ariotofmyown

Wow - Cummings has literally just said that there is something badly wrong with the system that allowed him to hold such a position of power. And then added Boris Johnson to that same rationale - he's basically saying what we all know. The system is f**ked and none of them have a clue what they are doing

So we're back to the "I don't know anybody affected, therefore the problems are exaggerated" school of 'thought', are we?
 

Cummings is an utter tool, but he's coming across as incredibly plausible and this is devastating for Johnson.
And other than his conversations he has agreed to back everything up with documentation. 
Up until the vaccine I though BJ had done a horrible job.
It was much worse than that.

All places weren't impacted the same. If you had been in certain care homes, you'd have known lots of people who had died.
And according to a google search, the population of Derby is 260k, of which 0.2% is 520, not 5000.
I hope this is only a recent mathematical error and it hasn't been driving your opinion on here for months.

I didn't realise that it was live on TV - watching now and it's fascinating stuff
 

He is sort of implicating himself, but with a few get outs. Like "I should have acted sooner, but if they had listened to me, we would have got other people involved earlier who would have made us act earlier".
There is a nice irony that the cabinet MPs who could just say Cummings is lying like with his Rose Garden statement, can't say that as they were all forced to back him up then. 
Looking forward to when them come clean and admit that happened.
Cummings doesn't seem to be lying this time though, and imagine there are plenty of others who will back up what he is saying/documents exist saying the same.

To even it out - I know 5. Thankfully no one close, but relatives of friends &  work colleagues
It's like everything - hard to relate to it as real unless you have experienced it, or seen someone you know experience it. The innate human capability of being unable to see further than the end of their nose
 

I hope it stays that way for you. 
I worked in NHS, so two work colleagues, one younger one older than me, one school friend (my age) and also the father of a friend ( who I didn't count as I don't actually know him, just her.) I would say three of those four have died before their time due to Covid. The other was elderly and therefore it could have been flu or something else, tbh.
It's been real all right and is a horrible way to die. However, there has been a decrease in other deaths due partly to lockdowns, flu for example, road accidents etc. 
Cancer is a big one as while deaths have fallen, it is suspected there is an unseen crisis of people who haven't come forward for early treatment. This could lead to increased deaths down the line. 
I think it's been a tough call for the government to get it right and every decision is a calculated risk.
You mentioned the media's role and you're right about that. For every article saying we're moving out of lockdown too slowly, there is another one wanting borders to be closed again. 

You understand how the virus spreads do you? If 99% had carried on as normal the majority would eventually have been spreading it. That is the point. Ask Sweden, could be they got it wrong.
COVID-19 and the Swedish enigma - The Lancet
Now we have vaccines, the situation can be approached differently.

don't get what you are saying here.  So the figs are not made up but are not as bad as the press are making out?
I have had 2 close people who have died.
Like all historical matters some have a need to deny it existed or wish to bend the truth to somehow tell a conspiracy story.  It is a virus, it has killed many people (mostly those that were at risk and were taken from us earlier than would have been normal) and it continues to burn in other areas of the world.

All places weren't impacted the same. If you had been in certain care homes, you'd have known lots of people who had died.
And according to a google search, the population of Derby is 260k, of which 0.2% is 520, not 5000.
I hope this is only a recent mathematical error and it hasn't been driving your opinion on here for months.

Any updates that aren't bickering about history and sizes of other clubs?

Bearing in mind the lack of impact they made, it's infuriating that just not signing Blackman and Anya would have seen us ok with FFP.
 

Who?

You mean as opposed to Mansour buying City or Abramovic buying Chelsea. Neither were exactly behemoths prior to their current owners taking over, were they?
Now the flip-side; Liverpool were priced at >£2 billion when last under offer and at that price, there's no great potential for ROI, least none that I can see. The only way is down. Would Tepper buy a club as a plaything, o do you suppose he might want to build the club and secure a return on investment?
Let's take emotion out of the equation for a moment; in the good times; we can sell over 30,000 tickets for games. Derby is effectively a one club City; we are a founder member of the football league who have twice topped the pile; we have a large and loyal fan-base and a comparatively rich footballing history.
Furthermore, I'd venture it is the very fact that we are in such a mess that makes us an attractive proposition. I struggle with the fact that so many fans are unable to grasp the notion that you buy stock when it's cheap, not when it's already peaked. Why one shitty season, when we've been challenging for promotion for nigh on 10 years now, is being taken as the only viable metric.
We know there are multiple bidders currently and this without the EFL charges being put to bed. Surely there's a clue there for those who choose to see it? I've very little doubt that a consortium that brings the financial wherewithal of Tepper and the commercial skills and experience of a man like Glick, would be able to steady the ship and put us on back on a road we were already treading until 18 months ago without too much bother. 

Has everyone calmed down now the clubs responded and answered everyone of the fan bases concerns then?
Im still hurting that my Gluten Free options in the concourse wasn’t included.

Not sure if it's already been mentioned but "The Killing" on BBC4 makes for some excellent viewing. Danish with subtitles- a mix of murder and political skulduggery, although the series are quite long.
Worth checking out if that's your sort of thing.

Me and my partner had a good conversation about the past year and how it has affected us differently. It has been really difficult on many relationships and COVID has made us both more resilient to deal with all kinds of rubbish being thrown from every direction.
My career went down the toilet as soon as it was evident COVID was here to stay, I was absolutely devastated. I finally found a job I was really interested in, good people supporting me at work as well. I've always found jobs to be very tedious after awhile because I want to learn new things so this was an ideal fit. Thankfully I found something else fairly quickly but it has been a grind, getting moved to different shifts every couple of months hasn't been great for my health. Paying the bills was the most important thing on my mind. My partner's university course has been awful. Students getting a rough deal because the miscommunication and lack of support, COVID being every excuse for very simple questions. Adapting to change is tough but we've got through it. 
It's good to see some normality resuming. You take for granted seeing family and going out for a drink in a local. I'm happy to forget about the last 12 months now and look forward. Vaccine all booked too. 

Trip to Florida to play Bristol City in a hurricane.....oh wait.

The two aren't entirely unrelated, however; our troubles and the point you're making. The only way we could hope to compete with much smaller clubs than us was to push FFP rules to the very limit, so much so that there is a debate whether we broke them.
We wouldn't have done any of it if the playing field was level. It's ridiculous that a club of our size can't compete with a team like Bournemouth, for instance.
Absolutely no grievance with Bournemouth finishing above us totally on merit, and I don't believe we have any sort of divine right to be in any league. But at the same time, we are a one-club city, with a loyal and passionate fanbase, and that counts for so little that a seaside town with a smaller stadium than we have season ticket holders can blow us out of the water in the transfer market. Why? Because for half a decade, they were the opposition to the big clubs that people watch the world over, and they received hundreds of millions of pounds as a thank you for giving Man United someone to play against.
The terrible thing about the ESL debacle is that it's set the bar so low for what equality means in the game. The debate should be about how non-parachute Championship clubs shouldn't be at such a ridiculous disadvantage for the crime of not being Man City's cannon fodder. It should be about how the only reason why the world cares about the big English clubs is because of our rich culture, infrastructure and tradition in the game that's been in the making across three centuries, and in return for the absurd money the Premier League clubs be acknowledging their good fortune by ensuring clubs throughout the ladder can afford to pay their staff and put out a team at the weekend. 
But that's not where the debate is now. It's just about the very biggest clubs not having even more. Everybody knows they're supposed to be angry with Chelsea, Liverpool, United, City, Spurs and Arsenal. But ickle wickle innocent Everton, Villa, West Ham et al have been every bit as complicit in this greed culture since the early 90s. Nobody is talking about that anymore.
TL;DR? Greed is everywhere in the game and this isn't going to be solved any time soon.

A pic of Charlotte FC for his Instagram followers
 

Side effects of getting the Yorkshire variant are said to include an immediate reluctance to spend money, talking in an annoying and grating whiny accent, and having an overwhelming feeling of self-importance.  Long COVID has actually been endemic in Leeds and Sheffield for over 50 years based on my contact experiences.

Next time you feel like this buddy, imagine your Mate up in the sky saying “For ducks sake Mostyn, it’s crowded enough up here without you and your fat arse taking up valuable seating space”.  Stay strong Sunshine. Kiss ?for your Mum.

Mostyn this is the bravest of posts.
I am so pleased your mum is a strong presence in your life and that you are still with us. Each new day is a fresh start. There will be good times.
 
 

Well done on posting this ?. Keep talking and listening. 
You are not alone, there are lots of us on here willing to listen and help.