Good morning. This will put a smile on the faces of all the intrepid mask wearers. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that they had issued five tickets yesterday to people failing to wear a mask. That must have done their ego a power of good, so much so that they are going back today to nab some more. A good little earner as well, it will have covered their wages, that's if the fines ever get paid. Strolling around a shopping centre has got to be a lot easier than chasing after violent shop lifters and muggers.
If you are going there today don't forget to take your exemption proof. I'm not sure what form that should be in, a doctors note possibly. Maybe not, as it's nigh impossible to see a doctor these days.
Catch ya later. Toodle pip. ilona
The fact that you are incapable of understanding facts and science and irresponsible enough not to care other people and their safety because it is inconvenient to you, does not mean it should be allowed or encouraged.Thank God there are people who try to protect people. You are not one them.
ReplyDeleteHi Ilona, GPs put out a statement at the start of this nonsense saying they would *not* be issuing any letters in this regard, as “the government guidance on exemptions suggests there is no requirement for evidence for exemption therefore it is sufficient for an individual to self-declare this.”
ReplyDeleteI include a link from just one specimen page (dk if you allow links)
https://www.mansionhousesurgery.nhs.uk/practice-news-article?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=51&cHash=5508eef8aca86a9d8943cac8a5b72598
(Btw, I am not a lawyer but I suspect the police are acting illegally here - aiui, under the Equalities Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 it is illegal to challenge anyone in public to prove they have a disability in order to discriminate against them).
It will put a smile on the face of the retail workers, security guards etc who have no choice but to have interactions with dozens of people a day for minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteONS showed that retail workers, taxi drivers, bus drivers have a higher incidence of C19 infection.
If there's a chance wearing a mask minimises the risk to them wear one. Don't want to wear one, don't go or accept and pay the fine graciously.
I’m a mask wearer ilona but reading that people have been find for not wearing one doesn’t make me smile. It makes me frustrated. Wearing a mask is horrible on every level I’m sure everyone would say that..but it’s causing the ones that do to resent the ones that don’t (NOT the ones that genuinely can’t) My 50 year old niece refuses to wear one because “she doesn’t like them” I think that’s the only reason why so many just refuse to wear them.
ReplyDeleteHey ho happy days...Not :)
I note GM Police have now deleted this tweet, which suggests that they did indeed get it wrong.
ReplyDeleteYes I think they did get it wrong on the proof part. They can ask people if they are exempt though I think. So if you said yes they should accept that without any need to explain further. Of course it's wide open to abuse from those who aren't. We have to rely on people doing the right thing.
DeleteWhen I leave my apt. I wear my mask and I may then end up wearing it all the time until I return to my apt. - depending upon whether or not I'm outdoors and on my own or if I'm at the office and on transit. It is no longer a big deal and if it prevents the spread of this terrible virus then I believe that it's a small thing to do to help others.
ReplyDeleteI was at a pumpkin patch on Saturday - this is a huge farm outside of the city where families can come to pick their own pumpkin for Halloween, there is a corn bale maize and tractor rides. There is also a huge shop full of wonderful produce, jams, relishes etc. - there were hundreds of adults and children but all able to socially distance, line up properly spaced if they wanted the shop and even though we were outdoors - because there were so many people (although not jammed together in any way) about 85% were wearing masks (although technically not required) and that included the children and it didn't seem to curtail the fun in any way. It is seen as your social duty here and those not wearing them are the ones looked on with pity for their ignorance and annoyance for their selfishness.
I know that you live in a village but I too stopped in a small village on Saturday to pick up coffee and a treat to eat outdoors on a patio and it was a village with an artists enclave so rather bohemian - everyone in compliance with the mask rules so everyone felt safe to explore the village and the artists' studios. I simply do not understand why you continue to be so anti-mask - it is such a small thing to do and can make such a difference - shocking!
It's going to take me ages to answer your comment. Instead I will give you some names to Google. Names of epidemiologists, doctors, experts in their field. Many more are coming forward but still Governments ignore them.
DeleteDoctor Carrie Madej
Doctor Jay Bhattacharya
Doctor Sunetra Gupta
Doctor Martin Kulldorff
Doctor Heiko Schoning
Doctor Rheiner Fuellmich (Lawyer)
Gerald Celente Founder of the Trends Research Institute. He gives an explosive interview here. https://youtu.be/43xrrFW5L3Q
If you are not interested ignore my reply. But just remember, it's not about the virus, it's about money. New York is dead, London is dead, the world economy is on the verge of collapse. The only country which will recover is China.
Conspiracy theorists and advocates of herd immunity - which failed in Sweden and which the UK had to retreat from attempting due to the mounting death toll. Thousands of scientists and doctors have already stated that this would be tantamount to mass murder.
DeleteI am not an advocate for complete lockdowns and I hope that we don't have to go back to that scenario -but - the best way to avoid having to do that is Wash you hands - Wear a MASK - and practice social distancing - really very simple. And yet so many selfish people can't do a simple thing like that! Very sad.
I enjoy your money-saving and craft posts, but I am sad to see you passing on false information about mask wearing. It's okay to not wear a mask if you have a genuine problem with it, but it's not right to encourage non-masking in others who can wear them and help protect themselves and those around them by doing so. This is basic science, no matter how some folks want to deny it.
ReplyDeleteI will never wear a mask as I exercise my right of free choice.I will not be muzzled.
DeleteSo when you need a surgeon you want them to exercise their right not to be muzzled. Mind boggling. Anything that reduces your chances of spreading a virus, any virus, is a good thing.
DeleteHere's a question for you Liz. How long are you prepared to wear a mask for? A month, a few months, a year or more? It isn't going to go away.
DeleteYes that's the nature of a pandemic unfortunately. We have to live with it as long as it takes.
DeleteI have a daughter just started uni and a son just started A levels in a new college. This is very hard on their mental health. New ways of learning, not being able to socialise and make friends even though I've moved them across the country.
But they dig deep and do what's best for the common good.. also not knowing if they'll get a job at the end of their studies
Here's a question for you Ilona, one of the drs you have mentioned have signed a letter to say that young people should be allowed to mingle but the older generation and vulnerable people have to stay home until there is a vaccine. Given the choice would you rather wear a mask or face covering or stay home?
DeleteMasks are unhealthy. Would you hook up the exhaust pipe on your car and feed fumes back into the engine? Humans need to breathe. I will never wear a mask. I am a free human being. What others do is up to them. It's not about a virus. It's control. Give people the choice. Drug companies, mask making companies, vaccine making companies, people are now so brainwashed and living in fear from media hype they can't see the plain truth.
ReplyDeleteYour analogy makes no sense. You can breathe oxygen in and carbon dioxide out through a mask. We just hope to capture some virus aerosol.
DeleteWhat is the plain truth. Please explain.
Getting citizens to wear masks seems a weird way of solving the global economic crisis. I'm sure 'they' could have come up with something better.
And the people in intensive care. A figment of our imagination?
You will find all your answers if you copy and paste the names I have put into Margie's reply, into google. It's all there, especially the interview that Carrie Madej gave.
DeleteI just googled Carrie Madej and the top story was a BBC news article on fake news. Oh dear
DeleteAnyway, it's all about vaccines which is to some extent a different issue to the seriousness of C19 and the extent we need to protect people from contracting it.
Have you looked at Carrie Madejs qualifications? The answers arent even peer reviewed. Anyone can post anything they want on the internet.
DeleteHave you read anything on the internet refuting her claims and why they dont add up? Because it's all there mostly from people more qualified than her.
Just googled another Sunetra Gupta. She's all about herd immunity. How does that work. Everyone over 65, and yes that's you Illona, locks away. They don't need any interactions with carer, family or just living the full lives my 72 year old parents do.
DeleteAlso, I'm glad you boost about only having to go shopping once every 3 weeks. It is the best way to do it but your lack of empathy for the workers that are there for 20-40 hours a week is upsetting.
I need to bow out now. I have read your blog since you built your shed and it was mentioned on MSE. I am a frugal, make do mend kind of a person who reads a few blogs a day to read about people's lives with similar values to me, as I don't have that so much in real life, but I don't like the turn your blog has taken
I have worn a mask,when leaving the house,washing my hands well, before and after returning and staying away from others since March.I do think if others had done this simple task at the time then we wouldnt be in the mess we are now.xx
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you left this comment discussion for all to read - it's interesting to see what people think.
ReplyDeleteYes, it will stay. though I will mention that some of the comments were deleted before publication. Not because they conflicted with my views, but because I could see where it was leading, due to the inability of certain readers to have a civilized discussion. Frustrations become apparent on both sides. I don't have to engage in conversations which go round in circles. Being called a, fucking selfish moron, gives me little or no hope for the future of this country.
DeleteOnce people resort to name calling, especially when they use language like that, they have lost the argument as far as I'm concerned.
DeleteI agree Indigo. They've been back for a second go at me. They say they won't be reading my blog any more. We shall see. People with twisted minds like that are addicted to spreading bile.
DeleteTraveller, I don't know why you keep coming back, you won't get published here. You might be all sweetness and light when you comment on other people's blogs, but I can see right through you.
ReplyDeleteHello Ilona, i've been reading and enjoying your blog for many years. Never, ever have i heard you tell people what they should or shouldn't do. Why then do the people commenting here think they have a right to tell you what to do? It's abundantly clear from your writings that when you are out and about you are fully considerate of others and that like many others you have good reason for choosing not to wear a mask. Where is that 'consideration for others' in those that feel they should tell you what you should do? Keep on being you Ilona, keep smiley and keep on blogging, with good wishes to you from onlyjo
ReplyDeleteI do wear a mask even though I have lung problems and could claim exemption. I find the disposable ones easier to breath in than the cloth ones. My best friend won't wear one and trys to persuade me not to. She's very vulnerable as she's mid 70s, and has heart problems. She also travels on busses frequently which I think is high risk. Really hoping she doesn't catch it. In Hong Kong lots of people wear masks because of the high pollution and this was before Covid.
ReplyDeleteSo much trash on the internet about this virus it's so hard to know the facts from the fiction.
I wouldn't go on a bus at the moment.
DeleteWell said Ilona, good post. Its a shame some people have to be so rude. 'The bigger the lie and the more often it's repeated, the more people will believe it, because if you tell a lie so colossal, ordinary people would never believe that the truth could be distorted so infamously'. Adolf Hitler.
ReplyDeleteI read something similar. People are so alarmed about what is going on, they can't quite believe it, so it's easier to go along with what they are told.
Delete