Growlybear

I've been with Forest Hill Road surgery for over 40 years, and have always found them to be brilliant. Without exception, I've always been able to get a same day appointment when I've needed it, and have never had to wait an unreasonably long time for a routine appointment. There seems to have been quite a turnover of doctors over the last couple of years, but all of the doctors I've seen/spoken to recently have been excellent. The reception staff are always really helpful and go out of their way to help.

It's much easier to go to Lordship Lane Vets - you can always park directly outside, about 1m from the door!

I've just got back from Sainsbury's in Sydenham and I was shocked by how many selfish, ignorant idiots were not wearing face coverings, or were wearing them just over their mouths, or chins. At least 25% of the customers I saw were not complying with the law, and most people were completely ignoring social distancing of any kind. It will be a long time before I venture back there.

I haven't been out without wearing a mask since early March, and I really don't understand the problem with wearing one. Of course I would rather not have to wear a mask, but you get used to wearing one quickly - even if you don't accept the need for wearing a mask, or don't care if you may infect other people, it's not really much to ask for people to wear one in enclosed spaces, and for them to comply with the law. Back in February when I was stocking up on masks, they were selling for silly prices, but they are now very readily available, and are very cheap; I've also seen instructions in many places for how to make your own. So cost can't be an issue now. I've heard many people complain that masks make your glasses steam up; I wear glasses, and if I don't fit the mask properly round my nose and under my spectacles, they steam up a bit, but that depends to an extent on the type of mask I wear, and it isn't exactly the end of the world if your glasses are a bit misty when you're walking round the supermarket. The vast majority of people don't have medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask, (and of course it's an issue with lip reading) but my husband has COPD and hasn't found that his breathing is impaired in the slightest by wearing a disposable paper mask. Even if people don't really believe that wearing a mask will help to protect other people if they're unwittingly carrying the virus, or believe that they are immune, why can't they just humour the 95% of population who DO accept that it helps to reduce the risk of infection?

I've lived in Wood Vale for 40 years and have never been able to get a reliable signal on any mobile network unless I'm connected to the wifi. Until the last couple of years, no-one has ever been able to use any network apart from Orange/EE inside my house, and even that has been very patchy.

Habitualbridesmaid - if you want to take issue with my comment, I would much rather you did so on this thread rather than send me a private message.

I?m sorry to hear you had an unsettling experience. But I?m very surprised that no-one else has mentioned that the use of the word ?coloured? is a term that many people find extremely offensive.

If the risk is that low, then why are schools and unions so concerned about opening primary schools more widely? And why is the guidance they are being given that children should be put into bubbles of 8-10 children per classroom? I?m not convinced that it is entirely wise for the little children next door to now be playing in a substantial swimming pool with various adults from different families coming out of the house, where they have now gone to escape the heat, to check on them. There may not be strong scientific evidence about the role in children transmitting the virus but the general consensus of the scientists involved seems to be that the lockdown (which was never a proper lockdown compared with many countries ) should not be relaxed to this extent yet and it?s too early for schools to be returning.

heartblock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My neighbour has been partying every weekend .... > guests and no social isolating since it turned hot > and sunny. This country is top of the league for > infection and death. The ?official? numbers are > not accurate, as far more people died in care > homes than the Government has published. The > infection is still prevalent and a second wave is > due. Before anyone asks... I lecture at a Medical > School and I work clinically. Social isolation is > only being relaxed so we stop talking about > Cummings and start earning money for shareholders. > This Government missed the opportunity to suppress > early, with no or little care for the elderly or > vulnerable. Track and trace can?t work yet as the > app doesn?t work yet and testing time turnaround > is too slow. We should all isolate for at least > two more months, to suppress. I couldn't agree more. And for the third weekend running, my neighbours are having a nice jolly barbecue with their friends, with little children running around and playing closely together. They were all inside the house for some time (presumably because the smoke from their barbecue was a bit overwhelming) and are now all snuggled close together eating. The only thing that's missing is their nanny, who has been working throughout the lockdown.

I'm not sure the lockdown ever really began for my neighbours. They have had a nanny going in to look after their children every week day since the beginning of the lockdown, despite neither of them being key workers. They've had yet another gathering today, with several other couples inside the house and in the garden, with several young children playing closely together in the garden and also going off inside. To make things worse, I saw some of the adults picking up and hugging other people's children. When they catch the virus in the second wave, which I am sure will come, I suppose these same selfish idiots will expect to be treated by the doctors and nurses who have put their own lives on the line for months now to save people who have been infected.

My car was broken into a few nights ago as well - I think there is quite a spate in the area. I've now bought a Faraday bag and box so that they can't clone my key signal again. At least the way that people break into cars is a bit more sophisticated nowadays and no damage is caused, unlike the times over the years when I've had windows and locks broken!

I know things are different this year as everywhere is closed, but in previous years, I've always seen people at car boot sales selling large plants and trees in pots.

I queued for about 15 minutes to get into Waitrose in Beckenham early this morning. The shop was very well stocked, including tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice, and eggs. I also popped into M&S and waited for five minutes to get in. Again, it was very well stocked and I didn't notice any gaps on the shelves. The only thing I couldn't find in either shop was a cauliflower!

Whilst I completely agree that it is atrocious for people to discard used PPE like this, and am not for a minute excusing this, there seem to be very few bins provided in supermarket car parks, and also very few on the streets. We're told that gloves must be taken off carefully to avoid contaminating your hands, and that we must not touch the outside of masks. I keep a supply of plastic bags ready to put my used masks and gloves into, which I can tie up until I get home, but if people don't think to have a bag handy to put their used items into, I think it must be quite frustrating to know what to do with them when they have finished their shopping. Perhaps the answer would be for shops to make a supply of plastic bags available by checkouts so that people can take one to put their used PPE in?

The OP asked if anyone knew where to buy a mask locally, and I replied.

dbboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Growlybear - on another thread reported somewhere > on EDF, a cllr had spoken to them about this very > subject and had seen the invoices which showed the > wholesaler costs. You stated you found an > alternative supply, so buy them on ebay and cease > slating this local retailer. I'm not the one who wants to buy masks. I was initially responding to the OP who asked where they could buy masks locally. I told muser where I had seen them locally, but pointed out how expensive they were. Perhaps Kristals should try buying their supplies from eBay too!

dbboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well if ebay are cheaper, you can buy the items > there. > > And when I went in on Thursday to buy a couple of > things from Krystal, I noticed they had a large > sign in the window explaining the costings, which > you have also no doubt seen. > > I'm sorry, but I tire of people slating a local > retailer who is trying to make a living, are > operating in difficult circumstances, go beyond > expectations, are offering additional services > i.e. the Post Office counter and are a community > pharmacy. I have always found the staff to be > accommodating, helpful, considerate, kind, > thoughtful and happy recommend them to others to > use. > > I suggest you try the likes of Day Lewis pharmacy, > or Boots or Morrisons and then come to a > conclusion. The choice is yours. > > If you think the items you mention are expensive, > nothing forces you to buy them from Krystals. In > fact soap and hot water are equally as good as > sanitiser. And regarding masks, the Government > stated this afternoon they don't recommend using > them. I have used Kristals for many years, and in almost all respects, I have nothing but praise for them and the service they provide. But I really think they are taking advantage of customers who don't know where else to get masks from with the amount they're charging. Even last night you could still buy a box of 50 surgical masks for under ?20 on eBay, so there isn't any excuse for charging so much.

Each time I?ve been in Kristals in Nunhead recently they?ve been selling paper surgical masks and what look to be FFP3 masks for ?1.49 and ?5.99 each respectively. I don?t object to people making a modest profit reselling things like this but boxes of 50 surgical masks were selling for under ?10 on eBay at the end of January . Kristals are also selling the tiny bottles of hand sanitiser for ?4.99 each.

I had to collect an item from Argos at Sainsbury's in Sydenham at lunchtime. The queue outside was short, and it took about five minutes to get in. The wait at Argos was very short and very well managed, with 2m distances being enforced. The supermarket was well stocked, and I got everything I needed. There was a good supply of toilet rolls, a limited range of pasta, and rice, and also eggs. The number of people in the shop didn't seem too high, and people were generally keeping their distance. Checkout queues were also short, with no wait at all for the self check outs.

That is number that I've called over 2000 times since Monday morning. Sainsbury's were very clear when I spoke to someone earlier that they are not adding elderly, disabled, or vulnerable people to their priority delivery slot list. They will now ONLY add people to the list who fulfil the government's criteria for being EXTREMELY vulnerable. DulwichBorn&Bred Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This is the other number for Sainsbury?s: > Reminder: If you are elderly {over 70}, disabled > or vulnerable & think you should be on Sainsbury's > vulnerable customers list, please get in touch on > 08003281700. Pass this information on to a > vulnerable neighbour & make sure they're > subscribed to the support they're entitled to.

Just to give clarification on the Sainsbury's number. I have now phoned this number over 2,000 since Monday morning, and have not been able to speak to a human. It's either constantly engaged or you spend two minutes listening to a recorded message before getting cut off. There is a link on the Sainsburys website to check if you fall in the EXTREMELY vulnerable group, but when you go through the screening process, only a small number of very specific significant conditions are covered. Being elderly, disabled, having dementia, or other significant conditions doesn't qualify you as extremely vulnerable, and you can't book deliveries online through Sainsburys. Someone helpfully posted an alternative phone number for Sainsbury's this morning, and I was able to speak to someone. However, I was told that they will only accept people from the government's extremely vulnerable list for home delivery slots since Wednesday night. I questioned how every slot that had become available since Wednesday night could have been taken by someone in the extremely vulnerable group, which must consist of a fairly small number of people for each delivery area, but the person I spoke to just kept repeating that they could only deliver to the people on the extremely vulnerable list.

I've just had a call from the warfarin clinic and thankfully they have now agreed to do a home visit.

I've got a real dilemma and would be interested to get people's advice. My mum is 93, disabled, with various health conditions, takes warfarin, and has quite severe dementia. She lives an hour's drive away and has two visits each day by the District Nurse to administer medication. She is very stubborn and refuses to have any other help. In anticipation of the stricter social distancing requirements, I made sure my mum was well stocked up with food at the end of last week, and have managed to get a couple of grocery orders booked for her. My husband has COPD and so is reasonably vulnerable, so we had settled down follow the guidance and had only planned to drop groceries off at my mum's doorstep in the coming weeks if absolutely necessary. My mum was rushed into hospital on Monday morning with a major bleed (warfarin related), so I spent much of the day in hospital with her, keeping as much of a distance between us as possible, wearing a mask, gloves, and constantly using sanitiser. A&E were brilliant and moved her to a ward very quickly and I was extremely impressed with the measures the hospital had put in place. I had to collect my mum last night, and took her home, again being very careful with precautions, although there was nothing I could do to keep a proper distance between us in the car. My mum has to have her blood checked regularly to determine the amount of warfarin she needs to have, and in view of the bleed she had earlier this week, it's likely that she will need to be checked on Monday. I usually take her to the clinic, but have told the warfarin nurse that I'm very concerned about doing this at present for a number of reasons. The guidance is that we should keep a distance from elderly and vulnerable people and that it's OK to drop off groceries but not to enter someone's house, my husband is in a vulnerable group, and I'm also concerned that, no matter how stringent the hospital was with precautions, my mum or I may have been exposed to the virus over the last three days. However, the warfarin nurse is adamant that I need to take my mum to the clinic despite all of my concerns, and despite having to take her in my car. I have a very small car, and my mum couldn't get into the back to give us a bit more distance, so there is no option but for us to be in very close contact during the journey. Am I being unreasonable in insisting that the warfarin nurse makes a home visit (which she has done in the past and is still doing for other housebound patients)?

As much as I think it's a disgrace that they are charging ?1.49 per mask, if its an emergency, Kristals in Nunhead had a good supply yesterday.

I was in Kristals in Nunhead earlier today. They had loads of hand sanitiser and were charging ?4.99 for one of the little bottles that usually sell for 99p or less. They were also selling individual face masks at extortionate prices. The thin paper surgical masks were ?1.49 each (and I think they were only 1 ply) and the fold up masks which can be re-used a very limited number of times were ?5.99 each. Boxes 50 of the surgical masks were selling on eBay last month for around ?12. I realise that wholesale prices have probably gone up, and there is a huge shortage, but I don't believe the cost has increased by 500%. I've used Kristal for ages and really expected better from them.