Landed in Heathrow this morning from Miami. The flight was dead, only 61 passengers on board and we were 3 of the 5 people in Premium Economy so it felt like we had the plane to ourselves.

We felt very safe throughout and it certainly wasn't as scary as I thought it might be.

She needs to "self-isolate" and she can do this at her husband's house.
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...avel-to-the-uk

I'm flying to LHR and spending Christmas with my best mate in her house in the Oxford countryside. She's on her own since her family are all on the other side of the world so we will eat/drink and get very merry together. Probably safer than staying in Austin!
I received this from BA this morning which is pretty comprehensive.

So you can visit friends when self isolating and move around well in England to do so.

Not sure it allows you to go and get tested, apparently testing can only be done at a few approved locations.

No, you have to go straight to the place where you are staying for the self isolation period and stay there. No going out/meeting other people.

That official link gave quite a few outs. For example.

• Quote:

  moving to a different place for self-isolation where you can no longer remain where you are

None of which are 'visit friends' though? Getting urgent medical treatment, attending legal proceedings etc, are a bit different.

You arrange to visit several friends and move from one to the other, 3 days here, 3 days at the next one and so on. For example.

I wouldn’t travel to the UK for a gold clock.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-55376873

Seems you can travel on Christmas day, well judging from the Radio but not otherwise unless it is essential.

Actually surprised you can do this. Not the getting into the UK but being allowed to gather with someone you don't live with.

Our cases in BC are far lower and we can't even gather for Christmas legally except for those we reside with.

The impression I get from friends and family in the UK, is that the rules are extremely flexible...almost to the point that they don’t exist.

I have to admit, this thread irritates me. I haven't seen any of my friends since March except when I ride bikes socially distanced, masked, outdoors and in small groups of two or three. I haven't traveled outside of my town except when I drove to move my daughter into university in August. I haven't seen any (non-immediate) family since last December. I'm fortunate enough to have been able to work from home every day since mid March. I'm kind of losing my mind from being stuck in my house and being away from friends and family but I think it's clearly worth it.

And then here we have a thread about people flying to the UK for the holidays, at the absolute height of the pandemic, when thousands are dying every day and UK researchers just announced that a new strain of Covid is 70% more infectious than other strains. This is particularly frustrating because we're approaching the end of this mess. Millions of doses of vaccines that required revolutionary new medical technology to develop are being distributed. In six months, we may be back to some kind of normalcy. Setting aside the sacrifices we've all made to date, the destruction to people's lives and livelihoods, just developing the vaccine took an incredible amount of ingenuity, money and effort. And yet, here we have people willing to throw away the value of all of that work and sacrifice because they JUST HAVE TO see family.

I'm sorry folks: this is not the year to be travelling. This kind of irresponsible behavior is a large contributor to why we're in this mess. I miss my family too, but to me it's selfish and irresponsible to fly thousands of miles right now. Wait until next summer, then have a blow-out. I'm encouraged that most here seem to agree.

I have to agree with Hiro11. Simply cannot fathom why anyone would put their health or the health of loved one and friends in the line of fire by flying there for the holidays.

Frankly, my oldest daughter is dying of cancer and has perhaps 2 months left to live and it is only now that her one and only sibling will be chancing flying here to see her sister before the end. All precautions will be taken to keep the virus from her by her sister getting the c-19 test before visiting and wearing a mask and washing and sanitizing her hands.

I'd rather see family and friends online, zoom, facetime or skype than face to face this holiday season. I consider the fact they are healthy to be a gift that I would not jeopardize by needing a physical hug.

A big new lockdown has just been announced by the PM. If my nephew can’t travel from London to join the family in Yorkshire, why should people from overseas be permitted to do as they please? Folks should stay home and keep themselves and their loved ones safe, or this thing is never going to be controlled.