Posting this as it's playing on my mind so wanted to share.
Took the kids to a large pond near us which we visit frequently. The pond is huge so plenty of space, never issues with crowding and plenty of ducks, moorhens and wildlife for everyone to enjoy. We brought oats to feed the ducks and swans. They came over to feed and it was really lovely. A lady came up and asked us to move away so she could take a photo of the swans (that were only there as they were eating the oats we were feeding them). We only had a handful of oats left so I asked politely if she could wait less than a minute and we'd be done. She said no, we had to move. I asked why. She said that it was dangerous as people were congregating around us to watch us feed the swans and due to Coronavirus it wasn't safe so we should move. I looked around. There was only one couple watching us feed the swans and the were about 4 metres away. This lady was stood about a metre away and wearing a face mask. I asked where the people were. She then said "Okay, not now but they WILL congregate if you stay here as you are attracting attention by feeding the swans. But I'm concerned about the safety of your children. You should move them away now before people congregate around you." I look around. Nobody is congregating. The pond is huge and people are walking past finding their own spots. I say that we're almost done and can she give us a minute then she can take her photos. She then responds: "I would like you to move now. For the safety of your children because I have the flu." My kids are young but old enough to know about Covid and worry about being ill. Whilst I'm fairly sure she's just saying this to force us to move, I didn't want the situation to escalate. At this point, I was worried she'd remove her mask and deliberately cough on us to force us to move away.
So the kids and I moved away. I felt bullied and forced into moving for no reason other than this lady wanting to stand where we were to take a photo of the swans eating the oats we had fed them. We moved several metres away. Watched as she took her photos. Then she walked off. The couple who had witnessed the entire exchange looked at me and said "She's mad", I think, in an effort to make me feel a bit better.
I know it's only one person feeling entitled and being unreasonable. I know most people would never be so rude. What is playing on my mind is whether this is now a thing. For people to pretend to be sick or to threaten to spread germs, in order to get their way. There was an incident in London where a TFL worker caught Covid when someone intentionally coughed on her. Sadly, she did get it and later died. There was a recent incident in the news about a lady who removed her mask and appeared to cough intentionally at a baby in a pram allegedly because she felt the mother had stood too close to her. I'm not white by the way.