BBQs

[Hugglespuffed]

Acceptable at the moment or not? The weather is lovely and a neighbour had one this eve and it is making me want one. I've heard the odd person say it isn't ok..so would like a broader opinion please!

Have a barbecue.....you have fields behind you, just do it, we did.

We have breathing issues, but are surrounded by wood burners, pumping out worse filth all year round here.

I’m so happy in the summer, to try and retaliate a bit.

Bloody hell. Are we really to consider ourselves disrespectful, selfish and not being part of the collective-spirit-of-the-pandemic because we cook food outside instead of inside now?! All this collective shaming of anyone buying so called non-essentials or in any way lifting their spirits is becoming a little dystopian. Am I to just curl up under the stairs and survive off Gruel and water wearing rags to prove that I’m not selfish.

Glad you have seen the error of your ways op. It's best for now if you eat watery gruel behind closed curtains, anything else is disrespectful to the nhs or might cause someone anxiety. If you want to liven it up a bit you can paint a red plague cross on your door.

My husband runs intensive care and is running the show daily.
He also has a bbq on his day off, it's sweet escape from the horrors he's seeing at work.

Solemnity? In our back gardens?

Christ alive. Have your barbecue OP.

It’s selfish if it causes smoke to affect your neighbours. They could be ill with breathing problems so not what anyone needs just now.

We have been bbqing - we have a gas one so not loads of smoke billowing about. Frankly, sod the optics! Keeping positive and maintaining good mental health is more important and if that means having a bbq in your garden with just your bubble then do it.

I've seen people moaning about neighbours having them but can't understand why. Bad enough being confined to the home, I don't really see how sack cloth and ashes approach really helps.

Not to say organising a piss up and inviting people over mind you, but as a family we have barbecues.

There is no reason not to have a BBQ.

You are in lockdown for social distancing reasons ONLY.

@TrainspottingWelsh self flaggelation using a spiked club if it gets a bit samey

It's as much about optics as anything. Nhs staff are facing unspeakable horrors on a nightly basis and risking their lives whilst other segments of the population are sunning themselves and seemingly having a party. I feel it's best to show some solemnity and respect in public spaces and that includes overlooked gardens.

Oh Jesus Chriiiiiiist, if all the ridiculous shite I have read on here since this whole thing began, this is the new front runner.

And the one friend of mine who's had one - she's a midwife. Are you really going to tell her she's not adhering to the required level of solemnity?

I've taken the point about possible smoke but honestly the comment which implies we cannot do anything fun at this time as it is disrespectful is so ridiculous. Mental health is extremely important at this time. That issue and the issue of NHS working on the front line are 2 separate issues. Do not compare.

It's as much about optics as anything. Nhs staff are facing unspeakable horrors on a nightly basis and risking their lives whilst other segments of the population are sunning themselves and seemingly having a party. I feel it's best to show some solemnity and respect in public spaces and that includes overlooked gardens.

Don't forget we should all wear black atm to show we are in mourning and showing proper respect for the dead.

We should bow our heads at all times. Anything less than thorough misery is poor show of solidarity.

Your flag must be at half mast. Daily prayers are at 8pm and standing to clap is compulsory and failure to do so is punishable by hanging.

Literally just added a disposable bbq to my click and collect. Thanks OP.

Every year there's always threads on here about people being annoyed by their neighbours' barbecue.

Some things never change.

Christ almighty.

It's my dd's 21st birthday tomorrow. All her celebration plans have been ruined, she'll get no family meal with her GPs, she'll get no party night out with her mates, she'll get no evening at the pub. She's also just lost her job.

So we are going to have a barbecue in the garden because she has asked for one.

And if any of our neighbours decides to be a misery-guts and complain that we are enjoying ourselves, then they are likely to have a prosecco cork firmly inserted into an unexpected place.

I feel it's best to show some solemnity and respect in public spaces and that includes overlooked gardens.

To paraphrase another poster on here, the virus does not know or care whether people are happy or unhappy.

OP, of course you can have a BBQ. You can always warn your immediate neighbors beforehand so that they can keep the windows facing their back garden closed for an hour or so if it really bothers them.

It's perfectly fine so long as you keep it to your garden and don't invite people outside of your household.

As a precaution you could check with your neighbours to see if they're okay with it too.

Thank you @Hugglespuffed you sound like a lovely neighbour. And your situation would have less impact on your neighbours than many by the sounds of it.

I really love a BBQ but in some areas smoke hanging around is such a problem.

I'm not sleeping much at the moment as DH's breathing is particularly poor while he's asleep so I keep having to check his oxygen levels and position etc. Obviously there's bugger all anyone can do about it at the moment short of being so ill that you need hospital and everyone wants to avoid that, so that's partly why we'd be stressed about afternoon/evening smoke and not being able to get him any fresh air. Its utterly exhausting, both for him being ill and me worrying he will deteriorate, especially at night. But I think he is turning a corner now... I hope so, its been nearly 4 weeks already [cry] .

But then none of our neighbours would think to ask us or let us know, and would react like blacksax even if we explained the medical reasons. I need to move house!!