[theo_luddite]

Dover now shut for 48 hours - lorries full of vaccine are where exactly - assuming we're actually expecting more to be delivered before Easter?

[0762]

Well Bodgit doesn't have to worry about closing our borders down to incoming travellers any more - the rest of Europe are busy shutting their's down to anyone travelling from here. While they say it doesn't stop flights and trains leaving Europe to bring people home to Blighty - how many are going to be sent out there empty in the first place?

On the same "theme" up here in Scotland I'm asking Nicola, "Have we similarly shut down our airports to domestic flights from England"? Same with trains Theo? I gather this variant virus has already crossed the Scottish border but we must still "hit the source of it" as much as practically possible and pray that tried and tested "track and trace" methods effectively isolate the prob areas and suppress the threat. I also gather that a heavier Police presence has been placed on the Scottish border to try and enforce the travel ban imposed by the Scot govt - challenging times ahead and "fingers crossed" that the mitigation measures are effective!

[hibeejim21]

It's going to be very, very difficult to vaccinate fast enough anyway now. This is going to be a very long haul because of - as you call him - bodgit.
Those train stations in London piled with people set to spread the new strain all over the country.

The vaccine can be placed in containers and shipped without the tractor unit. So think that will be OK. Less good if you are trying to export seafood to France from the Scottish Highlands.

EDIT: Looks like the government are planning to airlift the vaccines from Belgium but no way is this not going to slow down the roll out. COBRA meeting tonight - here's hoping bodgit decides to turn up!

---

The other problem now is if the media do their usual then we can expect panic buying all over the gaff, leaving the most vulnerable to suffer.

We seen this earlier in the year when supply chains were solid.

[0762]

Yep! I've come across some folk I know who are in the process of "stocking up" before the food shortage comes shortly and in January due to the Brexit f### up!! I told them to "cool it" FFS as the whole prob will be compounded if everybody starts panic-buying in this way. It is another form of "bam culture" that is becoming very irritating and spoils things for everybody!!

[hibeejim21]

Aye, a lot of selfish bastards out there. You are right about 'bam culture'.

We are sitting on whats going to be a mountain of health problems, lots of people are in a seriously bad way and I just think now more than ever people have to try and be that bit more responsible and kind to their fellow man.

[spireitematt]

Johnson needs to get a Brexit extension or even look at putting the whole thing on hold as there are more important things than Brexit at the moment.

Starmer for some reason has started an argument against Sturgeon and the SNP on Scotland and has pissed off a lot of Scots.

Would not surprise me if the whole of the country is put in Tier 4 restrictions till the New Year and beyond. If the Tories and Johnson knew about this new strain back on the 20th September then why the xxxx did they just sit on it and not tell anyone until now. The way this whole pandemic has been handled has been a xxxx farce from start to finish and before anyone says Labour wouldn't have done any better they might not have but at least they wouldn't have given PPE contracts to their cronies and non-existent companies. At least they might have locked down sooner or started testing earlier.

Both parties at the moment are a complete shambles. Why can't we have real leaders who show morals and compassion. Instead we've got two parties playing politics during a pandemic and point scoring.

[BouncingHibees]

Brexmas is complete madness, should be stopped, the ordinary person is going to feel this for a very very long time.

[0762]

I'll tell you something - at this rate the "mob" will "hit the streets" at some point to try and bring down this government if they continue in the direction of travel towards an end destination of extreme political policies and unwise governance. I think it just needs a "spark" of real discontent to ignite a huge section of our population where patience and tolerance are gradually being whittled away and transformed to sheer anger and frustration at the perceived political perpetrators who really have been "sussed out" BIG TIME. More n more people are beginning to realise that they been conned by a bunch of shameless chancers who have no regard for anybody other than themselves and their shit political ideology that centres on chaos theory!!

[ritchiebaby]

Too little, too late from Boris once again. I hear that it is thought that the new strain of the virus started in Kent. The cynic in me has two thoughts - 1. As this is the entry point from Europe, could the new strain have come in from Europe? and 2. Is the UK Government sowing the seeds of doubt on this?

As far as stocking-up is concerned, we did our normal shopping early this morning in our nearest town and were amazed at the long queues of vehicles coming in when we were on our way out - panic-buying starting? I don't think any shortage of certain quoted vegetables and fruits will bother us too much. We just have to get back to the practice of using seasonal produce and not expect strawberries and avocados in winter.

[hibeejim21]

There certainly is more important things than Brexit at the moment, unfortunately not for Boris's backers who need us out pronto by Jan 1st before that nasty tax avoidance legislation from the EU kicks in. So forget about any extension, even though it would be the right thing.

Part of me thinks that this is another Boris U turn thats went wrong, he's pushed the new strain story too hard to try and cover up for his monumental xxxx up with xmas and the europeans have panicked (and who can blame them?) into closing the borders. Perhaps even macron and co thought this might be a good chance to kill 2 birds with one stone and let the UK populace get a taste of what no deal would be like. Who knows ? We do know for certain both he and Merkel have had it with bojo, he's fucked them about too many times.

There has been new strains of COVID kicking about since the autumn. France,germany and the netherlands all have it, but it's one thing to have a hundred cases that might double in a fortnight, another to be letting it in by the ferryload when we aren't sure what it's going to do.