To think this is not really in the spirit of things?

[tinkywinkyshandbag]

So my in-laws who are both in their 80s live about 20 minutes walk from our house. Pre-lockdown we would often get together with them on a Friday evening for a gin and tonic or glass of wine.

Since lockdown we haven't seen them apart from briefly to drop off some shopping et cetera and we have been strict about maintaining social distance.

I know my mother-in-law has found a lockdown down hard as she is very sociable and it took us a few weeks to convince her that she had to take it seriously.

Anyway, this evening my DH and our 15-year-old daughter went off for a walk for their daily exercise, fair enough. At the same time or 18-year-old daughter took yourself out for a run, again fair enough.

About half an hour later the phone rang and it was my mother-in-law. It seems that my husband and daughter had magically just arrived at their house, our other daughter was on her way, and the plan was for them all to stand out in the street and have a drink and a chat. By drink I mean bottle of wine et cetera.

I was invited over to join them. mulled it over and then called back to say that I wouldn't join them, to a somewhat frosty reception, They clearly thought I was being a bit of a killjoy.

However I don't think this is really in the spirit of the lockdown. We live in a very touristy area and there has been a lot of publicity about keeping the tourists away and everybody staying at home. I think that I was all standing out in the street drinking wine and having a laugh is not really the thing to do in this situation. Even if social distance is maintained, it still doesn't sit right with me.

I am now expecting that when they eventually get home I will get stick from DH about being antisocial. However I think I am in the right. AIBU?

If you meet someone when outside,

it is fine to wave, talk for a minute or so at a distance of 2m or more,
... then go your separate ways

Very different from sitting down and drinking for 20 minutes, which is what happened during this planned social occasion

What difference do the minutes make @BigChocFrenzy?

@TheDailyCarbuncle I appreciate you listening to my opinion and sharing yours. I wish I could have balanced debates more often but sadly when people get hot headed I recoil back into my (well painted) shell

What if I have a 2 or 3 minute conversation? What if the neighbour I'm dropping off food to takes 7 minutes to tell me what they need? Am I then a murderer single-handedly taking down the NHS?

This isn't a loophole it is against the lockdown rules and if the police were to turn up they would move the OP's family on, for the same reason that they would move you on for picnicing in a park or on a beach away from everyone else - to stop every man and his dog doing the same. The rules are there for a reason. Going to a supermarket is essential, this is not. Not sure why not everyone can get their head around this?

Same to you @SuckingDownDarjeeling. I get riled up on threads like this because I am seriously worried about how the government is going to manage a return to normal with so many people scared so witless that they are getting wound up about people talking to each other. China is claiming no new cases and I think part of the reason for that must be because they knew if the public knew the virus was still around they wouldn't go back to normal and they needed everyone to stop being so frightened and start living again. If you can't actually live and function in the world then what's the point?

It seems obvious to me that what people are objecting to is the fact that people are enjoying themselves, not that they are doing anything dangerous.
Exactly this.
I don't think anyone would condone the really obvious flouting of the lock down guidelines such as people having house parties. But the activity described by the OP is probably less risky than doing the weekly supermarket shop.

It seems that unless you sit in your living room with the curtains shut while wringing your hands in misery then you are not entering in to the spirit if things

Well lets all go out and have street parties then

Well lets all go out and have street parties then

Thank you for proving the point so clearly.

I've never read 50% anywhere, but I'd be happy to read a reliable reference to this ?

Imperial, Report 9, Ferguson's team, this template is what we are living. Screenshot of model assumptions. Compliance with each individual measure 50-75%. The % of people expected to comply with all the restrictions the whole time is pretty much zero.

But the whole point is that there are rules for a reason. If half the street went for a walk to meet up with others locally and had drinks in front gardens then there are too many people out for non essential reasons. We have just had the highest daily death rate of ANY European country. Spain and Italy have far tightened restrictions and frankly at this rate I think we should now as well as there is a minority that seem incapable of following a clearly defined set of rules and restrictions. These apply to everyone no ifs and buts full stop.

Living under lockdown rules is like being Catholic. Knowing you're a doomed sinner doesn't mean you don't stop trying to be good. It's always a work in progress.

Are people really too immature to do that.

Those “spare” ventilators will quickly be in use if people keeping breaking the rules. Then what will dave the idiot do? Reckon he will stock think it’s ok to break the rules then?

Tell dave if he signs a DNR and gives up his right to a ventilator should he need one he can crack on...

YANBU! I've noticed more and more people lately adjusting the government guidelines to suit them. Neighbours having cars drive up and then standing 2 feet away from the people and thinking they are 'social distancing.' They get even closer as they talk and forget themselves and are much closer than the advised distance!
I also witnessed a delivery driver knock o somebody's door then stand faffing around scanning two parcels before eventually handing them over inches from the person and neither party attempting to distance. They are supposed to leave on doorstep then stand right back also noticed it is thia same household that love to clap every Thursday and make a massive fuss when they are breaking every rule

I do worry about the mental health effects when this is all over. I admit I have taken my DC for their daily walk and dropped off my parents shopping at the same time, but I felt like someone was going to tell me off for standing in their garden for a few minutes, letting them see and talk to their GC.
The DC have enough sense not to get too close, if anything we're all so paranoid we're keeping considerably more than 2m apart. Even if one of us had somehow got the virus, I can't see how we could possibly have passed it on.
I can understand the need to be careful, but can't see how this is dangerous.

'If you can't actually live and function in the world then what's the point?'

And when safe to do so we will on the governments advice not yours...

I met up with my Other Half today whilst he was delivering over where I live. Haven't seen him for almost 2 months as we're long distance. He parked at one side of the lay by and I parked at the opposite side. There was definitely more than 6ft between us and we just sat and talked with our windows wound down. It's was awful not being able to kiss and cuddle him but just seeing him for 45 minutes was lovely. Do either of us regret meeting up. No definitely not and it's helped me loads because my mental health is declining badly at the moment so just being able to see him has given me such a lift today. I'm just hoping I can see him again on the 7th May on what should've been our Baby's due date

G-dad & G-daughter regular visit.
but No fun allowed on MN when social distancing.

Sounds like it was all planned beforehand and you were specifically not invited because they knew you wouldn't approve op. I would be really pissed off if it were me.

*FWIF, I spoke to my friend today, a firefighter.

His job recently has been moving dead bodies out of houses. Full time. One after another. Nothing but moving dead bodies.*

Yes a significant proportion of our emergency services (police, ambulance, firefighters) are now trained up to go into homes to test, wrap and remove infectious CV+ corpses and take them to the huge temporary morgues. The expectation is that over 1/3 of people will die at home. These numbers are not captured in the daily figures and they have now stopped reporting deaths of healthcare workers.

These are the people who are putting their lives on the line day in day out. I respect the work of Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance - and I will so as they instruct - less for my own health but because I don’t want to contribute to exposing our frontline workers to further increase in viral load which is taking their lives.

I don’t see the need to twist the instruction and add any further risk to these people’s lives.

I keep seeing pics of streets with everyone out the front of their houses participating in some sort of event. Unfortunately I think clapping for the NHS, Boris, the butcher, the baker .... has made this street participation worse. Not so bad clapping from your balcony in Italy but our houses are not the same in uk and people have just extended that.

I’d be really cross that they’d cooked this up behind my back. If they maintained social distancing, I think that’s ok.

@DamnYouAutocucumber it might be easier to remove any opinions on what's 'dangerous' and only focus on the new laws. Everybody will naturally have their own opinion on what is dangerous or what is not but those in charge of the country have stepped back, looked at the situation pragmatically as a whole and made a decision on how everybody needs to behave in order to quell the virus, (not eradicate it). I do actually agree that sitting at the end of somebody's driveway and maintaining social distancing is not 'too dangerous'. But that's not my call to make right now, and also arguing amongst ourselves won't change that. So what I'm saying is: if everybody who thought these actions were dangerous suddenly changed their minds and said 'oh you know what, that's not too scary, let's all do it', it won't change the fact that the police will still intervene and send you home. Until lockdown is over we don't have a choice and we haven't been given the autonomy to decide what's dangerous and what's not regarding Covid-19.

"It seems that my husband and daughter had magically just arrived at their house, our other daughter was on her way"

Magically, indeed. Clearly planned. I would be raging.

It sounds pre meditated from what you've said. You are right. They are wrong