johnkaysleftleg wrote:Culardoch wrote:Therein lies a problem. Just who defines "local". Is it plod who might be in a bad mood? Is it Nippy Nicola who might be in a bad mood? Is it the judge when I'm brought before the beak?
Incidentally I should have added that my suggested trip to the forest was on say two days of the week. The rest of the time I'd just have to take my chances.
I think the best bet is to take the walk from your front door early or late to reduce chances of encountering others.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. I've taken to having my daily walk -- from my house -- very early in the morning, and funny that, I'm tending to not see anyone.
It seems to me that if you have to ask "but can I not do ....<whatever>?" -- then it's probably not ok. Whatever you think about the current government, they're -- rightly so -- just a tad bit more concerned about vulnerable people getting food and support, and supporting the NHS and the self-employed (and all of us, really) than whether or not it's "fair" for you to be allowed to flex the rules, given whatever your "special" situation is.
And while we're at it, let's give the police a break. They were doing more with less before all this happened. They, like the NHS, are stretched thin, worried about themselves and their families, and still going to work every day, dealing with situations and rules that are changing daily -- that, in normal times would take weeks or months (or years) to implement cautiously to ensure that they're not stepping on anyone's toes or democratic freedoms. While they're out there telling people to go home, it means less policing of broken-into care homes, or closed pubs or restaurants, or the geniuses who are spending this time figuring out new scams and how to use this horrible situation to their advantage.
Whew. I'm kinda glad to get that off my chest. We're all worried, we're all scared, and we're all feeling the pressure of being constrained. I find myself moved to tears more than once a day, sometimes by something completely innocuous, sometimes by being terrified by the uncertainty of it all. But at the same time, I'm finding much greater joy in daft little things: A hot shower. A warm home. Food -- maybe not all of the things I'm used to having, but enough to keep me from being hungry. Finding a secret supply of eggs at the newsagent. Some days, a cracking sunrise. Daffodils. Owls. There are a lot of people offering coping strategies out there, and it might sound a bit twee to say "every day, write down three things that you're grateful for." Try it, it just might work.