AIBU to think they should just ban going to the parks in London?

[ForbiddenFromNaples]

The difinitive park going experience in London is very different than that of the rest of the country. We've all seen those pictures of people crammed together sunbathing in Hyde park.

I dont have a garden so this issue is a big deal to me. Where I live (a fairly big city in the SW), there are numerous parks scattered about and its perfectly possible to go there, chill out and read a book as you catch the sun, all the time maintaining social distancing.

When it comes to the police, they seem most of the time to be pretty sensible about it...... Mostly. Except one or two people have told me horror stories.......

Someone I know who took their autistic child to play football in a park (so officially that should have counted as excersise), then the police turned up and moved them on (which was unnecessarily distressing for the autistic). Im not trying to bad mouth the police here, this is new so theres a lot of all round apprehension in regards to precisely what is allowed. Im just saying, when it comes to the issue of going to the park, the government should have a rethink as to whether everyone else in the country has to have their rights curtailed, simply because of how things are in London. And it would be nice to hear the government admit a one size fits all solution isnt always going to work.

I really believe this is a health issue, both physically and mentally. I bet divorce rates will spike after this, police are already seeing more domestic violence, substance abuse will rocket (ive seen loads of drunk people on trips shopping, so I bet theres even more people getting wasted at home), its not unreasonable to assume people will end up self harming and it could even lead to suicides.

Just to clarify, Im talking about people going to the park ON THEIR OWN. Im not talking about going down the park with their friends to have a picnic.

When the Government said, 'we're all in this together', for the first time ever, it felt true. But now the suns came out, it sort of feels that the poor are getting stung by these restrictions way more than those fortunate enough to afford property with gardens.

Come come people, the OP's post is perfectly clear. Other people should have to put up with restrictions. But the OP should be free to do as they please. Because sunshine. Totally reasonable.

the autistic ??

You lost me right there

^ this. Plus you sound incredibly ignorant.

FFS @Alanna1!!! Of course you can’t see a problem with it, you are choosing not to. If every family who is missing out on doing an Easter egg hunt in the park went out and did one this weekend can you imagine how many people that would be. As for fuel for your exercise that is quite frankly bollocks and a way of you justifying your shitty selfish behaviour. Have lunch before you go, ho and do your exercise and then go the fuck home and fucking stay there. The rules aren’t there for a joke, 1000 people are dying every fucking day

Also @Alanna1 you don’t need a long glorious walk. So what we do, walk round the block. Jesus these threads.

And obviously the entire diverse landscape of the UK can be split into 2 categories of "London" (all must stay inside their gloomy gardenless flats) and "not London" (all should be able to sunbathe in the largely deserted manicured parks on their doorsteps").

I think they should keep parks open but have some kind of entry system so it doesn't get too busy. It's not fair to just say you can go for a walk then complain because people in a large city all walk in the park, there needs to be some kind of system to help control it.

Everyone should obey the same rules and ideally everybody should have the same opportunity for fresh air and exercise and seeing some nature

For starters it's much simpler to manage than trying to have loads of case specific regulation

It would be nice if people in London with gardens didn't go to the parks , but i suspct they won't

London is the most densely populated area of the country, with the highest proportion of homes without outdoor space. If you close off all the options for these people to get outside, you then get the problem of higher violent crime rates due to people being crammed together at close quarters for prolonged periods of time. There is a trade off and a balance to be had here.

There is a huge difference between a stroll in a park and a large gathering

I saw an article saying Harrogate had the worst percentage of people ignoring lockdown. Are they banned too or doesn't it matter if they all catch it up there?

You can still enjoy the sun while walking, running or cycling you don't have to be sitting or lying down to benefit from the sun.

The main benefit of being outside during a pandemic of a virus attacking our lungs and hearts is to improve our cardiovascular systems.

Vitamin D is useful, the less tanned you are the quicker you absorb it so maybe there is more if an argument to let those with genetically darker skin sunbathe. There are plenty of darker skinned people in London though.

Nobody needs to sunbathe - in fact it is extremely unwise to do so due to the risk of skin cancer. Maybe not a short term issue but definitely a long term one.

Using the parks to walk, run and cycle is fine will allow you to get plenty of vitamin D. Using the parks to sit around getting the rays is not.

OP, what are you actually on about?

Please define “parks in London.” Which ones please?

Please tell us how the “parks in London” are different to the “parks in Manchester” or the “parks in Milton Keynes” or anywhere else.

Do you assume that the entire population of London have no other options, but to descend en masse to Hyde Park?

Can you think of any other parks in London?

Can you imagine that London may even have open spaces that are not formally parks?

Or are you basing your entire hypothesis on what you saw reported in the national news three weeks ago?

Unfortunately for people in London, its not really possible (or at least its more difficult).

Its perfectly possible, try getting information from somewhere other than the tabloids.

The net result of carefully angled pictures in the tabloids and disproportionage coverage of a small number of groups (mainly young men) is parks being closed or restricting access to disabled people by fencing off seats.

The daily press conferences bang on about following the evidence whilst prioritising the media reactions.

Please define “parks in London.”

Actually, defining London would be a start. Are we talking about Zone 1? All the boroughs as far out as Croydon & Enfield?

I stopped reading at the autistic YABU just for that. Ffs I can't believe someone would think that was ok to say.

You are being bloody ridiculous

WHY you singling out London OP ?!

And Yes to what @EmpressLangClegInChair says
Where would you count as London exactly in your stupid idea

To answer your question, yes YABU. there's no reason to suggest that people in London would cope any better than people elsewhere in the UK by being completely locked in their flats/houses or only being able to walk around the block. Also, forget about London for a second, if you and others near you continue to bend the rules to your advantage by 'chilling' in the park, your local authority will introduce stricter lockdown measures where you are irrespective of what's happening in London.

This just highlights the bad planning we have had recently.

Big developments crammed with people with no green spaces for them to go.

We need a planning overhaul and many more parks and green spaces instead of squabbling over who gets to use the existing ones.

87% of households have a garden apparently. I would guess that London it's much more?

Less even!

If people didn't take the piss by playing football or reading a book in the sun , there wouldn't be so many bans!

It's that ridiculous attitude that is penalising everybody.

I have two friends with knee injuries and one recovering from a broken leg. They (separately) have out supervising their kids exercising and all have experienced being 'moved on' by police.

They physically cannot move very far; to and from a park is about it. It's exhausting and potentially injuring to keep going round their parks. They all live in flats without outside space and this is punishing their kids too.

I get the social distancing, I get the stay home if you have symptoms and cover your coughs/sneezes. But how is this possibly preventing spread? They have not been closer than 2m to anyone except their kids. But you have an injury or disability preventing constant exercise? Tough shit, go home.

It would be nice if people in London with gardens didn't go to the parks , but i suspct they won't

Why? Do you think we're all dicks? I have a garden, well a roof terrace but still a nice outside space. I haven't been to a park at all. I still go out for walks to take my dog for a walk but we go round the quiet back streets. Don't believe everything you see in the paper.