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