| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls 08:55 - Mar 25 with 19913 views | gtsb1966 |
I wasn't too disappointed last year but this year i feel a bit deflated by the whole thing if I'm being honest. Usually go with a few mates for a week and then have another quiet week away to relax. Obviously needs must and all that but for some reason it has really peed me off. Anyway else feel the same. |  | | |  |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:24 - Mar 26 with 857 views | bluelagos |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:14 - Mar 26 by StokieBlue |
Indeed, although historically travel has always been the preserve of the wealthy. It's been excellent that it's become more affordable to the masses.
Unfortunately if we want to get to carbon neutral it's probably going to have to be that way again over the next 20 years or so. 15 quid per seat flights, 4 times a day by a single plane isn't going to cut down emissions.
Nobody wants to hear it (me included) but flying is awful for the environment (~15% of UK emissions). I say this as someone who does fly quite a bit so I am also part of the problem but I do fear that if the kids don't see things now it's going to be prohibitively expensive to see things in 30 years time.
SB |
My answer to the green issue of flying (and the need to reduce it for obvious reasons) whilst still enabling people some travel...
First return flight each year - £10 carbon tax
Second - £100
Third - £1000
Fourth - £10000
And so on. Just keep going and even Bill Gates will change his habits.
In 1997/8 I took over 100 flights in one year - was commuting to a job in Germany. Utterly ridiculous way of working and would be way more sensible for me to have done what I did in Nigeria (Stay for 4/5 months and then get a month off)
The guys (mainly in business) collecting airmiles and BA exec points as a fashion statement, when we now know how easy it is to teleconference - these are guys such a scheme would quickly curtail.
I know it was over 20 years ago, but I doubt it's changed all that much tbh. |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:29 - Mar 26 with 855 views | StokieBlue |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:24 - Mar 26 by bluelagos |
My answer to the green issue of flying (and the need to reduce it for obvious reasons) whilst still enabling people some travel...
First return flight each year - £10 carbon tax
Second - £100
Third - £1000
Fourth - £10000
And so on. Just keep going and even Bill Gates will change his habits.
In 1997/8 I took over 100 flights in one year - was commuting to a job in Germany. Utterly ridiculous way of working and would be way more sensible for me to have done what I did in Nigeria (Stay for 4/5 months and then get a month off)
The guys (mainly in business) collecting airmiles and BA exec points as a fashion statement, when we now know how easy it is to teleconference - these are guys such a scheme would quickly curtail.
I know it was over 20 years ago, but I doubt it's changed all that much tbh. |
I think you'd find that any government that implemented those taxes would be voted out pretty quickly.
What we really need is a superb cross-Europe high-speed rail network with another tunnel to the UK to stop bottlenecks and then keep flying for long haul only.
Or electric planes but those are hard to make because batteries don't have enough energy density. Norway are trying to make all their internal flights electric by 2040 though:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180814-norways-plan-for-a-fleet-of-electric
SB |  | | |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:45 - Mar 26 with 838 views | bluelagos |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:29 - Mar 26 by StokieBlue |
I think you'd find that any government that implemented those taxes would be voted out pretty quickly.
What we really need is a superb cross-Europe high-speed rail network with another tunnel to the UK to stop bottlenecks and then keep flying for long haul only.
Or electric planes but those are hard to make because batteries don't have enough energy density. Norway are trying to make all their internal flights electric by 2040 though:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180814-norways-plan-for-a-fleet-of-electric
SB |
Not pretending it's a vote winner :-(
But you could definitely target the frequent flyer clubs. They do it for a reason, to get the guys to fly even more.
There was genuinely a status thing when I worked in management consultancy (PwC) for who had the highest membership of the BA exec club. The more flights, the more rewards. Whether that was using the lounges, free flights (air miles) upgrades, whatever.
People were jumping on planes where there were clear alternatives available. There was an incentive to do so and there needs to be a disincentive. I'd introduce a benefit in kind for all business flights - only has to be £100 - then people would change their habits. Whether that is train/car or teleconference, all have to be better. | |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:52 - Mar 26 with 831 views | jeera |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:01 - Mar 26 by StokieBlue |
I'm not really sure a country which is as busy with international connections can do enough tests on landing. We are talking hundreds of thousands of people each day who would need to wait around for results and realistically that would have to be lateral flow which is going to miss a good number of people who are positive. If it was PCR they need to all be kept somewhere, socially distanced, for about 8 to 10 hours.
It's feasible in NZ and Iceland and places that aren't having streams of people entering each day but I don't see how it's feasible for somewhere like the UK.
I'm also not convinced about residents quarantining at home. All it takes is one or two people with the SA variant to ignore rules and we are back in a right mess.
SB |
Probably a daft question but could tests be carried out in-flight on long haul?
Supervision could be a pain I suppose but at least the audience would be captive!
Almost in the literal sense too. |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:17 - Mar 26 with 809 views | Ryorry |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 07:51 - Mar 26 by WeWereZombies |
To be honest I think you and Ryorry are both muddying the waters by using absolute terms incorrectly. We need to use a scalar approach (or look at the spectrum to use the in vogue term) for threats that are nigh on impossible to quantify completely.
You cannot assume that a vaccination will be one hundred percent effective, either in giving the recipient immunity or in preventing them transmitting a disease that they are carrying passively. You have to assign a probability and be ready to revise that probability if new evidence emerges. Likewise, you cannot just stop everything when a threat emerges. Again a probability needs to be assigned and revised as the adequacy of response is assessed.
It's a bit like one of our defenders seeing an opposition forward bursting into the penalty area - do they tackle and give away a penalty, do they hope that Holy will make a save, or do they hoof? |
I didn't use any "absolute terms". I cited 4 different things which
"would at least increase the chances of being able to return to something approaching the 'old normal' sooner." |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:30 - Mar 26 with 797 views | WeWereZombies |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:17 - Mar 26 by Ryorry |
I didn't use any "absolute terms". I cited 4 different things which
"would at least increase the chances of being able to return to something approaching the 'old normal' sooner." |
Sorry if that was what you intended but it came across as a bit 'nobody do anything but stay at home unless you have to walk the dog' to me. I appreciate your concerns and know that this is a worrying time for all the at risk sectors of society but the practicalities of essential services and the necessities of tasks that have to be done now to reduce damage in the future, together with the vagueness of the rules and regulations, mitigate against firm judgements about what each individual should be doing. And that is before you place the behavioural framework against a background of a mutating virus and the dialectic of containment.
It is good that we all 'talk' on this forum, but the descent into bunfight happens a bit too frequently as well. |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:39 - Mar 26 with 779 views | Freddies_Ears |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:29 - Mar 26 by StokieBlue |
I think you'd find that any government that implemented those taxes would be voted out pretty quickly.
What we really need is a superb cross-Europe high-speed rail network with another tunnel to the UK to stop bottlenecks and then keep flying for long haul only.
Or electric planes but those are hard to make because batteries don't have enough energy density. Norway are trying to make all their internal flights electric by 2040 though:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180814-norways-plan-for-a-fleet-of-electric
SB |
Oh for the days of being able to pootle around Europe by train! One great trip was Hook of Holland / Rotterdam / Cologne / Frankfurt (a whole area of the city devoted to old cider bars!!!) / Bamberg (smoked beers), Munich. Got back to Ipswich from Munich in about 13 hours, via Frankfurt / Brussels.
So wanting to get back on track!!! |  | | |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:48 - Mar 26 with 777 views | Pinewoodblue |
Have, this week, taken a chance and booked a short 4 night cruise from Southampton. A cruise to nowhere as no ports of call. Restricted to UK residents who must have been fully vaccinated. Reduced capacity balcony cabins and suites only and not all of those will be occupied.
It is a start. Doing this early September they will have been running such cruises for a mint( by then so should have most things worked out by then. |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:53 - Mar 26 with 761 views | Radlett_blue |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:48 - Mar 26 by Pinewoodblue |
Have, this week, taken a chance and booked a short 4 night cruise from Southampton. A cruise to nowhere as no ports of call. Restricted to UK residents who must have been fully vaccinated. Reduced capacity balcony cabins and suites only and not all of those will be occupied.
It is a start. Doing this early September they will have been running such cruises for a mint( by then so should have most things worked out by then. |
Obviously, the cruise companies are desperate to get in some revenue so I suppose the price is quite low. I like cruising, but effectively being trapped in a hotel for 4 days wouldn't appeal to me. |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:58 - Mar 26 with 751 views | Radlett_blue |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 09:45 - Mar 26 by bluelagos |
Not pretending it's a vote winner :-(
But you could definitely target the frequent flyer clubs. They do it for a reason, to get the guys to fly even more.
There was genuinely a status thing when I worked in management consultancy (PwC) for who had the highest membership of the BA exec club. The more flights, the more rewards. Whether that was using the lounges, free flights (air miles) upgrades, whatever.
People were jumping on planes where there were clear alternatives available. There was an incentive to do so and there needs to be a disincentive. I'd introduce a benefit in kind for all business flights - only has to be £100 - then people would change their habits. Whether that is train/car or teleconference, all have to be better. |
With Zoom/Teams having been shown to be so effective, you would think that companies would see sense & hugely restrict business travel in future, which is expensive & time consuming for the people involved.
The airline status thing is a big attraction for some people who are desperate to preserve their BA Silver status for lounge access & free booze. However, I think the Air Miles schemes are nowhere near as valuable as they appear as you can rarely use them for flights you actually want to take & the growth of low cost airlines has effectively reduced their value. | |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 11:12 - Mar 26 with 730 views | Pinewoodblue |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:58 - Mar 26 by Radlett_blue |
With Zoom/Teams having been shown to be so effective, you would think that companies would see sense & hugely restrict business travel in future, which is expensive & time consuming for the people involved.
The airline status thing is a big attraction for some people who are desperate to preserve their BA Silver status for lounge access & free booze. However, I think the Air Miles schemes are nowhere near as valuable as they appear as you can rarely use them for flights you actually want to take & the growth of low cost airlines has effectively reduced their value. |
Air miles are, these days, best used for upgrades. | |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 11:13 - Mar 26 with 732 views | Bluespeed225 |
I love a trip, and had plenty planned, but ive survived without them. It'll be idiot central at airports for a few months as every chav tries to get to Dubai or other hell holes. I can wait. Luckily we've still both been working, so we've kept our holiday fund going, so saved enough and promised ourselves to upgrade flights for a few trips. Gotta go classy as you get older! | | | |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 11:17 - Mar 26 with 721 views | Ryorry |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:30 - Mar 26 by WeWereZombies |
Sorry if that was what you intended but it came across as a bit 'nobody do anything but stay at home unless you have to walk the dog' to me. I appreciate your concerns and know that this is a worrying time for all the at risk sectors of society but the practicalities of essential services and the necessities of tasks that have to be done now to reduce damage in the future, together with the vagueness of the rules and regulations, mitigate against firm judgements about what each individual should be doing. And that is before you place the behavioural framework against a background of a mutating virus and the dialectic of containment.
It is good that we all 'talk' on this forum, but the descent into bunfight happens a bit too frequently as well. |
All I've said on this thread was, in effect, behave responsibly, consider others, follow the rules & we'd then be likely to return to the "old normal" sooner rather than later. (Plus give info on protection % from first jab alone).
No idea why anyone wants to read something else into, or pick arguments about this tbh, getting back to the 'old normal' asap is what every single person wants I'd have thought.
Hey ho, I'm off to start my spring seed-sowing* campaign outside.
*plants, I'm female before anyone not itk starts  [Post edited 26 Mar 2021 11:35]
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 12:40 - Mar 26 with 673 views | SpruceMoose |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 11:12 - Mar 26 by Pinewoodblue |
Air miles are, these days, best used for upgrades. |
Indeed. You have to redeem them wisely. There's a huge variation in what they're worth depending on what you do with them! |  |
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"Imagine being a heterosexual white male in Britain at this moment. How bad is that. Everything you say is racist, everything you say is homophobic. The Woke community have really f****d this country." | | Poll: | Selectamod |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 14:07 - Mar 26 with 623 views | Ryorry |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 11:21 - Mar 26 by Pinewoodblue |
Weather looks good Monday and Tuesday 17 then 19C. Expect to see footage of crowded beaches and city parks. |
Sleet & 2C forecast here for tonight! 
My poor Magnolia buds. Going to have to dig 8 foot tree up & give it away  only had 1 year of blossom in 4 - we're too high up in exposed location . | |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:40 - Apr 3 with 479 views | Bluefish |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 08:58 - Mar 25 by Bluefish |
There will be later in the year. Red, amber and green countries |
It seems the announcement of this is on Monday |  |
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| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 12:53 - Apr 3 with 439 views | StokieBlue |
| No holidays abroad really is a kick in the balls on 10:40 - Apr 3 by Bluefish |
It seems the announcement of this is on Monday |
And the assignment of status will make absolutely no sense given France is still not red listed.
It's turning into a farce again.
SB | | | |
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