Post COVID - what's the future going to look like?

[stormproductions]

I forgot to add, my personal view at this stage is that the Gov roadmap (for England at least, I've not checked if there are any plans for the rest of the UK let alone the rest of the world) show that "In November, our ambition is to scale back remaining social distancing measures, but this is contingent on... bla de bla", indicating that they realise the current situation is unsustainable and that for the sake of the economy and everyone's welfare, plus the fact that huge proportions of the population are already clearly unable to maintain social distancing that they plan to have us getting back towards the old normal before Father Christmas gets involved.

So presuming that this scaling back does actually happen in November but also guessing that it won't be the end of all SD, I reckon we're somewhere near 50/50 as to whether Christmas events will be able to go ahead but my current guess on next summer rises to 75/25 for being able to rock ahead reasonably normally. Bear in mind that I'm just some geezer on the internet who's not even got a crystal ball to stare into, so this could be complete rubbish.

the virus thrives in places that are loud

- this now makes me envisage the little critters thriving and breeding like rabbits as soon as they hear a thumping bass line (remember what one of those is?!).

[Imagine]

I forgot to add, my personal view at this stage is that the Gov roadmap (for England at least, I've not checked if there are any plans for the rest of the UK let alone the rest of the world) show that "In November, our ambition is to scale back remaining social distancing measures, but this is contingent on... bla de bla", indicating that they realise the current situation is unsustainable and that for the sake of the economy and everyone's welfare, plus the fact that huge proportions of the population are already clearly unable to maintain social distancing that they plan to have us getting back towards the old normal before Father Christmas gets involved.

So presuming that this scaling back does actually happen in November but also guessing that it won't be the end of all SD, I reckon we're somewhere near 50/50 as to whether Christmas events will be able to go ahead but my current guess on next summer rises to 75/25 for being able to rock ahead reasonably normally. Bear in mind that I'm just some geezer on the internet who's not even got a crystal ball to stare into, so this could be complete rubbish.

- this now makes me envisage the little critters thriving and breeding like rabbits as soon as they hear a thumping bass line (remember what one of those is?!).

I get the whole reopening of the economy thing, and think eventually it'll be out of the government's hands (until such time as it possibly flares up again when they turn around and say "we told you so").

As for being back for Xmas - I'm not so sure. We're trying to plan the annual family Boxing Day get-together and at the moment aren't sure whether that's likely to happen (we all meet up at a house for dinner....several arms of the family - around 30 of us, eat, drink and make merry).

Don't forget, they were very quick to lock down for Eid....I doubt Xmas will be any different if needs be. And with the possibility of local lockdowns (there's around 20-30 places on the list at the moment), who's going to want to be trying to plan a big bash when the plug could be pulled the night before?

MY current guess remains at next March/April once the flu season's out of the way for the official loosening of the reins, or failing that possibly around May/June. I'm also hazarding a guess at the moment that it'll be restricted to outdoor stuff like marquees & tipis with the sides up to allow adequate ventilation.

I'll be more than happy if I'm proven wrong though.

[Imagine]

Ok....it took a bit of doing but I finally got a response from my local MP

I've emailed several times and only ever had a response from her Parliamentary Assistant. The last time I was very blunt and insisted that I hear from HER as opposed to a civil servant (cheeky and rude, but getting completely pee'd off with everything now)

Although one of the emails was under the guise of the #savedjentertainment letter (which let's be honest....is going nowhere), I've also taken the time to explain my own personal circumstances which aren't too dissimilar to a lot of others I know who have likewise fallen through every safety net put in place. I also made it very clear that I'm more than a little miffed that having paid into the system since the day I left school and never claimed a single penny in support, it's not been there when I actually need it.

My angle is for some of the discretionary grant money which hasn't been claimed to be redirected to those of us without rateable premises and the like. At the end of the day, if they'd at least assist with the storage and insurance costs so that I'm not having to find those every month out of my own pocket....I'd be a happy bunny.

The response was actually quite unexpected and positive. None of the copy and paste text everyone else seems to be getting. She's actually dealing with quite a few fellow constituents in the same position and appears to be fighting our corner. She's also passed on the SaveDJEntertainment letter to the appropriate department but not getting my hopes up there.

Fingers crossed....somebody's actually listening!

[DJ Jules]

My angle is for some of the discretionary grant money which hasn't been claimed to be redirected to those of us without rateable premises and the like. At the end of the day, if they'd at least assist with the storage and insurance costs so that I'm not having to find those every month out of my own pocket....I'd be a happy bunny.

Our local authority (South Glos) has broadened the criteria to include businesses run from domestic premises for a final round of grants (applications close today, decisions made at the end of the month) and I've applied. I'm not expecting to get anything out of it, purely because they ask for Feb-May 2019 and Feb-May 2020 bank statements as evidence of a drop in income and a) I had a bumper Feb and was still operating until mid-March and b) I only opened a business bank account in Feb 2020 so I think they have no chance of being able to unpick household income/expense from business to be able to make an informed decision. I have made the point that my application is less about the drop in income for Feb-May and more about the fact that we're likely to have to survive for another 6-9 months with no support and that the uncertainty is going to impact me for a lot longer as events of any scale are typically planned at least 6 months in advance.

I'm glad you got a positive response though. I'm not expecting our local copy/paste merchant to send me anything more than a letter toeing the party line.

Julian

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Are you taking bets?

Julian

He's had an automated reminder and a friendly nudge email from myself.

I don't really want to but the next stage is a warning e-mail and then it'll be a formal cancellation due to failure to maintain agreed balance payments.

I've been extremely fair with them over the past 2 years allowing a change of date even before covid and a couple of other things so to get mugged off now isn't happening.

[ppentertainments]

Did anyone catch when the next stage of easing lockdown will be announced. Still think we are a few announcements away, but normally they indicate when things will ease further.

Or will it be a case of 'we have allowed weddings and indoor entertainment now off'

[rth_discos]

Did anyone catch when the next stage of easing lockdown will be announced. Still think we are a few announcements away, but normally they indicate when things will ease further.

Or will it be a case of 'we have allowed weddings and indoor entertainment now off'

Personally, I think we're too close to schools reopening to see any further restrictions be relaxed.

My guess is they will want to see the impact of schools returning before any further relaxing.

I'm not confident that the R rate will remain below 1 once schools reopen.

[DJ Jules]

Personally, I think we're too close to schools reopening to see any further restrictions be relaxed.

My guess is they will want to see the impact of schools returning before any further relaxing.

I'm not confident that the R rate will remain below 1 once schools reopen.

The next step was supposed to be 1st Oct. That was announced mid-July at the same time as the 1st August step and should include exhibitions, corporate events and other indoor activities restarting following the result of pilots that are happening now, along with larger numbers at weddings. But that was before the 1st Aug change was put back 2 weeks. I agree, I think they're going to wait until the 2nd or 3rd week of Sept when they start to get a feel as to how Schools have changed things and then make an announcement about how they're going to move forward (or possibly backwards).

If you've still got any bookings in for Sept, you might as well call them now.

Julian

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Have I imagined it? I thought Boris came out a day or two ago and said receptions could go ahead in England from date X?

If so then job's a good 'un, you either get to go and do the gig or if they move, it's a straight forward cancellation.

Just waiting for Nicola Sturgeon to do her usual "let's see how this pans out then copy him a week or 2 later" and do the same up here.

[stormproductions]

Current wedding rules in England are a maximum of 30 people for the ceremony including officials, photographer etc (since some time in July), then 30 again for a sit down reception, still with full SD between different households (allowed from yesterday). No mention yet that I'm aware of regarding anything further than that, other than the general 'hoping to reduce SD in November'.

On specifics of where people stand regarding contracts I've no idea, I've never previously drawn up a contract with a customer and accepted the odd cancellation during the course of my career as collateral damage, but I've saved myself a shed load of extra admin and grief over the years.