The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 8th December

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• Mick S says:

  8 Dec8 December 12:01

  can anyone envisage travel between England and Scotland being restricted?

  I’m reluctant to book trains and pay the hotel for a Christmas day buffet lunch because both are these will be invariably not refundable.

  • Geoff 1977 says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:04

    Dunno but I’d guess “no”

  • James Vickers says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:08

    I would be really surprised this side of new year to be honest, don’t see any suggestion any time soon of not travelling between areas

  • Anna says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:15

    We’re keeping a close eye as have 3 nights booked in Edinburgh at the end of the month. I think it’s perfectly possible, tbh, given the track record of the First Minister going as far as to ban residents of individual English boroughs from entering Scotland a few months ago.

    • Phil W says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:29

      Her official title is The Poison Dwarf of Govan and First Krankie of Holyrood. Referring to her as First Minister would suggest she’s not a single issue activist.

      • Anna says:

        8 Dec8 December 12:52

        Yes, but it also upsets the Scottish nationalists here for whom she can do no wrong.

        • Tariq says:

          8 Dec8 December 13:09

          The 52% already voted for the break up of the Union.

        • Anna says:

          8 Dec8 December 13:31

          Tariq, very few English people really care whether Scotland becomes independent, they just object to the hatred that’s stirred up against them for no reason.

        • K says:

          8 Dec8 December 16:18

          Have you not got a Christmas party to attend Anna?

  • Terri says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:17

    Last December, Wales gave about 3 hours notice on a saturday evening of fresh travel restrictions across the border from England for leisure purposes – in Covid politics nothing can be ruled out as changing at very short notice. If its not refundable I’m not booking any thing in advance where I’d be well out of pocket if things go pants again.

    • Harrier25 says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:15

      Anna, every English person will care when an independent Scotland is at the front door of No 11 every 5 minutes with a begging bowl, pleading poverty!

      • Super Secret Stuff says:

        8 Dec8 December 16:17

        They won’t be able to get tp downing Street if we reject there visa applications, problem solved!

        • Harrier25 says:

          8 Dec8 December 16:46

          😂

  • Harry T says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:24

    Maybe but I doubt it’s legally or pragmatically enforceable.

• idontflymuch says:

  8 Dec8 December 12:15

  Will using Virgin fronted by Curve Metal incur any costs when paying my tax bill this year so long as <£10k per month? Thank you

  • Gary says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:16

    No

    • idontflymuch says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:20

      Thanks @Gary

• His Holyness says:

  8 Dec8 December 12:19

  Just watching PMQ’s. Did anyone *really* cancel their Xmas last year? Do people actually listen to these people?

  • Anna says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:22

    Actually yes. We were eating frozen party food for weeks afterwards!

    • Pete M says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:25

      Some who didn’t are in court over it as we speak, so I’d be cheesed off if I was them…!

    • meta says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:26

      Yes and my partner and I had a bad case covid plus long covid until April while idiots were mingling at Christmas parties, followed by spreading more covid up and down the country.

      • Simon says:

        8 Dec8 December 13:14

        so you missed xmas lunch and still got covid and lazy covid afterwards?

        • meta says:

          8 Dec8 December 14:02

          I got it 10 days before Christmas when the restrictions were relaxed and it lasted for a month.

        • Tariq says:

          8 Dec8 December 16:59

          😂

  • Simon says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:27

    I ate mine with my extended family including a Holocaust survivor great grandma. Try telling her to sit at home on her own…… And she drove all the drunkards home in the evening !

    • His Holyness says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:43

      Good for you. I’d have done the same thing.

  • Travel Strong says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:27

    Yes. I did not see my family. The mix of fear and opinions that exist within one family can make it difficult even if many are happy to continue. (Personally I hate xmas so it all worked out quite well though).

    • Lady London says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:44

      +1 I cancelled everything and the negative effects of that are still feeding through.

      • Geoff 1977 says:

        8 Dec8 December 13:04

        Why? It’s been a year

      • Lady London says:

        8 Dec8 December 18:50

        I had combined Christmas with a very well organised nightmare-to-plan list of tasks that had become urgent as I’d been staying away from Covid.

        One announcement from Boris that London was Level 4 and everything had to be cancelled my whole plans fell apart like a pack of cards, it took 2 days to cancel everything as less than 24hrs notice.

        Since then as still not been able to do the list I’ve wondered should I have just kept everything and got the list done. Like dental that once the appointment was cancelled, lost far more cos untreated and much more pain and expense (still ongoing). Plus other things.

        But seeing what happened around that time to meta+partner today, has told me yes I was right to cancel even though still trying to get some of the things done that were cancelled.

        Is there any more news about is Omicron good or bad?

  • Rui N. says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:31

    Yes, plenty of people. I’d bet the majority at least reduced greatly the number of people they usually hang out during the season.

  • buchanan101 says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:31

    Neither my mother or my partner’s mother travelled to see us.

    So, *yes*

    And you think you are clever?

  • iamlost says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:48

    Yes. Given delta was raging across the country and we were all unvaccinated back then, it felt like too much of a risk to get together with older/vulnerable people.

    • Nick says:

      8 Dec8 December 12:57

      Yes, I was in the ‘don’t travel’ group… and I didn’t. Not everyone is a hardcore libertarian individualist.

      • Spurs drive me mad says:

        8 Dec8 December 13:14

        My Mum died day after Boxing Day, my house was heaving with people if family and friends wanted to come and see Mum they could. I wasn’t going to deny my Mum from saying her goodbyes or the family saying theirs.

        • Simon says:

          8 Dec8 December 13:33

          Good for you (and her)….. Common sense clearly isnt that common.

        • Anuj says:

          8 Dec8 December 15:06

          And I don’t blame you, but that’s a bit different to inviting healthy older/vulnerable peopl. At that time it was an unnecessary risk with no vaccine and full hospitals.

  • can says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:11

    Yes. Because of the fear of spreading it to my dad who was living with advanced cancer. Nobody had vaccines back then, how can you risk it?

    • His Holyness says:

      8 Dec8 December 13:38

      Now at least 50k have undiagnosed cancers. It wasn’t worth it. Boosters won’t save them.

      • can says:

        8 Dec8 December 13:41

        what’s wrong with you? nobody said vaccines “saved” him, it just extended his life a bit, given the circumstances.

      • pauldb says:

        8 Dec8 December 14:26

        We were seeing 1000 deaths a day before vaccines, where cases were getting out of control. What effect do you think that would have had on diagnosis and treatment if allowed to continue unchecked?

      • Rui N. says:

        8 Dec8 December 14:43

        If more people were in the hospitals with Covid that would lead to more diagnosed cancers? What twisted logic is that?

  • John says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:16

    and this is probably why 12 months later we are still in this mess 🙁

    • TGLoyalty says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:04

      That’s because of fear.

  • Kevin C says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:23

    Yes we *really* cancelled our Xmas plans last year. And we *really* couldn’t take our son out for dinner for his 18th because the restaurants were all shut that weekend of the Downing Street party.

  • Aston100 says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:24

    It may come as a surprise to you and your lot, but the majority of people in this country are law abiding.

    • His Holyness says:

      8 Dec8 December 13:38

      Roll up your sleeve, I think you need another booster ;).

      • Geoff 1977 says:

        8 Dec8 December 13:49

        Already had mine 😎

        Good luck travelling without one in a few months 🤣

        • His Holyness says:

          8 Dec8 December 13:54

          Saving lives!

  • MQ says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:06

    Yes, I actually didn’t travel to see my family on Christmas. I was so stupid and will NEVER do that again.

  • Gavin says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:12

    I sat on my own in a Hilton as I was between houses and couldn’t stay with my parents as my Mum had terminal cancer. So yes. Christmas 2020 was a terrible time.

    • His Holyness says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:17

      If you were asked for advice by someone with a close relative who has a terminal illness would you repeat your actions in 2020?

      • Gavin says:

        8 Dec8 December 21:25

        I would advise them to respect the wishes of the person who was ill.

  • Harrier25 says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:19

    Yes we did cancel Christmas and it was quite nice being relaxed with no visitors, munching on Quality Street and watching TV with just the wife and daughter!

  • SimonM says:

    8 Dec8 December 15:04

    Yes I was in London to spend Christmas with my family but when London was moved in to the highest tier and advice was to return home if you were visiting, I did exactly that and spent Christmas by myself. Felt it was the right thing to do even though it was far from great.

    • Harrier25 says:

      8 Dec8 December 16:51

      Its people adhering to the rules by the book like you, SimonM, that makes the circus at No10 look even worse!!!

  • Ls says:

    8 Dec8 December 15:46

    Yes. Completely cancelled.

  • @mkcol says:

    8 Dec8 December 19:05

    Yup. Plans dramatically changed.
    Just glad Xmas day happened to be my day off anyway.

• Terri says:

  8 Dec8 December 12:42

  NYC has announced that bringing in new vaccination requirements to enter indoor facilities such as restatuants and museums for children as young as 5 years.

  Worth having a read if you are heading to the city with unvaccinated/single jabbed kids. If strictly enforced this will impact holidaying UK visitors to the city. I’m looking at shifting plans from NYC to Washington DC due to restrictions.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:49

    As young as 5! Completely unreasonable.

    These mandates are working wonders too

  • iamlost says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:50

    I’m kind of surprised by this stage in the pandemic WHO have not tried setting consistent standards/guidelines that countries can follow. Of course they could choose to ignore them, but it might help bring some international order…

  • bafan says:

    8 Dec8 December 12:50

    Apparently one dose for kids is going to be accepted. He is also letting people vaccinate their kids free of charge – once they’ve had their first dose they are also good to go

    • Mirp says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:16

      One dose is acceptable for the young children in NYC because enough time hasn’t elapsed for them to be able to have 2. It will probably be raised to 2 shots like the over 12 years olds in the New Year.

  • Char Char says:

    8 Dec8 December 15:20

    NYC is becoming a no go destination

  • The Canuck says:

    8 Dec8 December 17:31

    Vaccine mandates are pretty tightly enforced in Manhattan. Shows, big restaurants etc. all check for them and will not budge. Not to be rude but if you (or your kids) are not compliant you will not be welcomed in most places you would want to go as a tourist. Frankly the UK needs to get with the program and stop sitting on their rear ends with regards to child vaccinations

• rams says:

  8 Dec8 December 13:00

  BA Amex – 3 months had passed without first supp bonus. Chat added manually. They are definitely cutting back on awarding items as freely as before

  • Rob says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:20

    I am missing 5k from the Amex Plat supp I recently issued to Sinead ….

    That said, I’m also missing the card as it seems one of our Royal Mail friends wanted a new ice scraper for their car ….

    • Michael C says:

      8 Dec8 December 13:31

      Our post is INSANE at the moment. Son had 3 birthday cards (Nov. 10) this week, and we receive letters about once every 10 days, when we receive a dozen.

      • Sean Mc says:

        8 Dec8 December 13:50

        Indeed – All Royal Mail office managers have been told to prioritise parcels and special deliveries even if that means post stacks up.

        • Neil says:

          8 Dec8 December 17:06

          Explains a lot. We’ve had parcels then maybe once a week a load of “normal” post

    • Sam G says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:40

      Yes – normal post is awful. get any cards in the post if you haven’t already!

    • Mark says:

      8 Dec8 December 17:00

      Yes, I noticed my mother-in-law hasn’t had her points for my wife’s supplementary card that she got partly to help her achieve the sign-up bonus threshold in the first 90 days and partly for the first supplementary bonus. Diarised to chase if they don’t appear within the 90 days. At least my referral bonus came through automatically 🙂

• Tracey says:

  8 Dec8 December 13:40

  I have bought qured LFTs to take abroad for pre-departure flights home. They have come with codes that will work the plf. I know they are not the right sort of tests for day2. Would it be illegal to use them on the plf and then book and take day2 tests when I arrive in the Uk? I could always resubmit the plf if necessary. (Reason is that companies that offer speedy day2 tests require you to pick a time and I have no way of knowing if the flight will be late or how long it will take to clear the airport. Centre at the airport maybe helpful with people not keeping to their appointment time, but I doubt the small private companies are)

  • PeteM says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:42

    The PLF will accept any combination of 5 letters and 7 numbers…

  • JDB says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:55

    Yes, you are required to book (and pay) for your Day 2 PCR test before you travel and it is that booking reference you need to enter.

  • Sean Mc says:

    8 Dec8 December 13:57

    Your risk is of course if you are unlucky and are asked at check in (or at the border) for evidence of having booked your PCR tests.

    And before anyone says that won’t happen – my wife was requested to show such a booking at Munich yesterday as i had to email her the booking i had made for her.

    • Nick says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:13

      I also had to demonstrate that I had the right kind of test last week.

      Just make the booking appointment. They probably won’t even notice the time, but even if they do they won’t turn you away. More BA flights have arrived late than on time recently, so they must be used to it by now.

      • Tracey says:

        8 Dec8 December 17:28

        Problem is that I won’t be booking anything at Gatwick as nowhere offers same day results other than a drive through and I won’t have a car.

• ianM says:

  8 Dec8 December 14:07

  Arrived back from ATL today and totally no questions asked at UK border about covid or tests or anything, just breezed through e-gates without breaking stride, totally no queue.
  Documents were examined in ATL but not in any great detail.

  It was good to see they checked connecting passengers at the gate in ATL to make sure they had the negative test result and I suspect one or two might have been denied boarding.

  • Paul says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:26

    I suspect this will be the case for 95% of travellers, hence why I’ll be modifying a PDF and doing my own, ‘free’, NHS lateral flow test.

    Travelled multiple times this year and it’s always been a farce, exactly as you described. Some check-in staff give it a cursory glance and that’s it.

    • JDB says:

      8 Dec8 December 14:31

      Thank you for sharing your lawbreaking antics with us.

    • Ryan says:

      9 Dec9 December 02:04

      +1 helps if you print the “certificates” out which reduces risk of having to provide proof in other ways

• Michael Scarn says:

  8 Dec8 December 14:21

  We’ve got a points stay at a Hilton Garden Inn in Germany this weekend and we’re both Gold. From what I recall, we should get breakfast shouldn’t we? The HH page won’t load for me.

  • John says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:41

    You should set your preference to breakfast in the app at least the day before check in, in case you end up with someone who claims that you can’t change your choice.

  • Rob says:

    8 Dec8 December 14:43

    You need to select it as a MyWay benefit before check in.

    • Michael Scarn says:

      8 Dec8 December 15:53

      Thanks both – I’ll do that immediately.

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