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Covid

Coronavirus, gardens, 'sunbathing' etc.

280 replies

ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 10/04/2020 16:44

You can legally sunbathe in your private garden all day long. But some people don't have gardens.

There are people complaining on social media to the police about people sunbathing on municipal land. Not large numbers of people, literally two people enjoying the sunshine and minding their own business. There are people replying that they will go out and assault them, etc.

There is in fact no law against sunbathing. It just seems to be bringing out the neighbourhood arseholes to try to enforce non-existent rules. Nobody is going to die because someone went out to the shop and decided to stop to sunbathe on a 16 acre meadow on the way home. Nobody. The 'but 1000 people died today' stuff is not related to that. Keep to your own household, don't mix with other people, don't leave home without a reasonable excuse.

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Hormonecrazyhell · 10/04/2020 16:49

U might die, I certainly wouldn’t fancy any meat that the sunbather left in a shopping bag for hours while they topped up their tan :/ at the end of the day, sunbathing isn’t exercise, work or essential. Why can’t ppl just stick to the rules

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donquixotedelamancha · 10/04/2020 16:58

I certainly wouldn’t fancy any meat that the sunbather left in a shopping bag for hours

Very true. If a random stranger asked me to eat his meat, I'd be worried about catching something too.

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MeadowHay · 10/04/2020 17:01

I agree with you completely but sadly some people are scarily really enjoying the current climate to demonise other people. There is no way that sunbathing, maintaining the correct social distance, can spread coronavirus. And many of us don't have gardens. We are not at all 'all in this together'. Lockdown is considerably more difficult for people in smaller properties without outside space, especially those who live in flats.

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donquixotedelamancha · 10/04/2020 17:04

There is in fact no law against sunbathing.

In effect there is, at least in public spaces.

There are large areas of the country where what you describe poses no risk and where people with no outside space must be going through an awful time.

The legislation is designed to deal with the enormous problem in some cites, to conserve the resources of police and health staff and to stop more areas suffering the same fate.

I would hope police might exercise discretion in less populous areas for harmless actions but ultimately the law has to be written in a simple and clear way for the whole country.

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ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 10/04/2020 17:07

In effect there is, at least in public spaces.

No, the law prevents you leaving home without reasonable excuse. It doesn't govern public spaces in any way shape or form.

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poppadopolis · 10/04/2020 17:10

I haven't seen sunbathing on the list of acceptable reasons to leave your house. Do you have an updated list OP?

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donquixotedelamancha · 10/04/2020 17:12

No, the law prevents you leaving home without reasonable excuse.

Sunbathing is not one of the accepted reasons, ergo if you are doing so away from your private residence you are breaking the law. Hence my use of 'effectively'.

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ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 10/04/2020 17:12

My OP was quite clear.

You can leave home with a reasonable excuse, such as shopping.

That does not prevent you sunbathing while you are on your shopping trip.

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donquixotedelamancha · 10/04/2020 17:15

You can leave home with a reasonable excuse, such as shopping. That does not prevent you sunbathing while you are on your shopping trip.

The police are certainly arresting those who try that line, I've seen video of just such an attempt. May I ask the qualifications of the solicitor who advised this rather unusual interpretation of the new laws?

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coffeeandcreamer · 10/04/2020 17:16

Oh please. Why are there people that insist on trying to bend the rules to fit them?!

Sunbathing isn't good for you anyway. And please don't give us the "we all need vitamin D" lark, you'd get that on your essential walk to the shop!

Just stay home. Please.

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Hormonecrazyhell · 10/04/2020 17:16

Of course it does, you are allowed shopping for essentials, that it is, not doing anything you want on the way back, it’s shit. We all know it’s shit. But the quicker we all do as we’re told, the quicker it will be over

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JonHammIsMyJamm · 10/04/2020 17:19

This morning on the BBC they were pleading again for people not to stop on benches etc during their exercise. Passing through municipal parks/green spaces is permitted but stopping in them isn’t. We are told this constantly. It is made abundantly clear by the briefings and the officials on the TV.

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Thefaceofboe · 10/04/2020 17:20

I think the problem is, if everyone who doesn’t have a garden goes to the beach to sunbathe or to a random field, it no longer becomes isolated. It’s hard to bend the rules for one without doing it for them all.

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Thefaceofboe · 10/04/2020 17:21

That does not prevent you sunbathing while you are on your shopping trip I guess you could argue I would pop to my mums on the way home as I’m passing her house anyway on my shopping trip?

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littlemeitslyn · 10/04/2020 17:22

'Eat his meat' Confused

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Thighmageddon · 10/04/2020 17:27

Am I allowed to stop for a spot of bird watching?

Feed the ducks?

Browse a car showroom?

Go blackberry picking?

Fly a kite?

Any other random acts I can think of to break the very firm rules of permitted reasons to leave my house put in place to save lives?

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SussEggsRoyale · 10/04/2020 17:27

Very true. If a random stranger asked me to eat his meat, I'd be worried about catching something too.

This comment has not had the love it deserved. Unlike the meat offering madman who is after love he doesn't deserve.

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BentNeckLady · 10/04/2020 17:28

I walked to the shop earlier on and saw some people sitting on a bench in the park and for a moment I was angry with them.. but then I remembered that there’s a lot of flats here where people don’t even have a balcony, some of them face north so won’t get any direct sunlight. I know what I’d do if I lived in one of them at the moment - i’d either go and get some sunshine for half an hour or I would probably end up killing my self. 🤷🏽‍♀️

The idiots who are continuing to go to social gatherings, religious meetings, funerals, etc are the problem. People laying in the sun/going for a walk or bike ride is not.

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user1480880826 · 10/04/2020 17:31

Sunbathing is not a “reasonable excuse” OP. The rules are clear. Essential shopping and exercise only. Sunbathing is neither.

You might think it’s harmless but what do you think would happen if the government changed the rule to “essential shopping, exercise and sunbathing”? The parks and beaches would be absolutely overflowing with people sitting around for long periods of time. And those people all have to walk past many other people to get to these sunbathing sites.

The rules are not complicated.

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SuperCraft · 10/04/2020 17:33

Bend the rules for some, then what's the point of having them at all. Sunbathing is not essential.

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ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 10/04/2020 17:35

I'm not defending people sunbathing, I'm saying that the people complaining about two people sunbathing on a nondescript piece of land of no interest to anyone beyond walking distance are by far the bigger dickheads here.

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LochJessMonster · 10/04/2020 17:39

No, it’s not allowed and they are the dickheads for breaking the rules.

The reasons there is a blanket ban is because people like you will always try and get around with some excuse about why you can do it.

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ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 10/04/2020 17:42

I don't care though. Why should I care? They aren't hurting anyone. Why are people complaining about them on social media?

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Thighmageddon · 10/04/2020 17:45

Why should I care?

Every fucking person on the planet should care...

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G3m81 · 10/04/2020 17:45

The problem is if everyone had this attitude then pretty soon all parks, beaches etc would be full and social distancing would be pointless.

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