Messages

1

General discussion / Re: Will you get a Covid vaccine if one becomes available in 2021?

« on: March 31, 2021, 08:27:28 PM »

Hearing some great stories on numbers vaccinated and certainly numbers of infections and deaths lend some weight to the argument that the vaccinations and lockdowns are working.
However, possibly anecdotal, I know of 4 primary schools having to close due to covid infections and in one case a year group having to stay off due to infections.

My own parents were in hospital yesterday where my dad was getting his prep for another round of treatment. The doctor said that when he comes in for treatment he'll not be able to bring anyone in with him due to covid restrictions and because they are preparing for the start of the 3rd wave. Parents didn't really ask why that was the case as they'd other things on their mind, but a worrying development all the same.

It might be a leap, but perhaps schools returning and some already closing alongside the return of all kids to school in a couple of weeks is expected to trigger the third wave. Depressing if true.
We're not out of the woods yet, but vaccinations definately the best chance of putting us into a position of being able to live with this virus.

2

General discussion / Re: TV Show recommendations

« on: February 23, 2021, 05:06:23 PM »

Bloodlands was alright last night. Nesbitt's overacting on the island was a bit strange but it has a bit of potential.

Charlene McKenna seems dead on but jesus she'd give the Priest with most boring voice a run for his money in Fr Ted!

I thought the acting in general was woeful.
Decent storyline though.
Anyone remember Charlene McKenna in Pure Mule? It was a great show and she was brilliant in it.

3

General discussion / Re: Teachers get it handy!

« on: February 22, 2021, 11:23:38 PM »

Arlene talking about re-visiting the school openings, based on the announcement from Johnson. Sounds like they'll push for more students back on 8th March

Decision was made by the executive last Thursday .....what has changed ?

Nothing.

But the Tory masters have a plan so the Tory puppets would need to follow suit.

4

General discussion / Re: What is the point of this board anymore?

« on: February 22, 2021, 11:22:22 PM »

Haven't been on the board for a while but this thread has had me in stitches tonight.
Leave poor Angelo alone lads, his mum has him locked in his room to do homeschooling but he's skiving off to gaaboard to keep us all in craic. I dread the day of the schools starting back, it'll go all quiet on here.

5

General discussion / Re: China Coronavirus

« on: February 14, 2021, 11:11:58 AM »

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/14/is-covid-more-deadly-and-contagious-than-seasonal-flu?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1613293970

6

General discussion / Re: What is the point of this board anymore?

« on: February 08, 2021, 04:59:33 PM »

I am truly sorry to hear about your father and I hope he can pull out of danger. It may not look likely right now  but let’s hope your dad will prove to be an exception to the general run.
I genuinely understand why the amount of pseudo experts who peddle false Covid-related information upsets you. They carry a frightful responsibility as they dole out crap that could cause a loss of innocent lives if anyone should believe what they are saying.
I too am enraged by the sort of fake news you refer to.
 I contracted the virus and spent a number of days in Beaumont Hospital. In all honesty, I cannot decide which was worse, the virus or the stay in the hospital ward. I wouldn’t wish either on my worst enemy- assuming I have one of those.
My main memory is of the frontline staff literally running as they tried to do their work. The sweat was pumping out of them as they all were wearing around a stone of PPE gear. The fear of contracting the virus terrifies each and every one of them as they see the effects of the virus on all sides.
I cannot understand the mentality of those who seek to downplay the effects of Covid-19 or who brag about their refusal to take the vaccine if it was made available to them.
I stay away from Covid-related discussions on this board because I am upset by the amount of nonsense I see posted and I don’t want to go into them in detail.
Although I have noticed that a few posters that I’d normally rate as sensible, are inclined to downplay the effects of the virus or claim they won’t avail of the vaccine.
The most charitable thing I can say to them is that, if they were to spend 30 5 minutes in a Covid ward, they would change their views fast.
Keep the faith sid and I hope you can bear with whatever lies in store. I hope the news will be good.

Thanks for your good wishes Lar and to the other posters who expressed sympathies over my Dad's condition, that's a very well written post and I'm so glad for you that you have overcome Covid. I myself was sweating in the PPE - gown, gloves, mask, visor, and I was only a visitor so wasn't running around like the staff. My Dad was actually lucky in some ways in that he ended up in a single room, and we were able to visit him since Sunday as he no longer classed as infectious, but sadly he died yesterday morning with me and my Mam cradling him in our arms. The culprit was 100% Covid, it ravaged his system to the point where antibiotics would no longer work, dexamethasone wouldn't work, nothing else would work in terms of saving him, and the sound of him struggling to breathe at some points over his last couple of of days will haunt me forever, it sounded like he was drowning. He opened his eyes with about 12 hours left to try and communicate with me, as if he was asking me to save him, I know he knew I was there, but I was helpless except to try and comfort him with words, and he was helpless and so were the staff to do anything except try and make him as comfortable as possible. It's a f**king horrible way to die and I wouldn't wish his last week on anybody, nor my last week.

I haven't been on this thread for a while so only seeing his now.
Deepest condolences Sid. Genuinely sorry for your loss and it's heartbreaking to hear how your Dad suffered.

7

General discussion / Re: 💩 DUP C*ntwatch - Not corrupt, just incompetent. Allegedly.

« on: February 08, 2021, 04:53:11 PM »

Gregory Campbell is making a statement later on about his controversial tweet(or facebook message or whatever it was).

This should be good...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55985100

Good old Gregory. Twat

He's one of the worst out there.
A total bigot and racist yet many thousands vote for him and no doubt his party will not condemn him for the comments.
Sad state of affairs.

8

General discussion / Re: Career Change

« on: February 08, 2021, 12:36:46 PM »

I would say be very careful when taking this approach.
If you give an ultimatum of "give me a pay rise or else..." nature, be prepared to either eat humble pie or to leave.
I know many employers would just say to go if you want.

A much better approach is to have an honest discussion with your employer to explain why you think you should get more money. They may agree, or they might explain why you wouldn't/shouldn't get more or perhaps explain what you can do to earn more.
At that stage if not happy with the outcome, then go for the new role. If offered something paying more money, you can still go back to your employer and give them the option of paying you more but you need to be prepared to leave if they don't.
For me, that's the only way to be content with your decision.

But bear in mind, money is not the only factor. Flexible working, holidays, prospects, benefits, sick pay....all these things need to be considered. if you lose paid sick pay (for example), or if you're working longer hours the extra money might not be enough. You need to look at the overall package of a new role in terms of salary, benefits and the job itself. It can be difficult to compare roles though.

9

General discussion / Re: Brexit.

« on: February 05, 2021, 03:55:06 PM »

Arlene was destroyed on The View tonight, and great to see it.  She hadn't a leg to stand on when Carruthers exposed her and the DUP for what it's all about ... feck the businesses and livelihoods, it's all about the constitution and them remaining ultra-British.  They really are pathetic.

Yeah she really was against the wall.
The face kept getting redder and the breathing heavier. She was livid but did well not to let rip.
Arlene and the DUP are a joke.
The people who vote for them are more of a joke.

10

General discussion / Re: The good old days...

« on: January 29, 2021, 04:33:54 PM »

The good old days...

I remember the time when the Gaaboard was a great place to visit...

Plenty of great topics.....oppurtunity to learn........take on other peoples thoughts/opinions...brilliant characters....who could all respectfully debate....

Lately it has been absolutely polluted by one member and its leaving it impossible to read many of the great threads...

Its a real shame.....

+1

11

General discussion / Re: The good old days...

« on: January 27, 2021, 02:39:11 PM »

Butcher used to come round our way. And the turfman.

We never had a butcher come around, but I was a turfman!
Went door to door in early/mid nineties up around places like antrim, ballyclare, carrick....you could get twice the price for a bag of turf that you could get around home.
Bought my first car that way.

12

General discussion / Re: The good old days...

« on: January 27, 2021, 02:37:35 PM »

What about the world book man, hoover sales man and the man that would sell aerial photographs of your house!
We have about 4 different aerial photos of our place taken over a period of maybe 20 years. It's funny when you look back at the changes.

I remember us all heading to the moss (we didn't call it the bog) to take home one load of turf. That's all we were doing....so you'd work flat out as you knew it was only one load. Then your da would say, I think we've time for another load that didnt take long at all! lol.
Some craic too.

13

General discussion / Re: The good old days...

« on: January 25, 2021, 09:48:46 AM »

When FA Cup Final Saturday was the biggest day in the Soccer Calendar.

The Preview, the teams coming in on their buses, the interviews, the nostalgia!

You'd sit down and watch it the whole day - no matter who was in the final.

Lucky you. Farming slave labour meant the rest of us would spend Saturday's cleaning out calf houses, or filling muck spreaders from the dunghill with a grape, or pulling rag weeds or topping grass and so on and so forth.

I can relate to this.
Add in working in the turf....my da would alway say we need to cut enough to do two years in case next summer was a bad summer and we didn't get any cut. We'd spend the whole summer back and forward getting that line of sunburn across your back just above your waistline, ate by midges and stretching the hamstrings to breaking point.
Working in the hay was the playstation of our generation!

14

General discussion / Re: China Coronavirus

« on: January 20, 2021, 04:48:44 PM »

Definitely some worrying news starting to filter through about the vaccine. An uneven spread of distribution around the world which defeats the purpose of immunisation. A delay in the Astra vaccine in Ireland until mid February at the earliest and probably worst of all is reports from Israel that they believe one dose of the Pfizer vaccine is giving just 33% efficacy. If we are in this for the long haul then surely closing borders, 14 day hotel quarantine and letting us get on with it is the only viable option.

That's not quite true. What they said was if the 2nd dose is given within the 14 days of the 1st dose as recommended then the vaccine is performing as advertised by Pfizer.

People who received the 2nd dose after the 14 day recommended limit (like the UK) see a significant drop off in the perfomance of the vaccine and that's were they are getting the 33% efficacy figure

Doing a bit of reading up on this myself.  It looks as if meddling with when the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is given will turn out to be a mistake.

I believe Pfizer themselves said that the 2nd does was required within the timeframe they recommended.
Could be a load of wasted vaccines administered then at this point.

15

General discussion / Re: China Coronavirus

« on: January 20, 2021, 02:15:54 PM »

Nurse from a Cork Hospital on the News tonight talking about the trauma of treating young people unable to breathe because of this awful virus.

Do you ever post about the awful trauma of suicide victims, road traffic deaths or cancer sufferers or do you cynically use Covid as a train for your own sanctimony.

Maybe have a word with a domestic abuse victim about her trauma.

Your Gay Byrne facade would make anyone sick.

The irony of this post is just stunning!
 

No irony there at all.

Where guys like you put Covid victims up at the top of a hierarchy I have consistently argued that we need to look at all victims equally and at the minute we are not doing that.

We have you usual empty smartarse comment before you'll run on again. Tell me why Covid victims are above everyone else. Show me your concern and your demand that we address other causes of preventable deaths that happen on an ongoing, annual basis. I don't expect you'll be able to address this - quelle surprise.

 
No irony at all. (Sarcasm)

You're not worth conversing with on this topic as you cant see any point of view but your own and resort to insult when someone disagrees with you.
But just for the craic....you say...
     

you cynically use Covid as a train for your own sanctimony.

Then on the very next line:
     

Maybe have a word with a domestic abuse victim about her trauma.

Looks like someone is using domestic abuse as a train for their own sanctimony.