Coronavirus for the Elderly Motorhomer

[StuartO]

My daughter, an experienced user of supermarket dliveries, explained to me that the normal way to use the system is to book delivery slots well in advance and in sequence, so that you get regular deliveries and can avoid over-ordering - so one every fortnight or so, as you need.

 

It makes sense except that the supermarket delivery service (prior to coronavirus) only served about 7% of the population and now many more of us need to use it. Same principle of planning ahead is even more necessary now because you cannot expect to book slots easily. So book a slot when you can and then build your shopping list thoughtfully as you approach the date, buying enough to last you until the next slot, which you probably need to have already booked.

 

If you do all that you will keep yourself fed without over-using the service or hoarding stuff unnecessarily.

[jumpstart]

StuartO - 2020-03-21 10:19 AM

 

My daughter, an experienced user of supermarket dliveries, explained to me that the normal way to use the system is to book delivery slots well in advance and in sequence, so that you get regular deliveries and can avoid over-ordering - so one every fortnight or so, as you need.

 

It makes sense except that the supermarket delivery service (prior to coronavirus) only served about 7% of the population and now many more of us need to use it. Same principle of planning ahead is even more necessary now because you cannot expect to book slots easily. So book a slot when you can and then build your shopping list thoughtfully as you approach the date, buying enough to last you until the next slot, which you probably need to have already booked.

 

If you do all that you will keep yourself fed without over-using the service or hoarding stuff unnecessarily.

 

Thats all very well except sites crash, and several are full here for next three weeks and you can’t book ahead of three weeks.

[StuartO]

jumpstart - 2020-03-21 10:52 AM

Thats all very well except sites crash, and several are full here for next three weeks and you can’t book ahead of three weeks.

 

True at the moment, but Sainsburys are supposed to be introducing a priority system for older/vulnerable from Monday and maybe the other s will too. And all our local food shops have started offering deliveries and our neighbours and relatives are offering to shopfor us. Got to keep trying for delivery slots and to accept help when it's offered. Best you can do. If push comes to shove I suppose you have to go shopping.

[Barryd999]

If anyone is seriously low on toilet roll because of idiots hoarding it what you might be able to do is buy commercial jumbo rolls online. The kind that go in pub loos. They wont be needing them now and a quick google shows plenty of suppliers with stock. PIA to deal with outside a dispenser but better than dock leaves. (lol)

 

Apparently sewers are the next thing at risk as people are putting all sorts down them. Doesnt bear thinking about what that could lead to.

[Bulletguy]

Will86 - 2020-03-21 10:09 AM

 

Bulletguy

 

But you don't seem to understand that that by booking 2 slot extra you are (potentially) preventing two people from buying food ...and how smart is that ?

Will.......all i am doing is shopping ahead in exactly the same manner as people book their holidays often one year in advance which is never questioned. Try booking a holiday at your favourite Hotel, guest house, caravan park or whatever at the last minute and you'll be lucky to find anything because all the rooms/caravans got booked up the previous year.

 

I live alone and due to personal circumstances been unable to do my 'normal' weekly shop by driving to the supermarket and purchasing in-store, so been using online delivery since November. Yes i have a very good neighbour who would willingly shop for me but i'm trying to be as independent as possible.

 

What Stuarts daughter told him is absolutely 100% spot on and she has it right. I had hoped by sharing my experience of 'how to' (online shop) it would at least enable others to benefit. Forward planning doesn't prevent anyone else from buying food as they can do exactly the same.

[Bulletguy]

jumpstart - 2020-03-21 10:52 AM

 

StuartO - 2020-03-21 10:19 AM

 

My daughter, an experienced user of supermarket dliveries, explained to me that the normal way to use the system is to book delivery slots well in advance and in sequence, so that you get regular deliveries and can avoid over-ordering - so one every fortnight or so, as you need.

 

It makes sense except that the supermarket delivery service (prior to coronavirus) only served about 7% of the population and now many more of us need to use it. Same principle of planning ahead is even more necessary now because you cannot expect to book slots easily. So book a slot when you can and then build your shopping list thoughtfully as you approach the date, buying enough to last you until the next slot, which you probably need to have already booked.

 

If you do all that you will keep yourself fed without over-using the service or hoarding stuff unnecessarily.

 

Thats all very well except sites crash, and several are full here for next three weeks and you can’t book ahead of three weeks.

J/start.....the day i mentioned Morrisons site hadn't crashed, it did! Karma i suppose eh?! :-D

 

But if it's any help, the best time to access is as late as possible. I got back into Morrisons website the same day around 2300hr to edit my order. You just have to be patient but persistent.

[Geeco]

Derek Uzzell - 2020-03-21 7:43 AM

 

I normally use the Safari browser and GOOGLE as my search engine.

 

The way I’d do what (I think) you want to do is

 

a) have a new forum posting ‘window’ ready to accept input.

 

b) open a new GOOGLE webpage (cmd-n on keyboord) and position it alongside the O&AL forum webpage

 

c) search for whatever you are looking for (eg. NT news toilet paper)

 

d) this will retrieve various entries, so select the one you want

 

e) when the selected webpage appears, position your mouse-pointer on that webpage’s URL in the ‘bar’ at the top of the webpage, hold down the mouse’s primary button and ‘drag’ the URL across into the O&AL posting window.

 

Dragging and dropping on a Mac is described here

 

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh35852/mac

 

Thanks Derek I had a play around yesterday and think I have nailed it now. Appreciate your (usual) good advice. cheers,

 

[Will86]

Bulletguy,

 

In my view you still don't get-it, booking a holiday is nothing compared to food. 10 years without a holiday is tough,10 hours without food is ...? Lets amplify the position, if everyone in the UK made 3 bookings per month then 70% of the country could starve.

 

I'm afraid you're 'clutching at straws' here in order to justify you actions ... and you failed !

 

Will

[jumpstart]

According to the BBC Snowdonia National Park experienced their busiest day yesterday with the summit absolutely packed with people. Nuts or what?

[StuartO]

Will86 - 2020-03-22 11:01 AM

 

Bulletguy,

 

In my view you still don't get-it, booking a holiday is nothing compared to food. 10 years without a holiday is tough,10 hours without food is ...? Lets amplify the position, if everyone in the UK made 3 bookings per month then 70% of the country could starve.

 

I'm afraid you're 'clutching at straws' here in order to justify you actions ... and you failed !

 

Will

 

Getting a bit close to personal attack aren't you Will, rather than addressing the issue? I rarely agree with Bullletguy but I understand what he's saying in this context and I think it's reasonable. In order to make use of supermarket deiveries at all you have to learn how to make use of the system - and at this time of high demand that means learning how to work the system. The system will prevent flagrant abuse anyway (eg you won't be allowed to comandeer multiple slots) so grabbing one more a couple or three weeks after the one you are working on at the moment is not unreasonable. Trying to grab several within a week would obviously be selfish and unnecessary and quite rightly should be stopped.

 

Incidentally I heard from Sainsburys today that I have been "recognised" as needing priority allocation of delivery slots because I'm old, by virtue, they say, of the data they hold on me. So hopefully I will soon get a slot for the "trolley" I've been trying to get delivered for ages. It's two or three weeks since we had our last delivery, since which all the slots have always been taken. Apparently if I try again to book a slot on line tomorrow they will take notice somehow and email me with an offer of a slot, which I then have to accept promptly or lose it. They are also providing a mechanism to older and vulnerable people who are not "recognised" to ask to be included and this might cater for new older customers.

[Will86]

I thought I was doing the opposite

 

I shall say no more but being over 90 and a carer for Mrs Will it gets no easier.

 

I shall make no further comments

 

Will

[StuartO]

Hopefully all us elderly motorhomers are tucked away at home getting food deliveries etc as necessary; we're struggling with the Sainsburys system but we've still got a future slot with Morrisons.

 

We live in a small close of four houses, each occupied by retired folk, so it's been easy to establish a Facebook Group to allow us to communicate for purposes of sharing our delivery slots - the one whose got the slot allows others to add items.   First live run last evening's delivery to us and the sharing worked well.  Each us has a plastic crate by the front door; we dropped their stuff off into that and then rang the bell and walked away.

[Deneb]

I have found a local trade food supplier who was willing to sign us up in the current circumstances, and will deliver any orders over £100. Products are supplied in bulk (min 4 x 2 litre bottles of milk, 2.5 kg cheddar for example) but we created an order for ourselves and our neighbours which was delivered next day and I took the neighbours items to their doorsteps. Items like milk and tea bags can be easily distributed. Other products, such as the cheese has to be bought in bulk for each household but can be frozen. It is supplied pre-sliced or grated.

 

May be something worth enquiring about if you can identify suppliers in your area. Unlike supermarkets with panic buying, their supplies seem to be unaffected by shortages. Although after the few deaths in our locality in the last few days, I'm told the local supermarket was well stocked and virtually empty yesterday for the first time in weeks.

 

[John52]

Apparently Covent Garden market are selling to the public too, as their restaurant trade has dried up.

You can freeze milk, but it will burst the container if you don't pour some out first.I put ptfe tape around the top to seal it, then squeeze the bottle and tighten the cap so it has room to expand. The fat seems to separate when it freezes, so the tiny fat globules it can make it look as if its gone off before its fully thawed and shaken to mix the fat in again. But its perfectly ok. I do this every trip - freeze bottles of milk to put in my cool box, then use them as they thaw out.

 

 

 

[pepe63xnotuse]

Will86 - 2020-03-22 11:41 AM

 

I shall say no more but being over 90 and a carer for Mrs Will it gets no easier.

 

I shall make no further comments

 

Will

 

Will..

Have you no sons, daughters nor younger friends than can assist you with your shopping?

(either by helping with the online side- maybe adding extras to their orders- or just physically picking up your items when they fetch theirs?)

 

Failing that,and don't take this the wrong way, due to your age, and the fact you say you are your wife's "carer", are you on anyone's "radar" ..? (council/social'/Age Concern etc or what ever the relevant body would be?)

If not I'd be asking the likes of Age Concern(Age UK ?) to steer you in the direction of some assistance?

 

Even if it is just some local voluntary group that could help in some way?

 

[Deneb]

John, we've been freezing milk for many years. Never had a plastic container burst and never open or unseal it before freezing. We don't have to mix it after thawing either, but perhaps that's because we only use fully skimmed milk?

[John52]

Deneb - 2020-03-25 1:00 PM

 

John, we've been freezing milk for many years. Never had a plastic container burst and never open or unseal it before freezing. We don't have to mix it after thawing either, but perhaps that's because we only use fully skimmed milk?

 

must be that because I use semi-skimmed. I used to just freeze it as you say but it would frequently split the bottle - not disastrous as its contained within in a well insulated plastic coolbox with the lid at the top. But since I did as I posted above I haven't had any split.

Surprising how long it stays frozen in the coolbox because having the lid at the top the heavier cold air doesn't drop out when you open it as it does with a side door fridge. Stays frozen for about 12 days this time of year, then I buy bags of ice cubes.

[Bulletguy]

StuartO - 2020-03-25 10:00 AM

 

Hopefully all us elderly motorhomers are tucked away at home getting food deliveries etc as necessary; we're struggling with the Sainsburys system but we've still got a future slot with Morrisons.

As i previously posted i've been using online delivery from Morrisons since last November, not by choice, but personal circumstances and until recent it worked perfectly.

 

With the outbreak of Covid-19 more people have turned to online grocery shopping which has put a massive strain on the stores which cannot cope. I have one order today and one for next week but often many items are missing from the order. After that i've nothing as Morrisons have no slots available at all now. One of my neighbours has registered and doing a "click and collect" order so i might have to go down that route.

 

I'm also registered with Iceland but they have no delivery slots available either. Edited to mention, all stores now have max limits per item, ie one 500g pack of minced beef per order and so on.

[plwsm2000]

At The Princess of Wales hospital. NHS staff have been sent this:

 

This is the advice given to hospital staff.

It explains the virus and hopefully, how to prevent getting it.

Please share with family, friends and work colleagues.

 

Virus Detection:

 

The simplest way to distinguish Coronavirus from a Common Cold is that the COVID-19 infection does not cause a cold nose or cough with cold, but it does create a dry and rough cough.

The virus is typically first installed in the throat causing inflammation and a feeling of dryness. This symptom can last between 3 and 4 days.

The virus typically then travels through the moisture present in the airways, goes down to the trachea and installs in the lungs, causing pneumonia that lasts about 5 or 6 days.

Pneumonia manifests with a high fever and difficulty breathing. The Common Cold is not accompanied, but there may be a choking sensation. In this case, the doctor should be called immediately.

 

Experts suggest doing this simple verification every morning: Breathe in deeply and hold your breath for 10 seconds. If this can be done without coughing, without difficulty, this shows that there is no fibrosis in the lungs, indicating the absence of infection. It is recommended to do this control every morning to help detect infection.

 

Prevention:

The virus hates heat and dies if it is exposed to temperatures greater than 80°F (27°C). Therefore hot drinks such as infusions, broths or simply hot water should be consumed abundantly during the day. These hot liquids kill the virus and are easy to ingest.

Avoid drinking ice water or drinks with ice cubes.

 

Ensure that your mouth and throat are always wet, never DRY. You should drink a sip of water at least every 15 minutes. WHY? Even when the virus enters water or other liquids through the mouth, it will get flushed through the oesophagus directly into the stomach where gastric acids destroy the virus. If there is not enough water, the virus can pass into the trachea and from there to the lungs, where it is very dangerous.

 

For those who can, sunbathe. The Sun's UV rays kill the virus and the vitamin D is good for you.

The Coronavirus has a large size (diameter of 400-500 nanometers) so face masks can stop it, no special face masks are needed in daily life.

If an infected person sneezes nearby, stay 10 feet (3.3 meters) away to allow the virus fall to the ground and prevent it from falling on you.

When the virus is on hard surfaces, it survives about 12 hours, therefore when hard surfaces such as doors, appliances, railings, etc. are touched, hands should be washed thoroughly and/or disinfected with alcoholic gel The virus can live nested in clothes and tissues between 6 and 12 hours. Common detergents can kill it. Things that cannot be washed should be exposed to the Sun and the virus will die.

The transmission of the virus usually occurs by direct infection, touching fabrics, tissues or materials on which the virus is present.

Washing your hands is essential.

The virus survives on our hands for only about 10 minutes. In that time many things can happen, rubbing the eyes, touching the nose or lips. This allows the virus to enter your throat. Therefore, for your good and the good of all, wash your hands very often and disinfect them.

You can gargle with disinfectant solutions (i.e. Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide) that eliminate or minimize the amount of virus that can enter the throat. Doing so removes the virus before it goes down to the trachea and then to the lungs.

Disinfect things touched often: mobile phone, keyboard, mouse, car steering wheel, door handles, etc ....

 

Sent in to us just now and we wanted to share this knowledge & advice with you all.

 

Please do the same and take care! Y

 

[Deneb]

plwsm2000 - 2020-03-26 11:37 AM

 

At The Princess of Wales hospital. NHS staff have been sent this:

 

This is the advice given to hospital staff.

It explains the virus and hopefully, how to prevent getting it.

Please share with family, friends and work colleagues.

 

More fake and dangerous social media information variously attributed to different authoritative sources I'm afraid.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/16/us/coronavirus-myths-debunking-holding-breath-10-seconds-trnd/index.html

 

[Billggski]

I've just had to tell off and old friend for sharing a conspiracy theory rant about how China manufactured the virus to bring down the West. She was quite put out when I showed her actual peer reviewed research into pandemics.

The falsehoods spread as fast as the virus!

[Barryd999]

Deneb - 2020-03-26 11:43 AM

 

plwsm2000 - 2020-03-26 11:37 AM

 

At The Princess of Wales hospital. NHS staff have been sent this:

 

This is the advice given to hospital staff.

It explains the virus and hopefully, how to prevent getting it.

Please share with family, friends and work colleagues.

 

More fake and dangerous social media information variously attributed to different authoritative sources I'm afraid.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/16/us/coronavirus-myths-debunking-holding-breath-10-seconds-trnd/index.html

 

Who the hell makes this stuff up and why? What do they gain from sending such tosh around the internet.

 

The stuff about heat above 27c killing the virus? WTF. The human body is 37.5c so how does that work then? *-)

[Deneb]

Barryd999 - 2020-03-26 1:08 PM

 

Who the hell makes this stuff up and why? What do they gain from sending such tosh around the internet.

 

The stuff about heat above 27c killing the virus? WTF. The human body is 37.5c so how does that work then? *-)

 

Probably the same type of people who have been mugging NHS staff outside of hospitals so they can use their ID badges and lanyards to get free food from the establishments supporting our medical workers.

 

And those creating fake websites appearing to be part of You Gov, enticing vulnerable people to enter their banking information so that they can receive non-existent government payments and grants.

[John52]

Deneb - 2020-03-26 2:00 PM

 

Barryd999 - 2020-03-26 1:08 PM

 

Who the hell makes this stuff up and why? What do they gain from sending such tosh around the internet.

 

The stuff about heat above 27c killing the virus? WTF. The human body is 37.5c so how does that work then? *-)

 

Probably the same type of people who have been mugging NHS staff outside of hospitals so they can use their ID badges and lanyards to get free food from the establishments supporting our medical workers.

 

And those creating fake websites appearing to be part of You Gov, enticing vulnerable people to enter their banking information so that they can receive non-existent government payments and grants.

 

I have been listening to radio cornwall - well publicised reports of local businesses donating food to nhs staff i hospitals 8-)

Is this just a PR stunt or do nhs staff on duty in hospitals really need charity food 8-)

[Deneb]

John52 - 2020-03-26 9:47 PM

 

I have been listening to radio cornwall - well publicised reports of local businesses donating food to nhs staff i hospitals 8-)

Is this just a PR stunt or do nhs staff on duty in hospitals really need charity food 8-)

 

If you were having to work 12 hour or longer shifts in full protective equipment without a break to eat or even visit the toilet, and not be able to visit the hospital canteen because of the risk of infectious material carried on your clothes, nor want to face the task of having to cook for yourself once you eventually got home, stripped off on the doorstep and put your clothes into a wash then showering thoroughly you might be grateful for any gestures of support or assistance, if only from the standpoint of boosting your morale and helping you to feel that someone cares about what you are having to go through each day.