RDQ 15/12 - will the government hold its nerve on Christmas?

The latest from Laura Kuenssberg is that Christmas plans for England will remain unchanged, but expect strict controls to stay until then. Decision on devolved nations tomorrow.

Sorry Martin, didn't mean to be presumptuous. It's a tough decision to not see the boys until NY weekend. On balance probably the right one.

Straw poll from friends and guys down the golf club is that no-one will be changing their Xmas plans whatever changes are made to the rules.

I don't mind much myself either - I can take or leave socialising most of the time. But my wife is highly sociable and hates the restrictions (even though she favours them), and an unhappy wife is not conducive to a very happy life...

It has been interesting following it. I'm not really blaming them (it's their job after all) but entertaining to see the opposition first saying how inhuman it would be not to allow a proper Christmas, students to travel home, etc then this week start saying how irresponsible the plans are And of course the devolved wastes of public money need to make their own points as well, though they seem to have lost their moral superiority somewhat in the latter part of the year when it became clear we were all f***ing this up just as badly.

Personally, I have no interest in this Christmas really. For the first time ever I would just rather it was a normal month and not happening. Something at work has peed me right off and left me feeling highly insecure here (will post in the private bit about that some time) and now it's dark and miserable the whole time, the initial joy of endless cycling/walking/running in nice weather in the initial lockdown, allied to rediscovering some hobbies while work was temporarily quiet, is well gone. Replaced by a groundhog day of dark mornings, video calls, running the same routes (in summer I go off road a lot but its a mudbath now) after work in the dark, a brief time watching the same crap on TV then repeat. I miss travel - work and personal. I miss socialising - I normally catch up with various groups of friends this time of year. I miss socialising with my work team as well, and the people in the various sports clubs I was getting to know well in my single life in Winchester, which was never really replaced when I came to Newbury - by the time I realised how much I valued it, it was COVID time and too late to get into it. Most of all I miss my daughter, who I see about 2 days/1 night every other week but given how much time we spent together before, that's nothing really. On top of that Christmas just feels like a lot of pressure to get things right for other people, apart from taking Lu to see my parents for one day next week (if everyone stays well in the meantime) I can't say I'm looking forward to any of it, it's not the same when it's not your own kids.

Sorry to be so moany (I feel guilty for saying this in current circumstances). I'm alive, my loved ones are, I still (probably?) have a job, I'm lucky. I'm just no lover of our dark miserable winters at the best of times (I get a bit of SAD I think, however much I try and get out for regular daylight), with that and no travel and most of my regular activities parked there is very little to enjoy in life presently. Roll on longer days and some decent trips away for me! How I would love a trip to Spain like the one in March, a trackday, or something similar. Plenty to plan for next year assuming we are into the home straight now anyway....

Great - can we also sort the testing and death numberwang out as well so Hancock can stick his casedemic up his arse.

No, that's OK, I am sure that you are not the only one who wants to moan at this new "temporary" way of life.  It's crap. Don't feel guilty, most of us are not "living" but existing and I still believe that we have to learn to live with the virus as it's not going to go away in a hurry any time soon.  Even if it means wearing a face covering when outside, no exceptions, that's got to be better that living in a semi-permanent state of "we're in lockdown, no we're not, yes we are again, no we're not, yes we are...."

No worries alf. I think the general mood in the country can be best summed up as "fu&&ing well fed up".

Eff: my neighbours in Wimbledon had a braai on Christmas Day no matter the weather. It was the dad’s way of coping with the misery of English winters. We’ll actually be spending more time in our own home this year than any other. Me especially: since age 8 in 1976 the holiday seasons have been about not being in the house I lived in.

Well indeed. There had been points in the last seven years that we've lived here (longest I've ever lived anywhere) when I questioned the merit of having basically completely cleaned myself out buying a house in a pricey part of London with outside space and then renovating and furnishing it to a high standard, given we basically only ever slept in it and went away whenever we could.

And now, this year, having been cooped up in it for months on end, I'm suddenly delighted that I did. It has made it much more bearable.

Haven't really gathered my thoughts after the disappointment. Will have a chat when I get home and see what the mood is. Technically I don't think we are allowed to travel so it may be academic thinking of an alternative.

You might have but your neighbours didn't. It's not about you it's about society.

We are booked in to a local hotel for Christmas lunch and so far it is still on. However a client who had a booking elsewhere has had it cancelled for Covid reasons and they are now flapping about trying to find somewhere else. He reckons they are just going to have to do it at home and is keeping his fingers crossed that he can get everything he needs.

I agree though that the damage to those in the hospitality industry is huge and many won't make it into 2021. There are catastrophic levels of debt being taken on by small pubs, hotels and guest houses across the country just to survive but if the money doesn't start to come in relatively quickly they will lose everything - their houses, livelihood and their life's work. I know of one prestigious car hire/chauffeur company who are selling a car a month to help them survive - that obviously has a finite life and unemployment for the excess drivers. It also means that capacity won't be there when everything opens up again.