Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Chat

[DJWilson]

Exactly what I'm doing now, and really the only fair way to handle things.

What's NOT going to help at the moment is that both the W.H.O AND the UN virus chief have said in the past 24 hours that a vaccine might never be found and what we're experiencing now is going to become the norm.....I really hope not - I can't face rescheduling next year's weddings (which were this year's weddings again), or even worse cancelling them because that sort of wedding will never be able to happen again

I wouldn't buy into that too much. Even if a vaccine isn't found we will return to normal at some point - maybe up to mid next year. There's plenty of other diseases doing the rounds that could wipe out thousands of people that still don't have cures and probably never will.

Reading/watching/listening to too much 'news' isn't good for your health and will only bring a dark cloud over you. This will pass and we'll be in front of full dancefloors soon-ish.

[Imagine]

This will pass and we'll be in front of full dancefloors soon-ish.

I wish I had that level of confidence. I think we're treading very dodgy ground even with the reschedules for next year at the moment (due to social distancing probably still being here AND because....well are guests going to want to get together?). Just my personal opinion and not in any way scientifically based, but this has got a lot of people worried at the moment. Even the American DJs I know are saying they're off the road for the remainder of this year at least (and just a couple of weeks ago, they didn't think this was even a thing!)

Yes, I'm sure things will return to some sort of normality at some point in the future, but we're going to be the last thing that's allowed back into the wild (even South Korea has closed it's nightclubs again due to a sudden spike after last weekend and they've only had a fraction of the infections/deaths that we have).

[Excalibur]

I'm on top of the world today - I've got my first job interview in around 20 years on Friday

A little birdy tells me that one of our formerly full time number has gone back to being a part timer. Well done that man, enjoy your time driving round the Fens, unloading and reloading boxes. Almost like being a DJ, except without the adoring public. ( Mind you, some might actually be overjoyed to see you, so that's a moot point).

[Imagine]

A little birdy tells me that one of our formerly full time number has gone back to being a part timer. Well done that man, enjoy your time driving round the Fens, unloading and reloading boxes. Almost like being a DJ, except without the adoring public. ( Mind you, some might actually be overjoyed to see you, so that's a moot point).

I've got a job with a name badge!

Yes folks, I've got 30 hours a week driving Sainsbury's trucks around and delivering shopping. If anyone's looking for something to tide them over they're well worth a look.
I was upfront with my new manager - he's aware that one day once the dust settles I want to go back to doing what I do best and he's happy so long as I let him know the dates of weddings to schedule my shift around them!

It's a win-win in my book - at least for now!

[rth_discos]

I was upfront with my new manager - he's aware that one day once the dust settles I want to go back to doing what I do best and he's happy so long as I let him know the dates of weddings to schedule my shift around them!

It's a win-win in my book - at least for now!

Congratulations!

One of my first jobs was at McDonalds. It was at the same time I was getting my feet on the radio career ladder, and looking back I was very impressed at how flexible McDonalds were with me, when they let me reschedule shifts there when radio cover shifts came in!

Looking back, had I stayed at McDonalds, I could have now had a very lucrative, well paid career with them.

At the big corporates like McDonalds and Sainsburys, you'll find you can progress very quickly - their managerial roles pay very well.

[Imagine]

Congratulations!

Thank you Gavin. I never thought I'd be so chuffed at winning an unskilled job but with the likelihood of things not returning to normal any time soon (and let's face it, it could take a couple of years to get back to what was seen to be normal), I'm just glad to be ahead of the game. Think of all those currently sitting on furlough who don't yet realise they haven't actually got a job to go back to!

At the big corporates like McDonalds and Sainsburys, you'll find you can progress very quickly - their managerial roles pay very well.

Not going there. Did retail management for the first 15 years of my working life. I'm all about less stress and a better work life balance now. It's money coming in to pay the bills, the business will be hibernated with all costs now down to a bare minimum, and the pressure's off. The fact that they're so flexible in the working arrangements for when things come back online means I'll probably be more than happy staying as a part time DJ for a long time to come now.

Plus when things come back, staying with them will mean I get 6 week's paid holiday a year and a pension and sick pay without having to worry about doing that myself. I seem to have found the best of all worlds....at least for now

[Benny Smyth]

At the big corporates like McDonalds and Sainsburys, you'll find you can progress very quickly - their managerial roles pay very well.

You have to really earn it though. I liken it to a friend of mine who is a teacher and she says that when you look at the number, a teacher's salary is very nice. When you factor in how much work you have to put in to earn that salary, it's not really worth it. The same goes for retail.

Congrats on the new job, Wayne. I really hope that it all goes well for you.

B

[Imagine]

When you factor in how much work you have to put in to earn that salary, it's not really worth it. The same goes for retail.

Can't disagree with that Benny - been in retail before (not the delivery side of things) and know just how tough it is. I'm grateful to have something to get me through the next however long it's going to take before we can go out again though.

Congrats on the new job, Wayne. I really hope that it all goes well for you.

Ta. It'll work (I'll MAKE it work). Weddings will come back one day, and when they do I'll be ready and raring to go . Until then though and having fallen through just about every safety net known to mankind....needs must and all that

[Benny Smyth]

Here's a thought:

My barbers have announced this afternoon that based on current government advice, they have opened up to taking bookings from 4th July. They have caveated by saying that if things change, the bookings will need to be cancelled but as it stands, they're open for business in just over 6 weeks.

It's a small barber shop with just two of them working there. If both work a 10 hour day (I'm lead to believe that barbers work that length of time easily), I'm guessing that 20-30 customers would be in and out of that shop every day.

In Birmingham city centre, there's another barbers that I occasionally frequent if I decide to go meet Mrs. Benny from her work. Every time I'm there, there has been at least 11 barbers working at a time. They easily cater to a hundred clients a day.

So if a barber can be that close to a client (taking all the necessary precautions, of course), is it no wonder that there are people in our industry expecting to be back at it in August?

I don't think that we will be, but I bet if things do play out as I've hypothesised, I dare say that those in the industry with a bit of weight to them will kick off big time.

[rth_discos]

It's a small barber shop with just two of them working there. If both work a 10 hour day (I'm lead to believe that barbers work that length of time easily), I'm guessing that 20-30 customers would be in and out of that shop every day.

In Birmingham city centre, there's another barbers that I occasionally frequent if I decide to go meet Mrs. Benny from her work. Every time I'm there, there has been at least 11 barbers working at a time. They easily cater to a hundred clients a day.

I work with a barbers, and they too are hoping to be able to re-open in July.

Both staff and the customer will wear face masks, and they'll only be cutting hair (no beard trims etc).

The top example you've detailed works fine, as social distancing can be maintained, and the area cleaned between clients.

It's the babrers that all work in on small environment that will struggle, as there will be a limit to how many can work at any one time, due to the social distancing requirements in place.

However, 2 x barbers and 2 x staff in a shop is still very different to 100 x people in one room at a wedding.

That said, don't expect much notice for weddings to be back on. If it's anything like estate agents, they found out at 9pm one evening that they were back in work the next day.

So it could be very short notice from sitting around, to going back out.

Now here's the twist: if venues do get permitted to hold weddings again sooner than expected, how many venues will suddenly be getting the couples to put their wedding back to the original date?!