Sitting in someone else’s garden?

[tootyfruitypickle]

The new guidelines say you can meet one other person outdoors (no more specific than that). You can’t meet in their home.
So presumably you can sit in their garden but not in their home? The reports all say no but the actual guidance says you just have to meet outdoors ? Is a garden meeting in their home , if you use a side gate?

The guidance doesn’t say outside public space only it says ‘outdoors’

Following

Sorry just seen this has been discussed within other threads - and clear as mud still!

I’ll be doing this tbh. Much safer than going to a London park. Cyclists especially keep whizzing up behind me.

They have said no to gardens but only because to get to a lot of people's gardens you'd have to go through the house. I read it in The Guardian today, I think it was Matt Hancock who said it. They also want people to use their common sense though, and as we have a big garden which is completely separate from the house, we plan to use it if we'd like to invite someone over.

Yes exactly the same in the scenario I have in mind. Will bring own drink, not go into main house and certainly not use the loo. I get that they’re worried people will push it but the guidelines are so unclear I’m just going to do what I think is safe now !

So I can chat to a person on the 2 foot wide grass verge outside my gate?
But not in the massive space inside my gate, which is larger than my kid's school classroom?

I also have a good size garden with side access. Would far prefer my mum to come over and sit out the back 2m away from me than chatting in a park full of strangers! Makes so much sense!

Why not use your best judgement and common sense rather than blindly listening to tthe government, which you're well aware doesn't care about anything besides the rich.

'So I can chat to a person on the 2 foot wide grass verge outside my gate? But not in the massive space inside my gate, which is larger than my kid's school classroom?'

They can't specify every single eventuality. Imagine if they said 'you can meet in a garden as long as you don't have to access it via the house, don't use the toilet and as long as the garden is wider and longer than 2m' etc etc. It would become ridiculous adding a load of caveats. That is why, for now, meeting one person outdoors in a public place like a park or similar is what they have said. In an attempt to keep it simple.

Perhaps if infections don't increase then maybe meeting 2 relatives in a couple of weeks will be introduced.

It is a start.

I don’t understand why using the toilet would be a problem. Social distancing would be easy to achieve if everyone else is in the garden. If the host cleans down the last time it was used and the guest cleans hands, sink, flush handle etc. before and after use, and the host does the same, then there’s no risk.

Either we’re allowed to use our common sense, or we aren’t.

I'm just checking that I'm not completely losing my mind and that this is not some massive risk I haven't thought of! I'm also only going to do it after I've not been inside a shop or suchlike for 14 days, so there is minimal risk anyway of me having it. So in this case, if neighbours reported, then presumably the police wouldn't fine, as the guidelines don't say "no gardens" they just say "outside"

@CakeAndCrisps
your post makes perfect sense thank you. Please take over from Boris.

@wise you are not allowed into into someone else's house. That has not changed. This is why they have to make seemingly illogical rules, because someone always says exactly what you have. So to make it clear: do not go into someone else's home.

So I can chat to a person on the 2 foot wide grass verge outside my gate? But not in the massive space inside my gate, which is larger than my kid's school classroom?'

Jesus Christ on a rubber bike, and they wonder why we have instructions on shampoo bottles.

The government have tried to treat people like adults, and to use common sense. They couldn’t give full instructions for every single scenario imaginable. If you lack the common sense to understand that, then I suggest you stay home till there’s a vaccine.

My common sense tells me that it would be far safer to go sit in my parents garden than a very busy park.
So, adhering to social distancing, that is what I am going to do. And after 8 weeks of not seeing a single loved one (other than those I live with of course), I don’t care what anyone else thinks or says. It’s given me something to look forward to at the end of the week.

The government have tried to treat people like adults, and to use common sense

Except they haven't or else they wouldn't be telling people that's it's better to go to the park and it's not alright to be in someone's front gardens, because other people don't have front gardens or their gardens might be very small and if you go in someone's garden, you might also go in their house apparently.

Lots of other bits of the new guidance make no sense either, so it sounds like using common sense is the last thing they want us to do.

It’s pretty obvious to me that they mean a public place. Not everyone has access that doesn’t involve going through someone’s house.

I do despair at what the British public are funding so hard to understand about all this! Take some responsibility and use common sense.

Common sense says that sitting in a decent sized garden with a side gate so no entry through the house, is safer than a busy park.

It’s pretty obvious to me that they mean a public place. Not everyone has access that doesn’t involve going through someone’s house

No it isn't, it just says 'outside'. Just because some people don't have access to a garden without going into the house, doesn't mean that many people don't. Many people have a front garden for example, or side access or a side gate, or a gate into the back garden or sometimes even all three.

I know that many people think that front gardens are not for sitting in, but doing just that is almost certainly lower risk than traipsing out to a public place.

The rule is just 'outside'. So gardens are fine unless you have to go through a house, then it's not, of course still only meeting one person, and within the 2m.

People do like to take apart and question every little thing - the basic rules are there, you just have to make sure you don't break them - one person, 2m, outside only. No staying overnight during your journey. So yes the person who is social-distance visiting a friend in their 10m square garden is not breaking the rule but the person meeting two friends or within 2m in the public park is!

The government have tried to treat people like adults, and to use common sense

My adult common sense says the front garden is far safer.

But penalties for breaking the rules are going to increase.
What if the policeman driving past my house doesn't agree with my assessment of the risk?

you are not allowed into into someone else's house. That has not changed. This is why they have to make seemingly illogical rules, because someone always says exactly what you have. So to make it clear: do not go into someone else's home.

Yes, I know what the rule is. What I’m saying is the rule is not risk based, therefore it’s truly stupid to also tell people to use their common sense.

I’m shit hot at aseptic techniques. My common sense tells me that I can use someone else’s bathroom, or they could use mine, with minimal risk.

My common sense also told me that when my friend came round to fix a leaking pipe, we were low risk to each other and I could easily decontaminate the area afterwards - yet what I did broke the rules, and I could have been fined. I should have used an official paid plumber who could have been anywhere.

But penalties for breaking the rules are going to increase.
What if the policeman driving past my house doesn't agree with my assessment of the risk?

This.

I was thinking this afternoon, it's a shame the govt wasn't more specific about this because it would leave more space and allow for more social distancing in public places for those who don't have any / or outdoor space with the right type of access.