Two Women fined for walking for Starbucks

[Superketchup]

What rule have they broken? I don’t understand. Two of them met - yes can meet one other person - they’d driven 5 miles - surely that’s ok?! - and they had a Starbucks each which the police said was a picnic?!
Why are they keeping takeaways open if it’s agaisnt the law to get one? I took my kids to the park, the coffee shop was open for takeaway. It was freezing. We got a hot chocolate each. I’m too scared to do so again!

If you had jogged 7 miles away from your home you wouldn’t have a hot warm drink in your hands and wellies on.

ahhh so that's it then. the virus will only infect you when wearing wellies and holding a hot drink but you're ok if wearing trainers and with a cold drink. Phew, glad Ive clarified that!

Am I one of the only people who doesn't live within five miles of their friends? I would have to drive a few miles to meet halfway with any of them.

No, not the only one, my geographically closest friend is 13 miles from me

@Thingybobbyboo

I did this today. I live alone and have no close friend in walking distance of my house. We walked and had a coffee.

Fortunately no one tried to fine us! I feel for those women, must have been stressful.

I think this is low risk and important for well-being and I’ll do it again.

It’s low risk if you are sensible. If getting coffees and going for strolls is allowed, the next family out exercising will be having a full on picnic with their friends or bubbles. We all know about the common sense of some of the British people. It’s what got is back into lockdown!

I'm careful - really careful - and always stick to the rules, even ones I don't agree with, but these women were NOT breaking laws or being irresponsible.

I'm glad takeaways are open, and that people are using them. We need to keep as much of our economy open as we can as long as it doesn't endanger health.

As for 5 miles not being local......ridiculous! It seems that some people just want to deny others anything enjoyable for the sake of it. I despair.

@junglepie

If you had jogged 7 miles away from your home you wouldn’t have a hot warm drink in your hands and wellies on.

ahhh so that's it then. the virus will only infect you when wearing wellies and holding a hot drink but you're ok if wearing trainers and with a cold drink. Phew, glad Ive clarified that!

No, let me clarify it properly for you. You are allowed exercise. Not a stroll 5 miles from home and a nice warm drink. If you can’t exercise at home, then go to your local park or whatever. If those women are in the right then perhaps i will drive 10 miles from home and meet up with my sister and her kids under 5 and “exercise” my DH can go in his own car and tag along and meet up with his “one exercising mate”. Whilst we are at it why don’t I get my other family members to join us in separate cars and meet up with one mate there? If we all bring a food item each bet we can have a picnic too. ... It’s about not abusing and bending the rules to do something that’s not essential. It’s about understanding why we are actually in lockdown in the first place.

I can't work out whether the police officers concerned were deluded or just plain stupid. As already mentioned, this is the same force that sent up a drone during the first lockdown and filmed people walking in the hills.

Surely their senior officers should have realised the damage that particular incident caused to public opinion in a country where policing is by consent? Perhaps a reappraisal of their training methods might be in order? It might have been nice if this had been at least acknowledged this time rather than the 'We are always right' approach.

The police in this area lost all respect when two patrol cars turned up at children's playground during the first lockdown at reports that young children were playing on the equipment (which was not allowed at that time). Needlessness to say the kids had gone by the time they got there. This was the morning after several cars were broken into during the night but presumably the police were too busy to patrol the area?

@atswim2birds

! I mean really, this should be about science and clear laws and rational decisions. Where the F does "the spirit" come into it?!?

It's about understanding nuance, grey areas, and not taking the piss doing things which are unhelpful even if you are technically allowed to.
How are people so confused?

Law should never be about nuance and grey areas. Law should be black and white. Either you have broken the law or not. When you introduce nuance and grey areas into it you reduce the effectiveness of the law.

It's ridiculous for the police to charge them while saying they technically didn't break the law but went against the spirit of the law. It only means anyone else charged with covid law breaking will now be able to challenge the charges in case they are incorrect, costing the taxpayer more

&No, let me clarify it properly for you*
You are allowed exercise. Not a stroll 5 miles from home and a nice warm drink. If you can’t exercise at home, then go to your local park or whatever

No, let me clarify it for you. You are allowed to drive for exercise. You are allowed to buy takeaway coffee and you are allowed to meet up with one other person outside. Totally legal. A stroll is exercise and therefore legal. There is no minimum speed at which a walk is classed as exercise.

If those women are in the right then perhaps i will drive 10 miles from home and meet up with my sister and her kids under 5 and “exercise” my DH can go in his own car and tag along and meet up with his “one exercising mate”
That's fine, whats your point?

While we are at it why don’t I get my other family members to join us in separate cars and meet up with one mate there? If we all bring a food item each bet we can have a picnic too. ...

Well yes you could but that's when it becomes a gathering and therefore not legal. They didn't do that though so it's pretty irrelevant. They also didn't eat anything, let alone sit down on a blanket and share food.

It’s about not abusing and bending the rules to do something that’s not essential. It’s about understanding why we are actually in lockdown in the first place

I think we all understand why we are in lockdown, but I think most of us also understand that this is not a risk, and the payback in mental health is massive.

If you had jogged 7 miles away from your home you wouldn’t have a hot warm drink in your hands and wellies on.
Walking is also exercise. I did my walk in wellies today.

I drove about 8 miles this week to meet a friend for a walk in the Forest. I live in a city but on the western edge of it where the Forest area joins. My friend lives in the forest area.

Fitness is one of my passions. I can't go to a gym at the moment. I have a small gym in my garage where I can do weight training and I run from my house a couple of times a week. It's not very pleasant as I am literally running along streets past endless houses. But I do it.

I also like to go hiking. For me, a walk - exercise - is not an amble along the pavements of the streets where I live, its a long (5 mile at least) hike through interesting terrain with climbs, hills, obstacles etc. My friend has had a number of health issues and is on a regime to improve her fitness and lose weight which she is succeeding in. I am proud of her and happy to support her when I can.

We drove in separate cars and each took a flask of hot drink with us which we consumed when we were finished. We walked for about 1.5 hours during which time we met 2 other couples.

It's ridiculous to assert that people cannot make common sense judgements on these matters!

Reading the link, even though it's apparently only several miles away, it seems they travelled from one county to another?
I'd have thought that was a definite no no.

@Quaagars

Why? There is nothing preventing people travelling between counties. If you live reasonably close to the border then the fact it's a different county doesn't mean it isn't "local". In any event, "Local Area" is not defined anywhere and is guidance only.

@Quaagars

Reading the link, even though it's apparently only several miles away, it seems they travelled from one county to another? I'd have thought that was a definite no no.

I live in Derbyshire but where they were is a lot further from where I live as its a big county. I wouldn't travel that far but they only nipped a few miles over the border.

Hey, I don't make the Roolz
I think if it is only 5 miles, it doesn't really make much difference whether it's 5 miles inside the same county or 5 miles but you've crossed a county border - it's still 5 miles whichever one you do.
Just saying can understand why if you're coming in from different counties they might be more strict.
Although are we supposed to be driving to exercise?
Local walks with local people (sorry, that sounds like something out of League of Gentlemen lol)

A friend and I walked along the beach walkway with our two babies today and there was a police car pulled up with two officers. They saw us walk by and didn't do anything.

I honestly don’t understand what people think they did wrong. I’m driving 5.5 miles (just looked it up) to meet a friend at a national trust park on Sunday. I’m confident this does not break the law. There’s a cafe there and I will certainly have a hot drink to walk around with.

@ThatDamnKrampus

But meeting one other person (not in your household or bubble) is only supposed to be for exercise though isn't it? Amd driving for exercise; exercise must be longer than journey?

I think "exercise needs to be longer than the car journey" makes sense - is this in the guidance or the law?

Interestingly, the Government have just announced that, as part of their vaccination programme, they are committing to ensuring that no-one has to travel more than 10 miles to get their vaccination! So they obviously consider 10 miles to be local :)

@99victoria

Interestingly, the Government have just announced that, as part of their vaccination programme, they are committing to ensuring that no-one has to travel more than 10 miles to get their vaccination! So they obviously consider 10 miles to be local :)

I wonder how that works for people who live over 10 miles from their nearest doctors! Unless they're going to do mobile vans for rural communities.

There’ll be more to this story.

@CarlottaValdez

I honestly don’t understand what people think they did wrong. I’m driving 5.5 miles (just looked it up) to meet a friend at a national trust park on Sunday. I’m confident this does not break the law. There’s a cafe there and I will certainly have a hot drink to walk around with.

So basically you’re having a jolly.

No she's having a walk. What is your life when that's a "jolly"

I wish the London police could be trained by the Derbyshire police. I just spent a train journey from London to Brighton with 2 young teenagers blaring their music, shouting, basically having a party with no masks on. I called them selfish little twats, much to their amusement. The trains are a free for all during lockdown with everyone somehow needing to be louder and more obnoxious to make up for the empty space. I have spent the day working in a London hospital so was not in the mood for a party carriage.

I was on the river today (stand uo paddle board) and was anxious when the police boat passed -they gave me a friendly wave...

Indeed @maddiemookins16mum

What do people NOT understand about "STAY AT HOME" ?

You all think you can calculate your risk. You can't. We should all be behaving as if we were active carriers of the virus, and are infectious.