The beach down south/bbc news tonight

[Milssofadoesntreallyfit]

I'm mean, yes I want things back to normal BUT I am still concerned in case we get a spike again. I agree we all need to be careful BUT clearly all these people just thought F* it.
All we've put up with so far with lock down and it seems every one on the beach in question decided to piss it into the wind.

If I were the government I would think I couldn't trust people to use sense at all and put lockdown back in place until either a vaccination or until people realised that if they want lockdown relaxed then they need to prove they can be trusted to show a bit of caution.

Rant over.

What I am more confused about is why you would want to go to one of those beaches. English beaches are grim. The sand is minging, people end up right next to you, there is loads of litter and the sea is horrible.

English beaches are beautiful. I'm not sure why people like to visit crowded beaches, but clearly some people do, and if it brings them happiness, that is great.

The problem is that there isn't the infrastructure to cope with vast numbers of people at the moment, and (although it seems the virus doesn't last long in sunlight), there is still a potential risk of spreading the virus.

The main reason I sold up and moved away from a very popular SE coastal town was because of said day trippers, who come in increasing numbers, block tiny victorian streets with huge 4x4 vehicles, and leave the worst kind of human detritus possible behind them. The thing that beggars belief for me is that property prices in that town are still as high as they are.

@merrymouse definitely a lot worse than I've ever known where I live at Mudeford. Mudeford Quay has been a complete no go area since Wednesday. Avon beach car park (noisy lobster) is absolute chaos and the over flowing bins and litter is vile.
Good friend is a police officer (Bournemouth south) and what went on yesterday goes a lot deeper than just crowds and litter.

What do you mean @ SquirtleSquad?

Just seen how much blood rubbish they left on the beach, if you take a bag of food and drink to the beach or any beauty spots then why can’t you take the rubbish back in the bag , back in the car, back to your bloody house, and in your bin. God is it so bloody difficult. Loads of volunteers had to clean that beach this morning . And half the young people on that beach were probably off school college and university last year saying save the world. I always take a big black bag to the beach because I know I will have to take my rubbish home with me and then also pick up more because some people are just shameful Mingers

Lorraine Kelly was going off on it this morning

Id just like to pop in and say how irritated I get by posters saying they are all on furlough/extended holiday/keeping their kids off.

I'm on furlough right now, I didn't choose to be, I don't want to be. I'm worried about my job and we've taken a financial hit. My children aren't in school because the schools aren't open to them! I'm homeschooling.

Its not been roses, neither has it been a "holiday".

I don't like the way the furloughed are being sneered at.

@randomer knife crime.

@Streamingbannersofdawn I mentioned furloughed and children off. Sorry it wasn’t a pop.

It’s just a fact. If children were in school/ people were in work, there’s no way beaches would be this packed midweek. My point is it’s not rocket science and govn/ councils could have predicted it. I predicted it. So why people were so surprised/ unprepared?

We don't know the half of it do we?

I have left my home twice since the beginning of March. Both times to go to hospital.
I despair when I see this behaviour and wonder when, if ever, my life, and the lives of other shielders, will ever get back to normal.
So much selfishness everywhere.

@letmethinkaboutitfornow. Lockdown isn’t to protect the shielded, how does that even work? We’ve been shielded since March, in our houses and if we’re lucky, our gardens, makes no odds during that time what the rest of you did because we were, errmm, shielded from it!

Lockdown and shielding were both to protect the NHS.

I know that there is a lot of fear among the shielding community that now people are having to return to work etc after being told for months that we shouldn’t go outside as we’re likely to die, that’s a big adjustment. The fear has been highlighted so much, we’ve not seen the real world so scenes like the beach are just so jarring against what our lives have been, it scares people that there could be a second wave and we’ll lose the opportunity to have a few months with some semblance of a life and shielding will be extended, or that it won’t be and that scares those being told they’re likely to die.

Personally I’m just taking the whole thing as watch then act, small steps out into the world, if numbers go up I’ll stay home or limit any interaction. The beach thing is weird, I can’t understand the appeal at all (plus just going for a walk at 6 in the morning freaks me out, so many people, I’ve become conditioned), crowds, hot, sand, no toilets, traffic! I can understand why people who like the beach have done it though.

Shitting in gardens is fucking grim.

My point is it’s not rocket science and govn/ councils could have predicted it. I predicted it. So why people were so surprised/ unprepared?

I think the problem is that local councils have limited powers to prevent people travelling and going to the beach, but the government wants to create the impression that everything is open and lockdown is over.

The papers were full of headlines about people being 'free' again, and that coincided with hot weather.

^Today 07:48 pilates

FGS stop blaming the government and take some responsibility for your own actions. I don’t need to be told it’s not a good idea to sit on a jam packed beach when we’re coming out of a pandemic.^

You don’t need telling. I don’t need telling. But there are clearly swathes of people that have little understanding of the situation. Or don’t give a fk if their actions cause others harm. Either way we need clear information and clear rules. Not putting in a travel restriction in England was a mistake.

You would be better off buying yourself a paddling pool and sitting on a deckchair in your back garden

Spockseyebrows you might have a point there if everyone hadn’t just spent the last four months doing exactly that! We’re all bored to shit of our own back gardens at this point!

it doesnt matter really what any of us think - were not going to have another lockdown. not going to happen. possibly localised ones if outbreaks happen again but not a national one. you wouldn't get enough people following it again, they're just not scared anymore like they were initially.

so whilst I agree it's crazy so many would even want to be on a beach that packed (I live down the south coast myself but thankfully not in Bournemouth) it's not going to change anything. also, being outside does lessen the risk of it, not completely but atleast they're not all congregating in bloody Tesco's anymore.

@spockeyebrows the uk has some stunning beaches and im sure you havent been to them all , like europe beaches in the summer can sometimes be packed , which takes away the beauty
Maybe we need to be towing cars parked illegally and upping the fine with no car back until paid this might at least stop a few
But i havent seen our local beach as busy later at night as it was yesterday , although to be fair social distancing was being adhered to by most and there was very little rubbish so people were being sensible plus toilets were open as i think they are in many but are shutting early and also with no pubs etc less toilets in general but they are open so people can use them and plenty of bins at ours too , not sure about other places

Yes, every single one of these twats should be sent back to work, furlough my arse! As a taxpayer I strongly resent paying for them to sit 6 inches away from random strangers on a beach, on a train, etc. They are clearly demonstrating their willingness to be back at work and not a drain on the treasury. WTF is going on with this government?

@Msmcc1212 but someone is saying wales have had similar issues and they have a travel restriction ??
Its like the school hols with only beaches and a select few things open
Most kids are off , lots of people furloughed ( not their thought but still off ) and not a lot else open
Im sure once more opens next week you will see people able to spread out
And to the poster who said buy a pool for your garden , think you need to realise a lot of people dont have a back garden

It's understandable to want to go to the beach on a hot day.

What's depressing is the selfishness of it all. No regard for other people. Pissing and shitting in public areas. Drunken /drugged fights. Noise pollution. Parking illegally. Being abusive. Littering.

NONE of those are acceptable or excusable no matter how many months you feel you've been locked up.

All these people would normally be scattering around Europe for a few months, but with travel restrictions it's all concentrated on a few beaches in the UK and likely will be for the rest of the summer.

@ginghamstarfish how can they be back at work if places are shut
Pubs , restaurants , hotels , gyms, holiday parks , hairdressers , salons etc??
These then have a knock effect to the suppliers etc so people cant go back when there place of work isnt open
Some of these places open next week and i expect will see a slight decrease on beaches

I don't know what the answer is, just don't get some folks. I can understand if they have been stuck inside a flat with no outdoor space to want to go to beach or park. But surely they were not that thick to think no one else would have the same idea. I hope all the ones who parked illegally got parking tickets. It scares me how selfish some folks are, they just think off themselves.

@PotholeParadise

Can I just point out that anyone predicting a perceptible spike (as hordes of patients, visible to the naked eye without careful analysis of graphs) in cases 14 days after any mass breaking of lockdown is always going to be wrong?

It's not how exponential growth works. You don't go from nothing to oh-my-gawd-world-is-ending at day 14. You need a few generations of imperceptible increase (because even tripling in cases isn't visible when you have very low numbers to start with), and then you go to oh-fuck-what-happened. However, multiple branching chains of transmission are exactly what lockdown is supposed to stop! There might have been a few cases of people contracting coronavirus in the community as a result of VE day congas, but that doesn't mean they passed it on to three other people themselves. If those people mostly social distanced the fortnight after, they easily might not.

Right at the beginning Sir Patrick Vallance said 80%

Yes. But months later, after far more research, is it still 80%?

I've been trying to explain this to people but they just don't understand. They assume that if they haven't seen s huge rise two weeks after an event then it must mean that there was no effect.

@ginghamstarfish

Yes, every single one of these twats should be sent back to work, furlough my arse! As a taxpayer I strongly resent paying for them to sit 6 inches away from random strangers on a beach, on a train, etc. They are clearly demonstrating their willingness to be back at work and not a drain on the treasury. WTF is going on with this government?

Oh bless your heart, you actually think that everyone on furlough will have a job to go back to. As of July 31 I won't....so keep paying your taxes to fund my UC. But hey look on the brightside, those of us who have lost our jobs due to covid won't have any money to pay for train fares and days out. So a win for you.

The littering etc is disgusting but this isn't any more likely to create a second wave than the million other things people have fretted about since the first week of lockdown.

Mothers day
Sunny weekend
Bank Holiday
More sun
Easter (this is it, we're actually all going to get it now)
Another BH
VE Day (omg in two weeks watch numbers rocket! They didn't)
More sun, beaches
BLM

Etc etc etc etc

Meanwhile new infections are stable or decreasing. In Scotland we have regions with no new infections at all.

Stop trying to make 'second wave' happen. If and when it does, it won't be because of people being anti social outdoors.

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Today 10:27 strugglingwithdeciding

@Msmcc1212 but someone is saying wales have had similar issues and they have a travel restriction

Yes. That is true, but at least there is still the power to close things and send people home. Also, I’m not sure, but I think it has mainly been young people gathering in large groups rather than huge swathes of the population. That’s more understandable because of the developmental stage they are at at least. Also, lots of people think the English rules apply in Wales. It’s very confusing. We need a more cohesive approach but I’m glad the devolved powers have taken a more cautious approach and are following the science.

It’s a mess is what it is.