Hope no one minds me posting this outside the main Covid19 thread as I can’t bring myself to read that lot and this is a pretty specific question. As a vulnerable person and a good citizen I am following the guidance pretty much to the letter but I’ve been struck by a few things in recent days that have made me curious or even angry. We are not allowed out other than for essential things like exercise or shopping for the basics. But I walk the dog from my house to Dartford Heath and I see the car parks overflowing. Is it or is it not permitted to stick the dog in the boot and drive to the place of exercise? If it is I’m off to Joyden’sWood as I'm bored stiff with the Heath now. I’d also love to get some bedding plants and I’d really like to support our local garden centres who’ve been stuffed right at the prime time of the year. Some are doing “safe” click and collect schemes. But is this really an “essential” reason for me to get in the car and potentially risk taking resources away from the NHS if I have an accident en route? Same question with regard to B&Q as I’m short of some paint for the decorating I’m doing. I’m less sorry for them than I am for the garden centres but the principle is the same. Moral dilemma. Thoughts please?
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i live 50 metres from Trosley country park and the amount of cars that were parked there yesterday was like a normal Sunday
There were groups of 3/4 people all wandering through the woods, it’s a joke.
i was stopped by a person with two little kids who asked me how they can get back to the car park cos they were lost. Unbelievable!
Yes it might be boring but half of this stuff is boring, who cares? Safety that counts here.
Don't go to B&Q.
Stay at home, except for excercise, food or medicine. The message from the government is very clear.
As for local garden centres, most are delivering to homes now.
We get the society we deserve and as I guess we have a society full of selfish pricks who wont even make small sacrifices to save other peoples lives, we've got what's coming to us. The utter bastards.
Personally I just walk to the shops when needed and go for a daily exercise ride on my bike. If either or both are taken away I fear for my mental health.
Chances are plenty of other people have been thinking about the same place. Hence you get the scenes being witnessed at Regents park and the like.
If it's on your doorstep then fine. If not then stay away. Simple. Sorry if you're bored. Small sacrifices and all that.
A word to the absolute bells who I saw out yesterday who thought essential shopping was a bag of charcoal and a pack of pork kebabs as essential shopping.
If you're out for the weekly essential shop and happen to put them in the trolley then fine.
If you walked out of the shop with the aforementioned items and nothing else then have a fuc*ing word with yourself.
However, this morning I did venture out and felt like a criminal. CatJnr has had his paramedic studies interrupted and returned home and has got a job at the local hospital to help and keep his hand in. Weeks ago we booked his car in for a service and MOT at a local (to here) garage as we were expecting him home for Uni Easter hols. I know he could defer MOT, but the garage was still open and as a key worker he would need reliable transport to get to the hospital. So I ventured out this morning to pick him up from the garage (<3 miles) and felt really irresponsible, even though I think it was justified. If it hadn't been raining, I was considering telling him to walk - would that have been worse?
We are fortunate that less than a mile away I have the school fields to exercise ours in private, but even walking Saturday I asked by a policewoman that I wouldn't be out all day exercising them (all said with a smile) explaining where I was going I was told "keep safe"
Even though I have been completely on me j since the 14/03, with only one trip out to the blood test lab the other week, reading this type of thing in these times does make me feel very privileged that I'm currently hold up on just over 3 acres of isolated woodland, with just the 3 dogs as company. Makes me wonder why I’m so eager to get back into the thick of it, but I am
It comes to something though when you gotta be grateful for not living within a couple of miles of anyone because you'll probably cop it if you get this virus lol.
And I can't see these rules being relaxed anytime soon. I was saying to Dave 123 on Facebook messenger the other day, it ain't like they're gonna say after another 2 weeks, right that's it folks, you can all go back to normality now.. Reckon this is gonna last for a good few months yet
Indeed, the Health Secretary said 'a 5 minute drive' was acceptable.