Lockdown - was I in the wrong?

[JigsawGirl11]

So today me and DH went out for a bike ride (I will admit straight away that we didn't ride at all before lockdown and bought bikes so we can take advantage of the daily exercise a little better)

We took a bottle of water and a little packet of 6 mini sausage rolls we had in the fridge. After around 45 mins we sat down at a bench had a drink and ate the sausage rolls, police drove past once, went about 200 yards to the next roundabout and came back and told us off.

The policeman was pretty polite and apologetic, he said that we need to move on as if his Sargent saw he would fine us on the spot.

Obviously we moved on, there's no point trying to push the boundaries and I know health and the general stay at home advice is important. Personally I am a bit put out by such an infringement of what's usually a basic human right and the common sense that it we didn't have sausage rolls we prob would have been able to have a break/drink of water whilst on the bike ride.

I hope no-one is going to jump on about scold me like a child, obviously I thought what we did was okay or we wouldn't have done it but I'm interested to hear other people's opinions.

of course you're in the wrong. I take my 5year old son out for an hour's bike ride every day and don't need to take a bloody picnic with us

I wouldn't sit on a bench because I have no idea who's been sat on it before I got there. It could be a super spreader who has no idea they've got it.

It’s all very well to just tell people to exercise without stopping for their whole hour or whatever - but what about elderly people? Who desperately need to exercise to maintain muscle strength and bone density and prevent falls, but who need to stop frequently to sit and rest while out walking? Their usual routine probably involved resting on a bench part way round a park, then pottering to the next bench etc.
I think it would be rather harsh of the police to tell an old lady with arthritis that she can’t stop for a sit down, as long as she was 2 metres from others and had gloves to protect her from touching the bench surface.

This is so obviously reverse.

Tbf I can't get my knickers in a knot about a couple eating a few sausage rolls at a safe distance from everyone else, but I know that puts me in the minority on here.

The trouble is OP, if they said that people could have breaks in their exercise session where they are sitting still, especially if enjoying food or drink, then many people would do it and some areas would be crowded. Also it creates a common shared object, ie bench, that becomes a potential point of transmission. Another issue is how to police the exercise time if police can't tell who is stopping for a break and who is just sitting around.

It is about what is deemed necessary , right now they are including exercise in that if people choose it, but it is clearly within a context of going out as little as possible. Look at the reasons you are allowed out...they are all about doing things infrequently, bare minimum. So just as shopping isn't a leisurely browse but just limited trips for basic supplies, exercise is not an outing including picnics. The spirit of this is clearly doing the bare necessities. So while there is no time limit, it is kind of implied by the context of the other guidance that it should not be extensive.

@JigsawGirl11 If you are unfit and trying to get fitter and are PG could you not take a healthier snack with you if you really do need to eat so often? A low sugar biscuit, or a couple of crackers? Sausage rolls with all the refined carbs and fat are maybe not the best choice?

@Babdoc

I totally agree, for elderly and disabled this is really hard. That's my only issue with this aspect of the rules. They might do better with two really short walks too. Hopefully people can find a way to do what they need to do safely and in peace. As you say, exercise is more important for them than many others.

Tbf I can't get my knickers in a knot about a couple eating a few sausage rolls at a safe distance from everyone else, but I know that puts me in the minority on here.

You are.

And you have missed the point.

It's about sitting on a bench with it looking like a picnic.

@HeresToTheCrazyOnes - "When my gym finally reopens, I might suggest that they stop hour long classes half way through for a sausage roll break. Oh, wait, that's real exercise."

That made me LOL!!!!!

@WanderingLost167

I'd choose a less visible spot for a picnic or snack next time. We will go for a walk in the countryside and find somewhere deserted

Can you walk there from your home?

Does "deserted" mean on farmland where you are touching gates when you open and close them, or climbing over stiles?

In several small villages near me, there are homemade signs on the village signposts, bins and benches with various wordings stating
'This village is in lockdown.
Please keep away.
Stay. At. Home.

How do I know this? I've seen them en route from my home to the supermarket.

In Bristol too the sentiment's the same I see. www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/go-home-signs-failand-coronavirus-4027454

Do us all a favour, stop trying to find "deserted" places and stay at home, if you want a picnic, have one in your own garden. If you have no garden I do sympathise, but now is not the time to potentially infect people in another area because you think it's "deserted"

You can try and justify it any way you like OP but you were wrong
And Covid doesn’t much care for your arguments either

Probably just take your drink on your bike and if you do have to stop just sit astride your bike and sip it, leave the picnic type food at home you could always take one of those gels that you have on the go if you need a boost whilst cycling

Why would u sit on a random bench while you are pregnant anyway? did you clean it first?

So many can’t seem to go an hour without eating, it’s little wonder we have to weigh school children and have a problem with obesity.

If you can’t manage an hours exercise without eating then do less. You’ll have eaten more calories that you burnt off riding.

what babdoc said up there. If you are old and arthritic, or worse have osteoporosis, you cannot just go and walk/cycle/exercise for an hour. You can do maybe 100 yards and need to stop and rest, repeat etc.

But fresh air, gentle exercise are so important for mental and well as physical health that it seems very cruel, especially to the elderly and frail to not allow them to take the air and maybe have a sit down.

That said, I am not paranoid about touching surfaces someone else might have breathed on 72 hours ago - that's what handwashing is for.

@BlankTimes actually yes, I could walk there, but I might not just for a change of scenary. And no, it won't be near a village incase the locals come out with pitchforks

@airbags I will probably suggest the vegan ones for, you know, health.

Do people REALLY clean benches? I obviously need to get out more... oops not a good joke in this time.

Eating sausage rolls on a bench is not exercise but it IS medical need to prevent vomiting due to pregnancy. And actually being pregnant and needing to sit for a few minutes and eat is a medical need no matter how much you dress it up or down...... * people just need to actually look at the legislation* . People with a medical need can be excluded from the rules under specific circumstances. It specifically says IN THE LEGISLATION that ( for example) a child with Autism that needs outside exercise 2-3 times a day they are allowed to do that. And if A diabetic person goes low, nobody is going to fine them for sitting to test their blood and eat (and if they did it would be quickly overturned at court). The same with you being pregnant.

Either way, you weren't fined. Just be cautious and sensible. Having a snack to prevent pregnancy sickness is fine. It isn't a picnic. Just tell the police next time that you are pregnant.

Bike ride for 30 mins and go home if you really can't go more than 30 mins without eating!

I walk with my children twice a week and shout at them not to sit on benches of touch them before we get to them. A 5 and 7 year old can manage and understand that the bench could be contaminated because people like you sit on them!

I very rarely give these out but have one

I think that they should change the instruction to:

Stay home. Save NHS staff lives.

People are pushing the boundaries because they think that they are taking a calculated risk on their OWN lives. Fair enough.

But we are losing our NHS staff’s precious lives because THEY are exposed to increased viral load from more people being infected. That goes for all frontline staff from shop workers, emergency services, transport workers.

Do anything and everything to minimise the risks. It’s not just about you. It’s not your privilege to interpret the instruction. Just do it.

The police didn’t need to be wasting their time moving you along - they have treble the number of DV incidents to deal with - so do your bit and free them up to do this instead.

#BeKind to our frontline workers. Stay home. Save NHS lives.

I think you know deep down you were in the wrong- you just dont want to admit it OP.

The whole point of exercise is to go out, keep moving for an hour or so then go home. Why should you and your husband be any different?- you arent special and you are no different than people sitting down to have a BBQ are you? you could have EASILY gone for a bike ride, come home and eaten indoors. I dont believe you HAD to have sausage rolls on a park bench out of lack of energy, so why on earth couldn't you have left them at home and eaten them there?
I'm sorry but its people like you who will spur the government into making this lockdown 10000 times harder for the rest of us and to say your attitude enrages me is not an exaggeration.

Where I live, the local council have taped off all the benches.

When I walk my dog, I see lots of elderly couples out for their walks. Some of them sit on benches for a while- presumably because they are elderly and need a rest. How is this different (in terms of risk) from what the OP did, out of interest?