Seen in the News

[Stanley]

Just had a look, almost £12million this morning. Quite astounding....

[Cathy]

Do people pay at the same time as they pledge ? If not I hope they follow thru with their promise.

[Stanley]

Couldn't say Cathy. I rather think they will be aware of that and have safeguards in place.

[plaques]

Car crusher on demonstration outside Burnley library. Crusher to demonstrate what happens if you don't pay your road tax. Watched by a big crowd of people. The Library is only about 50 yards away from the main police station. Bonanza day all round.

[Stanley]

The only punishment that can get home to some offenders, more crushing ought to be done.

[PanBiker]

Just had a look, almost £12million this morning. Quite astounding....

Over £12 million now and he was met by serving members of the Yorkshire Regiment when he finished his 100th lap.

[PanBiker]

Crop producers in the East of England have chartered six aircraft to bring Romanian workers over to the UK to do the harvest. First of the flights land today and workers will be tested for temperature and general health before being allowed to work. The workers live "on site" until the contract is completed. The farmers said they advertised the work in the UK but got insufficient response so had no option other than to recruit from their traditional pool of European labour.

I said this would be a problem last year as a certain Brexit knock on effect.

[plaques]

Research by the Centre for Cities assesses 62 places in the UK to find which has most employees vulnerable to lay-offs. Link Burnley features as No 10 most affected towns / cities. I can't understand why it comes so high on the list compared to holiday resorts or airline trade. Maybe because even in normal circumstances the town's economy is very fragile and this is just a virus too far.

[Tizer]

First of the flights land today and workers will be tested for temperature and general health before being allowed to work.

A lot of talk has gone on in the news media about testing people to check whether or not they have the virus. What seems to get forgotten is that a negative (virus absent) result is only valid at the time of the test. The subject could pick up the virus an hour later. If you want to be sure, say with hospital doctors, nurses, carers, then you have to test them repeatedly - which is why it's so easy to run out of test kits.

[Stanley]

The only alternatives I can see are getting immunity by surviving infection (if that's how it works) or vaccine (not yet available) or permanent isolation...... Deep Joy, thank God for videophones!

[PanBiker]

Migrant workers are effectively held in rural isolation as they live on site. Nowhere to go anyway, no shops, no pubs, everything is shut. I would assume anyone showing symptoms would be further isolated. About 1,800 workers have been signed up to pick our crops and put food on our tables.

Over 3 million unemployed in this country and not enough willing to do the jobs which have been advertised and available.

[Big Kev]

Over 3 million unemployed in this country and not enough willing to do the jobs which have been advertised and available.

I find that disgraceful, I consider myself lucky to have a job. There are some who find particular jobs are beneath them and the current situation has highlighted this.

If I wasn't in a position to work from home I would certainly have gone 'fruit picking', other than being physical labour it can't be too taxing...

[chinatyke]

Over 3 million unemployed in this country and not enough willing to do the jobs which have been advertised and available.

I find that disgraceful, I consider myself lucky to have a job. There are some who find particular jobs are beneath them and the current situation has highlighted this.

If I wasn't in a position to work from home I would certainly have gone 'fruit picking', other than being physical labour it can't be too taxing...

Dead right, Kev! My thoughts exactly. In this part of the world people are proud to have any job and aren't looked down on for having less demanding work.

[Tizer]

If I wasn't in a position to work from home I would certainly have gone 'fruit picking', other than being physical labour it can't be too taxing...

But Kev, the poor things might have to go out in the rain!
More seriously, our employment problems in the UK are not restricted to finding people to do the lower paid or dirtier jobs. Take a look at how many of our scientists, medics, pharmacists etc are from abroad. It's good to be globally orientated but desperately need to raise the standards in education so that we can employ more of our home-grown people.

[Big Kev]

Sadly, the impression I get from some of the 'kids', I have to work with, think the world owes them a living. They seem to get by doing the bare minimum, as long as someone is paying them. As an example, we are having to change working hours to adapt to the current situation. This involves working more days but shorter hours (still 37.5 a week), this will involve working the next two Sundays. The first question from one was 'how much extra are we being paid to work on a Sunday?'
Think yourself lucky you have a job...

[Stanley]

Kev, how times have changed. Funny thing is that 50 years ago the question about extra for work on a Sunday would have been redundant, it was allowed for already in the wages structure.

[plaques]

Migrant workers are effectively held in rural isolation as they live on site. Nowhere to go anyway, no shops, no pubs, everything is shut. I would assume anyone showing symptoms would be further isolated. About 1,800 workers have been signed up to pick our crops and put food on our tables.
Over 3 million unemployed in this country and not enough willing to do the jobs which have been advertised and available.

I think we have all zoomed in on this mythical 3 million unemployed. Certainly enough unemployed to do the job but not 3 million.
The point is that we are still in the common market and they are allowed to come in. The big problem is that if their petri dish housing results in a mini epidemic who picks up the tab? The migrant homeland? The charter airline? The farmer? The supermarket? You've guessed it. the UK and the NHS. Make them subject to two weeks strict quarantine before they set off then there would be no problem.

[Tizer]

My comment about the rain was because when we were classic car fans we had a friend who was self-employed as a mobile car mechanic and raced Alfas in his spare time. He was persuaded to take on a lad for work experience. A few weeks later he visited us and we asked `Where's the lad?'. He answered `Every time it rained he wouldn't get out of the van to do the work'!

[Stanley]

The term 'unemployed' used to have a clear meaning. Politicians hated the unemployed because they cost money and showed them up in a bad light so they started blurring the distinctions. We have now reached the point where you can be employed but still not be earning enough to live on so you are paid benefits. In other words the system is actually working to provide cheap labour for industry saving them the bother of investing in training or upgraded machinery.
I'm old enough to remember when a job paid a living wage and you didn't need benefits, indeed you could buy your own house! How ridiculous is that in this day and age. (Sick pay, holiday pay and overtime as well!?)

[chinatyke]

In other words the system is actually working to provide cheap labour for industry saving them the bother of investing in training or upgraded machinery.
I'm old enough to remember when a job paid a living wage and you didn't need benefits, indeed you could buy your own house! How ridiculous is that in this day and age. (Sick pay, holiday pay and overtime as well!?)

What a biased opinion! There is a minimum wage rate in UK. People didn't used to live beyond their means. You could read the above statement as the system is working to keep people in employment so that their jobs are not lost to upgraded machines.

[Whyperion]

Stanley might have forgotten the Wages Boards, there were minimum rates for time or piece sent out regulary by the government, was that scrapped by Thatcher ? Labour re-invented after assorted lobbying a 'minimum' wage, which is not a living wage, and without price controls on essentials including housing it becomes meaningless.

Back to News Reports - BBC Website

" Scientists at the University of Oxford say they should have at least a million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by September this year.

The UK government, which is backing the project, said there were "no guarantees" and it was not possible to put a date on a vaccine."

News (press releases or the interpretation thereof ) remains hype, speculation and a distinct lack of clarity (one can see Eamonn Holmes point on the media). Tiz - would a university institution officially make such a statement if they had not worked out (a) production and (b) effectiveness - at least in lab conditions ?

[Tizer]

We are in an emergency situation and have to take risks. The Oxford scientists have set themselves targets and they have strong support to bring all the necessary functions into play. We can't afford to wait to see the results of each stage of development as would normally be the case; instead they have to proceed by running the stages in parallel or at least overlapping. There is no hype, speculation or lack of clarity in the case of the Oxford project. They've been working on similar projects for many years and we should be thankful to have such excellent science in the UK at a time like this. Keep positive!

[Stanley]

Of course I'm biased China. I was working in a system that paid a living not a minimum wage. There's a big difference and we had little add ons like sick pay, overtime and holiday pay. Many workers don't have that. Which would you rather have?

[Tizer]

Animals in zoos are 'lonely' without visitors due to lockdown! BBC

[Stanley]

Tiz. I think the loneliness due to isolation is a very real mental danger. My solution is to work out ways to see my kids over the back gate and have conversations with all my friends at a safe distance. I can't eliminate risk but at least I can reduce it to a sensible level. I think I have enough sense to manage this situation responsibly and it is my risk and at least a small measure of control.