AIBU to plan on having a BBQ

[Numptydumptyfelloffthewall]

Hi,

I've seen such conflicting advice and information on this lockdown that I'm starting to doubt my own judgement. I've tried to follow the lockdown to the letter. DH and I are working full time from home and i've been out once since lockdown for food shopping. We have 2 DC (4, 6) who are home and havent been out, they run around in the garden for exercise.

I have some BBQ coal in the shed and was wondering if it would be unreasonable/ wrong for DH, me and the 2 DC to have a BBQ on Sunday when the weather is predicted to be a bit nicer. We wouldnt need to buy any supplies or meet anyone else and it would really brighten a very stressed and difficult week but I dont want to be disrespectful or undermine the lockdown, esp as I have family both on the shielding list and working in the NHS, so I really understand how important it is to delay the spread of Covid 19.

We're in a standard 1930s 3 bed semi so we have a nice sized garden but not huge. If we do go ahead, should we go in if our neighbours also come into their garden? Or set up at the bottom of the garden? I usually keep the kids inside during the actual cooking as DD4 is asthmatic but they find eating BBQ food outside to be a huge novelty/ treat.

Takeaways get delivered to different areas at different days and are keeping a local pub in business.

One person driving onto the estate and leaving bags of food by peoples doors is a lot less people movement than all those people popping to the shop everyday.

They’ve touched the food, the packaging and the bag. As risky as buying milk in a shop. Justify it if you want you’re a huge hypocrite.

A takeaway is not as risky for the collective as everyone repeatedly going to the shops. Risk to the individual is also far less than that of a supermarket trip.

Not that I think anyone needs to get overly het up about what other people are doing...

But in the main, the more people stay in, the better. We’re getting by on minimum rations of milk. We’ve got 4 eggs and will make them stretch as far as possible. When we run out, we’ll make do without. But it’s quite easy for us as we can just please ourselves - no babies or young children to consider.

We haven’t been to a supermarket in 2+ weeks, and we don’t want to go for at least another week. But other people may need or want to go more often. I’m not going to start lashing out at people or freaking out about what they do. I’ll keep myself to myself, which is as much as I can do.

I am in the queue at Tesco planning on all the non-essentials which will go in the trolley today.

Wine (okay that's an essential I agree)
Biscuits
Chocolate
Salad for my tortoise and also got the BBQ on Sunday.
Crackers
Might also pick up some pansies to plant for the tortoise (he loves the flowers).
Pepsi for the teenager.

I also have essentials

Milk
Bread

Check me out keeping the economy going.

Enjoy your BBQ on Sunday OP, I'll raise a glass to you.

Nonsense.

The stuff you get from the shop has been touched by loads of other people from processing to delivery, unpacking, shelf stacking, other customers, you, then the cashier. Not to mention the door handles, basket etc.

The food from the pub comes in a plastic tub in a plastic bag. The bag goes straight in the bin, hands washed, plastic tube straight into microwave for a nuke to kill any nasties.

One vehicle from one pub to deliver to about twenty houses rather than loads of people trekking to a shop and touching and coughing on everyone else’s stuff.

I haven’t said don’t go to the shop or buy milk, but don't make a special trip to a shop just to buy milk ffs.

Get you stuff delivered or go out as infrequently as possible, it’s pretty simple advice given for very good reason.

The queue to get into Tesco is long. So tempted to cough and shout "KISSY WISSY". The queue should evaporate.

You are having a barbeque for members of your own house. You've not invited the neighbours or friends. Best damn barbeque there ever was in my opinion. Go ahead.

If you have a baby that drinks milk, are you honestly saying that the baby should drink water instead, and you shouldn't go and buy milk?

You are sounding ridiculous now.

I agree.... don't pop out for non essentials but come on....

I know a lot of people in Spain. One person was fined 200euros because when the police stopped his car and checked his shopping bags, he just had beer and crisps in it.
Fine. Agree with that.

You are sounding exceedingly pious.

Be sensible folks. Don't make unnecessary journeys. Try and save up all your shopping for as few journeys as possible.
That's it really.

Rebooting have you missed the fact most people cannot get delivery slots or has that passed you by? All very well saying "get it delivered."

It's why I am stood in a queue for Tesco to get my shopping AND that of my 75 yr old parents who also cannot get a delivery slot.

Exactly walking.

It is very different living on the Isle of Man to living on mainland Britain. No comparison

I haven’t said don’t go to the shop or buy milk, but don't make a special trip to a shop just to buy milk ffs.

But I have everything else, I just need the bloody milk! It isn’t an additional shopping trip, it is our shopping trip!

Well, maybe some of your local businesses should adapt like ours have.

All cafes,bars and pubs are shut. Nearly all have adapted and are now delivering food (and drink) utilising the local taxi firms who were otherwise sitting round with nothing to do.

Nearly every corner shop and petrol station are doing deliveries. Vulnerable people like the elderly are having their shopping done by local volunteers like the local rugby clubs etc. All trades are stopped working so the ones with a bit of community spirit are making their otherwise unused vehicles available to assist with all the extra deliveries.

All on an island where up until a few weeks ago Tesco was the only place that really delivered and then you had to book months in advance.

Everything non essential is closed. Like the poster above cars are being stopped and if you were found to be out for just a ring top up shop you would likely be fined or worse.

The fine for breaching 14 day isolation is up to £10,000 and possible prison time.

But I have everything else, I just need the bloody milk! It isn’t an additional shopping trip, it is our shopping trip!

You can do without milk 🤷‍♂️

Either you have no grasp of how the rest of the world live or you have special dietary requirements and no planning ability

I will definitely be planning a bbq if the weather gets better. It is misersble enough being inside all the time without making up additional rules to make it worse.

You are allowed in your garden with members of your household so crack on OP.

Rebootingagain You still haven’t answered the question about babies. We will run out of blue top milk before we do our next shop. We can’t get deliveries. I can’t buy milk in the volume I need as there were only 1 litre bottles left in the supermarket with a max purchase of 2 bottles. I am clearly going to go out and get milk for my 12m old rather than put water in her bottle for a week.

There's w HUGE difference from a small island with a small population to a huge area with millions.

God help you if you can't work that out. You must be thick.

chocolate goes against gov guidance

I've seen it all now

Fuck me.

Goes against Govt guidance indeed

BBQ's are only a problem when people invite people over for them. If it's just the people from your household then it's fine.

Well, maybe some of your local businesses should adapt like ours have

They are. We have local businesses that are. Spasmodic but we support when we can. But you making a statement like that isn't going to make them all do it on mainland UK is it?

You are living in a different place to us. We are doing what we are able with the resources available to us. You live in Utopia, we obviously live in a hell hole
You live on an island 30 miles long or thereabouts... you can't start spouting off and comparing it to England.

No idea what your actual point is. You've explained how it is where you live, and we have told you how it is with us.

That was to @Rebootingagain

Actually LOL at people’s lemming-like applications of ‘law.’

I’ve got chocolate, selection of biscuits, 20+ bags of sweets, Prosecco...all quite essential to my happiness as far as I’m concerned. I’d challenge any petty observers to try to tell me what I am and am not allowed to include in an essential shop!

I've been in the Tesco queue for nearly an hour now. God help any little Debbie Drainer who tuts at my trolley.

Two lots as my parents are being shipped for as well.

Either you have no grasp of how the rest of the world live or you have special dietary requirements and no planning ability

And you had the cheek to call me thick! I’m going to try to be polite here although it won’t be easy and just assume you are the one that’s thick.

I understand perfectly well how the rest of the world live and I can plan perfectly well. I did a supermarket shop, however I don’t have room to keep 2 or 3 weeks worth of milk in my normal sized fridge (not that they’d let me buy that much anyway) so therefore we buy it once or twice a week, depending on what is available. THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT SAID WE CAN’T BUY MILK OR THAT WE CAN ONLY GO SHOPPING ONCE A MONTH OR THAT WE CAN’T BUY SOMETHING ELSE WITH THE ESSENTIALS!

You’re banging on about supporting small businesses - what do you think I’m doing by going to the corner shop rather than the supermarket?

Jesus Christ, when this pandemic is over I wonder what the shopping police of MN will do then?

We've been told by the local FB that as they have had two call outs to fires caused by arson, and lots of calls re bonfires etc they now say that due to the lockdown and the number of people lighting fires that these are banned. People are reminded that with people at home the fumes are affecting those with breathing difficulties.

The warmer weather, combined with a dry spell, the refuse sites being closed have combined to increase the no of fires. So I would say just check if there are restrictions in your area to prevent you lighting it.