Coronavirus, gardens, 'sunbathing' etc.

[ShootsFruitAndLeaves]

You can legally sunbathe in your private garden all day long. But some people don't have gardens.

There are people complaining on social media to the police about people sunbathing on municipal land. Not large numbers of people, literally two people enjoying the sunshine and minding their own business. There are people replying that they will go out and assault them, etc.

There is in fact no law against sunbathing. It just seems to be bringing out the neighbourhood arseholes to try to enforce non-existent rules. Nobody is going to die because someone went out to the shop and decided to stop to sunbathe on a 16 acre meadow on the way home. Nobody. The 'but 1000 people died today' stuff is not related to that. Keep to your own household, don't mix with other people, don't leave home without a reasonable excuse.

The 'rules' aren't hard and fast because the government assumed that people would use their common sense in wanting to keep themselves safe. How wrong they were. This thread is just another example of the exasperation rational folk feel toward those who can't or won't just do as they're fucking told.

I love the people getting on their high horse about other people being on their high horse, and posters being holier than thou about others being holier than thou. Can't we all just admit we can be a bit judgey at times, and assume others who disagree with us might sometimes have good reasons?

Disclaimer: We do not have a garden. We live in a built up area of London.

If you are healthy enough to go for a walk, that will be much better for you than sunbathing. You can get your vitamin D and get your heart rate up. So do that - in a bikini if you want, it's fine.

If you are not healthy enough and need to take occasional sit downs, then that really sucks. I think no one would blame you for perching on a bench for a few minutes. If anyone seems to be judging you, ignore them. If the police approach you, then explain.

Look, no one needs to sunbathe. If it was an overcast day outside, would you be railing against the gods for curtailing your freedom? Sunbathing is very pleasant but we've got the rest of our lives to do it. Just go for a nice walk? Look at the lovely blue sky, free of pollution, and the birds in the trees you can hear because there are no planes overhead? We're all so lucky that we're not in hospital.

If you feel your mental health deteriorating and lying in the sun for ten minutes will help, and it'll help more than walking, then do it. Just try and do it somewhere as quiet and faraway from others as you possibly can.

I half expect some of the covidiots ranting about following 'rules

You’re really not getting this are you OP?

The ‘covidiots’ are the ones NOT following the rules, not those who comply and think others should do the same

People really are taking the piss and are acting wide-eyed to excuse it.

This

This thread is just another example of the exasperation rational folk feel toward those who can't or won't just do as they're fucking told.

And this

Covidiots are goady fuckers like you who bend the rules and ignore common sense.

It's really simple, and you clearly don't get it so either you are immune to the deadly disease or such a self centred twat that you don't give a shit that ppl can easily die and are.

I saw a post from French PM on Twitter the other day, it said something like 'you save a life every 8 minutes. Stay at home' which I thought was quite good, not that the sunbathing twats would be bothered anyway.

@Notredamn Michael Gove specifically said that allotment gardening was permitted and if you had actually read what I had posted you would have seen that I am not currently making whole day visits to the allotment.

So, no, you havent helped.

You replied to another poster saying you needed to go to the allotment twice a day as when you plan a whole day there, you need to return home for a toilet break.

In pre covid days a whole day would involve coming home at some point to go to the toilet and have a break from the sun. I also said in previous posts that at the moment we are only making one visit per day. I am worried that if lockdown persists into the summer then this will make watering alongside other allotment tasks as it takes half a day to water the whole plot.

Like a lot of people I am trying to get clarity on what I am or am not allowed to do. I am not going for walks or cycle rides. I am WFH. If I am allowed only one visit to the allotment per day then that is all I will do.

So, no, you havent helped.

By that you clearly mean ‘no, you haven’t condoned me doing exactly as I please’

If you know you are allowed to tend your allotment, why ask the question - other than because what you actually want to do is pop backwards and forwards from it when it suits you?

I agree with @ShootsFruitAndLeaves.

I agree with @ShootsFruitAndLeaves.

Well I suggest you think about the fact that 10,000 people have died with this virus in the UK alone and then consider how important your fucking sunbathing is

I really do hope I don’t know any of these fucking selfish twats IRL.

I agree that I would be very happy to never meet you in person, too, Bearbehind.

You can of course sit down to exercise - just take a yoga mat and then you are within the covid regulations. They say nothing about being on the move when you exercise. if the state wants to stop sit down exercise if you are away from others then it needs to pass new regulations.

Funny how things come round in a full circle. After disagreeing with Xenia on many things 18 years ago, I now think she is eminently sensible.

@LalalalalaLlama It would be fine if that were the case. However, nobody is going to catch anything because someone is lying on the ground. If everyone wants to lie on the ground (I'd die of boredom, personally), so long as they are 6 feet away from one another, nobody will die.

What everyone needs to exercise is their brains.

the government assumed that people would use their common sense in wanting to keep themselves safe

Actually, I believe the government expected us all to ignore their decrees, and have been surprised by the way in which everyone has fallen into line.

@notchickenagain

I agree with your username, though. I'm so sick of chicken.

Shopping is essential, sunbathing isn’t! End of!

As I said, exercise brain.

What matters is not passing on a horrible disease. Not whether people on Mumsnet deem something essential or not.

Should have said, in fact, "not passing on a horrible disease to vulnerable people". Because I don't much care if my teenagers or I get it, but don't want any of us to pass it on to someone whom it might affect more seriously.

You can of course sit down to exercise - just take a yoga mat and then you are within the covid regulations. They say nothing about being on the move when you exercise. if the state wants to stop sit down exercise if you are away from others then it needs to pass new regulations.

Seriously?

You can do fucking yoga indoors

What is it with you people?

Why do you feel the need to push and breach the boundaries?

I’m assuming you don’t know anyone who has had this virus or indeed any of those people who have to expose themselves to it daily.

Xenia I often agree with and respect your opinion. On this, with your comment, I have to disagree with what you've said.

Yoga can be done at home, running and walking not quite as easily.

However, nobody is going to catch anything because someone is lying on the ground. If everyone wants to lie on the ground (I'd die of boredom, personally), so long as they are 6 feet away from one another, nobody will die.

And how do those people get to the ground that they’re lying on? They don’t teleport there. They will have to walk past people, and people will have to walk past them, especially in cities where green space is more limited. Then they post on social media about their lovely time sunbathing. The next day double the number of people turn up because “if they’re doing it, why can’t I”? This is exactly why places like Brockwell Park were closed last Sunday after people couldn’t control themselves on Saturday

The ‘covidiots’ are the ones NOT following the rules, not those who comply and think others should do the same

That's your opinion. My opinion is that the covidiots are the one being batshit paranoid about tiny risks when the goal of this 'lockdown' was to dramatically reduce daily interactions so that the transmission rate is lower than 1 per person, which a look at the death statistics has clearly happened, not to make us lose all grip of proportionality and proper risk assessment.

If you don't get that the 10,000 people were already dead (so to speak), 3 weeks ago, when they first caught the virus, that's your problem, not mine.

If you are going to obsess about viruses on grass from someone sunbathing an hour ago or whatever else, then you are going to have to help your child across the road (etc) for the next 60 years, because who knows if you aren't there to help them they might get run over by a bus.

No, we should not break laws, be they on speeding, or whatever else. No, it's not good to meet with people outside your own household. But that doesn't mean we need to lose all perspective. If you want to talk about law interpretation, the phrase might be 'purposive', which means that we should interpret laws according to what it was trying to achieve, which is to substantially reduce the spread of the virus, while still allowing activities that are either necessary (such as certain jobs) or which it is proportionate to allow (such as exercise alone or with others from the same household). Stopping people from doing things simply because 'it's a lockdown' is not a goal for any but the most pathetic and petty.