Corona Virus

[Paul]

25 minutes ago, psychicsurveyor said:

 Paul, Or we, the public,  just need some common sense.

Legislation takes years to perfect, this was rushed out as emergency legislation, there will be gaps but we need to, in this instance, follow the spirit, not necessarily the letter of the law.

BBQs on the beach today at Brighton, that is just plain irresponsible.

It would be great to walk in the hills, be on the rivers but we can't, for a while yet.

There are still too many people who think it doesn't apply to them, only to others.

It is better to take the restrictions short term than to be dead or possibly kill someone else.

This is after less than two weeks, if people carry on ' bending' the guidance it will stop being ' guidance' and become a total lockdown.

 

 

 

Sadly the one thing we all know about common sense is that it's anything but common nowadays, so people need, and should be able to expect clear advice and instruction. Whilst the corona virus outbreak has happened very quickly the legislation is not new, state of emergency legislation has existed for years, ready to be fine tuned and enacted when required. Remember that the virus bill requires us to abide by government instructions but it is useless if those instructions are not specific. 

The issue of what is and is not acceptable exercise has been rumbling on for more than a week now, surely it is something that should be a priority to resolve. Perhaps more time at the evening briefing could be spent clarifying this, rather than listen to jobbing journalists trying to score points against each other quizzing our ministers about things that did, didn't or might have happened in the past. 

Are you clear about what is permitted and what is not? I'm not, but thankfully living in a village it's not too difficult for us. We have the allotment a five minute walk away, we have green fields within two minutes. What if you don't?

barbecues on the beach is clearly not exercise, these are the areas which our constabularies should be addressing, rather than visiting corner shops telling them to stop selling eater eggs. But what if you live in Brighton, can you walk on the beach for your exercise? What if you are a ten minute drive away, could you then? Twenty minutes?

Clarity is vital.

[ExSurveyor]

I suspect they were deliberately vague to start with to avoid panic, things will be tightened a bit further as the public become accustomed to the existing restrictions.

 We tend to not have a culture that would accept marshal law and troops on the streets.

I live out in semi countryside  with open space and fields and a good size garden but I am not a big fan of exercise anyway.

I do think, do I need to go out and should I go out.

I know a walk to get to a bit of open space is ok, driving is not.

If I lived in a town I would walk to a park but not drive to the countryside.

There have been instances of people driving from Bromley to Folkstone to walk on the beach, not good.

The bigger problem is groups of teenagers gathering together, we all know how difficult they can be to keep indoors normally but the parents obviously think it is ok for them to go out and bring the virus home.

I do wonder how many of these sudden converts to exercise are normally couch potatoes.

 

 

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[grendel]

Living in Canterbury where the council was intent on building on every available inch of land i am suddenly glad that two areas managed to get their green spaces common status, there are few green spaces in Canterbury, a couple of nice walks down by the rivers, but if everyone in Canterbury decides to exercise, then those areas will be overcrowded, so it makes sense to drive for a couple of miles to get to the countryside to exercise, the countryside is not far, but very urban to get to it from near the town centre where I am, the nearby green space is about the size of a football pitch, so not enough for more than a dozen or two people to walk, jog or exercise around while maintaining social distancing.

[ranworthbreeze]

It is now nearly two weeks since I left Norfolk and the boat. Our world has changed dramatically from being able to do as we wish to being ruled by our everyday actions. Yes the instructions given to us by the government are not clear, but as already mentioned they have been decided in haste, the press are not helping at all. The main message is to stay at home to save lives and it would appear that the sane majority are following these instructions. 

All the emergency services especially the nurses and doctors are putting their lives at risk for the benefit of us all, we need to help them  both in support an by not making their endeavours harder.

We have seen Jay's message how the Fire Brigade are helping with the situation taking extra rolls for the good of the community and volunteers like Ian who is currently at home is hopefully going to do his bit.

Like many of you I am now going to work from home, after bringing most of my equipment home. My oldest son was sent home just over two weeks ago, his wife works in the lab at the Hallamshire  Hospital so she has to work, my youngest son still lives with me and works in a supermarket so again has to go into work.

Not seeing family or friends other than on video links; is one of the major issues to me n this lock-down, I have never used my phone so much in the last two weeks. I am starting to do a few jobs in the garden and around the house, yesterday I varnished the front door, it was yacht varnish so at least I was keeping my hand in. Whilst I was waiting it to dry a little I did some weeding in the front garden so I could keep an eye on the open door.

My message to our forum members would be to stay safe, stay at home, follow instructions no matter how they change. Try and remain positive, friendly and at times bite your lip for the benefit of others. 

Regards

Alan

[Vaughan]

 

Social distancing, in the animal world! I guess no-one told them!

 

This was the street outside our house, a few minutes ago

The ewe with her new-borns, was following up behind in the comfort of her own transport.

[vanessan]

Herd immunity perhaps?

[Chelsea14Ian]

Could say they were following like sheep!

[unclemike]

thought of the day, keep a glass of wine in each hand , impossible then to touch your face

[ranworthbreeze]

6 minutes ago, chameleon said:

thought of the day, keep a glass of wine in each hand , impossible then to touch your face

Billy Connolly  always said a well balanced man has a drink in each hand

[Vaughan]

"Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight;

and drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds".

Gray's Elegy.

 

[grendel]

well in my effort to keep grounded, this morning was my first online yoga session with my normal teacher (we normally get these provided by work, but as my yoga teacher cannot hold normal lessons and abide by social distancing, she has in a limited way gone online using the zoom meeting app, at least this gives her a modest income and can be done from home, unfortunately the only place big enough for me to do yoga at home is in the garden - 10 degrees when I started this morning, but it has stretched a few of those kinks out that come from sitting around at home.

[SwanR]

I went for a walk this morning. We live on an estate with no parks in walking distance so it’s just a walk around the streets. That has to do for now. It’s the equivalent of the exercise I would get in my normal life when we would go out on a Sunday morning or when I would leave the office at lunchtime to go to the shops. 

But I wouldn’t dream of driving to anywhere else to take a walk. There might only be lots of other people doing the same thing. It has become acceptable to cross the road as soon as you see someone else coming!!

[vanessan]

5 minutes ago, SwanR said:

It has become acceptable to cross the road as soon as you see someone else coming!!

How very true! I think it’s becoming second nature to keep clear of other people now. We take the dogs out around 6.30am and seldom see anybody else at that time, mind you tramping across fields it is easy to take avoiding action. 

[grendel]

i too wont be driving anywhere to exercise, i am only driving to the shops to be able to carry a weeks shopping in one go, i was just showing why some would consider driving to a spot where they could exercise in the countryside, due to the lack of green space in the city centre.

[addicted]

In order to get some exercise we walk into town each morning , buy papers and  walk back -  a round trip of about 1-imile. it's not far but enough I hope to stop everything from seizing up. We buy the papers from a small Nisa supermarket.  If there's anyone in there Tony waits until they leave (he goes in alone), They have fitted screens at the counter to help everyone keep their distance and protect the staff. We rarely  see anyone on our way, occasionally the postman whom we talk to from a distance far in excess of 2 metres. He's very worried about his nan who was taken into hospital following  a fall and has caught corona virus while there, as of Friday she was showing signs of improvement fortunately. It's a beautiful day here in Cambs today and we'll probably spend some time in the garden later. There's about 200 or more daffodils that need dead heading. Enjoy the sunshine everybody if you are able and stay safe.

 

Carole

[Paul]

10 minutes ago, grendel said:

i too wont be driving anywhere to exercise, i am only driving to the shops to be able to carry a weeks shopping in one go, i was just showing why some would consider driving to a spot where they could exercise in the countryside, due to the lack of green space in the city centre.

I think you've nailed it Grendel, we too will not be driving anywhere to get exercise but living in a village that's easy for us to say. It's no so easy for others.

 

[vanessan]

1 minute ago, Paul said:

I think you've nailed it Grendel, we too will not be driving anywhere to get exercise but living in a village that's easy for us to say. It's no so easy for others.

 

Again, very true. With this scenario likely to continue for a while yet, I wonder if there is some way for town/city dwellers to have some sort of dispensation allowing them to drive a certain distance to get fresh air and exercise. Similar to the French having to fill in a form to allow them to go out. Living in a small village I really do appreciate having countryside on the doorstep and I think something could and should be done for those, like grendel, who  don’t have green spaces on their doorsteps. 

[MotorBoater]

8 hours ago, Vaughan said:

 

Social distancing, in the animal world! I guess no-one told them!

 

Absolutely love this picture, but surely it's less stressful to take just your dog for a walk.

[ChrisB]

8 hours ago, Vaughan said:

"Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight;

and drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds".

Gray's Elegy.

 

"Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"

The Churchyard being Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire. Sadly not so much of "country" anymore but you do get a good view of Slough and the Eternal sound of aircraft leaving or waiting to land at Heathrow.

[MotorBoater]

3 hours ago, ChrisB said:

"Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"

The Churchyard being Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire. Sadly not so much of "country" anymore but you do get a good view of Slough and the Eternal sound of aircraft leaving or waiting to land at Heathrow.

I wonder just what the poets of yesteryear would have made of a 747 Jumbo

[Stranger]

have we had a bit of a drift from the corona topic?

so a Tiger has caught the virus off a keeper in New York  so all you cat lovers might find theres going to be problems with yer cats  ?

[MauriceMynah]

To Stranger I say,

The moral of that story is to stay at least 2 meters from a tiger.

[grendel]

47 minutes ago, Stranger said:

have we had a bit of a drift from the corona topic?

so a Tiger has caught the virus off a keeper in New York  so all you cat lovers might find theres going to be problems with yer cats  ?

not mine as they are indoor cats, unless the virus makes its way past the doors, and as I am only going out to do shopping and am maintaining strict separation and hand cleansing that is hopefully unlikely.

[Chelsea14Ian]

27 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

To Stranger I say,

The moral of that story is to stay at least 2 meters from a tiger.

More like 20 meters,they can run faster then us.

[MotorBoater]

44 minutes ago, Stranger said:

have we had a bit of a drift from the corona topic?

so a Tiger has caught the virus off a keeper in New York  so all you cat lovers might find theres going to be problems with yer cats  ?

The report on this I saw didn't detail how they discovered the tiger was infected,  I doubt it stood still for a nasal swab.

More seriously though, if it turns out that the cat family are susceptible to this virus, we should be afraid, very afraid. Cats by their nature roam all over the place, we've had feral cats locally, living in the open country beyond our house in the past, for instance, not to mention all the domestic varieties.

I, for one, am hoping the diagnosis is premature.