Hopefully we will all come out the other side of this horrible situation in good health. I am doing ok and I am happy to help others where possible.

Edited By Ian Skeldon 2 on 20/03/2020 20:30:02

Our attached next door neigbours have never been on our friendly list, mainly because of their young elephants, sorry sons, we pass the time of day but thats about it until yesterday when i felt old and humbled after reading a note pushed through the letter box from the mother offering to do shopping and anything else we needed, sometimes the best comes out when you least expect it.

Martin P

I've had two notes though my door, with offer of help a phone call away. One was from next-door-but one but the other from a lady living right down at the end of the street, who must have canvassed everyone. Either that or she knows me better than I know her.

Could be she's a member of the WI so has met me at their monthly public coffee-mornings – I must ask my neighbour!

Nick, didn't that defeat the object of letting the aged folks in first ??? OK if your family are "health workers" and can't get to the shops. Tell the family to tear up newspaper like we used to do and hang it on the back of the bog door on a piece of string!

I agree that newspaper is a good alternative to toilet paper, BUT dont flush it down the toilet after use, bag and bin it. Same goes for the use of hand tissues, wet wipes, kitchen roll, or in our community blue workshop roll. Toilet paper is formulated to quickly pulp in water, other papers dont. Last thing we need in these troubled times is for our sewage system to be clogged up by a sudden surge of of the wrong kind of paper. You local water providers will have a list of do not flush items on their web sites.

Not sure about how septic systems would cope, but earth closets would be okay.

Who remembers the shiny rolls with each sheet marked "GOVERNMENT PROPERTY", horrid stuff.

Edited By Mike Woods 1 on 21/03/2020 09:23:48

I am a carer for a disabled wife , I suffer from COPD after pneumonia and have really been amazed at the offers of help (via phone and email ) that I have recieved in the last couple of weeks. Many thanks to those caring neighbors.

John, (founder member of the grumpy old gits society).

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Here in NZ, things haven't really taken off with a vengeance. Yet. Neighbours opposite have just returned from two weeks somewhere in Africa with their children. They are self-isolating, as advised. However, granny, who lives locally, is being helpful, seeing the kids, etc.. Her car has been outside for hours on several days…

Living truly isolated is going to be exceptionally difficult. Please try to be a bit more intelligent than our neighbours.

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 22/03/2020 22:59:24

I have a good friend who thinks this current problem is nothing to do with him, he and his wife have just been to Dorset last week for a break, yesterday they spent the day with his Daughter and her family and couldnt understand why our Daughter and her family and us have decided to stay apart.

Martin P

Mike Woods1 – Government Property toilet paper was standard issue for the Services. It had qualities unlke any other and would have easily substituted for 600 grit sandpaper. One of the peculiarities was that each sheet contained a small printed square in one corner. Crew room chat pondered on this for a while until one wag suggested that it was included so that Civil Servants could use it to put a tick mark to indicate it had been used!!

The non-Government version was Izal – similar quality!

The particular advantage of using newsprint is that it is serving its most appropriate function!

rgds

Bill

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