to be staggered by how appalling this is?

[sadpapercourtesan]

My 17yo son was on a Cross Country train yesterday. The buffet car was open and several passengers were removing their masks to eat, so DS1 lowered his to eat a packet of crisps he had with him (it was a long journey and he did need to eat)

Train conductor came through and told him to put it back on, because passengers may only remove their masks to eat food purchased in the buffet car!

WTAF?!

Is that all? I thought this was going to be something really shocking.

YABU. I hate it when people use the word hysterical but I wouldn’t mind for this thread.

If .asks were effective, why didn't we have to.wear them 3 months ago?

Governments were having trouble getting PPE for HCPs as it was. They had to prioritise and the best way of preventing a new toilet-paper-hoarding situation was to downplay their effectiveness.

If Masks were effective, why didn't we have to.wear them 3 months ago

We probably should have. For a droplet / airborne virus it would have made sense alongside the endless hand washing.

The countries who wear masks without a fuss have had a much lower incidence of coronavirus.

When I went to pick my dd up from her University campus on 20th March, almost everyone had already left, it was very eerie. The only people we still saw as we packed up and drove away were a number of Chinese students who had no choice but to stay. And they were all, without fail, wearing masks.

The only reason I didn't wear a mask in the early days was not to take precious ppe away from health care workers. As soon as the patterns for home made masks started appearing online I made some.

Aggravating. Not appalling. Nobody died or really suffered, you know. Save the word appalling for what IS.

1. you are TOTALLY overreacting.

2. eating on trains is buffet car only.

You don't have to like the rules and as as the saying goes: just because you're outraged doesn't mean you're right.

Get a grip.

Staggered and appalled?

You live a charmed life - enjoy it.

The buffet car is one area. People who go in there do so knowing people aren't in masks.

They expect people to be in masks in other carriages.

Lots of places don't allow you to eat food purchased elsewhere in their premises. This is usually to cover themselves.

Their trains, their rules - and sound business sense. YABU

Ludicrous, I ate a homemade sandwich, no way I was going to travel four hours with no lunch.

I think it is a bit appalling - lots of people have to travel on public transport for long distances and some won’t be able to afford buffet cart food or will have dietary needs that prevent them from purchasing the food. Either masks are compulsory, or they’re not. It shouldn’t be linked to financial gain.

I'd be pissed off too. Either you can remove your mask and eat or you can't. It's not a restaurant , it's a train. I travelled on a plane last week and dc and I ate 'shock' our own snacks and removed our masks, as did lots of other people. Sounds like it was a jobsworth.

Also the OP says her son was told only food purchased in the buffet cart could be eaten, not only food eaten in the buffet cart.

It concerns me that as some people will be exempt from wearing a mask, eg. Autism, respiratory disorders etc. those people are going to be bullied & shamed.

Rubbish. I have been on two long journeys recently and ate my shop bought food without a mask. Nobody batted an eyelid. There is no rule about not eating shop bought food and never has neen

@AdultierAdult

Also the OP says her son was told only food purchased in the buffet cart could be eaten, not only food eaten in the buffet cart.

Ah - that does change the contaxt then and changes how I answered

If food can be eaten anywhere I don't agree it should be food only brought on the train.!

i think that's disgraceful tbh, and would be furious. what if someone is diabetic and needs to have a small bit of sugar? jobsworthiness to the max and you're not unreasonable to be pissed off.

If only food purchased on the train can be eaten they need to have published that information somewhere as it is not part of their usual rules. I would first ask for their travel guidelines and information surrounding food / masks etc. And ask where it was published and complain if you don’t feel procedure was followed.

One rule for all.

I would have been furious and sent in a written complaint tbh and tweeted them! Absolutely ridiculous.

I'd complain but perhaps be a bit more diplomatic, a lot of people here seem to have a problem with your wording. It is awful though

But isn’t the guard just trying his best to apply the law, which is:
Wear in public transport except for various reasons, which include “to eat or drink if reasonably necessary” which I take to mean if needed for medical reasons (so eg diabetic; six hour journey; water if hot, etc) not just “feeling a bit peckish”.
Don’t have to wear in restaurant/bar if sitting eating the food/drink purchased there.

So on a train the guard’s interpretation is the most reasonable one to keep you within the law. Doesn’t mean it’s sensible but it’s what the law says.

Does nobody else find this a bit dubious?

I have to travel all over the UK by train for essential work. Often these are long journeys of up to 6 hours. I can’t recall the last time a train was busy, had a buffet car open OR had guards checking tickets ir anything else. Given that this is the case everyone I see on the train has food and drink with them, including me.

It’s always been the case that you can bring your own food onto a train. I think the OP is a wind up.

And was he even eating the crisps at the time the Guard went through?

@strawberrymilkshakemonkey

i think that's disgraceful tbh, and would be furious. what if someone is diabetic and needs to have a small bit of sugar? jobsworthiness to the max and you're not unreasonable to be pissed off.

Someone with diabetes doesn’t have a need to eat crisps. They would also take a glucose shot which takes around 3/4 seconds.

If you think not being able to eat a crisp is disgraceful how do you manage in day to day life?