please empty your brain below
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I could have written your penultimate paragraph! When did we become a nation of huggers?
I am fortunate to belong to a very close extended, (non-hugging) family where chatting on the end of the phone is just as good as being there in person.
But the way some of my acquaintances have been left bereft over the no hugs in particular has just amazed me.
I'm of the general mindset 'if you don't build your hopes up, they won't get dashed' which has stood me well over this last year!
Cornish Cockney | 12.05.21 - 9:40 a.m. | #
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One of the problems all along has been the government's failure to get the underlying message across, rather than the precise rules of the legislation, leading to sudden changes in our activities even though the risk changes gradually. I'd like to hope the imminent change has been left late enough that the risk has already dropped far enough, but I doubt it.
That recent Express headline mentioning common sense does have a point. I think a lot of people will continue to be cautious for some time (as evidenced by those walking around outside wearing face masks, despite them not being legally required or possibly even necessary in many cases) but that will unfortunately be balanced by the idiots who ignore both the rules and common sense.
Andrew S | 12.05.21 - 9:41 a.m. | #
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As the Guardian pointed out yesterday, hugging was never actually illegal - just another example of the government heppily eliding the law and the guidance - which now means that they get the credit for giving people back 'rights' which they never actually lost in the first place.
Sarah | Homepage | 12.05.21 - 9:43 a.m. | #
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"British common sense" - the qualifier sets it apart from 'standard' common sense, so BCS is a conundrum.
commonliner | 12.05.21 - 9:50 a.m. | #
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The pandemic has seen a flurry of articles in the media saying that the pause in holiday travel has given holidaymakers time to think, and that 'slow travel', or 'thoughtful' or 'responsible' travel will see more people choosing to eschew the traditional fortnight in the Costas. That might well be the case for those who are time and cash rich (who probably never went there anyway). For those who want to guarantee a "bit of sun", the combination of price, facilities, flights and proximity to the UK means the likelihood, and apparent joy, of spending a fortnight sharing a beach with lots of other Brits, and no doubt bumping into 'Barry and Jean from down the road' looks set to continue (Names have been changed to protect identities).
Stuart R | 12.05.21 - 10:11 a.m. | #
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An epic post DG, which had me laughing out loud at points, whilst simultaneously despairing. And the jolt of that final sentence is the most telling - sadly electoral evidence seems to bear out what you say!
cau1khead | 12.05.21 - 10:39 a.m. | #
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What an excellent analysis, DG.
I'm afraid my first thought about the general populace using common sense was to recall the populist vote that resulted in the winner being "Boaty McBoatface".
Nails UK | 12.05.21 - 11:05 a.m. | #
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Since when did hugging become important to your average Brit? I've been away too long...
Milo | 12.05.21 - 11:09 a.m. | #
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"I suspect it also makes me culturally abnormal."
Well, yes. But then you've written a successful daily blog for over 18 years, so I think you'd already attained "culturally abnormal".
Jordan D | 12.05.21 - 11:41 a.m. | #
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Truly a man after my own heart
Filbert Cobb | 12.05.21 - 11:56 a.m. | #
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"I look on the rest of you with a degree of emotional incredulity".
We got it.
David | 12.05.21 - 12:24 p.m. | #
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Hugging certainly seems to be a thing amongst many of the under 25s, who appear to be keen to fling their arms around each other in public and scream enthusiastically at the drop of a hat. Not in itself a bad thing, of course, just a tad strange for us oldies for whom a tired wave of the hand was always quite sufficient.
I do think you underestimate the importance of the pub as a social magnet for many, many people. Not for availability of booze but for the opportunity for relaxed personal interaction it affords.
Arlu | 12.05.21 - 12:34 p.m. | #
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Hugging was never expressly forbidden, but it's difficult to achieve if you stay the requisite 2m apart.
timbo | 12.05.21 - 1:02 p.m. | #
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I'm with you, DG. The sheer triviality of That Oaf is bad enough (he makes Harold Wilson look like a paragon of earnest statesmanship), but the thought that despite it all there are enough voters who think he's still a card worth keeping in office - I despair, I really do.
Autolycus | Homepage | 12.05.21 - 4:58 p.m. | #
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The one that had me baffled was the early relaxation as regards football, even without spectators.
Team A travels half the country to play Team B, with any amount of opportunity for direct or indirect contact. If any of Team A had it, there seemed the risk of spreading it to a whole different locality; and if any of Team B had it, it seemed equally possible for Team A to take it back with them.
Perhaps it's just another of those things that Brits simply couldn't live without.
RogerW | 12.05.21 - 7:44 p.m. | #
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I nearly put football in the list thanks to the government's overt keenness to get professional sport back up and running.
But they haven't been as hurried to bring back spectator sport. Having matches to watch on TV has been deemed Brit-satisfying enough.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 12.05.21 - 7:49 p.m. | #
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It's bread and circuses / beer and football all over again.
JP minimus | 13.05.21 - 12:00 a.m. | #
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Many of my friends hate the physical contact and the false bonhomie of a hugged greeting, so:
"Shrugs, not hugs"
MartinO'Holcombe | 13.05.21 - 8:11 a.m. | #
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Similar to many here I've never been much of a hugger, I've also never done many foreign holidays, and I'm fortunate in that my bubble is also who I spend Christmas with so no change for me. But I do miss the pub, and the coffee shop, and it's not for the social side of it but for the chance to people watch and as a conducive place to work and life plan with the pleasant hubbub of people in the background but no need to interact with them.
Anders | 13.05.21 - 9:50 a.m. | #
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It's like when they put out that advert saying with some benefit increase (or tax reduction) you now have more money for beer and bingo. And we were appalled. And then they won again.
MK | 13.05.21 - 10:18 a.m. | #
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The headlines this morning are apparently no better - talk of "betrayal" at the suggestion of slowing down the lockdown due to the spread of new Covid variants. Despite the lockdown easing was only ever provisional and subject to changing reality...
cau1khead | 14.05.21 - 11:13 a.m. | #
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