Looking on the bright side!

Pross
Pross Posts: 40,209
It's not like me to try to be positive but given some appear to be intent on locking themselves in a dark room listening to The Smiths for the next month or so waiting for the bloke to come around with his cart shouting 'bring out your dead' I thought I'd try to look at the positives (unfortunate turn of phrase) to come out of the current situation whether serious or more light hearted.

The obvious one for me is that it will hopefully provide a temporary respite in CO2 emissions from travel and with luck people might get used to working differently in the future resulting is less travel in the longer term. I'm probably being overly-optimistic on this one but seeing empty supermarket shelves might make people rethink how they shop with more local shopping and less food wastage. Isolation will hopefully make us more appreciative of how good our lives normally are and also give us more empathy for those who spend most of their lives isolated.

On a lighter note, there's going to be a period where there'll be no Eastenders on TV and there's no Eurovision Song Contest this year plus no-one is talking about Brexit anymore.
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Comments

  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940
    It's likely to ease the state pension burden.
    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,209
    There'll also be fewer smokers around!
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,121
    Slightly quieter roads for cycling on.

    People washing their hands after going for a poo/scratching their arse.

    Roll out of technology that should have been done years ago like GP consultations by phone/video.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,151
    - I can get up a bit later now I'm working from home every day
    - My kid is no longer stressing about exams
    - Not sure if its just me hallucinating but the stuff on the box in the evenings seems to be marginally better? (Could be because its relatively more interesting now).
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • coopster_the_1st
    coopster_the_1st Posts: 5,158
    edited March 2020
    As of yesteday only 12 of the 2500 deaths in Italy from C19 did not have other serious health issues
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,483

    As of yesteday only 12 of the 2500 deaths in Italy from C19 did not have other serious health issues

    Which is pretty significant.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    We could finally trim down membership of the House of Lords. Lets keep them meeting.
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    My wife is in a dilemma, lots of people now want her service, but she is having to restrict home visits and isn't supposed to do consultations remotely.

    Sometimes it's tough being a will writer.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,151

    As of yesteday only 12 of the 2500 deaths in Italy from C19 did not have other serious health issues

    It should be reassuring for us (generally) healthy cyclists.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,125
    Stevo_666 said:

    As of yesteday only 12 of the 2500 deaths in Italy from C19 did not have other serious health issues

    It should be reassuring for us (generally) healthy cyclists.
    Not given how many of the pros have to take asthma medication.
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    Pros train a huge amount. Dust. Altitude. Heat. Cold. They're not normal.

    I hope after the other side of this people will be a bit more considerate. We are all in this together.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,151
    No more school run traffic (for anyone that is still trying to go anywhere).
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • I wonder how many men will be visiting their mother-in-laws on a more regular basis over the next couple of months? :D>:)
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,151

    I wonder how many men will be visiting their mother-in-laws on a more regular basis over the next couple of months? :D>:)

    Ooh harsh :)
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,209
    Assuming I manage to keep on full salary I should manage to save quite a bit of money each month due to saving on travel costs.
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,608
    Blxxdy salarymen spongers. 😉 What about us self employeds?
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,685
    I'll have plenty of time to get my tax return done in April.
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,685
    edited March 2020
    Sinatra put it quite nicely...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r94g_47Weeg

    If that doesn't make your foot tap, you're clinically dead.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,209
    Just said to the wife I'm thinking of buying a new turbo trainer and Zwift subscription expecting to get told off for wasting money and got told to go for it as it makes sense! Wonder if I should get a new bike to go with it?
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,483
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,209
    rjsterry said:
    It would be nice if people learn from this once the pandemic is under control wouldn't it?
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,685
    rjsterry said:

    If you've not read it, 'Wilding' is an interesting book, about how one big farming estate's managed return to a 'wild' state rapidly led to the return of massive numbers of flora and fauna thought lost from the countryside. Nature's there, and will repopulate, given the chance, it seems.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,483
    Iain Martin tweeted the other day that we were about to find out what living in the way that the drastically reduced travel and economic activity, as espoused by the likes of Extinction Rebellion etc. is like. I'm not sure how serious he was being but it is remarkable how quickly things improve when we stop ruining them for a few days.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,685
    edited March 2020
    rjsterry said:

    Iain Martin tweeted the other day that we were about to find out what living in the way that the drastically reduced travel and economic activity, as espoused by the likes of Extinction Rebellion etc. is like. I'm not sure how serious he was being but it is remarkable how quickly things improve when we stop ruining them for a few days.


    At the risk of sounding like some weirdo, although I love my gadgets as much as anyone, we've got so used to all the stuff we've had over the past 50 years, we, as a society, have forgotten that all we really need for happiness is a roof over our heads, warmth, food in our bellies, health, and friends & family.

    And a bike. Obvs.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,483
    And a shed. You missed off a shed.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • lesfirth
    lesfirth Posts: 1,382
    A heated shed that keeps this east wind out.
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Well if you’re getting a shed...
    You need a large screen tv, recliner chair, beer fridge, fully equipped pain cave and so on and so forth.
    Wasn’t there a thread somewhere about reducing consumerism and our obsession with gadgets?
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,483
    What? No, not that sort of shed. 😁
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,685
    rjsterry said:

    And a shed. You missed off a shed.


    Gosh, you're really going all posh on us. Unless, of course, you're counting the shed as being a roof over your head, and warm. Then you can have it instead of a house.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,151
    rjsterry said:

    What? No, not that sort of shed. 😁

    At first I thought you were mocking Brian's car :)
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]