P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[NoFlyGuy]

25 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

And that's one of the key problems.  Those advised not to go out for health/age reasons have no real option but to shop online, but it's almost impossible to get a slot,  and if you do chances are half the stuff won't turn up because the shelves were stripped before the pickers got to them.

 

One solution would be to give priority to those who really have no other option, but that would involve quite an outcry from the ones pushed to the bottom of the queue. 

 

Very true Harry but would be difficult to administer in the short term when it's needed. A letter from the local surgery, upload it to the supermarket site (changes needed to their systems and tested) etc, it all takes time.   

Bottom line is, as we start to run short of supplies, one of us will need to head out and top up, whatever the advise. 

Hopefully once all the chest freezers in the country are totally full the situation may well improve at least for goods that can be frozen. Who knows with tinned goods. 

[ann141]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

Love Tatton Park but at the moment we can't venture anywhere near to Knutsford, an aunt who is 94 would be devastated if she thought that we were at Tatton and didn't visit but we don't want to risk visiting in case we expose her to anything.

We are supposed to be staying a night at a hotel in Knutsford next sunday for our Ruby wedding Anniversary and were hoping to visit Tatton Park but will hopefully transfer the booking to some time in the future

[Adawn47]

34 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

And that's one of the key problems.  Those advised not to go out for health/age reasons have no real option but to shop online, but it's almost impossible to get a slot,  and if you do chances are half the stuff won't turn up because the shelves were stripped before the pickers got to them.

 

One solution would be to give priority to those who really have no other option, but that would involve quite an outcry from the ones pushed to the bottom of the queue. 

When things were "normal" you had no trouble getting a delivery slot. Now it's impossible and when all this is over they'll disappear again without a thought for all the regular customers that were left without deliveries or food. It's a case of " I'm all right Jack" Unfortunately people aren't what they used to be.

Avril 

[Jennizor]

We live in a small community a few miles outside Bolton. Great community spirit, not just now but always. Always do a Tesco online shop booked for Friday.  Cancelled earlier this week as other people more deserving (not 70 for 3 months yet).

 

Went to Sainsburys and M & S food store this morning. All very civilised, some shelves empty but still lots to buy. Got toilet rolls from M&S for my daughter, three small boys - they go through a lot!

 

Dog walkers were the most people we saw around locally. Like Josy123, my husband is disappointed not to be bowling this year (he can do the labouring in the garden for me instead). Going to have the best garden ever this year.

[Jennizor]

Forgot to say, we are patiently waiting for P&O to cancel our June cruise so that we can ask for a refund.

[showingdiva]

Live on the shore of the Firth of Forth.   I have three Fred Olsen ships in the river in lay up at the East Lothian anchorage - Boudicca, Balmoral and Black Watch.   I work in the NHS as an administrator in emergency medicine.   Things, as can be imagined, are strained and fearful, but like all my colleagues, we will carry on.   My other "job" is as a voluntary cruise port guide, which of course isn't happening any time soon.

 

Shops aren't too bad (the out of town giant superstores worse than others).  No pasta or loo roll by mid-morning.   Social distancing, by and large, is evident.   Watching public transport at various times of day, is deserted, and rightly being cut back from Monday.

 

Like a lot of other people, struggling with the psychological implications, but thankfully aware of the love and support around.

[NoFlyGuy]

41 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

When things were "normal" you had no trouble getting a delivery slot. Now it's impossible and when all this is over they'll disappear again without a thought for all the regular customers that were left without deliveries or food. It's a case of " I'm all right Jack" Unfortunately people aren't what they used to be.

Avril 

 

When this is all over things will get back to normal.

I think regular customers need to take a back seat (assuming they are not in a risk group) to enable those most in need of deliveries to take slots.

[Adawn47]

2 minutes ago, NoFlyGuy said:

 

When this is all over things will get back to normal.

I think regular customers need to take a back seat (assuming they are not in a risk group) to enable those most in need of deliveries to take slots.

I'm in a high risk group. Over 70 bronchial asthma and high BP. Do you think any one cares . No. It's the way of the world now. Me first, me second and if there's anything left, me again. That's  their motto. If they shopped normally there wouldn't be a problem at all. 

Avril 

[SarahHben]

I’m in Medway, Kent. I am amazed by how many elderly are still out browsing the shops for non essentials here. One of my daughters works in a card shop and says she wants to tell them all to go home and stay safe not buy stupid cards, well stupid wasn’t the word she used! At the start of the week the local Sainsbury’s had hardly any stock of any food items but that us improving slowly. Online delivery slots for all 3 main supermarkets here are almost impossible to get.

My other daughter is half hour drive away, has a new baby not quite 2 weeks old, and can’t get a delivery slot at all at the moment. We’re ferrying bits and pieces over to her as well as to my parents and husband’s parents.. 

Son works in London but is working from home now. Husband works locally but in a massive company and they can’t all work from home so he is in office 1 week, working from home the next.
Not sure if it’s wise but daughter wants to come to our house today with baby as it’s my son’s birthday as well as Mother’s Day. I’m very nervous about it, but at this precise moment not of us have any symptoms, we’ll sit at least 2 metres away from them, have the windows open. Husband and I are early 50’s and healthy so not in the high risk category.

We went to our local small shopping precinct yesterday, they’re sensibly only allowing a few people in each shop at a time which means there’s queues outside to get in to the chemist, butcher, baker, post office. It reminded me of photos of war time rationing queues.

Crazy times!

Edited March 22, 2020 by SarahHben
Fat fingers

[crompton21]

There is an article on the BBC website focussing on the first town in Italy to be locked down.  Apparently there were food shortages and stockpiling at first which ceased once people realised that the food wasn’t going to run out.

 

lets hope that our current situation goes the same way.

[sddsddean]

We are halfway between Northampton and Rugby. Much the same situation as everywhere else regarding shops. I did look at doing food delivery for my 91 year old Mum (who lives about 5 miles away), but as said, no slots available. However, she lives in the same road as the lady who runs the village shop, so she shouldn't starve! We are OK for a few weeks, but my wife is going to brave Tesco Mereway (Northampton) tomorrow...don't know how succesful that will be!

I'm still working as I'm owner/driver of an 8 wheel tipper truck. All the building sites are still open and at the moment, looks like they will remain so. Being a driver, no need to self isolate as I'm on my own all day! The big difference is the traffic. With lots of people working from home, the roads are empty (like a school holiday...which it now effectively is!). On Friday I was running between Ardley quarry (near M40 J10) to Silverstone and the A43 was like a Sunday morning, whereas a normal Friday afternoon there are queues everywhere, so every cloud etc.

Have to wait and see if we keep going or not...time will tell.

 

Simon

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, SarahHben said:

I’m in Medway, Kent. I am amazed by how many elderly are still out browsing the shops for non essentials here. One of my daughters works in a card shop and says she wants to tell them all to go home and stay safe not buy stupid cards, well stupid wasn’t the word she used! At the start of the week the local Sainsbury’s had hardly any stock of any food items but that us improving slowly. Online delivery slots for all 3 main supermarkets here are almost impossible to get.

My other daughter is half hour drive away, has a new baby not quite 2 weeks old, and can’t get a delivery slot at all at the moment. We’re ferrying bits and pieces over to her as well as to my parents and husband’s parents.. 

Son works in London but is working from home now. Husband works locally but in a massive company and they can’t all work from home so he is in office 1 week, working from home the next.
Not sure if it’s wise but daughter wants to come to our house today with baby as it’s my son’s birthday as well as Mother’s Day. I’m very nervous about it, but at this precise moment not of us have any symptoms, we’ll sit at least 2 metres away from them, have the windows open. Husband and I are early 50’s and healthy so not in the high risk category.

We went to our local small shopping precinct yesterday, they’re sensibly only allowing a few people in each shop at a time which means there’s queues outside to get in to the chemist, butcher, baker, post office. It reminded me of photos of war time rationing queues.

Crazy times!

Have a lovely day Sarah, plenty of hand washing etc. 

Michelle is devastated as our oldest daughter wont come over as she works in the hospital and doesn't want to bring anything in. 

Thank God for Skype.. 

Andy 

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, crompton21 said:

There is an article on the BBC website focussing on the first town in Italy to be locked down.  Apparently there were food shortages and stockpiling at first which ceased once people realised that the food wasn’t going to run out.

 

lets hope that our current situation goes the same way.

I imagine that before long most people are going to realise that they have stockpiled enough food to last them for several months and/or are going to discover that they've run out of space to store any more stuff, and that sanity will then return. Meanwhile I've been struggling round a crowded supermarket thinking "so much for social distancing" and wondering whether the closing of pubs and restaurants isn't rather pointless. But I suppose one only spends 15 minutes or so in the supermarket compared to several hours in the pub, so has less chance of catching the virus.

[Josy1953]

My lovely neighbour has been to Tesco this morning and had priority entry because she wore her NHS  badge, she saw 2 bags of bread flour on the shelf and knowing that I make all of our bread she bought one for me.  We are trying not to go out because of my husband's health problems so this is a big thing for me.  It is lovely to have good neighbours.

[jeanlyon]

Tesco and Lidl are a drive away for me, so have decided just to support our local shops here.  We have butcher, a deli and a small Co-op.  Went this morning and got a couple of things I had run out of.  Just doing more cooking.  Cannot get flour for my breadmaker, but there is a little bread, so "make do" as my Mum used to say.  She went through WWII as a WAAF.  Granted they didn't have to self-distance which is the main problem.

[swaddy]

Shops stripped here in South Derbyshire but one Nisa shop is taking orders from health workers  for collection later. Many of the pubs and restaurants are advertising delivery or collection by drive through service for hot meals. Got

Luckily we have lots of local country  walks which are not crowded. Saw wild cowslips  in the hedgerows , pussy  willow and blackthorn  yesterday. 

[crompton21]

44 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

I imagine that before long most people are going to realise that they have stockpiled enough food to last them for several months and/or are going to discover that they've run out of space to store any more stuff, and that sanity will then return. Meanwhile I've been struggling round a crowded supermarket thinking "so much for social distancing" and wondering whether the closing of pubs and restaurants isn't rather pointless. But I suppose one only spends 15 minutes or so in the supermarket compared to several hours in the pub, so has less chance of catching the virus.

My "corner shop" is actually a Morissons...Thursday no bread, today the loaf I bought was half price as they have too much!

[jake 26]

We are in the Torbay area of South Devon, and currently it seems the number of cases is fairly low, although there have been 2 deaths from it recently at Torbay hospital.

The main supermarkets were stripped by panic buying in the past week, but the message seems to be getting through, and things yesterday were almost back to normal.

In the main people seem to be looking out for one another, and trying to maintain social distancing.

The general concern in this area, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Torquay, Paignton etc is that Easter is approaching and we are usually overrun with visitors, but this year could be far worse with the restrictions on overseas travel. A large percentage come from the West Midlands, and London which are Covid 19 hotspots. There have been appeals to the many second home owners to stay in their main home town, but I doubt if many will take notice. Some caravan parks are closing because of the virus threat, as a bad outbreak could swamp our NHS facilities. Plus the fact that when they all arrive they decimate the supermarkets.

I hope people are sensible, but many seem to lose their respect for others when they are on holiday, and 'I can do what I want' is often evident.

We hope we are wrong and everyone will need the Government advice but I fear not. 

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, jake 26 said:

We are in the Torbay area of South Devon, and currently it seems the number of cases is fairly low, although there have been 2 deaths from it recently at Torbay hospital.

The main supermarkets were stripped by panic buying in the past week, but the message seems to be getting through, and things yesterday were almost back to normal.

In the main people seem to be looking out for one another, and trying to maintain social distancing.

The general concern in this area, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Torquay, Paignton etc is that Easter is approaching and we are usually overrun with visitors, but this year could be far worse with the restrictions on overseas travel. A large percentage come from the West Midlands, and London which are Covid 19 hotspots. There have been appeals to the many second home owners to stay in their main home town, but I doubt if many will take notice. Some caravan parks are closing because of the virus threat, as a bad outbreak could swamp our NHS facilities. Plus the fact that when they all arrive they decimate the supermarkets.

I hope people are sensible, but many seem to lose their respect for others when they are on holiday, and 'I can do what I want' is often evident.

We hope we are wrong and everyone will need the Government advice but I fear not. 

People are not, do not, and will not heed advice if it suits them not to.  Most affected countries are in lock-down for this reason.

 

We need to be, and already should be, but nobody's prepared to bite the bullet and make a decision.  

[mercury7289]

After receiving a call this morning, with an offer for assistance, have just retrieved from my door step, a bag containing milk, bread, salad stuff and berries.

Unbelievably kindness.

 

 

[pete14]

8 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

After receiving a call this morning, with an offer for assistance, have just retrieved from my door step, a bag containing milk, bread, salad stuff and berries.

Unbelievably kindness.

 

 

A lot of people are showing great kindness which goes unreported which is fantastic.
It is just a pity that some people, young and old, seem to be oblivious to the medical facts we are being presented with. 80% of people following advice regarding washing hands,  isolating or social distancing will not be enough to limit the damage and make this end more quickly.

[jeanlyon]

Yes we are also in South Devon and have a great spirit here in our small town/village.  We are lucky to have great shops within 100 yards.  They have set up a group to help oldies.  We are 73 and 81, but not in need.  Got some lovely walks close by for the dog.  There are already second homeowners (in nearby spots like Salcombe) who are coming down to self isolate or self distance.   Pity they are mostly on business rates as they let their houses out in the summer.  So they are exempt and pay absolutely nothing towards the Council at all.  What a silly Government idea that was.  It was supposed to help small businesses, not to allow rich folk with second homes to opt out of paying any Council Tax.  Drives me mad.

[davemorton]

35 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

After receiving a call this morning, with an offer for assistance, have just retrieved from my door step, a bag containing milk, bread, salad stuff and berries.

Unbelievably kindness.

 

 

That is fantastic news, so pleased for you.  Keep safe!

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, mercury7289 said:

After receiving a call this morning, with an offer for assistance, have just retrieved from my door step, a bag containing milk, bread, salad stuff and berries.

Unbelievably kindness.

 

 

Excellent, see, people are nice... 

Andy 

[Adawn47]

I read a couple of stories yesterday about the kindness of strangers. 

An Iceland driver delivering to a pensioner  was upset because she'd  had no milk delivered . He drove to a corner shop and found her 2 bottles. Paid out of his own pocket and gave them to her. She only knew his name was Michael. 

A young woman with a small child had to buy more expensive items as all the cheaper brands were gone. She was mortified at the till because she was £20 short. While she was trying to reduce her shopping an elderly man in the queue slipped her the £20. Only goes to show that young or old there are still some wonderful people out there.