Covid-19 - The silver lining (Positives!)

[Oldddudders]

A plant nursery about 30 km away has reopened legitimately. So Alison drove me there this afternoon and I spent some money so she can get my hanging baskets going for the Summer. There are five of them and they perk up the appearance of the house no end. When we arrived there was a masked man (not the Lone Ranger) disinfecting a trolley, which gave confidence. Being driven through lush Spring countryside and several pretty villages is not my idea of hell. Meanwhile her partner was out with several mates making grass silage for his cattle, although his dairy will cease some time this year, as part of the divorce he will seek once lockdown ends. 

[tractionman]

23 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

ADB

 

your “narrow gauge”, what gauge is it?

 

It looks <18” in the photo, so possibly a former miniature line, but it’s not easy to judge gauge without a reference.

 

Former Queen Mary’s Hospital: “While the site was a hospital, a model railway was constructed; evidence of which, can still be seen.[2]”. There are a couple of videos of it in action on YouTube, 10.25” gauge.

 

Could that be it?

 

K

 

very interesting, a bit of inf and some pics here:

 

http://www.tenquarter.org/queen-marys-hospital-railway/

 

cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

[Pete the Elaner]

6 hours ago, Colin said:

I run the odd train from time to time but prefer to spend my available hours actively modelling.

 

I look forward to seeing it.

& if you're talking about your next exhibition layout, I also look forward to wiring it up.

(Yep, I one of the few who likes wiring up layouts...in a way).

[Colin]

10 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

I look forward to seeing it.

& if you're talking about your next exhibition layout, I also look forward to wiring it up.

(Yep, I one of the few who likes wiring up layouts...in a way).

It’s the layout that never leaves home - I can’t start the exhibition layout until the shops are open again!

 

[sir douglas]

a year or 2 ago there was a discussion about how the drop in pollution and the retirement of steam has over many decades seen a rise in the growth of lineside trees and weeds, with the current temporary further drop could we see this being a bumper year of growth

[Dave John]

The seagulls have gone to sea. 

 

I live in the urban west end of Glasgow and over the years the seagulls have become a real pest. I could look out of the window and see dozens at times. They view the big tenements as cliffs, and the streets have been a sea of detritus, carry out food waste dropped by late night revellers and lunching schoolchildren. However with all the pubs and clubs closed and the carry out shops cut back for lunchtime trade the amount of food litter has dropped enormously. Result, no seagull food so they have all gone away.

 

I suppose that it's a silver lining if like me you think that seagulls are a good thing in their place, by the sea. If not , well it is an odd effect of the lockdown thing and worth noting. 

 

 

[Reorte]

1 hour ago, sir douglas said:

a year or 2 ago there was a discussion about how the drop in pollution and the retirement of steam has over many decades seen a rise in the growth of lineside trees and weeds, with the current temporary further drop could we see this being a bumper year of growth

 

Didn't think it was anything to do with pollution holding them back, just less interest in keeping linesides clear post-steam.

[Nearholmer]

https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2436/co2-is-making-earth-greenerfor-now/
 

In short, C02 increases tree growth.

 

There has been more C02 since the sixties, because we burned more fossil fuel since then.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

On ‎24‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 13:07, Nearholmer said:

If the air travel is impacted in the way that some of us clearly expect/hope in the longer term, the adjustment will be very painful for a lot of people, though...

I don't see this being an if, but a given, whatever expectations or hopes folks may have for how the situation develops.

 

First, nothing to do with the airlines, governments will be looking at infection controls for years to come; at least until an effective vaccine is in general use. (Assumption there, an effective vaccine; no guarantee that this will be achieved.) So 'Club Torremeblanco' may not be available at very short notice, if there is an outbreak in either of the home or host countries.

 

That destabilises the whole leisure travel industry, how many bookings have to be cancelled before all the various insurance schemes go under? Or alternatively if the insurers won't take on the risk, how much customer aversion will quickly emerge over lost money?

 

The airlines, and all their infrastructure for leisure travel, are structured around 'pack them in, cut corners'. That's not going to work for a significant proportion of the customer base until Covid is no more of a threat than influenza and the like. So less demand, and higher operating costs if changes to lower density handling of the walking freight, no recirculated cabin air, potentially controls keeping nationalities apart, are implemented. (We might see the emergence of 'Riskitair', 'Easyinfect' and the like: under 40 only, no refunds, and if you catch something, your lookout...)

[Caley 439]

20 minutes ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

I don't see this being an if, but a given, whatever expectations or hopes folks may have for how the situation develops.

 

First, nothing to do with the airlines, governments will be looking at infection controls for years to come; at least until an effective vaccine is in general use. (Assumption there, an effective vaccine; no guarantee that this will be achieved.) So 'Club Torremeblanco' may not be available at very short notice, if there is an outbreak in either of the home or host countries.

 

That destabilises the whole leisure travel industry, how many bookings have to be cancelled before all the various insurance schemes go under? Or alternatively if the insurers won't take on the risk, how much customer aversion will quickly emerge over lost money?

 

The airlines, and all their infrastructure for leisure travel, are structured around 'pack them in, cut corners'. That's not going to work for a significant proportion of the customer base until Covid is no more of a threat than influenza and the like. So less demand, and higher operating costs if changes to lower density handling of the walking freight, no recirculated cabin air, potentially controls keeping nationalities apart, are implemented. (We might see the emergence of 'Riskitair', 'Easyinfect' and the like: under 40 only, no refunds, and if you catch something, your lookout...)

 

Might be good for the home holiday industry though, once things ease a little and people can travel around the country they might realise that there are places around the UK that are good for holidaying.  I'm sure that places like Blackpool will bounce back one way or another anyway.  

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

2 minutes ago, Caley 439 said:

... I'm sure that places like Blackpool will bounce back one way or another anyway.  

If you can organise it so that all the package holiday 'Costa' crowd go there and only there, I'll be cheering loudly.

[Caley 439]

Just now, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

If you can organise it so that all the package holiday 'Costa' crowd go there and only there, I'll be cheering loudly.

 

I usually find they are when I try to navigate my way from North Pier tram stop to the station on a Friday evening or coming back the way on a Sunday night. Maybe that's just where they spend their weekends though? 

[Nearholmer]

18 minutes ago, Caley 439 said:

Might be good for the home holiday industry though, once things ease a little and people can travel around the country they might realise that there are places around the UK that are good for holidaying. 

But, people do that already, and many places are already surprisingly overcrowded at popular times as a result.

 

Unless school holidays were staggered across the country, everyone holidaying at home in the UK wouldn’t necessarily be a joy to participate in.

 

 

[jjb1970]

I am guessing many hotels, restaurants and attractions would dread staycation becoming the norm and losing those big spending visitors from Asia and the US.

[Ozexpatriate]

Somehow The Seekers "A world of our own" has failed to be the anthem of stay home, stay safe in the present emergency. (A silver lining there. ) Perhaps it just needs more airtime?

[Reorte]

2 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

But, people do that already, and many places are already surprisingly overcrowded at popular times as a result.

 

Unless school holidays were staggered across the country, everyone holidaying at home in the UK wouldn’t necessarily be a joy to participate in.

FInding accommodation at popular times at the sort of place people want to go to for holidays  (mostly times when people actually have the chance) within the UK isn't easy.

[EddieB]

Just finished watching a Star Trek movie, to look outside and see a beautiful clear night sky.  A crescent moon flanked by a super bright Venus.

 

On a night like this, the reality is better than the fiction!

[monkeysarefun]

The rental market in some popular tourist cities here was really struggling due to investors buying housing, kicking out the tenants  and renting them out short-term as Air BnB to overseas and interstate tourists. Hobart in Tassie was particularly hard-hit, its rents inrceased out of sight of many locals and there was a huge housing shortage with a tent city springing up on the showground.

.

Now with the country in lockdown and  the drawbridge likely to be up for at least 12 months, these same investors are rushing their homes back onto the rental market and begging real estate agents to find them medium term tenants.

Problem is now with so many losing their jobs the rental market as a whole has collapsed, inquiries are down 80% in a month and rents are going down too.

 

Not sure what the positives are now I've typed this out, other than at least the housing shortage seems to have been fixed!

[The Johnster]

Housing investors are losing out and rents are going down; sounds like a positive to me!

[Nearholmer]

Like air-travel, and actually linked to it through AirBnB, something that could well do with withering.

[Pete the Elaner]

6 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Housing investors are losing out and rents are going down; sounds like a positive to me!

 

I agree.

House prices have also been increasing more than wages for many years, which I believe is unsustainable.

Many house owners see rising prices as a good thing, but what will they do when the sell? Most will buy a more expensive house.

[Reorte]

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

Many house owners see rising prices as a good thing, but what will they do when the sell? Most will buy a more expensive house.

 

Quite. You'll only gain from them if you downsize.

 

Although I hate building everywhere I'm definitely of the opinion that the only people who should be making money from houses are builders (and associated trades).

[Nick C]

3 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

I agree.

House prices have also been increasing more than wages for many years, which I believe is unsustainable.

Many house owners see rising prices as a good thing, but what will they do when the sell? Most will buy a more expensive house.

IMHO the best thing for house prices is for them to stagnate. That way rising wages gradually make them more affordable for new buyers, without ruining the millions of homeowners with mortgages.

 

Falling prices will only benefit those with enough money to buy outright (i.e. the speculators), as the banks will demand bigger mortgage deposits to make sure they don't lose out (they're already doing so because of the current uncertainty)

 

[APOLLO]

On 25/03/2020 at 00:56, Dava said:

Populist govts on both sides of the Atlantic have been unable to respond effectively. Their credibility is shot.

 

We see certain 'business leaders' in their self serving greedy true light: Tim Martin of Wetherspoons being just one. 

 

The economy has to take second place to the health & wellbeing of the people.

 

The environment has a breathing space.

 

We have time to think and don't want to go back to how it was.

 

Dava

 

 Not saying you're wrong but what about the millions worldwide without jobs in the brave new world of tomorrow (or more like it next year onwards) ? , aviation, tourism etc.

 

20% of Thailands GDP is tourism - now gone and will take a while to start - and then will probably never back to it's former level. What will these millions with jobs gone do ?. Same in many other countries - Spain etc.

 

Anyway, this "sad" guy is certainly enjoying his self !!

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-sussex-52487203/eastbourne-man-builds-railway-in-his-garden

 

The environment IS a silver lining, bordered all round by the dark clouds of unemployment and all the pain that brings.

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

[The Johnster]

15 hours ago, APOLLO said:

We see certain 'business leaders' in their self serving greedy true light: Tim Martin of Wetherspoons being just one. 

 

I've never been in any doubt about Tim Martin.  A waste of planetary resources, shouldn't be given the oxygen of oxygen never mind publicity.  Elon Musk has been thoroughly exposed as what he always was as well; amazing the people you come across when you've left your baseball bat at home, isn't it?