Garden centres are more essential than off-licences during lockdown

[Fev11]

Supermarkets already sell alcohol so why on earth are off licences listed as ‘essential’ during lockdown?

Plants and flowers, whether growing in a garden or on a windowsill or balcony have long been recognised as beneficial to mental health. Unlike off-licences, Garden centres could easily be adapted to be fully outdoor spaces.

My heart goes out to the growers who are having to throw out all their stock, who unlike many businesses who will still have their stock to sell when this is all over.

I think garden centres/nurseries are more essential during lockdown than off licences.

AIBU?

(although my mum said she found a nursery open by accident as she was passing, and was the only one there, it doesn't have a cafe and only sells plants and no expensive tat, so perhaps not on peoples' radars).

I think it's a real waste and a shame too. I have seen garden centres/nurseries saying they wouldn't WANT to stay open, though, even if they could, because of staff safety. Which is fair enough. But those who would like to stay open and selling off cheap/giving away their stock is very sad.

And not everyone has a supermarket handy that sells gardening stuff, for those saying you can just get these things elsewhere. Plus supermarkets are probably generally more crowded than garden centres.

Close the garden furniture section off so wee Doris can’t sit down then. It’s not bloody hard.

I found a local wholesaler advertising deliveries to us (guildford area) I've placed and order for us and MIL. They had to branch out to deliver locally otherwise they will be binning all their stock/losing a lot of money. Vegetables/fruits and flowers, very cheap as well. Looking forward to the delivery, they even did soil.

It has all been very "ho ho ho off licenses are essential, the government knows we need our beer / wine / gin" etc.

They're essential because alcoholics need access to alcohol. They can't risk people going through withdrawal with the health service so stretched.

I agree they should be allowed open with strict queue restrictions etc

Yes they are, and they certainly are essential. What if your toilet breaks, for example? Where is the plumber supposed to get the parts from if all the shops are closed?

They are open here to tradespeople who need parts for emergencies, but not to the public.

We don't need 3-5% of alcoholics ending up in A&E, and then catching COVID19 whilst they're there!

americanaddictioncenters.org/withdrawal-timelines-treatments/cold-turkey

About half of all people who are dependent on alcohol will suffer from withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking.

The New England Journal of Medicinee_ (NEJM) warns that 3-5 percent of individuals will struggle with grand mal convulsions, delirium (significant confusion), or both.

This severe form of alcohol withdrawal is called delirium tremens, or DTs. In addition to confusion, agitation, hallucinations, and tremors, individuals may also experience dangerously high fevers. Grand mal seizures, hyperthermia, cardiac arrhythmias, and complications related to co-occurring medical or mental health disorders can make DTs fatal if swift medical care and attention aren’t provided.

@eaglejulesk ah. I didn't realise you were outside uk

Agree and can we push on this?
Drive-through/appointments are great ideas.

They are open here to tradespeople who need parts for emergencies, but not to the public.

Around here it depends. Our small DIY shop in town is open as normal, they just have a limit of three people in the store at any one time. You can buy anything from replacement car or shower parts, to paint, to compost, to a new iron or vacuum cleaner. He's doing a roaring trade!

B&Q and other large stores are different and are only open to buy essentials. You can't go inside either, you have order and collect from the shop car park. So you can buy a replacement shower head but you can't buy paint.

It must be area and shop dependent. I've also managed to order paint online from Homebase even though our nearest shop is temporarily closed.

Neither Garden centres or off licenses are essential!

A lot of people seem to be stretching the definition of 'essential' to 'something I like'.

Our local off licence is our corner shop, selling bread, milk, eggs etc, it just happens it's also an offy.

If I were to go to the nearest supermarket, it's about a mile away and i dont drive, so putting me in contact with more people.

I go to garden centres rarely. We've got a small back yard. I know what's more essential to me in lockdown.

@OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow - yes, I am in NZ. All that is open here are supermarkets, dairies and pharmacies. You can buy essential things like heaters or a new fridge if yours breaks down, but only online and they will deliver.

@vanillandhoney - I'm in NZ, we have stricter rules here.

And why on earth did they not give the garden centres a bit of warning, so that they could create these open space selling areas, and shift their stock in discount sales before closing? It's certainly better than throwing out stock and making zero money. I don't own a garden centre btw, but I hate wastage. People could be looking at lovely plants in their homes, or growing nice veg now Grrrr!

Everyone had a warning. Uk was quite behind on closures and lockdown compare to many other countries

Why can’t they keep their plants alive for six weeks?

Guessing that you don't garden.

1. Perennials (plants that come back year after year) often have a "planting season" that is the right time to put the bulbs or seeds in the ground. Once that's over, they are no good until the following year and may not live until then.

2. Annuals (that's plants that only live for one year) are useless once they've stopped flowering.

YANBU

and with the shortage of pickers for veg and fruit, it might be useful if more people could grow their own

What @bluewafflewithmayo said ..in spades.

Absolutely agree. Crucial. As long as regulated for social distance etc.

Garden centres did have warning but it isn't like they could do much about it. I tried to get all my veg plants early but they were not ready - the garden centre were still waiting.

Gardening is time-critical.

Is there a good campaigner among the MN cohort who could kick this off? (My campaigning days are probably over but I am a joiner-in)

I completely agree with the OP.

Alcohol can be bought in supermarkets and local store.

But plants and gardening stuff is generally can't. And so many nurseries are going to go under if they don't sell their plants ... and it's good exercise, calming activity, healthy for people to do at home. Such a shame.

The potentially reasonable arguments about garden centres don't benefit at all by tying them in with naive, unthinking ones about off licences.

Gardening is so fantastic for mental health - it is one of the things that has helped me hugely over the years and I know that I am not alone. Our local garden centre is delivering but I wish they could have stayed open.

The threat of angry pissheads roaming the streets is too scary for the booze outlets to close I guess.