ITV Breathtaking
- Thread starter Tony L
- Start date
wow&flutter
pfm Member
Watched all three episodes into the small hours, powerful stuff.
Tony L
Administrator
I’m two episodes in. It is very good, very powerful, and very accurate. I hope it does real damage to the horrific Tory government that cost so many thousands of lives and used the whole thing as an opportunity to rob the till to the tune of £15bn. Utter scum.
The thing the series doesn’t get across forcefully enough IMHO is just how much information was already in the public domain by the time covid hit the UK. I saw it rip through China and Italy so went into ’lockdown’ of my own volition in late-February. That was weeks before the narcissistic grandstanding prick Johnson had even attended his first Cobra meeting. We knew what was coming.
The government were stalling, delaying, mismanaging and denying science at every stage. The sight of Matt Hancock still makes me want to reach for a baseball bat. An absolute piece of shit. What these thieving ghouls put NHS staff through just beggars belief. Even now they refuse to pay them a working wage.
The thing the series doesn’t get across forcefully enough IMHO is just how much information was already in the public domain by the time covid hit the UK. I saw it rip through China and Italy so went into ’lockdown’ of my own volition in late-February. That was weeks before the narcissistic grandstanding prick Johnson had even attended his first Cobra meeting. We knew what was coming.
The government were stalling, delaying, mismanaging and denying science at every stage. The sight of Matt Hancock still makes me want to reach for a baseball bat. An absolute piece of shit. What these thieving ghouls put NHS staff through just beggars belief. Even now they refuse to pay them a working wage.
This with bells on ^^^^^
Mike Hughes
pfm Member
I have just started Sheen’s The Way so I’ll be watching Breathtaking as soon as that’s done. A work colleague had her sister trapped in Italy in January so those of us paying attention could see what was coming. My sister’s partner at the time headed up an A&E ward in the NW which soon became the Covid ward. Zero PPE and staff inevitably moving between wards aiding the spread within hospital and at home.
The thing the Tories just don‘t get is that this was a generational event. Those who saw relatives die alone in any kind of scenario will neither forgive nor forget. It will be 2 decades before those votes are recaptured. They can talk all they like about low turnouts in local elections but the penny still hasn’t dropped that whilst many of their voters will never vote Labour many will not vote Tory until such time as all the current lot are out of politics. A lurch further right will kill them and the return of Boris would likely see a poll boost but will never again win them a general election. What many people went through was horrific, unforgettable and unforgivable. Politicians of all colours believe that anything can be forgotten. The next election will likely show that to not be the case.
The thing the Tories just don‘t get is that this was a generational event. Those who saw relatives die alone in any kind of scenario will neither forgive nor forget. It will be 2 decades before those votes are recaptured. They can talk all they like about low turnouts in local elections but the penny still hasn’t dropped that whilst many of their voters will never vote Labour many will not vote Tory until such time as all the current lot are out of politics. A lurch further right will kill them and the return of Boris would likely see a poll boost but will never again win them a general election. What many people went through was horrific, unforgettable and unforgivable. Politicians of all colours believe that anything can be forgotten. The next election will likely show that to not be the case.
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
This. I really hope this is how it plays out. I'm slightly worried that many have short memories, and humans forget pain quite easily, but there must be millions out there who were personally affected and I really, really hope they neither forget, nor forgive.
Enfield boy
pfm Member
I hope so too but given the last 60 odd years in the UK I expect in 20 years it'll be viewed as Corbyn and the EU's fault.
I was never a fan of 1984 but people have proved very susceptible to brainwashing, even some pfm members.
I couldn't bring myself to watch it, it would only cause distress and more anger that I really don't want or need. So I played one of my Strats.
I was never a fan of 1984 but people have proved very susceptible to brainwashing, even some pfm members.
I couldn't bring myself to watch it, it would only cause distress and more anger that I really don't want or need. So I played one of my Strats.
Mike Hughes
pfm Member
It is very easy, particularly if you are “of the left” in some way (as I broadly am on balance) to caricature these things. After nearly 4 decades of being around and working with politicians 1 of the key things I have learned is that politicians of any colour are rarely intentionally cruel. What they often are is simply a little removed from the consequences of their thought processes or ideollogy. Take them to see it first hand and it’s surprising how much movement you get.
The problem with Covid was that no such opportunities existed. You couldn’t walk them through A&E when it mattered; through makeshift Covid wards or indeed care homes etc. Few of them have seen anything bar numbers and sound bites. They just see older voters as a little disillusioned and persuadable just as they see those of working age as susceptible to generic chat around tax cuts as though none of them were exposed to death and cruelty on levels unseen since perhaps WW2. The issue is that neither generation really talks. They think they do but they really don’t. Consequently the kids of the generation who lived through this probably will forget. Their parents will not.
It remains astonishing to me that Tories genuinely believe that replacing a PM is a vote winner; tax cuts are a vote winner etc.
Enfield boy
pfm Member
re post #11
Reducing UC
Saying more Foodbanks is good
Forcing the sick back into work
Lying to take us to war
Funding and supporting genocide
All seems a bit cruel and deliberate to me.
Reducing UC
Saying more Foodbanks is good
Forcing the sick back into work
Lying to take us to war
Funding and supporting genocide
All seems a bit cruel and deliberate to me.
Mike Hughes
pfm Member
The area of social security benefits has been my line of work since 1986. These debates are often emotive and poorly informed so in the interest of accuracy…
UC has not been reduced. UC was initially set at levels which excluded comparable payments in specific circumstances under what is quaintly called the legacy benefit system. Some people are undoubtedly “better off” under UC. Important to not confuse “better off” with “able to afford to live”. There was a £20pw temporary and targeted uplift during Covid which was subsequently removed. That was challenged in court and the challenge was lost.
The sick are not “forced“ back to work. They may be found fit for work, for which there are multiples rights of challenge, or they may be found to not have LCWRA (limited capability for work-related activity) and again that attracts rights of challenge. Most of said challenges are won. Where not won, these may pin their UC at a level; reduce their UC to a level or cease their entitlement to UC in some circumstances but none of these compel you to work and I see little to zero evidence of any claimants having been “forced” to do that. They may be suicidal or destitute but you will find few sick people “forced” back into work.
Easy to confuse this with work search commitments which are a slightly different thing.
Hard to argue with your other points.
UC has not been reduced. UC was initially set at levels which excluded comparable payments in specific circumstances under what is quaintly called the legacy benefit system. Some people are undoubtedly “better off” under UC. Important to not confuse “better off” with “able to afford to live”. There was a £20pw temporary and targeted uplift during Covid which was subsequently removed. That was challenged in court and the challenge was lost.
The sick are not “forced“ back to work. They may be found fit for work, for which there are multiples rights of challenge, or they may be found to not have LCWRA (limited capability for work-related activity) and again that attracts rights of challenge. Most of said challenges are won. Where not won, these may pin their UC at a level; reduce their UC to a level or cease their entitlement to UC in some circumstances but none of these compel you to work and I see little to zero evidence of any claimants having been “forced” to do that. They may be suicidal or destitute but you will find few sick people “forced” back into work.
Easy to confuse this with work search commitments which are a slightly different thing.
Hard to argue with your other points.
mandryka
pfm Member
Sure. But for me the unforgettable thing is partygate. Every time I see something on the TV with people wearing masks -- maybe it's one of those A and E programmes with the medics in masks and the relatives not allowed to be with their loved ones -- I think ". . . those bastards were partying while this was going on!" And the memory of the Queen mourning alone in Westminster Abbey of course.
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
I think this is, to a degree, semantics though. Nobody is suggesting they are physically pushed to a workplace, it's rather more that in order to survive on the reduced UC, taking up some form of work is, in effect, essential. So no, nobody is forcing anybody, they are free to slowly decline, starve, freeze or do whatever, should they choose to.
Sean Regan
pfm Member
I've looked at a couple of trailers recently, including this one, and to me, they look far too depressing. So I don't bother.
I think with some, it's the, "soap influence." I could never understand why such miserable plots could be so popular.
I think with some, it's the, "soap influence." I could never understand why such miserable plots could be so popular.
The wife and I flew out to Spain for a 6 week holiday in March 2020 (the same time span as shown last night) and a couple of weeks later we were trapped out there because of border controls and airlines and airports shutting down. That was a world wide thing.
We could watch events in the UK on the TV and spoke almost daily to our sons. Everyone knew that this was going to kill people by the thousand but there was no big plan anywhere in the world.
Spain acted quicker than the UK and was far more aggressive in implementing controls. For instance, when you lot were still wandering around wondering if a lockdown would be implemented, Spain had closed down.
We were allowed to shop twice a week. Only one of us could travel in a car and you had to go to the nearest food shop. All non food shopping was banned. There were soldiers on every round a bout and you had to shown your documentation through the windscreen as well as a receipt of your shopping. Even the most trivial violation carried a €600 fine per person. Only eight customers were allowed in the shop at a time and obviously there were long queues of spaced out people outside. The elderly could jump the queue.
That continued for 4 months and then there was a slow reduction in restrictions but still much tougher than in the UK.
When we arrived home in November, Sue popped into the local supermarket and wore a mask. She only saw one or two people wearing a mask, so the UK was a running target for re infection.
The are a few points that need to be made.
Despite the heavy restrictions, Spain had a massive amount of infections and deaths in the big cities such as Barcelona and Madrid where a large amount of the population live in tower blocks and apartments. They had one of the highest rates of infection in the EU due to everyone living close to each other. We were on the coast in Andalusia were the locals tend to live in spaced out villas and from memory, the town where we lived had less than twenty infections for the entire year which made Andalusia the least infection region in the EU. Despite that, they kept to the same restrictions as the rest of Spain did.
We returned to the UK in November and we both had to wear a mask in the car. Everyone in the Spanish airport wore a mask and also on the plane going back. When we arrived at Bristol Airport, hardly anyone was wearing a mask. No one on the buses was wearing a mask and again, no one on the train was wearing a mask. The British government was complacent but so were the UK population. Everyone just seemed to be carrying on as if nothing happened.
The British public were as stupid as the Government were complacent. Returning to normality over rode continuing the fight against covid. UK citizens were walking around outdoors whilst we were restricted to our houses. We were lucky, we were "imprisoned" in a villa with a pool but millions of Spanish were stuck in small tower block apartments, often with active and noisy children which must have been hell.
The Spanish were prepared to put up with this for the common good but other counties, the UK included, just looked after number one and balls to everyone else. We continued to wear our mask long after our return because it seemed the decent thing to do, but I have lost count of the number of times, people in supermarkets took the piss out of us.
A fair percentage of Brits stoped taking vaccinations even when they were available. We despite being in our 70s have yet to catch covid because we played safe.
So by all means, watch the programme, feel free to complain about poor government performance but just accept the fact that the British public were far too eager to drop restrictions earlier than what was sensible. Very few Brits acted sensibly and blame everyone except themselves.
We could watch events in the UK on the TV and spoke almost daily to our sons. Everyone knew that this was going to kill people by the thousand but there was no big plan anywhere in the world.
Spain acted quicker than the UK and was far more aggressive in implementing controls. For instance, when you lot were still wandering around wondering if a lockdown would be implemented, Spain had closed down.
We were allowed to shop twice a week. Only one of us could travel in a car and you had to go to the nearest food shop. All non food shopping was banned. There were soldiers on every round a bout and you had to shown your documentation through the windscreen as well as a receipt of your shopping. Even the most trivial violation carried a €600 fine per person. Only eight customers were allowed in the shop at a time and obviously there were long queues of spaced out people outside. The elderly could jump the queue.
That continued for 4 months and then there was a slow reduction in restrictions but still much tougher than in the UK.
When we arrived home in November, Sue popped into the local supermarket and wore a mask. She only saw one or two people wearing a mask, so the UK was a running target for re infection.
The are a few points that need to be made.
Despite the heavy restrictions, Spain had a massive amount of infections and deaths in the big cities such as Barcelona and Madrid where a large amount of the population live in tower blocks and apartments. They had one of the highest rates of infection in the EU due to everyone living close to each other. We were on the coast in Andalusia were the locals tend to live in spaced out villas and from memory, the town where we lived had less than twenty infections for the entire year which made Andalusia the least infection region in the EU. Despite that, they kept to the same restrictions as the rest of Spain did.
We returned to the UK in November and we both had to wear a mask in the car. Everyone in the Spanish airport wore a mask and also on the plane going back. When we arrived at Bristol Airport, hardly anyone was wearing a mask. No one on the buses was wearing a mask and again, no one on the train was wearing a mask. The British government was complacent but so were the UK population. Everyone just seemed to be carrying on as if nothing happened.
The British public were as stupid as the Government were complacent. Returning to normality over rode continuing the fight against covid. UK citizens were walking around outdoors whilst we were restricted to our houses. We were lucky, we were "imprisoned" in a villa with a pool but millions of Spanish were stuck in small tower block apartments, often with active and noisy children which must have been hell.
The Spanish were prepared to put up with this for the common good but other counties, the UK included, just looked after number one and balls to everyone else. We continued to wear our mask long after our return because it seemed the decent thing to do, but I have lost count of the number of times, people in supermarkets took the piss out of us.
A fair percentage of Brits stoped taking vaccinations even when they were available. We despite being in our 70s have yet to catch covid because we played safe.
So by all means, watch the programme, feel free to complain about poor government performance but just accept the fact that the British public were far too eager to drop restrictions earlier than what was sensible. Very few Brits acted sensibly and blame everyone except themselves.
Mike Hughes
pfm Member
Precious “liberty” trumps all.