AIBU to think heatwave barbecue reactions are starting to feel a bit Covid?

Well. Let me think.

Are we being asked to stay at home to save lives? No
Are our children's schools being closed? No
Are we having to wear masks? No (but I've put one one to help me tune into that Covid vibe)
Are we talking to our friends at a distance of several metres? No
Are we watching daily briefings on infection rates from the Chief Medical Officer? No
Are we standing by our gateposts clapping for carers? No

I am struggling to see any similarities so far but will dedicate the rest of my day to trying to find at least one.

Is it ‘moral perfection’ or ‘not wanting people to lose their houses and possibly their lives due to an unnecessary fire’, @WindsorGreatPark?

Seriously - people are being asked to avoid an unnecessary leisure activity, to reduce the risk of wildfires - why is that a bad thing? Is anyone dying from the lack of BBQed food?

Ask the people in Stourbridge, who have lost their homes, whether they think this advice is bad, or that people who are supporting it are ‘holier than thou’. I bet they’d prefer that no-one else goes through what they are going through. Ask the fire fighters, estate workers and farmers who are putting themselves at risk fighting these fires if they think it is a bad idea to avoid naked flames when the country is tinderbox dry.

If you don’t like your garden fence or patio furniture, sure leave the neighbours to their barbecue.

I never fail to be astounded by the scale of public stupidity.

Hope they also warn about throwing cigarette ends - has anything been said about that?

Wow, just cook the food using your indoor cooker, grill, oven, air fryer and serve it outside. Get some barbecue seasoning, char it a bit if you like it black on the outside and raw on the inside and move on.

Asking us not to have barbecues or use fire pits, Chinese lanterns and fireworks is just common sense and anyone not recognising this fact actually needed that warning because they're clearly very very stupid.

It’s strange that 2 people can can have an entirely different view and believe they are both right.

I’m cracking on 50, married, run my own business, 3 children ( who I’ve managed to not kill) own my own home, have 2 cats who won’t run away. I feel I can risk access my own danger of a posh BBQ on my lovely concrete patio - and I can do all this with out calling people who disagree names.

And I do wonder whether if those people who do get highly strung over government ‘advice’ have a correlation with those that like to call names and throw insults about.

We’re not divided at all. What a weird thing to say. How do you know there weren’t these exact conversations on the Spanish and French versions of mumsnet?

No. It is because we are all divided about the appropriate course of action for mitigating fire risk on our own soil. Whilst the European fires were really shocking, we can’t really do anything about it so it was more of a passive empathy

I dunno, the rest of Europe didn’t get it either?

The country has no common sense that's the problem. Standard bbq in a garden absolutely fine. Tin box on grass that's now turned to hay because of drought is not fine. Not really hard to comprehend is it!

I doubt the druggies on my estate will care. Hopefully if they are that stupid they will be caught out by a ring doorbell.

Yes! Exactly this. Govt asks everyone to be more careful and not light fires in open grasslands. Sandra and Mick bemoan anyone dating to have a bbq in their back garden. Covid all over again. People don’t realise we have hundreds of wildfires every summer. Absolutely it’s getting worse, absolutely we need to take more care. But it’s nothing new.

Yes, I have mentioned that probably twice now.

(Assuming you mean 'last year' and not anything to do with 'tiers'... shudder!)

I assume you stopped to respond to this before reading the rest of the thread, but if you're interested as to why I posted it, you can search for my posts in the thread to get the context. If you're still not sure, I'm happy to answer!

I appreciate meaning gets a bit lost when it's over multiple posts.

Daft post…

It has also emboldened all the idiots who are itching to denounce their neighbours to the state for any sort of perceived transgression

Hit the nail on the head.

thankfully most people are intelligent and secure about themselves and able to heed guidance. Sadly, there are those ridiculous individuals who have a reaction to being told what to do by the state.

Because I can safely do it, and it's cooler cooking outside. My risk assessment (which policy makers agree with) is that's not a high risk to cause a fire. It's obviously a very different risk profile to a disposable BBQ on dry grass, which I wouldn't have considered using this summer, and I didn't need a government alert to tell me that.

Yes, you are being unreasonable.

There.

It sounds like people have urgent burgers to eat and guests coming, who can’t possibly be let down by the method in which their food is cooked. It is pretty essential stuff.

and you can definitely guarantee no embers will come off.

I agree with the OP. People love to be told what to do and how to act.

Whilst I agree that disposable BBQ should be not sold at this time - having a family BBQ in your own back garden is your own prerogative. We shouldn’t be told what we can and can’t do in our own homes. I’m pretty sure that some Government official is going to be spotted at a garden BBQ like last time!

We’ve a birthday party this weekend, it’s been organised for months. Family are coming that we have not seen in years and our home is too small to have everyone seated in the living room. We are not cancelling.

As an adult I know not to go out and start a fire, let fireworks off ect… but I will have a BBQ at my home on the paved patio in my back garden

Thank you for the link. This was last tear.

Exactly - only needs a small ember/spark/coal from the bbq to land anywhere at the moment and there'd be a fire.

Think gas BBQ should be ok as no embers

I'll continue to safely use my responsibly sited gas barbeque in my garden, as I'm legally entitled to do.
But why do you need to do this, in the midst of a drought and wildfires? Just because something's legal doesn't make it morally ok.

Perfectly sensible request to ask us to not BBQ with coals, disposable etc whilst this heat wave and drought persists. The fire brigade literally don't have the resources to go to any more fires! They are already flat out.

We are having a gas BBQ today. We will do so safely and are not near any dried grass. We have artificial grass and live in a large detached house. Shot at dawn? Really?