United Kingdom VII: Taking Pride in Your Success

[Neon Ignition]

Give it a fortnight, if numbers don't start increasing by then I'm not sure the rest of the restriction liftings will make much of a difference.

[fishbowlhead]

Anyone else not that keen on going out yet?
I've not had the vaccine and unsure when I will.

Covid numbers have dropped, but it's because we've been in lockdown again in addition to jabs.
I just feel leaping back to normality will see another spike as people become complacent to the risks.

Only a matter of time before all the idiots undo all the hard won ground on dropping cases.

[teddymeow]

There were queues outside the barbers, nail salons and, of all places, Primark at pre-8am this morning.

Primark?! ****ing PRIMARK!!!!!

We're all doomed.

[Cassius_Smoke]

The government is investigating the government...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/12/greensill-scandal-gordon-brown-calls-for-tougher-lobbying-rules

[Mayhem]

It was fun snow weather for pubs this morning!

[Cassius_Smoke]

UK has the sharpest fall in Covid in the world. Some good news at least.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/britain-sees-world-s-sharpest-fall-in-covid-cases/amp

[Neon Ignition]

Up to date test figures seem to be becoming irregularly updated. 3500 new cases today so still very low but potentially a small uptick

[kryss]

There were queues outside the barbers, nail salons and, of all places, Primark at pre-8am this morning.

Primark?! ****ing PRIMARK!!!!!

We're all doomed.

New underwear. It's been a YEAR.

[Asura]

Primark?! ****ing PRIMARK!!!!!

I'm trying not to judge people too harshly. Whilst I wouldn't be going near somewhere so busy on day-1, I can't be the only one who has holes in a lot of his casual, work-from-home clothes (while everything more presentable gathers dust because I don't want to wear out nice shirts etc. when I'm never leaving the house!).

Primark sell bargain-basement clothing basics. Once I'm vaccinated and things calm down a bit I'll definitely want to go.

A bigger problem I'm going to face is that thanks to Ring Fit, I've lost 15kgs during the lockdown... I'm not sure what's still going to fit

[Neon Ignition]

The Primark thing puzzles me more because it's a terrible shopping experience, the quality is cheap too which didn't used to be an issue but they don't price as cheaply anymore either. I bet there's been some real frustration in that company at their stubborn refusal to have a proper online presence.

[Asura]

The Primark thing puzzles me more because it's a terrible shopping experience, the quality is cheap too which didn't used to be an issue but they don't price as cheaply anymore either. I bet there's been some real frustration in that company at their stubborn refusal to have a proper online presence.

I don't think it'd work with their business model. They can be very cheap; their prices are so low that the margins are likely very low too. If they had an online presence they'd have to charge for P&P and I don't know if their market would tolerate that, or just go elsewhere. I think their main competitor is Asda's George brand.

I tried Jacamo for the first time during lockdown (turns out they do more than just "big and tall" sizes) and whilst I was able to do it, part of the reason their operation works is they have a no-quibble return policy (they actually put the return post label inside the bag), but they're a bit more expensive and I suspect that's why it works. With that, the approach is that you order several items at a time, often the same item in different sizes, knowing you're going to return a bunch.

[Hirst]

I'd imagine a lot of the folks going to Primark are buying clothes for their kids. Alternatives exist, but the fact is that you can go to Primark with very little money and come out with a bunch of clothes that kids might actually want to wear, because they've been very proactive about partnering with brands. If you ever go in there, it's all Disney, games consoles, pop culture type stuff.

I've no interest in the place at all, but I can see why after nearly 4 months that parents would be itching to get back there.

[Golgo]

To judge by all this morning's news coverage of people getting utterly wankered in beer gardens, the fake tan and fake eyelash business has flourished during lockdown.

[Cassius_Smoke]

The Primark thing puzzles me more because it's a terrible shopping experience, the quality is cheap too which didn't used to be an issue but they don't price as cheaply anymore either. I bet there's been some real frustration in that company at their stubborn refusal to have a proper online presence.

I went in the Primark in Birmingham a couple of years ago and I've never wanted to get out of a shop faster. It was absolute chaos. The place was in complete disarray with **** tossed everywhere.
I bought my joggers and got the **** out. To be honest the joggers have lasted me so far.

[teddymeow]

I'm trying not to judge people too harshly. Whilst I wouldn't be going near somewhere so busy on day-1, I can't be the only one who has holes in a lot of his casual, work-from-home clothes (while everything more presentable gathers dust because I don't want to wear out nice shirts etc. when I'm never leaving the house!).

Primark sell bargain-basement clothing basics. Once I'm vaccinated and things calm down a bit I'll definitely want to go.

A bigger problem I'm going to face is that thanks to Ring Fit, I've lost 15kgs during the lockdown... I'm not sure what's still going to fit

I totally understand where you're coming from (as somebody who also lost a shed load of weight during lockdown) and I'm not denying that there will be those out there who need new clothes for reason X, Y or Z.

It's the people who didn't need to go out that annoy. That went out just because the shop was open.

All the lockdowns, vaccinations and social distancing are going to be for nothing if the crowds continue like this. Especially if they are made up of younger, unvaccinated people.

Also, if people are that desperate for cheap clothing I'd point to George at ASDA, TU at Sainsburys and whatever the Tesco label is. Those are cheap and of arguably better quality than the PRIMARK offering. Also, the supermarkets were open throughout lockdown.