Westy, I understand where you are coming from ... the phrase "lies, damn lies and statistics" always springs to mind when people are bandying about different figures to support their stance and I appreciate your concern about decisions being made based on advice being taken from those with vested commercial interests, whilst others are not heard/being censored, which of course makes us question whether we can trust what we are being told, and I share your concerns about the motivations behind some of the decisions and how this thing is being managed. I guess, to be fair, this is a novel virus, so the "experts" are having to learn as they go along, and so the advice will inevitably change as we learn more ...
I think a lot of people are flying under the radar - those of us who aren't affected in a life threatening way but who are still ill, many months on aren't being included in any statistics. Each single statistic, however they are interpreted, has a human face, and a personal story, and matters, whether it be a death or bereavement, long term disabling symptoms, a job or business lost, and we have to get it as right as we can possibly can, and be as caring and responsible as we possibly can whether on a govt level, a scientific, or an individual level. My concern is that we aren't learning from mistakes made at the start of this ...
Dave - I know Villa Park won't be entertaining any fans now Birmingham is in tier 3 so not an issue now anyway :) and I get your point about the size of VP and it being sort of outdoors - I was just questioning why now, really, when it wasn't deemed safe when numbers were lower, though I did have concerns about it meaning extra people would be travelling to stadiums on trains etc
I guess with shops, it's not ideal but we do have to eat, whereas (I'm with Exiled that) football's not essential, but I know many fans would disagree :) Re Christmas, I may be wrong, but at the moment, I don't think there are any limits on the number of people in each household. 3 households make up one bubble and households included within that one bubble can only mix with each other indoors during the 5 days of Christmas.
Exiled, your rants always make me smile :) I'm with you about just staying in our own households this Christmas. Before the rules were announced my family members had already decided we would do this - just spend Christmas with who you already live with. I don't understand why people would care so much about having a "normal Christmas" to potentially infect the ones we love the most ...
Anyway, I hope everyone is okay, and getting through this difficult period. Love to all xxx