To think it's absolutely fine to treat this as a holiday

[LaurieFairyCake]

If you're observing all government rules

Honestly, whatever it takes to get you through this is FINE

Whether you're skipping down the street on your daily exercise, dressing up like a frog to go on your daily walk, sitting in your garden under a parasol listening to Rachmaninov, cycling in a mankini..

WHATEVER floats your boat within the rules have at it.

We all need just to get through this as no one has had to do this for 3 generations

So yes, if you can tell yourself you're on holiday - fine

One of the police forces tweeted yesterday that it's not a holiday.

Which one was it? Several police forces have not exactly covered themselves in glory during all this.

I'm enjoying it, I've ordered myself a parasol for the garden so I can sit out in the sunshine, haven't really had time before for just sitting, also stocked up on kindle books. DH is busy with his DIY in the garden, he doesn't like just sitting so he is happy. We have also planned to do some decorating inside for when the weather is not so good.

It's Easter weekend so technically it is a holiday.

That aside, regardless of what day it is, it would be considerate if people didn't inflict themselves on their immediate neighbours/colleagues/rest of the human race. Is it too much to ask to enjoy the time off without doing it at top volume etc

(no doubt I'll be told I'm BU!)

I agree about not wanting to hear neighbours music, I always wear my EarPods in the garden like I would on the beach or by the pool.

Yep. As long as you're following the rules, whatever gets you through or makes it less boring is ok. xx

I had an unbelievably terrible year last year and only just escaped with my MH in tact. I'm damned if I am going to let this pull me back down whilst we are still all healthy.

I am working p/t in the front line and when not, I am totally observing the distancing guidelines. DH is working from home and right now he has no commute (up to 3 hours a day) and no long plane journeys. DC are getting a long really well and we are getting lots of chores done. Some one once told me that I have had a lot of trauma in my life and so if you don't mind, I'll take my joy when I can get it and from what little things I can get it from. I may need to draw on my strength reserves anytime soon.

Take rest now because when this is all over we will need another kind of strength to help ourselves and others deal with the fall out of all this.

But a lot more people are dying than normal. Plus they are dying alone, people cannot sit with their loved ones as they pass away. You can’t visit your mum in hospital. People are alone and scared.

I mean this with all the sympathy in the world, I really do, but how is me not sitting in the garden and soaking up the sun going to change that? I would love to be doing something to help but as someone who is pregnant I have been told not to. Me forcing myself to have a miserable time doesn’t change the horrible fact that some people are suffering. I really don’t want to sound insensitive but I am anxious enough about the prospect of giving birth alone and my antenatal classes being cancelled so I feel utterly clueless as a FTM. Trying to treat these days off as a ‘holiday’ of sorts - as we are lucky enough to be able to do - is all I really can do.

On a separate note, my idea of a holiday doesn’t involve being an antisocial neighbour with loud music or obnoxious behaviour, so I think it’s safe to say that the people who are being inconsiderate twats are doing so not because they are treating this as a holiday, but because they are twats.

I agree OP - we all have to make the best of this situation. I saw a kid and his dad out cycling yesterday with bunny ears sticking out of their bike helmets and it made me smile. My FB this weekend has been full of kids having Easter egg hunts in their gardens, BBQs, people drinking cocktails in their own homes/gardens.

My family, instead of getting together for a big Easter lunch at my parents', as we normally do at Easter, had a Zoom virtual drinks party. We all had a glass of something and sat around chatting for an hour. It was lovely! I'm hugely in favour in everyone doing what they can to keep things normal and cheerful.

Absolutely ok as long as you remember that people are dying and grieving....we as a world are actually dealing with a shitshow!!

Just a reminder that people are dying and grieving every single day of starvation, conflict and disease every single day in poorer parts of the world.
But now that naice Western people are affected, we must keep them in mind at all times, hm?

Consideration is key.

I don't want to hear your music - especially when getting some sleep before a shift. I don't want to have to dodge around you skipping on my way home from work.

Not everyone is on holiday, and dealing with those who think it is twee to inflict their joy on others is getting bloody draining. Bit like when you get "those parents" in your carriage on a long train journey - ahhhhh.... remember those threads....

Not going to be able to take a holiday for quite some time to come so I am going to end up with cracked fillings from gritting my teeth and smiling when friends post about their lovely "holiday" where they are spending so much quality time, reconnecting with their children etc....

Yes , loving having all the spare time , DH and I are self employed and will probably have no business to go back to ( holiday and leisure , so yes , we’re screwed )
We’re making the most of it , enjoying the weather , outside as much as possible , slashing through the weeds and brambles , lots of outside jobs to catch up on , and there’s a list of stuff to catch up on inside when the weather changes
Planted up the pots ready for the summer , and planted seeds in the greenhouse , taking a long rural walk every day , and a glass of wine ( usually more ) on the patio in the evening

Absolutely, a positive attitude combined with a bit of tolerance is essential in getting through a crisis.

We are trying to be grateful for the little positives (not so little in my opinion, but little when compared to overall situation and suffering). We both work from home and are grateful to still have jobs and that those jobs are stable. We are grateful that we are together and that my DH got to spend time with our baby that he otherwise wouldn't have spent commuting to work and back every day. We make breaks together, we spend time with our DD and help each other when meetings take place, we have movie nights, cook together and spend time on the balcony (no garden). If I wasn't worried for my my parents and PIL, I would perhaps even be able to forget every once in a while why we're being locked in the house.

One of the police forces tweeted yesterday that it's not a holiday.
They are right. Unless your idea of a holiday is staying at home doing next to nothing, it really isn't. When you see how many fines have been issued yesterday to people not respecting the rules, of course it's not.

But spending a weekend at home doesn't have to be torture either, why wouldn't you be enjoying yourself as long as you remember you have neighbours.

I don't know that many people who are not working at the moment, but many are off for the bank holiday. Why should they be in mourning when they can chill out and spend time with family.

You'd be nuts not to make the best out of a bad situation.

Ha, this is MN, op. Your hair shirt and birch twigs were handed to you on entry. What makes you think you're so special we'll let you get away with not using them?!

They are right. Unless your idea of a holiday is staying at home doing next to nothing, it really isn't.

It's not actually for the police to say what anyone's idea of a holiday is though, so no they're not.

'campsite in the summer!
No it’s not a holiday in that you shouldn’t be driving to the beach and meeting up with all your friends and family.'

You see I dont get this. Who are these mysterious people these threads keep talking about going to beaches via car? All of the car parks at my local beaches are blocked off and one car would be lucky to find a spot on a street.

VegetableMunge

the message was clearly: it's NOT a holiday, no you cannot go and have picnics in the park, no you cannot come and spend the day on the beach, no you cannot take your tent and , no you cannot organise a big family party!

The police was exactly doing their job reminding people that this is a (near) lockdown! The fact that they had to issue so many fines proves that the message is still not coming across very well.

No one translated their message as "you need to sit in the corner feeling sorry for yourself all day"

Who are these mysterious people these threads keep talking about going to beaches via car?

a lot of beach are still very much accessible. The beach car parks might be closed, but you can park a bit further.

One of the police forces tweeted yesterday that it's not a holiday.

Well, the police are probably seeing the worst of the covidiot behaviour, to be fair to them, but as long as the rest of us are doing as we are asked, then what we do in the privacy of our homes if none of their business and if we want to treat this as a holiday, we bloody well can!

I realise that for those going to work in very difficult conditions that's pretty galling and I also realise that some are suffering and dying, but for everyone else as long as we are being considerate neighbours what is the harm in lying in the sun, having a BBQ and letting our kids have an Easter egg hunt? So much of normal life is being denied to people at the moment, why can't they make the best of the situation? I'm getting very tired of being bossed about and micro-managed. I agree with David Blunkett that the daily press conferences are hectoring and I'm sick of them.

I am delighted for people who are getting through this by taking joy in families being together.

However I do agree that there is going to be a major rise in mental health problems after this. The front line workers in hospitals who are at the sharp end, but also the shop assistants, the pharmacists, delivery drivers, all of who are also operating under high levels of stress. The mothers shut up in small flats with autistic children.

The old and shielded people who haven't been able to leave their homes, and won’t be able to for months. People like me who live alone and who are deprived of social contact.

I hope that somewhere there is a government department working on provision for this in the Post COVID World, alongside the economic restructuring. It’s going to be needed.

I also hope that there will be some reflection and reckoning for the rabid little hitlers who have screamed at and abused those people who are trying to get through this as best they can. The you shouldn’t go out for exercise, or occasionally time your shopping trip or dog walk to coincide with when a member of your family or a friend might also be there so you can have a chat at a distance. The you shouldn’t buy a bottle of wine, a packet of hot cross buns, or a bar of chocolate when you go shopping people.

I think this crisis has brought out the best and the worst of people.

MamaBearLockdown

The beaches near where near me you can't park in the streets nearby either as they are jammed with resident atm which is a good thing at least.

should just say near me

Yes, spot on OP. If we can get through this hideous experience, whilst observing the rules for the safety which are there for all of us, with a smile on our faces, why not?

It's a huge shame to have the dreadful fear of this wretched disease lurking in the background of our thoughts the whole time, and having to be mindful of what we can and can't do for the next few weeks or months, but it won't be forever.

Our family has invented so many ways of phonelessly entertaining ourselves in the last few weeks, we've argued less and laughed much more.
My kids have been incredibly helpful, and are learning more cooking skills, etc. I was hugely proud of them before lockdown, but am even prouder of them now I've seen how they've pulled together as a family in a crisis.

Lockdown for our family has broadly been a happy experience in challenging times.

We had a really lovely bank holiday. In some ways, it was nicer than normal as we weren’t travelling to see people so no being stuck in traffic on the motorway. The children made Easter crafts, had a egghunt, lots of bbqs and eating outside and we’ve all been chilling in the garden. Yesterday on our walk we saw so many families and we’re able to have a chat from a distance.

I don’t see how being miserable would have done anything to help anyone. This week we’ll go back to feeling a bit stressed about our jobs and worried about our parents but for the bank holiday, it was good for us all to treat it like a holiday.