SoA Forums

Always thought Zinzan street sounded lije just where a thieves kitchen would  be.
Roy

Quote from: NickHarbud on September 10, 2020, 02:44:30 PM
I have seen no difference with respect to restaurants, etc.  Maximum who can congregate at a single table is 6, and they should all be from the same social bubble.  This is due to obvious reason that one needs to remove face coverings to consume food & drink.  If you have more than 6 people or they are from more than one social bubble, you need additional tables that are 2 metres or more apart.

One of my daughters shares a house with 6 other students.  I have asked whether they have decided who should stay outdoors, but her response (which cannot be repeated here) led me to believe that I had misunderstood the situation.  Incidentally, they are all studying different courses, which means they all go into university and mix with other social groups who then go back to their own houses, shared with 6 other students, etc, etc.... 

I am not sure that I am an optimist, but I was in southeast China during 2002/2003 (SARS) and Saudi Arabia during 2013 (MERS).  One learns to put coronavirus epidemics in perspective.  Put it this way, I have personally known more people who have been shot down or blown up in passenger aircraft than have died of such plagues.  And as for the IRA, they tried to blow me up when I was working across the road from Reading Railway Station, and were only foiled by one of Reading's many thieves who stole their bomb.  There comes a point when you have to stop worrying and just order another beer.

I quite agree Nick.

Its like flying. People say flying is dangerous. Flying is not dangerous at all. Crashing is dangerous....

Quote from: Jim Webster on September 10, 2020, 03:00:59 PM
We exterminated a virus by the simple expedient of killing and destroying the bodies of up to ten million mainly cattle and sheep, the majority of which wouldn't have the virus but were killed as potentially dangerous contacts.

Fortunately, no one seems to be advocating anything so extreme to keep us safe from infected university students... 

Quote from: NickHarbud on September 10, 2020, 03:59:09 PM

Quote from: Jim Webster on September 10, 2020, 03:00:59 PM
We exterminated a virus by the simple expedient of killing and destroying the bodies of up to ten million mainly cattle and sheep, the majority of which wouldn't have the virus but were killed as potentially dangerous contacts.

Fortunately, no one seems to be advocating anything so extreme to keep us safe from infected university students...

Yet!
You haven't read the panicking people who seem to haunt my facebook feed 

There are times I find myself channelling the spirit of my maternal grandfather and have to quietly close the page and go and do something useful or I'd end up upsetting so many people I'd run of of fingers and toes to tally them on 

Quote from: aligern on September 10, 2020, 03:08:22 PM
Always thought Zinzan street sounded lije just where a thieves kitchen would  be.
Roy

I spend nearly a year in Reading (that was before the current Hexagon was built! but there was something similar around there somewhere, it had a model shop which pretended to sell Hinchcliffe and minifigs) and I never discovered Zinzan street!

The model shop was in Chatham street underneath the multi storey car park.  I used to buy the occasional Lasset 54mm there.  i was working in the  Evening  Post circulation dept then and  knew pretty well every street in Reading!
Roy

Zinzan Street is out along the Oxford Road in West Reading, not far from where I once lived. I think it's a bit more respectable these days than it used to be, but in the '80s-'90s it was certainly famous for drug dealiing and dodgy landlords.

Yes, the Government has hardly covered itself in glory on the 'clarity' front. It will be a great shame if it does not go ahead, as I think Madingly Hall would be a tremendous venue.  Still, stiff upper lip time, I suppose.

Just for clarity, regards household groups, I live in a household group of more than 6.  The 'rule of 6' does not apply if the household is already more than 6 (and you can still have your 'support bubble' visit without any issues.

The rules that apply to households do not apply to businesses, charities and heritage attractions and events (which are covered by separate guidelines for the 'Visitor Economy', most recently issued on Sept 10th) ... There has been a lot of public misunderstanding about this.

For heritage attractions, guided tours (which covers what I do i.e. battlefield visits and heritage walks) you have to do a Covid-19 Risk Assessment, ensure Social Distancing and limit numbers to 30, max.  Although you can have more than one pod of 30 as long as they are kept separate.  Most tour guides don't do as many as 30 in a party anyway (because it is difficult to engage a group of that size - and be heard - even without social distancing).  So the difference it makes for us is the Risk Assessment and the Distancing.

As far as the Conference is concerned, I think the relevant section in the guidance is (2.2.3) ...

From 1 October, it is expected that events of all types (e.g. trade shows, consumer shows,exhibitions, conferences) will be allowed at a capacity allowing for compliance with social distancingof 2m, or 1m with mitigation (approximately equivalent to a density of 10㎡ per person). Where suchevents involve people speaking loudly for prolonged periods of time any mitigation must includeparticular attention to the ventilation of the spaces. This will be subject to the latest public healthadvice.

Madiingley Hall should deal with a big part of that under their own procedures.  But, by and large, and accpting the provisos, it is fair to assume that the Government intends that the Conference be allowed to go ahead.  But watch out for that date to slide.

I'm expecting it will happen and I plan to be there.

Phil

Very useful clarification Phil.

I'll not be there but I really hope it goes ahead, if only so I see a report of John DZ's Grantian refight

I suspect for the game organisers it will be about maintaining safe distances round the table, as they are going to be in proximity for more than the critical 15 minutes.

Sorry to see that it has beeen cancelled but it was probably inevitable given the current spike in cases

I've posted the news up on Facebook and Twitter

Thank you Dave.
The area of biggest concern for me is that the current new and restrictive rules really do not looks like  the final actions in this saga.  The ability to hold the event could be compromised at any time between now and the  end of October. The decision was taken with real reluctance, but it is the right decision. We should still be able to generate some value for the Society  and the wider membership which is  a positive. . I am sure that Richard and John will be addressing us on that topic soon.
Roy

I understand why the Committee could not wait until the guidance for Conferences emerged (if on schedule) on Oct 1st.  Whatever that guidance says, it is bound to require Social Distancing measures (which will, in effect, limit total venue numbers). 

I am organising the next Conference for the Battlefields Trust.  It has been postponed (already) from May 2020 (when it would have not been allowed at all) to May 2021 (when we hope it can take place).  However, I very much doubt that Social Distancing will have disappeared by the Spring and I already have a large number of carried-forward bookings.  I am concerned I may not be able to get them all in the same room for plenary sessions.  I am desperate for some permitted events to go ahead so we can start learning how to make these events work under different organisational protocols to the ones we are used to.

It may be we have to work more like school classrooms ... i.e. everyone who currently does a talk does it twice (for half a room, allowing for the Distancing) while the other half of the room is in break-outs ... then they swap (so everyone gets the keynote content, just not all at the same time).  It seems to me that we will still need more space to achieve that but some jiggling may help.  For slots where sessions run in parallel, people will need to be spread much more evenly across the available space (rather than the current random mix of crammed popular sessions and under-populated fringe sessions).  I think that means popular sessions will need to run more than once.

Hopefully, we will be able to have a BattleDay!

Phil

'Madingley Conference update

Members will be aware of the decision to slip the Madingley Conference from October 2020 to October 2021, since the latest Covid restrictions have greatly diminished the appeal of the event.
The Conference Organisers have decided to replace the physical conference with a pair of virtual sessions. They will be staged as follows:
•   1600-1800 (UK time) on Saturday 31 October
•   1600-1800 (UK time) on Sunday 1 November 2020.
It is hoped that each session will have two presentations and a Q and A period.
Further details, including the identity of the speakers and the themes will be communicated to members via the Society Forum and by e-mail.
These virtual events are likely to be more accessible to the majority of members, not least those living abroad.'
John Drewienkiewicz
SoA Hon Secretary