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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Seadide stupidly busy

576 replies

mummydoris2006 · 20/05/2020 16:22

I live in a seaside resort (Slegness) and today it is absolutely heaving with people. I understand new guidelines say you can drive and enjoy the beach etc for the day but people are really taking the Mickey!

The beach has human excrement on it, the queues for supermarkets are worse as people are queing hoping they can use the toilet and one person even knocked on a residents door and asked if his pregnant girlfriend could use the toilet. Upon being told no he told the homeowner they were out of order as she was pregnant and they'd drove from Essex.

I keep seeing threads where people that live by the sea etc are being slated for not welcoming visitors but the reality is due to the amount of people flocking to the coast we can't safely enjoy our own hometown, the streets are far to narrow to be able to stay 2m away from people with the influx of visitors.If any local dares to comment we are immediately hit with the "you wouldn't have jobs if it wasnt for us". Neither my own or any of my families jobs are tourist reliant and amazingly we manage to keep our economy going well enough during the winter months.

I understand people want a bit of normality and it's really hard on children but surely you should respect the place you visit and as people that live here all year round we should be able to safely enjoy our own hometown.

OP posts:
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The80sweregreat · 21/05/2020 13:37

Yes, we didn't go abroad when I was young but we did go to Devon in 76 for a wedding and I remember it was so lovely ! Lots of facilities and beautiful places to visit and a hot summer too. Lots of beautiful places in the U.K. to visit but a few are just run down or just lack any facilities ( which is another thread on it's own as people can't be trusted not to abuse these public places so I can see why!)
If people are to be encouraged to holiday in the U.K. it needs money pumped into it and that's something councils won't have.

sportinguista · 21/05/2020 13:43

I was born and grew up on the coast, I went away to Uni and have never been able to return, the prices in my home county are beyond anything we could ever afford. We were due to visit my family there this year but obviously we can't as my 79-year-old dad is shielding, we wanted to go for his 80th as well. I now live in a city that neither DH or I have any family in or any connection to the local area. We hate the local area we live in with a passion and quite honestly the thought of being able to get out of it sometimes is all that keeps us going.

During the lockdown most of the most local parks were taped off and the one that is nearest we don't use in normal times as it is frequented by dealers and has been the scene of a few stabbings. So we've not really been out for any meaningful exercise for most of the lockdown. We have now chanced going down by a local river but get worried in case we get shouted at as there are quite a few elderly residents down there. We have a very small garden and it's nigh on impossible to social distance if the neighbours are in their yard.

One thing I've noticed is that although we have some lovely parks and green spaces towards the edge of the city which would be around 10 minutes drive is that all of them have shut their toilets and car parks meaning they are inaccessible unless via foot as there's very little on-street parking and some of the people local to the area would rightly not be pleased that you're parking in their spaces. I've done the walk to some of them but it takes a long while over some very busy roads and it certainly would be impossible with very little children.

So, it seems that it is being made difficult for people even closer to their homes to visit anywhere. The irony is that people in these areas are shopping in areas more local to me and are mixing with people in the city like this anyway.

As regards the beaches and beauty spots they'll likely end up being ticketed and you'll have to book online and it will become chargeable with some money going to cleaning costs etc. Of course, this will likely exclude quite a few people anyway.

The80sweregreat · 21/05/2020 13:50

There were always lots of public loos about when I was little , but they started to get vandalised and used by dealers or addicts and many were pulled down. A few fast food places in some towns have a lock on the doors and means you have to buy something first in order to use the facilities to get the lock code.
It's a good idea, but makes life harder if you want a day out especially with little children too old for a potty.
Toilet facilities also become a worry as you age! No wonder I don't go out much !
Smile

YouTheCat · 21/05/2020 13:55

Keeping hospitals clean at all times is a priority. Making public toilets clean and available is not during a pandemic. Can people not see that their choice to drive to a beach is not more important than that?

And those people who are pissing and shitting on beaches will be the self same arseholes who were out getting drunk and hugging/fighting everyone during the VE Day nonsense.

Alsohuman · 21/05/2020 14:21

Forgotten that, it’s just about time for the predicted VE Day spike, isn’t it? There are going to be some very disappointed people if it doesn’t happen.

YouTheCat · 21/05/2020 14:22

Why disappointed? Can you not get your head around this catastrophic worldwide event?

PafLeChien · 21/05/2020 14:26

There are going to be some very disappointed people if it doesn’t happen.

no need to project Alsohuman

As shown on this thread and others, some of us actually enjoy living in a pleasant and welcoming environment, not soiled, damaged or ruined because of antisocial behaviour or a pandemic.

Alsohuman · 21/05/2020 14:29

Why disappointed? Because there are people intent on sucking every atom of joy out of the world who were gleefully predicting that we’d be dropping like flies a fortnight after VE Day. They’ll be gutted if they can’t crow and gloat.

The80sweregreat · 21/05/2020 14:43

There may well be a spike again or there might not! Nobody really knows and even the experts disagree on some things.
I think it could happen in the autumn , but only because flu season usually does happen around then anyway.
I very much doubt we will lockdown again.
I don't think the economy could take it a second time around.

Wheresthesanitygone · 21/05/2020 15:50

Didn’t touch the door handle of the bakers, or the counter or stand within 2m to pay for or pick up your goods...
No, door was open, didn’t touch he counter, paid contactless. That ok with you?

ITonyah · 21/05/2020 15:54

Things are looking pretty bad for poor old Sweden Sad so I'd say lockdown is necessary and any travel should have been kept local for now.

FliesandPies · 21/05/2020 16:14

Face it Wheresthesanitygone, you're just an entitled moron for going there at all

cologne4711 · 21/05/2020 16:17

No, door was open, didn’t touch he counter, paid contactless. That ok with you

MNers are obsessed with people touching door handles, gates and buttons. They've never heard of elbows (or open doors in your case).

The80sweregreat · 21/05/2020 16:36

People were obsessed with touching things before all this happened.
It'll get even worse now. I used to be quite blasé about all this and wash my hands etc but now I'm using the santizer all the time and thinking ' germs' if I as much as look at a packet of sausages on the shelf or press the button on the zebra crossing etc.
It's not easy and made even me a bit paranoid. ! I know I'll get over it though

SunflowerSeedsForever · 21/05/2020 16:43

Things are looking pretty bad for poor old Sweden sad so I'd say lockdown is necessary and any travel should have been kept local for now.

Not sure they are any worse than here? More deaths in care home but care home populations vary by nation

YouTheCat · 21/05/2020 16:46

They have the highest mortality rate per capita from this virus as of yesterday.

SunflowerSeedsForever · 21/05/2020 16:47

If people are having to use the beach for a toilet that's a failure on the part of the council.

So they would have to fully sanitise between each user?
Would you make the decision to open if you worked for a council? corporate manslaughter? Are you prepped as a council tax payer for the possible legal costs of a death or CV 19 exposure?

Msmcc1212 · 21/05/2020 16:47

WTAF?!!! OP and other posters, im astounded by the tales of people travelling so far and packing out beaches. A mileage limit would be a sensible idea! People clearly can’t be trusted to think for themselves. Why would you drive all that way for a beach when you are pregnant, in the middle of a global pandemic?!!! Stupidity? There are closer beaches to Essex surely. And other green spaces that would be nice. This is happening because the government didn’t introduce their own plan when it hit. The UK was rated by WHO as second best prepared country if a global pandemic hit (which we knew it would one day) and they chose not to implement the plan. God I wish I lived in New Zealand because the UK is fucked, especially if loads of its inhabitants are either too stupid or selfish to do what’s clearly the sensible thing!

SunflowerSeedsForever · 21/05/2020 16:48

They have the highest mortality rate per capita from this virus as of yesterday.

unless deaths are recorded consistently and systematically (and they are not) that is a pointless figure. They may just be better at testing and post mortem reporting

FliesandPies · 21/05/2020 16:49

Would you make the decision to open if you worked for a council? corporate manslaughter?

Yes, I would make the decision to open once I knew people had been given the go-ahead to travel to beaches. I certainly wouldn't want to leave people without facilities once I had seen that they would come anyway.

Corporate manslaughter. How's that going to work then?

YouTheCat · 21/05/2020 16:50

I got the information from here

Proudboomer · 21/05/2020 17:09

You are all assuming there are public loos to be opened when in fact a lot of beaches especially urban ones do not. They rely on the local businesses for toilet facilities. These businesses are still shut or operating a takeaway service only with no access to the premises and loos.
I live 10 minutes from the beach but if I wanted to use a public toilet I would need to walk just over 3 miles along that beach to find one.

MadameMarie · 21/05/2020 17:22

Grown adults shitting in public places (or anywhere outside toilets) is as degenerate as it gets.

If you have a medical condition or can't control your bowels/bladder then you should always be within quick reach of a toilet. What's wrong with people?

Liketoshop · 21/05/2020 17:29

I live by the seaside too and it's become depressingly busy, even cycling home at 7pm from work the seafront was full of people not keeping a distance and families walking side by side taking up all the prom width. Infuriates me 😢

Cantfindafreeusername · 21/05/2020 17:30

Sorry OP but we visited the beach yesterday and it was lovely! Everyone was very sensible and was more than 2 metres apart (newspapers seem to be able to make it look a lot worse than it was!) the kids were able to let off steam and enjoy themselves rather than getting themselves upset about not understanding school work. We took a picnic and didn’t interact with anyone other than our family unit, you probably come closer to people in the supermarket than you do at the beach! Will happily go again next week too. Seems that anyone who lives near a beach never want anyone else to visit now or any day.