The other side

[Mayfield]

Just wondering how our lives will all change after this current crisis is over.....

Will we all go back to having a stock of basics rather than rely on supermarkets to have it for us ?

Will more people decide that having a savings buffer is more important than a swanky car or foreign holiday ?

Will people now described as 'key' workers get a better deal financially ?

Any thoughts or further questions ?

[j9j9j9]

.

[mikejee]

The switch to contactless happening even quicker than it was already, with cash disappearing

[windrush]

Speaking for Mrs W and myself I can't see it being any different to how it was a week ago? Apart from having nowhere to go at present nothing much has changed with us really, any vintage events we attend this summer will only be the smaller affairs as most of the larger ones are cancelled and our first one will probably be at the end of April which I help to organize. At least I should get plenty done at home.

Pete.

[annap]

What I do think we will find is that a lot of small businesses and shops will not be there. Larger companies may be able to ride it out, but the small ones? The "one-man-bands"? Maybe not.

Recently I have spoken to people who run a launderette, a hairdresser that does home visits, a shop selling and hiring out clothes and hats for grand occasions, a small cafe. They do well, normally, But none of them have the resources behind them to keep going for very long without an income. Yes, there will be money from the Government, but when? And for how long?

[piwacket]

The switch to contactless happening even quicker than it was already, with cash disappearing

= more debt, as so many seem to use them without thinking and then have to get an overdraft etc etc. And in the current situation, maybe reduced income going into the bank

What I do think we will find is that a lot of small businesses and shops will not be there. Larger companies may be able to ride it out, but the small ones? The "one-man-bands"? Maybe not.

Recently I have spoken to people who run a launderette, a hairdresser that does home visits, a shop selling and hiring out clothes and hats for grand occasions, a small cafe. They do well, normally, But none of them have the resources behind them to keep going for very long without an income. Yes, there will be money from the Government, but when? And for how long?

I have many friends who, like myself, are/ were self-employed, some with staff to pay or lay off, and it’s heartbreaking. As I said elsewhere my Mobile hairdresser who has many clients, some in Retirement homes, has stopped because she has COPD and is terrified of getting this Virus, aside of the fact that so many don’t want to see her.... I’ve assured her our home is safe, but she has said No, she’s staying put. And I really can’t blame her because of that.

[Mayfield]

My hairdresser bought my appointment forward and came and cut my hair yesterday...I suspect he will stop or make all his appointments on one day, next week.

However as he said, he has a 'cushion, many people do not ....and I wonder if in general more people will see the value in having some savings...so many seem to live from hand to mouth now...

[THC]

Although payroll is apparently a key worker role, I guess i am waiting for someone to be off with coronavirus before I get an interim role. Although to an extent Payroll is recession proof, it does require employees to be paid

I’ve had a virtual meet up with mates tonight - most of whom live miles away - that was a positive as usually only meet twice a year. It made the whatsApp group come to life more than usual for sure

[annap]

I am hearing quite a bit about "meetings" being held using WhatsApp or Zoom. Perhaps this might signal the end of dashing across the country for pointless meetings to watch bullet-point Powerpoint presentations that could have been converted into a PDF and sent by email.

[Pooneil]

I am hearing quite a bit about "meetings" being held using WhatsApp or Zoom. Perhaps this might signal the end of dashing across the country for pointless meetings to watch bullet-point Powerpoint presentations that could have been converted into a PDF and sent by email.

Maybe when it comes to saving money to pay for all this we might scrap HS2...

[maggieaitch]

A short while ago there was a suggestion from some sources that we should no longer have a farming industry. I hope this crisis would enforce the view that we we need much more home produced food and that farmers should be encouraged to carry on.

[pwpriory]

That panic buying is another peculiar British* disease (even those funny excitable Italians don't do it !)


*Tho I have heard of the odd case in Australia - so maybe it's a genetic thing................

[Cardiac]

Shopped at lidl in Salema last week to pick up some fresh veg, and watch a guy struggling to load his car up with two huge packs of toilet rolls,

Yes you guessed it it was indeed a GB plated car.

Looks like I'm stuck here for a while having had three ferry crossing cancelled already, now booked on another one for the 15th ofApril

[dave m]

We're having 15-20 way zoom or Microsoft Teams meetings every working day at work. Often more than one a day. At least you get to see inside colleague's houses.

[Voiceoftreason?]

The Alledged travels the country for meetings and I arranged large gatherings and meeting for work as well as attending them. There isn’t much, save legal work and times you REALLY need to eyeball someone, that can’t be done over various platforms, as j9 and other said. Provided the internet works! I doubt he will return to travelling as much, which isn’t a bad thing.

WFH will increase, but that’s not an easy thing to get used to either. It may sound great, but it doesn’t suit everyone.

As for panic buying/stockpiling, then yes I think a return to having a ‘pantry’ like your granny did, may return, an increase in home cooking/freezing sounds feasible too. Different ingredients might be used, older, unfashionable or less popular cuts of meat for example, might become popular again - I don’t mean WWII type mock meat pies, but perhaps borrowing from other cultures, Maybe people will grow more food - it’s hard work and takes a while, but keeps you fit and is good for kids to understand where food comes from. People might make preserves, or other kinds of bottled or pickled foods etc. It may help British farmers and producers as well, as Maggie said, which is also a good thing.

I anticipate that travel, especially overseas, for leisure will not recover for some time, because as soon as people emerge from their various self isolations and lockdowns, the virus will re-emerge, possibly necessitating a series of restrictions until either a vaccine emerges, treatment becomes more effective or herd immunity reaches a point where the effects of the virus are lessened.

This is a marathon, not a sprint

[Mayfield]

I've already got a mountain of marmalade....

Seville Orange, Oxford, Pink Grapefruit, White Grapefruit and Lemon ...I've run out of jars now ...

[Voiceoftreason?]

I can help you eat it Mayfield!

[piwacket]

I've already got a mountain of marmalade....

Seville Orange, Oxford, Pink Grapefruit, White Grapefruit and Lemon ...I've run out of jars now ...

I’ve got a load of empty jam jars - gave up making jam and marmalade when I was on my own, and don’t eat much of it anyway, a couple of times a week that’s all. - you’re welcome to them.

[Pooneil]

A short while ago there was a suggestion from some sources that we should no longer have a farming industry.

Yes, one of the hard-line Brexit nutters, the same ones whose ideology wants us to leave the European Medical Agency, meaning that when a vaccine comes we'll likely be further back in the queue and have to pay more for it. It's almost like some of these people want to cull the old and poor.

[Mayfield]

I've already got a mountain of marmalade....

Seville Orange, Oxford, Pink Grapefruit, White Grapefruit and Lemon ...I've run out of jars now ...

I’ve got a load of empty jam jars - gave up making jam and marmalade when I was on my own, and don’t eat much of it anyway, a couple of times a week that’s all. - you’re welcome to them.

Brilliant !

If you PM me your address I,ll pop over and collect them from your doorstep next week if that suits

We don't eat that much, but I don't like to go anywhere as a guest empty handed and I also give them at Christmas as gifts with other bits....One of my daughters friends is very partial to the pink grapefruit and vodka marmalade....

[piwacket]

Brilliant !

If you PM me your address I,ll pop over and collect them from your doorstep next week if that suits

We don't eat that much, but I don't like to go anywhere as a guest empty handed and I also give them at Christmas as gifts with other bits....One of my daughters friends is very partial to the pink grapefruit and vodka marmalade....

PM sent

[MrsKaur]

Interesting thread. I suspect some people will be more self-sufficient and grow their own stuff, and companies will take advantage of people working from home.

[Lizzy33]

My thoughts on what may happen:

- An increase in home schooling when parents see they have better control of their child's future and/or using the best online teachers across the globe, instead of just the teachers in their school.

- A change in working hours where productivity matters instead of having bums on seats for 8-9 hrs

[Pooneil]

An increase in home schooling when parents see they have better control of their child's future and/or using the best online teachers across the globe, instead of just the teachers in their school.

Don't see that happening on a widespread scale - most won't be able to afford the loss of income from giving up their job to homeschool or supervise homeschooling.

[j9j9j9]

.

[Mayfield]

An increase in home schooling when parents see they have better control of their child's future and/or using the best online teachers across the globe, instead of just the teachers in their school.

Don't see that happening on a widespread scale - most won't be able to afford the loss of income from giving up their job to homeschool or supervise homeschooling.

They may have better control of their kids future , the problem is many parents don,t have much control of their kids .
What do you do when a 6 ft teenager says 'no' ?

[GaryyHill]

More people will use water to clean their bum instead of paper as they realise its more cleaner and softer on their skin, and produces less environmental waste (e.g. not buying loos rolls with plastic wrappers etc)

[windrush]

They may have better control of their kids future , the problem is many parents don,t have much control of their kids .
What do you do when a 6 ft teenager says 'no' ?

Well I was once a 6ft teenager and dare not say 'no' to either parent, or especially my grandmother! My life would have been hell. That continues even to this day with mum and she is almost 94. I couldn't believe how some kids I knew (including relatives offspring) dared to challenge their parents and the parents let them?

Pete.

[D5equj5]

They may have better control of their kids future , the problem is many parents don,t have much control of their kids .
What do you do when a 6 ft teenager says 'no' ?

Well I was once a 6ft teenager and dare not say 'no' to either parent, or especially my grandmother! My life would have been hell. That continues even to this day with mum and she is almost 94. I couldn't believe how some kids I knew (including relatives offspring) dared to challenge their parents and the parents let them?

Pete.

I hear you windrush.

[Voiceoftreason?]

Don’t know whether I’ve been lucky with the junior Voices (not so much with the Alleged ) but they’ve never challenged parental authority. It was made clear, very early on, what was said goes. They were told that when they are older than me, they can tell me what to do,otherwise, nope. I think I blinded them with my twisted alien logic in that one!

As they grew older, it didn’t even need reinforcing or ‘telling off’. They knew what they could and couldn’t do. I guess the call is respect, I dont know.

When they started the sweary or inappropriate language stage, I told them ‘you can say what you like, everyone has the right to do that, BUT you take the consequences for the words you use’.

I’ve seen many parents ‘negotiate’ with their kids. Asking, not telling them to stop doing this or that rather than saying stop that now. That lead to them ‘asking’ multiple times, and the kid pushing the boundary further and further each time. Alternatively, not getting g ‘their way’ lead to tantrums and faux tears. It’s painful to watch at times and is uncomfortable for everyone. The kid behaves appaulingly and the parent has no control.

Respect is like money, you have to earn it and only a fool gives it away. Once it’s gone, you never get it back. The kid runs riot without rules. Most kids actually WANT boundaries IMHO.

That how the junior Voices were brought up, and they are caring, savvy, independent and good people. That tells me I didn’t do too badly.

[Lizzy33]

The switch to contactless happening even quicker than it was already, with cash disappearing

I've noticed more people using their cards nowadays. HMRC will be very happy about this as it helps tackle the black market.

[ian]

I think that the companies that are letting staff work from home, if it works well, will close expensive office blocks and continue home working. Think of their savings:
No Cleaners.
No drink/food machines.
No rent to pay.
No business tax to pay.

[Cardiac]

The switch to contactless happening even quicker than it was already, with cash disappearing

I've noticed more people using their cards nowadays. HMRC will be very happy about this as it helps tackle the black market.

The Portuguese have upped the limit from 20 to 50 euros for contactless cards while the corona virus is around, good idea I think.

[lizwing]

Ours has been increased to £45.

[lizwing]

Trying to look on the bright side, we’ve cancelled the mot and service on my car, we’re not using any petrol because we can’t go out, we’re not going for lunches, our friends can’t visit for a week so we won’t be going out for dinner every evening, I can’t go to the hairdresser so we shall be quids in by the time we can go out again