Hancock and the media...

[Workingman]

... need to be very careful with social distancing and tougher controls.

The media is showing pictures, some of them drone footage, of people apparently not following the rules. Some are couples walking together, others are groups of twos and threes sitting about and the shout goes out "idiots, killers, covidiots, go home" and so on. But hang on, what do the photographers know about these people?

Do couples or families who live within the same four walls suddenly have to be two metres from each other once the leave the house? And if a couple or a few (so long as they are not from different places) are sat more than two metres from the next group, as a lot of the aerial footage shows they are, then where is the problem? Even when the aerial shots show ten or 20 groups on a field or in a park and they are all well apart what is the problem? Yes, they are all in the same park and at the same time, but lets not get hysterical.

I live on my own so I have to keep two metres apart from everyone, the family next door can all be holding hands with each other when they go out and it would make not a jot of difference so long as they stay two metres away from all others, whether they be single or in groups.

I am not saying that there are not idiots out there. Stories abound of parties in gardens and BBQs and larger groups in open spaces which could not all be from the same isolation point, so deal with them. The danger of coming down too hard on quiet walks round the streets in our ones and twos risks losing the sympathy of the sensible 99.9% as people might just say "Sod it."

It is not as if we are 100% protected as we queue at supermarkets, and then have to put up with the brain donors who cannot follow the arrows on the floor, in order to feed ourselves to live.

[miasmum]

I agree with all you say Frank

We walked the dog round the local racecourse today. There were quite a few people but probably the biggest groups were family groups. Everyone was trying to walk 2 metres apart. Problem is children on bikes want to be on the paths so the edges were busy and middle empty, bit like Australia

[TheOstrich]

It is not as if we are 100% protected as we queue at supermarkets, and then have to put up with the brain donors who cannot follow the arrows on the floor ….

Absolutely this. Waitrose, which has no arrows, was a free-for-all last Thursday morning; social distancing was nigh on impossible.
The local One Stop shop does have arrows and despite that, the previous week, I still encountered an eejit male going round the wrong way.
I find even the thought of shopping stressful these days …

[jenniren]

I find even the thought of shopping stressful these days …

The thought of worrying about social distancing in supermarkets would stress me out too Ossie. It's a family joke that I'm a 'shop till you drop' kind of person, never thought the day would come when I'd be grateful for weekly home deliveries

[cruiser2]

Went to our local small Tesco on Sunday to buy newspaper and milk. I wasstood two metres from the person at the till waiting to pay. Another customer. a young femail with a bottle of alcoho;l and a can of fizzy drink pushed past me and stood in front hoping to getserved before me. But I just walked to the till as the customer had paid.
My wife and I went to the big Tesco last Friday morning. There were two queues outlide, one for pensioners and one for younger customers. Staff were diinfecting every trolley.
Inside there were arrows on the flor so it was a one way system round the aisles. Plenty of staff to make sure you went the correct way and kept two metres from the customer in front.
Very orderley and not a long wait.

[Kaz]

Another "shop 'til you drop" type here, but my goodness Sainsbury's was stressful last Friday, for reasons mentioned above, especially as I was shopping for two households Not looking forward to the next time

[cromwell]

I was lucky last time I went to Sainsbury's at Ings Road. Second in the queue and it was quiet inside.
I've had to come off the local village fb page though, people are going crackers. Calling teenagers "scum" when six of them were seen in the park, photographing groups of people, interminable lectures from virtue signallers, people shrieking "OH MY GOD HAVE YOU SEEN TODAY'S FIGURES" or "My son says he's seen an ambulance up our street with men in white suits in it". On and on and on. I get it that people are worried, we all are but what good do posts like that do? This is bringing out the best in some people and the bad side of others.

[Workingman]

We now have Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, saying that: "Closing parks and open spaces in the UK amid the coronavirus lockdown should be an "absolute last resort.""

Tell that to West Yorks Police and Leeds CC who were out of the blocks like Usain Bolt when closing them down.

I actually agree with him, but unfortunately he and Hancock (with the aid of the media) are sending mixed messages and creating confusion. Let's have one or the other - I don't mind which so long as it applies to us all: equally.

[saundra]

When my son came the other week I said to him are you allowed to be near kerri at home he said yes of course and they work together
Yet him and I couldn't even have a hug
So he could give the virus to his partner but not his mum