Boris Johnson announced this evening that the UK is in lockdown with immediate effect. I was due to move house on Thursday. Everything is in boxes. It looks like I'm going to have to stay here and pay for a house 50 miles away as well with no prospect of selling this house.
Plus, local Government in the UK charges double on empty properties.
Just to add insult to injury.
UK is in lockdown
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still hasn't sunk in
As soon as I posted this I realised how selfish it was.
There are people losing their lives and in genuine hardship. But... Well, I won't be the last to see all their plans come tumbling around their ears. At least my family and I are still healthy, for now.
I guess, there's a good chance some of us will lose someone before this is over.
So, time to look on the bright side, stop whining and suck it up.
Things could be a lot worse.
Stay safe, all of you.
Sinking in - in some places but not in others
The town centres in the North Eastern cities where I live and work are very quiet. I had to travel down the East Coast Main line for work on Monday. The station was deserted at 7 am - usually it's busy with commuters and long-distance travellers. I travelled on a train which is usually standing room only for at least the first part of its journey. There were around thirty people on a train that has a capacity of 400. My destination is a tourist hotspot all the year round. Everything was closed - museums, churches, the great cathedral, the tourist shops and the pubs. There were recorded announcements at the stations telling us not to travel unless our journey was essential. But at the same time people are going to the beach, Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons, and the Highlands were packed at the weekend. But people are silly. What makes me angry is this. I am trilingual and earn my living as an interpreter. A lot of my work is for the NHS. I have carried on going into hospitals and clinics as usual since Covid-19 arrived - babies won't wait and heart conditions won't get better because there's a new virus in town. None of the doctors outside theatre have face masks. None of the nurses have face masks. None of the ancillary staff and of course none of the volunteers or interpreters have masks. The government advise us to wash our hands while singing Happy Birthday twice. Remember that in the UK, the NHS is a public body and it is the government's responsibility to see that it is properly run, properly funded, and properly supplied. Unfortunately we have third-rate journalist who thinks he's Churchill in charge.
Speaker
Not selfish
Really, it's not selfish at all. Moving house is one of the most stressful events in anybody's life in normal times let alone now. I have been feeling vaguely guilty because as someone who is (allegedly) an essential worker, I can still travel and my journeys on quiet trains and empty roads are much pleasanter than they usually are.
Speaker
Not strictly true
We're not in total lockdown yet, unlike the Italians and the French. We can still go out to buy food, to exercise, to go to medical appointments and to go to work if essential.
You could argue that since your home is now effectively elsewhere, you are only attempting to move back to it now.
I'm not sure how you can get your belongings transferred, though. Unless you own a big van you aren't going to be able to hire one, and even using that of a friend could be awkward. Removals firms will be out of the question, of course.
I'd offer to help if I still had my big van but that's long gone. I have a big estate which might have helped, but I'm in the vulnerable bracket myself so I am, effectively, stuck in my own house now.
Oh, well, time to have a look at all those little jobs that needed doing...
Good luck.
Penny
not selfish at all!
Yes many people are in trouble with their health and my thoughts go out to them but I too am lumbered with another property to sell and the local authority have just sent me the bill for a full years council tax! ouch! We do have a buyer but I cannot see things moving on within the current situation. Also the local authority want their fees back from the sale, for care home fees. As Boris hasn't come up with how any salary replacement is going to definitely operate I think it is going to be a very lean three months ahead, if not longer.
everybody stay safe please x
Not Whining
This is the place to come to dump your problems.
Your initial statement is taken in the context of a blog. If you can't be woe-is-me in a blog, why have a blog?
It's just too bad for you that you don't have our wonderful leadership. Our president just told us that it's all going to be over in a matter of days. His logic was that the the cure can't be worse than the problem. He's done the economical analysis and decided the cost of fighting the virus outweighs the societal good. . .unless you happen to be in a hot spot. I was feeling good until I looked around for the voice of reason doctor, who for some reason wasn't part of this press conference. Since I'm highly at risk. . .age and heart disease . . . I guess he's saying I need to take one for the team. It's the least I can do to keep Boeing solvent.
Oh well.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Houston's likely to go that
Houston's likely to go that way soon. Dallas County has already done so.
Of course, we were already dealing with trying to get things ready to move, and our landlady trying to force us to move things around _before_ our lease is up so she can start doing renovations to sell the house when we've moved. "Oh, empty the garage so I can store lumber/materials in there to replace the siding." "You'll need to move everything away from all of the windows."
I'm about to say "Lawyer".
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Would you even need a lawyer?
That would not be legal in Canada. If a landlady tried to do that we would just need to call the police once the landlady showed up and have her escorted off the property or arrested for tresspassing. There would be no need for a lawyer and a judge first. Furthermore, if your area is in some kind of lock down then I think if anyone tried to start coming to your property to do renovations then they could be charged under the lock down rules too.
As of now
As of now the UK shutdown is a joke. Every single factory in the estate I work at was open. Here are some of the "essential" shops which were open today: Gregg's and Reeve's, bakeries; three car dealerships, Ford, Seat and a Darcia Fiat; WHSmith, a book and stationery store; two car rental places, Enterprise and Hertz. Sports Direct tried to stay open because to them bike repair is essential. Only public backlash stop them.
I will commend the grocery stores Sainsbury, Waitrose and Lilds for they are all having special time for the elderly and high-risk people able to shop on their own. I give Sainsbury extra credit. The one I go to has markings to help show how much two-meter is so people can do social distancing. Boot's also has the same markings for social distancing
Lastly, the men and women of NHS are doing a great job.
out of
the list of so called 'miscreant' traders, only the car hire places are not on the allowed list
bakers - food suppliers allowed
car dealerships - vehicle repairs allowed
sport shop - bike repairs allowed
book shop - yup, the govt. consider reading and news distribution to be essential too
There are other protected businesses, pharmacies, delivery companies, utility repair/maintenance but not for example, new build housing or window cleaning.
In theory you are allowed one food shop a day and a single exercise session by bike/foot, additionally pets can be exercised. Any of these should be done solo and groups larger than 2 are not allowed along with any non essential travel (you can use the bus to get to the food store but not to visit Aunt May in the next village - which you shouldn't do anyway)
OTOH, you can't buy sporting/outdoor goods, get a haircut, toys, buy shoes/clothes/cosmetics or even greetings cards - except of course if say Smiths sell cards, Sainsburys sell clothing, a bike shop sells other stuff beyond repairs.
Its a minefield to go through but worth doing so you don't fall foul of the law!
Mads
Madeline Anafrid Bell
I did not say that any of
I did not say that any of these traders were miscreant. I said that they were open. The point was there were so many loopholes to the lockdown that it weakens the effects of having it. Also, care hire businesses are allowed to be open under the lockdown rules.
So many businesses being open defeat the purpose of a lockdown. The ones which are open should only be allowed to have the essential part of the business open. Car dealerships should have their garages doing repairs; should they be selling cars, no. Yes, some people will need a new car but the car dealership part should only be opened to those people and they need some proof, like an accident report. I understand Sports Direct having their bike repair open, but not the rest of the store.
This very question was addressed today.
Basically, if contracts have been sorted and so on, then travel to the new house IS considered to be essential.
However, as not many people move before selling, getting viewers in to see the house to be sold is probably going to be tricky.
Here is a synopsis:
If you are already in the process of moving and have sold your house or terminated your lease and therefore can no longer remain in your existing home, then it can be assumed that under current rules it would be classed as essential.
However, if you are only considering moving at this point, it would be unwise to continue until after the COVID-19 pandemic is finished.
It would also be breaking social distancing rules if you were to go and look around a property.
we have already exchanged contracts
But not completed, that was due to be the day after tomorrow. Our removal company are part of the British Association of Removers who have advised all their members that there will be no moves until further notice. They offered us a full refund.
Our lawyers tells us that all chains are frozen.
Our developer has postponed the completion indefinitely. Which means we don't have to pay them or the council or the insurance company yet. Which is a major relief.
It could be a lot worse, but most companies seem to be doing the right thing. Even BT cancelled my broadband order to the new house until further notice, but that was partly because the OpenReach engineers were refusing to do home visits.
There are still people wandering the streets and coughing at police and others.
Paying double
Just a couple of wild guesses here as I don't know the law in your country.
If you haven't exchanged contracts yet then why would you be paying double on a place you don't own yet?
If it is your place as of tomorrow then you could argue that as of tomorrow it is your legal place of residence and hence is legally occupied and you are stuck away from the house due to the lockdown.
Good luck.
The big problem is that even
The big problem is that even if you -must- move, you can't get a truck, or movers, or anything else - because they're non-essential.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.