Going abroad at this time

[Taylor]

We had a holiday booked for this Christmas/new year but it got canceled by the accommodation in Lanzarote which was a bummer but we still had the flights, a quick last minute juggle and we went anyway staying in an airbnb on the island arriving back on Christmas Eve.
Isolation for 10 days as Boris had put the canaries on the naughty step just before we left. No problem with this as I'd ripped out the upstairs bathroom before Christmas, now I need to put it back together. I have everything I need, don't need to go anywhere.
Got three calls(only answered one) from the government checking I was isolating, the lad I got was pretty arsey on the phone so I repayed the compliment.
After 5 days the wife was getting itchy feet so she applied for the "test and release" swab for all of us. We all passed, covid free.
Last night I got a visit from the Fuzz as the government dick had snitched on me.
I had a lovely chat with him, he didn't know about the early release scheme, showed him my test certificate and some holiday snaps and he was on his way, happy that I'd followed the rules.

What I'm trying to get at is that the plod are making visits if you're on their radar.
Be careful if you're bending the rules.

(I lost a very close family member to Covid a couple of months ago so I've not been taking the Micheal when it comes to the government advice, wether I think it's ridiculous or not.)

Stay safe.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Aye, this is an actual photograph taken yesterday looking out across the Welsh / English border.

[Verena]

Aye, this is an actual photograph taken yesterday looking out across the Welsh / English border.

About time too

[MuddyPete]

Shirtsleeves? Looks like they're having fabulous weather. Most unseasonable. .

And which side of the border is that massive laser positioned?

[fatbikephil]

I believe one of those is going up between Scotland and England also, as well as along the south coast....
The cops are only interested in nicking people who are gathering in groups and blatantly doing things that risk transmission. There approach is otherwise to encourage and educate (from the horses mouth so to speak) so you'll be fine as long as you don't be a dick....

[psling]

I'm kind of pleased to hear that these things are being followed up.
Friends of mine in the police have been doing a lot of 'having a quiet chat' especially as they are obliged to follow up reports of people breaking the guidelines (and they have apparently been getting a lot of reports). It's also interesting that they have issued a number of on-the-spot tickets after people argue the toss rather than take advice!
Glad you managed to get a holiday though; my sister is a Spanish national living on the islands and their mask-wearing etc rules are much more strictly enforced than here

[whitestone]

I believe one of those is going up between Scotland and England also,

Let us in!!!!!

[Dave Barter]

I live on a cul de sac which is a sat nav trap for lost tourists. Google think our road connects to another ..it does via steps. Today a parade of lost tourists needing help turning their cars around. I was my usual cheery self but wanted to scream “why the feck are you here?”. I began the pandemic as a libertarian but now think we just need to stay local (at the Winchester) till it all blows over.

[Dave Barter]

ps Happy New Year

[AndreR]

Aye, this is an actual photograph taken yesterday looking out across the Welsh / English border.

Please contact Donald's Wall services where, for a small management fee, you can find out how you can have a wall put up at no cost to yourself. No project too big for our experts.

[middleagedmadness]

Every day over the last 10 days I’ve had nhs ring me 3 times a day to check I was isolating as I tested positive, not a issue at all for me except one morning they rang at 7am , now apart from Christmas Day I’ve not had a rest day from work since April so to my shame it was me who got very arsey with them , things are definitely being followed up so it’s definitely for the best

[ledburner]

Aye, this is an actual photograph taken yesterday looking out across the Welsh / English border.

Please contact Donald's Wall services where, for a small management fee, you can find out how you can have a wall put up at no cost to yourself. No project too big for our experts.

I was hoping for this...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Something just struck me ... what if you don't have a landline? Are calls to a mobile somehow tracked via the phone's gps?

[middleagedmadness]

Something just struck me ... what if you don't have a landline? Are calls to a mobile somehow tracked via the phone's gps?

No idea mate , but would it surprise you if they were as in theory track and trace pings your phone whenever your near someone else who’s either infected or been close to someone who is

[Taylor]

Something just struck me ... what if you don't have a landline? Are calls to a mobile somehow tracked via the phone's gps?

They rang me on my mobile as we got rid of our landline.
It was the only number I put on the 3 sets of forms I had to fill out.
I've not downloaded any covid/tracking apps onto my phone but I was at home for all three calls and the subsequent visit by the plod.

[Bearbonesnorm]

but I was at home for all three calls

How would they know if you weren't?

[Taylor]

but I was at home for all three calls

How would they know if you weren't?

I pointed this out to him.
I also told him that I wasn't prepared to give a random caller my personal info to prove it was me because of data fraud, that was when he started getting arsey so i have him plenty of arse back.

[tobasco]

but I was at home for all three calls

How would they know if you weren't?

GPS position is the obvious choice, but position of a cell phone can be determined by means other than GPS. If is connected to your house wi-fi ....
Loads of phone apps ask user to share location data, lord knows where it ends up if enabled.

[ledburner]

Approximate location can be determined by the mobile phobe cell the Mast is operating in. WiFi and location tied to your Internet services ip address.
.... and may be a lucky guess?
Google were tracking your history even though it was turned off in app. It had to be turned off via browser in account setting. Trustworthy, NOT.
(this may also of overridden phone setting..?)
I this to build big data picture about you to sell personalised adverts targeted at YOU.

[Taylor]

So what would be there point in calling me three times if they can see if I'm in the vicinity of my house or, even better, tethered to my home WiFi?
I live in a small village with no amenities nearby, the nearest shop is the petrol station a mile away. Furthest I'm going to be, realistically, is the end of the garden, WiFi doesn't reach that far.
At the time of each call I was well within range of my WiFi.
I have my doubts that the call centre stooge that rang had access to info like that.

[sean_iow]

I have my doubts that the call centre stooge that rang had access to info like that.

Exactly, they knew you were at home as you said you were. The fact that the police visited to check was enough incentive to stay at home, The fact that you've told us the police called to check is incentive for anyone reading this to also stay at home if they were in a similar position.

People seem to get carried away with thinking they are being tracked by 'the man' by their phones. If they really did have access to track you then when you call the police* you wouldn't have to spend the first 10 minutes trying to explain where you are

* I once saw an upside down car in a field early in the morning, it was only when I got to work it occurred to me that the occupants might still be in it, so I called the police to see if they had a report/attended. As it wasn't in town, and the person I spoke to was obviously in a control room on the Mainland, it took some time until we were both talking about the same location.

[ScotRoutes]

FWIW you don't need WiFi or GPS to narrow down the location of a mobile phone.

[Taylor]

I don't doubt that phones can be triangulated if needs be but as the current government(and all other governments we've had) seems to be blundering it's way through, Pandemic or not, my doubt is wether they're permitted to give this "Confidential info" to a hastily set up call centre, with a limited lifespan. Blow me, is taken 10 months to come up with the idea of quarantine hotels. New Zealand came up with that idea right at the beginning as well as a proper lockdown and they're virtually covid free, 2295 cases and 5, yes 5 deaths.
Sorry, I started to digress.

When the plod came to visit, they had to call me as they had turned up at another property, an old pub that closed down three years ago(our house has the same name but is nowhere near the old pub) so I had to tell him where to find me. Once I'd explained to him about my release certificate, he didn't demand to see it, I had to offer it to him.

[sean_iow]

When the plod came to visit, they had to call me as they had turned up at another property, an old pub that closed down three years ago(our house has the same name but is nowhere near the old pub) so I had to tell him where to find me.

Unless it's a clever double bluff I think we can take the fact they had to call for directions as proof they don't track us by our phones

[tobasco]

The tech exists to track phones, but our gov almost certainly does not join up the necessary dots to make it happen for this purpose; and to be fair, it would be the sort of infringement of liberty that (w)could bring a gov down. Way back at the start, I did wonder if they would attempt to use tracking instead of the Bluetooth money pit they chose to attempted to implement - you know, that world beating contact tracing system we were promised*

*If that is representative of the new IT industries to take the UK into the Brave New Post Covid world, lord help us.