The Freedom Cafe

[bennevisplace]

Need I say more?

[ChristyAnne_UK]

Ah! Success! 👍

[Newdawn Administrator]

My response;

Feel free to keep a good lawyer on speed dial (or not if you have no issue with serious commercial loss) and I’ll exercise my freedom to keep Environmental Health & the Press appraised of your practices 🤔

Freedom Cafe: Hygiene rating Nil, Takings Zero. It’s a small price to pay for the freedom to infect.

Or is this a totally satirical posting to demonstrate the ridiculousness of ignoring precautions? I don’t do Faceache so haven’t seen it.

Newdawn

[bennevisplace in reply to Newdawn]

Totally satirical I hope! If not, alfresco dining is not as safe as we've been told

😨

[Phil4-13]

Touché! This is perfect! AND SO TRUE! I am definitely one who wants to do things my way, BUT, I thank my mom for teaching me respect for others who do things differently. I won’t stress over their ways, I’ll simply, and it is very simple, pray for their eyes and minds open to their selfishness and/or carelessness towards others. In the meantime, I avoid such cafes as best to my intuition. Sandra🙂

[Newdawn Administrator in reply to Phil4-13]

Trouble is it’s hard to detect which cafes practice these dodgy, uncaring routines Sandra. I don’t forgive them for unhygienic practices masked as ‘doing things their way’ I’m afraid. That exceeds personal rights.

Regards,

Newdawn

[Phil4-13 in reply to Newdawn]

Newdawn, Yep, you’re right. Sandra🙂

[Psmithuk]

'Dead' right bennevisplace! ☹️

[Jackpot]

Thanks for posting this. I laughed when I read it because it is so ridiculous but it certainly does make a point. I would like to send this to a few people I know who are vaccine hesitant, but I think they would miss the “not so subtle “ message behind it.

The other day I met a lady outside a store and as I was leaving the store, I used my hand sanitizer, and noticed she wasn’t wearing a mask. She then told me she believes in none of the protocols re: masking, distancing, etc. because she has CS. I listened to her short rant and then she repeated that she has CS, that is why she refuses to mask up, etc. I finally asked what CS was and she said…..common sense! With that, I shook my head, hopped on my bike and rode off.

[bennevisplace in reply to Jackpot]

If she has CS it's asymptomatic.

[ChristyAnne_UK in reply to bennevisplace]

🤣🤣🤣

[kathymac5252 in reply to Jackpot]

CS could also mean a crock of sh**! Hard to deal with stupidity

[Jackpot in reply to kathymac5252]

Indeed! Love it and wish I had thought of that!

[bennevisplace in reply to kathymac5252]

Cerebrum subtractum

[Mystic75]

It would be funny if it were only an exaggeration and it didn't actually reflect how the resisters justifed their resistance to reality.

And to think that the Age of Reason has come to this - nothing like reframing the Dark Ages, trying to make it seem patriotic and a fight for individual freedom.

No matter the evidence that individuals do not have the freedom to not get COVID, with only the vaccines as a deterrant.

[Ballyhoo789]

That sounds like a recipe for disaster .

[bennevisplace]

The putative author with the unlikely name Kathony Jerault is a real person it turns out. Former administrator at California Department of Public Health. No comfort to know the Freedom Café doesn't exist, when the attitudes so nicely parodied clearly do.

[morepork]

Nicely satirical but should probably, in these troubled times, carry a stamp saying 'Satirical' which I see some 'tongue in cheek' columns in NZ publications are starting to do, lest they be taken seriously. 😊

[guzzifan in reply to morepork]

It would only be necessary because, in these times of extreme political correctness, people seem to have lost their sense of humour.

[LeoPa]

This is why I don't eat out anymore. It's meant to be a joke but if you saw the inside of many of the food preparation areas in restaurants you would likely be surprised. Okay maybe not many ,I'll settle for" some"

[Newdawn Administrator]

I do like the Hygiene Rating system food preparation area/cafes etc are given in England after regular inspection by the local Council Environmental Health Dept’s. I’ve found them to equate to the standards found by the customer. I wouldn’t order from a take-away with an inadequate rating and amazingly some continue to operate with a 1 out of 5 rating whilst they are given a chance to improve! 🤨

Yesterday I noticed that in the family run cafe we use, masks were still being used, the place was spotless (you can see into the kitchen) and after each customer even the condiment pots were sanitised.

Whilst this article is satirical, there are places where that attitude pervades due to indifference, idleness or pure couldn’t care less attitudes.

I tend to lose my sense of humour where hygiene issues are concerned I’m afraid and the horror of contracting campylobacter poisoning in Spain some years ago is etched in my memory 🥵

Newdawn

[bennevisplace in reply to Newdawn]

Yes I always check the rating (4 is min acceptable).

In Nepal it worked the other way round for our group of trekkers. Out on the trail, portable "kitchen" with zero food hygiene rating, no running water, no problems. Four star hotel in Kathmandu, 11 out of 12 got food poisoning.

[Fran57]

When I first started reading….. 😳 , then realised 🤣… but also a stark warning!Thanks for making me smile and grimace at the same time!

Stay safe ( and away from “ Freedom Cafe”!

Fran 😉

P.S. Is everyone still wiping down shopping deliveries , or is it just me?? 🤗

[Newdawn Administrator in reply to Fran57]

I must admit Fran, I’m not washing down deliveries now. I’ve taken the view that the risk is very low indeed and it’s impossible to catch every single inch. Also it was making life pretty difficult and making me paranoid! 🥴I do wash the tops of bottle however and always wash and sanitise my hands afterwards.

Newdawn

[Fran57 in reply to Newdawn]

Thanks for letting me know Newdawn… I think our Wednesday morning routine has got faster over the months!😊Fran 😉

[Jacksc06 in reply to Fran57]

Hi Fran. We sanitise our deliveries or shop bought goods, its not a risk we am prepared to take having got this far.

[Fran57 in reply to Jacksc06]

Thanks for your reply… glad it’s not just me. I know what you mean, we’ve sacrificed so much this last 18 months, I can’t bear the thought that I might get it wrong now! 🤦‍♀️ It is pretty westing, but while Paul is having radiotherapy, I think I’m trying to be even more cautious.Fran 😉

[ygtgo in reply to Fran57]

Same here ... nothing comes in before it's 'cleaned'

At the outset, we set up a routine ... my son who lives with me took charge ... everything that comes in gets disinfected ... our outside 'cupboard' is now a cleaning station, it now houses outdoor shoes and coats etc ... outside clothes go straight into the wash, follwed by a shower ... it's just become a habit.

We still expect to be 'visited' by covid ... but not to take precautions doesn't seem to make sense.

[Fran57 in reply to ygtgo]

Thanks. Yes, I think it sounds like you have a good routine going.Fran 😉

[bennevisplace in reply to Fran57]

I only wash packaging that has to be in the fridge alongside other stuff. Everything else gets 2 days in quarantine. So far so good.

[Fran57 in reply to bennevisplace]

Thanks for your reply.Yes, we’ve compromised by only wiping down fridge/freezer products, or those we need immediately; the rest is quarantined for a few days.

Stay safe,

Fran 😉

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to Fran57]

We do the same - wipe down fridge/freezer products and things needed immediately, then quarantine the rest for 3 days.

Probably not necessary, but it's become part of our routine when the weekly Tesco delivery arrives. Between hubby and me, it's done in about 20 minutes. Doubt if we manage to wipe every inch, but with the greater infectiousness (is that a word?) of the Delta variant, I think we'll stick with it for now.

Paula

[bennevisplace in reply to PaulaS]

Delta variant is shown to be worse in different ways, see recent post by AussieNeil.

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to bennevisplace]

I skimmed through Neil's post rather quickly and got the general gist rather than specifics. I need to read it again to see what exactly makes Delta more infectious.

Just read it again... Can't see anything about changes to the infectiousness of objects touched by people who might have Covid. But it seems that people with Delta have higher virus levels in their bodies, so one would expect them to be shedding a greater volume of virus and more likely to infect things they breathe on or touch.

"... if people are shedding 1,000 times more virus, it is much more likely that close contacts will be exposed to enough of it to become infected themselves.

And if they’re shedding earlier in the course of their infections, the virus has more opportunity to spread.

This may help explain why Delta is so much more contagious. "

I suppose that applies to people we pass outdoors too. The higher the viral load they're carrying, the more likely we are to catch it from their breath as they pass. It used to be said that a few seconds of passing an infected person outdoors is unlikely to be a problem. Now I'm not so sure.

All very depressing. But it won't stop me going out for country walks, I'll just be more careful to choose non-crowded times and places.

Paula

[bennevisplace in reply to PaulaS]

As chance would have it, we had a plumber in the house today, and a plumber's mate. They arrived earlier than expected, so were strolling around the place talking loudly while I was eating breakfast and feeling quite uneasy after reading Neil's post. Yes the two of them were wearing masks but as usual leaking at the sides and one constantly slipping down over the nose. The plumber's an intelligent young man with a sense of responsibility, and he knows I am vulnerable. For his profession he will have learned about safe working practices at college, but where Covid is concerned, like most people he hasn't soaked up any useful habits beyond the suitable-for-public-consumption thoughts of Chairman Boris, because nobody's told him.

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to bennevisplace]

Sorry about the plumber, Bennevisplace. Did you talk to him about it?

[bennevisplace in reply to PaulaS]

Yes, about keeping his distance. I left ASAP on a dog walk. They are still in the house but I'm staying on a different floor until they've gone.

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to bennevisplace]

Good idea. I'd have done the same (but sadly no dog to take with me nowadays). Can't help but wonder about your choice of avatar name. Do you live near Ben Nevis?

[bennevisplace in reply to PaulaS]

I wouldn't mind living in NW Scotland, but no. It's Ben Nevis Place, my address from way back.

[Fran57 in reply to PaulaS]

Thanks Paula.Good for you… yes, I think we have it down to a fine art… lots of practice! 🤣

Maybe we’re not making much difference but, as you say, so far, so good. To stop now seems to be chancing our luck.

Stay safe,

Fran 😉