep me occupied for 12+ weeks.

[gill2009]

Mar 16, 2020 21:23:06 GMT Chrissie said:

It truly is a worrying time Stay safe everyone

I've recently been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The drug the Rheumatologist has put me on, to help control it is Methotrexate. However, as it suppresses my immune system, it means I am more vunerable to catching any infections

  I feel for you Chrissie...it's a nasty drug.

  I don't know if you are taking it orally, but more tolerable if you are allowed to self-inject daily.

  I'm sure you've been told never to get it near your eyes!

  I hope it helps somewhat with your pain 

[thebishman]

Well after some slight manic-ness we got home late last night. Speaking to air stewardess we were lucky, easy jets last 2 flights to and from tenerife today and thats it. So theres going to be alot of people stranded over there. Saw families literally in tears trying to get home

[charliehorse]

Glad to hear you made it back thebishman - did you get any duty free toilet paper

[thebishman]

Mar 18, 2020 10:07:45 GMT charliehorse said:

Glad to hear you made it back thebishman - did you get any duty free toilet paper

I was erm.... gifted 6 rolls by the hotel lol

A mate of mine is always upto sonething can get me 36 rolls for a tenner so i think ill be fine