Sorry, I need to vent. Second home owners!

[Querlouse]

I live in a small village in a quiet farming area. One of the old cottages was bought by a family from London about 18 months ago, they spent a long time getting planning permission but have now started works.

They are coming down and meeting mates there every weekend. Yesterday I walked past (footpath runs alongside house) and there were two massive flashy Landrovers not really relevant cars outside and three blokes, at least two women and four kids all hanging out in the big garden. The house is currently uninhabitable so they aren't staying there permanently.

Dh says just forget about it but its really annoying me! Our village is generally really old and we've had no cases of cv so far.

It's not OK to drive 3 hours from London to a village then meet mates is it??

It would irritate me OP

Bluntness weren't you telling posters that they should only be going out for bread once a week just a little while ago? If that's the case (and apologies if I've mixed you up with someone else) If that's the case, then I find your relaxed opinion on people larking about at their second homes confusing.

But you can't expect second home owners to have consideration for anyone else- if they did, they wouldn't own a second home.

I would report them, they're making an unnecessary journey of a considerable distance and ignoring social distancing. Selfish people.

weren't you telling posters that they should only be going out for bread once a week just a little while ago

No, not me,

I would understand the ops anger, and anyone else’s if she articulated the risk, but other than the risk of a car break down or accident, if they don’t mix with locals then they are clearly not transporting the disease.

People need to apply common sense. I’ve always had this view. Of course we should comply with spirit of the rules, but if you want to walk in an empty field three time’s a day or visit a second property and not stay or mix with the locals, then I’m all for people assessing the risk and think it’s batshit this comply even if there is no risk.

The op is unable to articulate the risk. They have mixed with no one locally. Other than breaking the rules there appears no issue.

And quite frankly it’s likely from Monday the rules will be relaxed, so it’s a one off issue with limited to no risk.

I'm not sure if its a second home or they are planning to relocate permanently. They said they were relocating permanently in the pp, but people often say that to appease the parish council then deicde to stay in London and just come down at weekends.

I don't think I'd be so bothered if it was clearly just the one family coming down. I think its the two or three families coming down when clearly only one of the families needs to come down (if at all).

@catdoctor I'm not OP, but I do think there is a lower risk in one household moving compared to more than one household mixing over several weekends.

For me, the moral issue- you have to move and it can't be avoided, would also matter, although I know it doesn't matter in a practical sense.

Op - they aren't staying there. They aren't mixing with anyone local. From what you've said, they've not been close enough to anyone from your village to infect them if they have it and they arent travelling by public transport.

They may well be using their weekends to the bits of the job they can themselves.

Would it bother you if they had done the work previously and now moved in? You've already said it doesn't bother you that other locals are breaking the rules, so it's not that they are meeting with friends that annoys you, it's that they are there.

They are not risking anyone else's health. They are not staying there, so if they do get sick, it won't be local hospitals that have to deal with them. There is no effect on you or locals, other than they have bought a local house. Is that the real issue and would they be annoying you even if there wasn't a lockdown?

They can't guarantee they won't mix with anyone local, though. What if they get ill and have to go to a pharmacy, for example? Or even come round the corner of the house and find the postman putting letters through the front door? Or a car won't start and they have to call a mechanic? Or even they burn themselves on the barbecue or fall down the stairs and have to go to hospital? There are plausible scenarios where these things could happen, especially if everyone in their position did the same thing.

Chances are, as a one-off with one family, they'll be fine. But if everyone did it, somewhere along the way something will happen to bring them into contact with the local people.

@catdoctor we moved house at the weekend. We had to as we couldn't keep paying mortgage and rent. We weren't mixing with others/didn't see or speak to any neighbours in either location. I'm sure we would of had some curtain twitchers but it's none of our neighbours business 😁

We need some paint to fix some marks at our old place so my boyfriend will now be one of THOSE people going to B&Q too!

Don't feel bad about moving, it's just something that has to be done in a strange part of our life time!

You've already said it doesn't bother you that other locals are breaking the rules, so it's not that they are meeting with friends that annoys you, it's that they are there

No, its not

Its that they are breaking the rules in a far more risky manner than someone in the village walking their dog twice a day.

They live a long way away, in a city. They are driving down with groups of other families to spend the day in our village. They haven't moved in yet, and judging by the state of the house and lack of work so far they won't be moving in for 18 months.

So could I drive up to London and meet my friends in their garden for a party with a couple of families and that would be fine?

They haven't moved in!

They are in the wrong, contact the Police.

Well I don't want to necessarily fall out with them as they may be here for sometime and I'm not going anywhere. I will do some classic village nosing about and see if I've got it right first.

What if they get ill and have to go to a pharmacy, for example? Or even come round the corner of the house and find the postman putting letters through the front door? Or a car won't start and they have to call a mechanic? Or even they burn themselves on the barbecue or fall down the stairs and have to go to hospital?

Or a plane crashes on the house? Or a meteor strikes it? Or they all spontaneously combust?

I live in a seaside town. We have two cases of corona, both ventilated in hospital. The nearest market town 10 miles away has no cases. Also no holiday home owners or day trippers.
What conclusion would you come to?

Population of my town about 2,500.
Population of market town 7,600.

The problem is that the rules have been interpreted differently by different people.
At first we were told that we could go out for essential shopping, but not buy Easter Eggs. (one police force hinted that they may be checking shopping?)
people buying pots of paint were 'shamed' on line for non essential shopping. However, we have been told we can do maintenance to our homes, but not decorating! (and now B&Q have reopened)
Then we could go only go shopping once a week, and hey, that means the nasty populace are stockpiling!.
Then it is exercise - once a day. I assumed it meant close to home. Then Michael Gove suggested exercise for an hour a day. Then police guidelines say you can drive to an exercise location, as long as the exercise is longer than the drive.
You can stop during your exercise to have a drink and something to eat (I presume they mean a drink of water and a bag of crisps), but you cannot stop to have a 'picnic'.
With all of this, I was astonished to discover relatives going for 8 mile daily walks, etc
A couple sunbathing on Brighton Beach have been told to go home, and a woman, earlier swimming, but waiting for her son on a beach somewhere, had to walk up and down on the beach (to prove she was exercising, rather than sunbathing).
So, if your neighbours have a 3 hour drive, then presumably if they go then for a 4 hour walk, then that would be OK!
The suggestion is that some of the rules will be loosened soon, anyway.

I think the fact of multiple families is far worse than them driving down to stay. It indicates they genuinely don’t care about the rules at all, so they probably are also going to supermarkets etc so are mixing with locals. And it does increase the risk - not to the OP but to the population as a whole if they are mixing different families.

I do agree about common sense though - I went on a 20km walk with DH yesterday and saw 3 people all of whom were well over 2m away. If I’d done a 30 minute jog from my house I would have passed probably 50+ people some of which it would have been difficult to keep 2m away from. So it is a balance.

Yes I totally agree about using common sense.

Not sure how piling your mates in the car and zooming off to your country home for the day is using any common sense

If they’re prepared to take a risk that affects only them, it’s their choice.

Do they put rubbish out for collection after one of these gatherings ?

Not disputing application of common sense but a groups of 2+ families meeting together (who presumably don’t live in one household in London) defies all sense.

And to all those justifying it with “oh well, restrictions will likely be relaxed soon anyway” - this doesn’t make it right. People bending the rules and making non essential journeys + meeting others have likely contributed to keeping the R number higher for longer, leading to a longer lockdown.

Alsohuman everyone taking the risk to ignore the rules thinks the risk only affects them.

OK, so explain the risk they’re presenting to anyone else.