Nothing to see here, move along, now.

How about a bit of common sense, a dash of simple respect for other folks, along with just giving people some personal space?
I'll start off with a simple GRRRRRR!!!

Lockdowns. Police enforcement of restrictions. The cancellation of almost a whole year which we'll never get back. and on, and on....

While some basic measures may have been needed early on to give a little time to rally the troops, and assess the situation, it would be sensible to expect that repeating the same response is a little out of place now. But as little has been truly learned, so we are to continue as before. The new normal is just as fucked up as the old one.


The New Normal.
It's only my opinion, maybe, but I believe that we should NEVER accept this state of affairs as the New normal. The term itself should be struck from history and peoples vocabulary. The wearing of masks should be allowed to become peoples choice, but not enforced to the ridiculous extremes that bits of Europe are going to now. The old normal is gone, consigned to a footnote in history-2020a.d. for sure. This current state of affairs should be a transition to a normal that is much more palatable.

I was in a restaurant just a few days ago, before France teetered on the precipice of a complete meltdown again. 3 women chatting at a table. Each taking it in turns to speak. A multi step process-
1. Mask removal
2. Speak
3. Mask replacement.
4. next person...

If it weren't in France, I'd have guessed it might be a joke. I've never seen Parisians so polite.

A few weeks ago, in the UK.
A woman steps briskly into the road, to avoid breaching the nearly 3meter exclusion zone between herself and the next person. Steps briskly in front of my car, that is. Now, I is no expert, but I think 1.5Tonnes of motorised carriage in the knees and ribs is likely to ruin ones day quite nicely.

Exactly what is it with these distances?
2m. 1.5m. 1.0m 6ft.
I watched in bemused horror (the producers have not applied canned laughter to this theatre effort, as yet, so I'm safe in assuming it's not intended to be comedy)- A plane load of passengers awaiting boarding in Brussels when the boarding announcement came over the PA. Up marches some critter in an orange jacket. 80years ago, she'd have worn a brown shirt.
Everyone must stand now! Everyone. No exceptions. You're too close. Are you travelling with this person? No? then you are too close! (starts shouting at everyone)
No other goons in Jackboots about, but I would not have been surprised to see some sign of an internment camp ahead. A rabid Alsatian or two.
Make any comment and your name shall be taken and reported to the gesta...Police.

I asked her if she realised it was a plane we were getting on. Jeez, you'd think I'd just crushed her pet cockroach!
What is your name? WHAT IS YOUR NAME!? Stand aside, you're not travelling!
Boarding the actual plane itself was more like a rugby scrum, to be finally seated in an aircraft that has a seat pitch of about 30" longitudinally. That's about 0.76 of one of those metric things, if you want to confuse the western colonials. Laterally, you're definitely seated within spitting and punching distance.

It's no wonder that parking ability in general is so appalling, when people think 2.5 average dead body lengths is 2 meters. Sadly, we have to have units imposed upon us as much of the population seems not to understand the concept of personal space. The antisocial minority of 20years ago is a significant proportion of the populace now. Sheer disgust has me keeping clear of some of these people naturally.

We're overwhelmed by rules. People are unable to conduct themselves without rules. I'd hazard a guess that the majority of folk who believe they are self sufficient would simply go into meltdown without the artificial crutch of rules that replace that seemingly rare character flaw known as common sense.

Our regular Paris airport hotel has forbidden 'guests' to even think about touching a serving utensil. I made this error recently*. The look of horror across the staff member's face as an obvious leper and swamp monster had sullied the clean stainless tongs that are used to serve the croissants.
Fear not!! A brave colleague leapt to the rescue, the tongs removed briskly to the kitchen area, and replaced. A look of fawning gratitude passed from one server to another. Never mind that she hadn't actually washed her hands having just popped outside for a quick ciggie. Never mind that plate of food handed to me by the other server had a thumb planted in my food.
*I considered doing it again to see if I could induce a stroke, or at least foaming of the bouche.

These morons are serious! There is no pretence about it. People of disturbingly low IQ are being issued authority, and are wielding it with utter abandon.

[/rant]

Carry on...

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Thu Nov 05, 2020 11:51 pm Serves you right Mr Very Front Seat kinda guy.
now you know what just everyday same same normal flying is like for us peasants, as it ever was and forever shall be.

Hah! And one more Hah! just for show.

My company may be based in the UK, but fully 80-90% of my flying is based out of Belgium or France. Prior to partial part-time nearly emigration, I worked alternating weeks. This averaged 23 return trips per year.

I thoroughly hate, utterly despise short haul travel. As flight crew, in the UK, we are actually often treated quite poorly. In France, being in uniform gets a little more respect, but not a lot. Being in uniform in the UK often results in extra vigilance by the Insecurity Stuff.

Many of us opt for train travel between UK and the continent just to feel a little more normal.

Food is nearly non existent on most services now.
Lucky to get a cup of coffee- free on Air France.
Brussels Airlines wasn't too bad until that last trip.
BA is a packet of crisps and a bottle of water.
Eurowings is cattle class to a whole new hell.

And now with a disposable gimp mask!
I miss the old days of nodding off and dribbling on a pretty girls shoulder. Now I just get to reinhale my own CO2 for 1-2 hours.

**Copied & pasted from FB**

Me AT RESTAURANT:
Hostess: ok, I can seat you at this table right here (4 feet away), but I will need you to wear a mask to the table.
Me: what happens when I get to the table?
Hostess: you can take off the mask.
Me: then it is safe over there?
Hostess: yes.
Me: are those fans blowing above the table? Is that the air-conditioning I feel? Is the air circulating in here?
Hostess: no words. Confused look.

Me AT GROCERY STORE:
Why is there plastic on the payment keypad?
Cashier: to protect people from Covid.
Me : but isn’t everyone touching the plastic keypad the same way they would the regular keypad?
Cashier: no words. Confused look.
Me : Why Dont you pack the grocery bags anymore?
Cashier : Because of covid 19 to reduce the spread of catching or spreading the virus.
Me : But a shelf packer took it out of a box and put on the shelf, a few customers might of picked it up and put back deciding they don't want it, I put it in my trolley then on the conveyer belt, YOU pick it up to scan it.. But putting it in a bag after you scan is risky??
Cashier : no words, confused look

Me AT DRIVE-THRU
Server: (holds a tray out the window with a bag of food for logical friend to grab)
Me: why is my bag of food on a tray?
Server: so I don’t touch your food because of Covid.
Me: didn’t the cook touch my food? Didn’t the person wrapping my food touch it and then touch it again when placing it in my bag? Didn’t you touch the bag and put it on the tray? Didn’t you touch the tray?
Server: no words. Confused look.

Me in SOCIETY
Society ; If you cough or sneeze do it in your elbow or sleeve,
Also society : Dont shake hands or hug anyone or you will spread the virus..
To greet people do an elbow tap instead.
Me : Elbow tap ? Isn't that where you tell people to sneeze or cough? into their elbow? Now you want people to tap each other with that elbow
wouldn't it be safer to sneeze into elbow and shake hands like we did before Covid

SOCIETY : You are not allowed to stand and drink at the pub or pokies, you have to sit down.
But at the shopping centre you are not allowed to sit down, all the chairs are roped off.
Who thinks this shit up?

And just ONE of my very favourite examples: "QLD restricts greater Sydney region from entering border" ...however, anyone from outside of the greater city region can make their way into Sydney airport to catch a flight into QLD and potentially pass through the entire greater Sydney region and come into contact with COVID...
Honestly where does this all stop?? Where has all the common sense gone??