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Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: arobwk on January 21, 2021, 12:34:31 am

Title: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 21, 2021, 12:34:31 am
Any thoughts on the subject question ? 

(And how many Cornish pasties or portions of fish & chips will the G7 attendees consume I wonder !?  "Mr Biden, Sir - sorry to keep you waiting in the queue;  would you like vinegar on your order and would you also like to add mushy peas?" ...  "Well, I reckon vinegar would be OK, but I'm a little concerned about anything considered to be mushy right now so I guess I'll pass on the peas to avoid giving the media something to play with." ) 
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Fleecewife on January 21, 2021, 01:52:08 am



Why not?
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Rosemary on January 21, 2021, 08:58:35 am
I'm not sure what a G7 Conference entails, but is Cornwall's infrastructure able to cope?
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: doganjo on January 21, 2021, 12:19:42 pm
I even wonder about Glasgow's ability to cope with the climate change one  :innocent:  does Glasgow know what climate change is?  :excited: :excited: :excited: :excited:
(I'm half Glaswegian by the way  ;D)
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 21, 2021, 11:03:54 pm
Why not?

While I sort of agree about "why not", I also believe Cornwall has had quite enough media coverage in recent times.  One of the hot topics at the mo' is the continuing and EVER INCREASING/RELENTLESS number of nationwide enquires about homes for sale here.  Thankfully, at least one Cornish estate agent is now rejecting enquires from anyone looking for a 2nd-home (as opposed to a new main residence) during lock-down !!

Excuse me, but we don't need "you" buying up our homes and we definitely don't need "you" bringing your Covid infection with you (across the country) just to view a potential 2nd-home !!


And now we (in particular, the Penwith peninsula) will suffer further global exposure while places like St Ives (Carbis Bay) have already had to introduce by-laws preventing new homes becoming 2nd-homes to ensure at least some locals are still able to live there !!! >:(


Joe Biden "Boris, would it be possible to meet with a Cornish person with a proper (ha!) Cornish accent ?" ... "Well, Joe, I can't promise, but there are still a few old codgers calling in to Radio Cornwall so the great BBC might be able to help us find a real one somewhere in this neck of the woods for you to talk to."
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Fleecewife on January 21, 2021, 11:29:48 pm



I do see your point.  Perhaps Leicestershire or Norfolk would have been better and could do with the publicity.  Even 49 years ago when we visited Cornwall on our honeymoon, we were horrified at how crowded the tiny, high-banked lanes were and I know it's many times worse now.  The thought of a giant mega-carriageway going right through the middle to relieve congestion doesn't bear thinking about, so perhaps don't complain too loudly  :o
I love the idea of Cornwall because one of my Grandfathers came from there (I think a small village called Trevenna) and it sounds so romatic, but because of the crowds I think I shall never visit again.  It would be lovely to live there for the great growing conditions in some areas, but truly we are in Scotland to stay, my husband's native country, so just keep your crowds down there  :roflanim:   :coat:
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Rosemary on January 22, 2021, 07:21:00 am
I wish Scotland would do a bit (lot) more about second homes and letting properties.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Fleecewife on January 22, 2021, 12:34:59 pm
I wish Scotland would do a bit (lot) more about second homes and letting properties.


Yes and that's a problem about opening up the Highlands to small farmers - Scotland would have to have legislation in place first that they could not become second homes.  Wales in the '70s had huge problems with second homes, which protesters burned down.  It shows the depth of feeling, and I'm sure those in Cornwall feel as strongly, but really nowhere needs the disruption caused by protest.  Why do people need second homes, which stand empty for large parts of the year? Even time share is better than that (possibly), although it's still taking away affordable housing from those who work locally and want to live near their work.  In a way we feel like newcomers here, even though we only moved about 30 miles down the road from Edinburgh 25 years ago and are definitely here for the long haul. I was originally English until I married a Scot at 20, and I have lived here for far longer than most native born Scots, if you think about it (me being a bit ancient and all)
I was born and grew up in Norfolk and we went through a similar thing in the 60s and 70s, with people moving out from London and buying up every house in Norfolk, so local folk couldn't afford to buy anywhere. They brought money with them, renovated all the old housing, drove big fat cars and filled the rural schools to overflowing.  Then the money went and suddenly we noticed (as visitors to rellies by then) that the previously renovated houses were starting to look dilapidated, no-one had bought a new car for years so there were plenty of old bangers around, and the local population was by then made up of the children of those previous immigrants, for whom Norfolk was by then home (minus the true Norfolk accent, which has become a sort of London-cum-Norfolk mish-mash).  Currently I think Peterborough has become the new New Town for East Anglia with easy access from London via the A1.
So it's all a repeating pattern which different parts of the country experience at different times and to different extents.
I am sorry Cornwall is getting it all now and I hope G7 isn't the last straw.
In fact I think that as far as Scotland goes, many of the true incomers, as opposed to second home owners, have brought new life and a good work ethic to the country, to replace all those who left for America in the 'brain drain'.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 22, 2021, 02:19:05 pm
In general I find that Cornwall residents recognise the region's dependancy on tourism and are very welcoming of incomers, second homers and tourists alike.

The first lockdown caused angst with second home owners coming down from places with far higher infection rates to do their lockdown at the country cottage.  It wasn't the people per se who were not welcome, it was any disease they might bring with them, and a fear that our (frankly rather paltry) medical infrastructure could soon be overwhelmed if incoming second home owners then required hospitalisation.

Yes there is always the downside of the inflated house prices when city folks are buying second homes in rural places.  Over the years there have been adjustments in how Council Tax is handled on second homes, which helps, and most multiple dwelling developments will be required to include a number of "affordable homes".  Some schemes include restrictions on occupancy of same to people who have lived locally for some years.  There is a lot more to do in all of these areas (which is becoming harder with the current central government's attachment to reduced planning intervention) but the situation is considerably better than it was 30 years ago.

As to G7 coming to Cornwall, I have assumed that it will bring welcome publicity to the stunningly beautiful area, income to our beleaguered hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions, and also provide a topical backdrop to any discussions the G7 may have about fishing, rural issues, etc etc. 

I am guessing they will be flying in and out of Newquay, so will have minimal impact on our highways infrastructure.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Rosemary on January 22, 2021, 04:16:48 pm
In my mind there's a difference between a house bought as letting properties that are occupied maybe 40 / 45 weks of the year and what I would call a second home, which is occupied by one or two families for a few weeks and weekends through the year. Of course this has been the scourge of Scotland (well, maybe one of them) for centuries as the aristos left their London abodes for the shooting in August for a few months until the London Season began. Still goes on.

We're thankfully starting to build more genuine social housing but we have a huge catch up to make. WE couldbuild fewer houses if folk just had one.

Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 22, 2021, 08:21:22 pm
In my mind there's a difference between a house bought as letting properties that are occupied maybe 40 / 45 weks of the year and what I would call a second home, which is occupied by one or two families for a few weeks and weekends through the year. Of course this has been the scourge of Scotland (well, maybe one of them) for centuries as the aristos left their London abodes for the shooting in August for a few months until the London Season began. Still goes on.

We're thankfully starting to build more genuine social housing but we have a huge catch up to make. WE couldbuild fewer houses if folk just had one.


Re lettings:  helps much if the letter is local and spending ill-earned gains in the local area;  not so good if the letter is spending their rental income remotely in say London, France or Spain etc. 
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: harmony on January 22, 2021, 09:45:21 pm
It's easy to forget that when "the locals" sold their family homes they didn't ask if the buyer was going to live there. They just thanked them for the money.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 22, 2021, 09:47:08 pm
It's easy to forget that when "the locals" sold their family homes they didn't ask if the buyer was going to live there. They just thanked them for the money.

Actually, many do, and won't sell to people who aren't planning on becoming participative in the local community.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Vile Traveller on January 22, 2021, 11:41:44 pm
I'm not sure what a G7 Conference entails, but is Cornwall's infrastructure able to cope?
Should be ideal, the delegates can fly in while protestors will have trouble getting there overland.  :thinking:
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: harmony on January 22, 2021, 11:46:36 pm
If many do then why is it that so many places have a high percentage of second homes and holiday lets and all the associated, well documented issues of the problems that creates?


Also what someone tells you and what happens in reality are two different things. On my lane, 7 properties, two were sold to people who said they would be living here. Twenty years on and they still don't live here. Both holiday lets.


In the village there are many second home owners who are participative in the local community but only when they are here  :thinking:  They are also the ones who protested the loudest when there was applications to build affordable houses for local people.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Fleecewife on January 23, 2021, 12:26:35 am

.... for centuries as the aristos left their London abodes for the shooting in August for a few months until the London Season began.


 


Strictly speaking, they were first homes and the London ones were the second homes, as most folk with a country seat, in Scotland or England, only spent part of the year there to make sure the rents were coming in, then headed for the bright lights.  Many had a third home in Bath or Brighton.  Today it's just worked its way down the social scale, so far more people want second homes of a size which are meant for ordinary people to live in, not mansions in Mayfair
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 23, 2021, 01:48:42 pm
If many do then why is it that so many places have a high percentage of second homes and holiday lets and all the associated, well documented issues of the problems that creates?


Because not all do.  And because the same conditions don't necessarily get passed on to the next buyer.  And because life happens. And also yes, because some buyers lie.


In the village there are many second home owners who are participative in the local community but only when they are here  :thinking:  They are also the ones who protested the loudest when there was applications to build affordable houses for local people.

Hrmph.  No doubt because they think affordable housing nearby will devalue their own properties.  (It won't, but one almost hopes it does! lol.)  People do love to write an angry letter, but at the end of the day, you have to have specific grounds to make a successful objection against a planning application.  So all they are doing is exposing their real selves to the local population - not necessarily the wisest course of action ;)
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Fleecewife on January 23, 2021, 05:39:27 pm
If many do then why is it that so many places have a high percentage of second homes and holiday lets and all the associated, well documented issues of the problems that creates?


Because not all do.  And because the same conditions don't necessarily get passed on to the next buyer.  And because life happens. And also yes, because some buyers lie.


In the village there are many second home owners who are participative in the local community but only when they are here  :thinking:  They are also the ones who protested the loudest when there was applications to build affordable houses for local people.

Hrmph.  No doubt because they think affordable housing nearby will devalue their own properties.  (It won't, but one almost hopes it does! lol.)  People do love to write an angry letter, but at the end of the day, you have to have specific grounds to make a successful objection against a planning application.  So all they are doing is exposing their real selves to the local population - not necessarily the wisest course of action ;)

They may be objecting because new-build houses DO change the nature of the locality.  Round here there is a planning habit of giving permission for a group of three new-build houses next to one or two existing dwellings.  But the design of these houses is far more suitable for town houses, so we now have a whole host of mini blots on the landscape, town-type houses with townie-in-the-country big 4x4s parked in the driveways - at night of course because they've driven to work in the day, to overfill the car parks in town which are sized for town cars.
Our neighbours up the road wanted something more in the vernacular when they built their new house and they really had to fight hard to get it - the initial PP was for the usual 3 x town-houses whereas they wanted a family home which looked as if it had always been there.  It's taking a while to blend in, but at least it looks the part.  Down the road on the other hand we have a row of 60s bungalows, the fashion at the time - they will never blend in.
So objections to new-builds is not necessarily NIMBYism.  And at what point [member=10673]SallyintNorth[/member] will you allow newcomers to be 'locals'?  We have been here for 25 years, but we don't feel local (in spite of Mr F having been born and bred just 30 miles up the road); you have been there even less time, but you seem to see yourself as  local.  Round here you can be considered local if you or your children went to the local High School, or if you can cite other locals as your cousins/uncles/sisters/fathers. Perhaps there are subdivisions in localness within that definition but really the whole idea of being local is fairly farcical and medieval - we all live on earth, we're all Jock Tamson's bairns, isn't that enough?

I do understand the whole problem, but everyone wants to live somewhere, and is each person in the wrong for wanting to live somewhere beautiful? You should hear me, or perhaps not, when I get stuck in a standing queue heading up towards the Highlands, but why shouldn't everyone else be heading that way too?  We have to learn to share, we have to build houses suitable for everyone, but it should be done with sensitivity to style and price.  Second homes?  I find that just greedy
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: harmony on January 23, 2021, 07:51:33 pm
If many do then why is it that so many places have a high percentage of second homes and holiday lets and all the associated, well documented issues of the problems that creates?


Because not all do.  And because the same conditions don't necessarily get passed on to the next buyer.  And because life happens. And also yes, because some buyers lie.


I think the answer is because most sell to the highest bidder regardless of whether they intend to live fulltime in the property or not. Very often properties are sold after parents die and families are already settled elsewhere and they no longer/or never did have roots in that location and the local issues aren't theirs.


I am sure that there are people who take a firm stance on who can buy their house but I think they are few and far between.


In the village there are many second home owners who are participative in the local community but only when they are here  :thinking:  They are also the ones who protested the loudest when there was applications to build affordable houses for local people.

Hrmph.  No doubt because they think affordable housing nearby will devalue their own properties.  (It won't, but one almost hopes it does! lol.)  People do love to write an angry letter, but at the end of the day, you have to have specific grounds to make a successful objection against a planning application.  So all they are doing is exposing their real selves to the local population - not necessarily the wisest course of action ;)


It isn't only second home owners who object to affordable housing projects.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: harmony on January 23, 2021, 08:03:22 pm
 


They may be objecting because new-build houses DO change the nature of the locality.  Round here there is a planning habit of giving permission for a group of three new-build houses next to one or two existing dwellings.  But the design of these houses is far more suitable for town houses, so we now have a whole host of mini blots on the landscape, town-type houses with townie-in-the-country big 4x4s parked in the driveways - at night of course because they've driven to work in the day, to overfill the car parks in town which are sized for town cars.
Our neighbours up the road wanted something more in the vernacular when they built their new house and they really had to fight hard to get it - the initial PP was for the usual 3 x town-houses whereas they wanted a family home which looked as if it had always been there.  It's taking a while to blend in, but at least it looks the part.  Down the road on the other hand we have a row of 60s bungalows, the fashion at the time - they will never blend in.
So objections to new-builds is not necessarily NIMBYism.  And at what point [member=10673]SallyintNorth[/member] will you allow newcomers to be 'locals'?  We have been here for 25 years, but we don't feel local (in spite of Mr F having been born and bred just 30 miles up the road); you have been there even less time, but you seem to see yourself as  local.  Round here you can be considered local if you or your children went to the local High School, or if you can cite other locals as your cousins/uncles/sisters/fathers. Perhaps there are subdivisions in localness within that definition but really the whole idea of being local is fairly farcical and medieval - we all live on earth, we're all Jock Tamson's bairns, isn't that enough?

I do understand the whole problem, but everyone wants to live somewhere, and is each person in the wrong for wanting to live somewhere beautiful? You should hear me, or perhaps not, when I get stuck in a standing queue heading up towards the Highlands, but why shouldn't everyone else be heading that way too?  We have to learn to share, we have to build houses suitable for everyone, but it should be done with sensitivity to style and price.  Second homes?  I find that just greedy



They object for many reasons. As Sally said they think their property prices might be affected. They might lose their view or the place will be busier, noisier, different. The same worries affect residents too.


I don't have a problem with second home owners or holiday lets. If you have enough money to invest in a second home why shouldn't you? Holiday lets create a lot of employment. The key is balance and the right development in the right place on the right scale.



Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 23, 2021, 10:15:36 pm
I have found Cornwall most welcoming and inclusive.  If you live here - don't have a home somewhere else - then you are a local. 

It did not feel like that in Cumbria, which is not to say that people weren't warm, friendly, helpful and welcoming - but you always felt like an incomer.

Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 24, 2021, 12:27:35 am
A mini extract from Harmony's last post - "The key is balance ..."
And the problem is that there is insufficient balancing being done by LAs:  more by-laws please.  Half a village-worth of 2nd homes and holiday lets is not a community!!  (There are increasing numbers of half villages - even half towns - here.)

Too many people with too much money and too many people with not enough !  Maybe that's where we need to do some balancing ?  Maybe the G7 could discuss that !!
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: harmony on January 24, 2021, 09:11:37 am
A mini extract from Harmony's last post - "The key is balance ..."
And the problem is that there is insufficient balancing being done by LAs:  more by-laws please.  Half a village-worth of 2nd homes and holiday lets is not a community!!  (There are increasing numbers of half villages - even half towns - here.)

Too many people with too much money and too many people with not enough !  Maybe that's where we need to do some balancing ?  Maybe the G7 could discuss that !!


You can't take housing stock back but there is opportunity for building houses at an appropriate scale in communities to bring back and keep residents and it is happening here at varying degrees.


LA's also need to lobby for second homes owners to pay full council taxes.


Not only has the resident status in places changed but we have lost supporting services such as shops and schools so with increases in permanent residency there would have to be investment in services.


As for balancing the gap between low and high incomes you can increase minimum wages and increase higher tax bands but there is always going to be those who have more than others. It's not a crime to work hard and be successful.


In our village we too have had the 50/50 split with residents and second homes and it does affect community and services.


Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Vile Traveller on January 24, 2021, 04:31:43 pm
Too many people with too much money and too many people with not enough !  Maybe that's where we need to do some balancing ?  Maybe the G7 could discuss that !!
Oh, they discuss that every time they meet. And have a good laugh about it over drinks afterwards.  :roflanim:

Second homes are a tricky issue, and governments seem unable to come up with workable direct interventions. The Welsh council tax surcharge is a case in point - now second-home owners just register them as businesses. Local councils end up with no council tax instead of double, and the business rates go straight to Westminster never to be seen again.

There's no point blaming buyers, because we all want the best deal for our money. You can't blame sellers, either, because it's hard to say no to hundreds of thousands of pounds. The only way to prevent the syndrome is to have decent local employment so that locals can compete against the richest house buyers in the country. That might work in London, but if you happen to be a very beautiful part of the country there will always be millionaires looking to buy a piece of you.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 24, 2021, 05:03:29 pm

LA's also need to lobby for second homes owners to pay full council taxes.


It is up to each Council whether they give a discount or not.  Cornwall charge full whack for all dwellings, and has done so for 7 or 8 years.  The only discount available is 25% for single person occupancy.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: doganjo on January 24, 2021, 06:02:01 pm

LA's also need to lobby for second homes owners to pay full council taxes.


It is up to each Council whether they give a discount or not.  Cornwall charge full whack for all dwellings, and has done so for 7 or 8 years.  The only discount available is 25% for single person occupancy.

Obviously second properties for let are different becasue the resident pays the  council tax, but generally in Scotland anyway, if you have two homes you pay council tax on both unless you live on your own in which case you get 25% discount on your main residence, and possibly a small discount on the second, but it's up to each council

 "For Council Tax purposes, a second home is a property which is no-one's main residence but which is occupied for at least 25 days a year. Each council has discretion to apply a discount of between 10% and 50% on second homes, or may choose to apply no discount."
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 28, 2021, 08:18:57 pm
I wonder what the Queen pays on her 2nd homes ?  (I'm not meaning to be provocative and I'm not a republican, but I do wonder sometimes how much the Crown Estate must have to pay in Council Tax - must be a huge amount for a Band X rating valuation !! ??  :)  Is there a Band X valuation rating actually ?)
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 28, 2021, 08:39:40 pm
I'm not sure what a G7 Conference entails, but is Cornwall's infrastructure able to cope?
Should be ideal, the delegates can fly in while protestors will have trouble getting there overland.  :thinking:

Thankfully I have 2 relatively easy alternative routes to my fields that avoid the A30 !
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on January 28, 2021, 09:03:44 pm
I have found Cornwall most welcoming and inclusive.  If you live here - don't have a home somewhere else - then you are a local. 

It did not feel like that in Cumbria, which is not to say that people weren't warm, friendly, helpful and welcoming - but you always felt like an incomer.


I'm glad you feel that SiN;  unfortunately I predict Cornish folk will not be quite so friendly to obvious outsiders in quite near time and onwards.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 28, 2021, 09:05:19 pm
Quote from: Metro
The Queen pays £1,337.62 per year in council tax for Buckingham Palace as she falls into valuation band H.

Windsor Castle also commands a hefty sum in council levy meaning the Queen forks out £2365.16 for the property annually.

Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire commands £2460.78 in council tax as the property is again listed in Valuation Band H along with the rest of her properties.

Sandringham estate in Norfolk sees the Queen pay £3,033.2 in council tax making her council tax payments come to a collected £9,167.76 annually.


Article dated Nov 2017.

I am struggling to see how sums such as these are justifiable on palaces, castles and mansions, when a Band A property (ie, very tiny!) in Cornwall costs around £1,000 pa  ???  (And has done for the last 5 years at least)
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: doganjo on January 29, 2021, 12:15:36 pm
Quote
The Queen pays £1,337.62 per year in council tax for Buckingham Palace
WHAT!!!!!!!!!

It should be per day not per bloody year!!!!  What a scam!  She pays less than me in my little bungalow in Central Scotland
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: Rupert the bear on January 29, 2021, 06:28:21 pm
Quote
The Queen pays £1,337.62 per year in council tax for Buckingham Palace
WHAT!!!!!!!!!

It should be per day not per bloody year!!!!  What a scam!  She pays less than me in my little bungalow in Central Scotland

That was in 2008/9     13 years ago
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 29, 2021, 10:50:36 pm
Quote
The Queen pays £1,337.62 per year in council tax for Buckingham Palace
WHAT!!!!!!!!!

It should be per day not per bloody year!!!!  What a scam!  She pays less than me in my little bungalow in Central Scotland

That was in 2008/9     13 years ago

Nope, the Metro article I quoted was dated Nov 2017. 

Unless you have a better source? 
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: doganjo on January 30, 2021, 12:50:29 pm
The Metro newspaper is the one given out on all trains -

https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/06/does-the-queen-pay-taxes-and-how-much-does-it-cost-her-7056752/#:~:text=The%20Queen%20pays%20%C2%A31%2C337.62,2365.16%20for%20the%20property%20annually.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on June 28, 2021, 08:29:23 pm
One Cornish expert says the massive increase in Covid in Cornwall is NOT due to the G7 summit while another national expert says it is.  Whatever one's view, G7 venues were in the Falmouth and St Ives clusters which have some of the very highest case rates/100k behind the leading clusters around Newquay (a very common destination for younger tourists).  Leading Newquay cluster has 837.5 cases/100k. (You might like to compare that to where you live to see why there is much concern here.)

Whereas just weeks ago Cornwall was actually covid-cluster free (!!!), now only 12 Cornish data cluster areas out of 73 have no cases presently !  And we haven't reached peak holiday season yet, which, judging by the traffic already and numbers of people in super-markets etc, is going to be absolutely horrendous.

I am pleased that 18 yr-olds can now book a jab and there are plenty of drop-in vaccination centres with queues of mainly young people - great!  But if you (poor you) are heading in our direction over the summer, do take care because social distancing isn't really being adhered to:  there is a complacency - "I've paid through the nose for my staycation and I'm going to just get on with it" - in the air along with the virus. 
Accomm' providers have really hiked their prices for the covid-staycation market and, stupidly in my humble opinion, folk are paying thousands per week to stay here.  Hope they don't mind the crowds on the beaches and where-ever, or the traffic jams.  Enjoy your stay if you can, but you might wish to think more carefully next year about your staycation destination !!  Lol 
Please also take a test before you travel:  if you or family member test positive it will obviously b****r up your holiday plan, but we don't need any more carriers thanks - we have obviously provided hospitality to quite enough carriers already. 

 :gloomy: :fc: 
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on July 22, 2021, 05:47:42 pm
Cornwall covid update - if you are still coming here for a summer break DO NOT go to Newquay if you can avoid:  highest of the Newquay clusters covid rates is presently 1,184/100k. That's one in 84.5 peop's (no doubt with so many others undetected) who have been potentially/actually wandering around with covid-19 on your campsite, in your hotel, next to you on the (very) crowded beach, in the pub/restaurant or in the supermarket !!  Take care and please do still wear a mask in crowds/shops - thanks.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: chrismahon on July 22, 2021, 06:32:15 pm
Just remember the Queen is paid by us to do a job, so if her Council Tax is cheap we pay less. Tourism pays her salary but Brexit may make the Soverinty a liability?


If you follow the guidelines you will be safe I thought. But here the distancing has gone to pot. So double jabbed (Pfizer) and after a trip to the supermarket, trying to avoid the people pushing past me, I think I may have caught Covid. The same symptoms as the side effects of the original jab, but far more severe- sore throat, runny nose, cough that gave me brain pain, totally spaced out to the extent I didn't really know what I was doing. On the bright side my arm didn't hurt. Ok two weeks later, just about fine I think, but the air quality is terrible now because of the wind now from the East, so that will give a sore throat and a cough.


It's going crazy here with the Delta variant and some areas are locking down. Take care everyone.
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on July 22, 2021, 07:54:03 pm
Glad to hear your arm didn't hurt chrismahon !
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on July 25, 2021, 12:38:28 am
Broadcasting live from West Kernow -  "This local Derby is really hotting up with Newquay West (1229/100k) unbelievably now pipping Newquay East (1204/100k) on covid counts.  Previously Newquay East held the record at a lower 1,184, but Newquay West's defending has obviously been tested and they have just not been able to fend off the onslaught of covid carriers compared to N East.  But their scores are still close and all to play for in this taught local Derby with August looming."
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on July 25, 2021, 10:12:37 pm
Humble pie !  Painton friend has just updated me on Torbay, Devon covid stat's - 5,009/100k.  Yikes - makes Newquay, Cornwall look like a quarantine ward !
Title: Re: G7 2021 - why Cornwall ?
Post by: arobwk on September 07, 2021, 04:33:49 pm
A Cornwall covid story:
This is the gist of a Cornish covid story told to me by a gardening client who works in a Cornish medical centre:
 
 I'm not sure if the telephone caller was calling 101 or the Med Centre itself, but no real matter - Caller "I'm really not well" ... "OK, but firstly to say Sir that you will need a covid test" ... "No need, I had one in London on Wednesday and tested positive" ...  "Then you should have self-isolated, not travel" ... "But I was coming to Cornwall and planning to just sit on the beach"
 
 So that's why SW England is now pretty much Covid Central with our local health system pretty much busted and why so many others cannot receive other essential LIFE-SAVING medical treatments in time !!
 >:( >:(