mynthdd2 wrote:I guess this has been addressed but I am currently sat at my desk in a leafy suburb in my big house with a big garden looking out in the distance to a block of flats with no gardens etc and lots of frustrated families unable to access locked down beaches and country parks - more London centric bullsh1t leading to even more domestic abuse up here
let the people go to the wide open spaces we have in Northumberland and observe distancing....
This may be my first post here, but a long time user of the sight. I agree with your overall sentiment inasmuch as I have the same residential footprint which you describe, including the option to walk out of my backdoor into woodland and on up the Solway Firth. Apart from one family who had a picnic and built a campfire from branches and loose bone dry leaves, in a nature reserve woodland of the same,30m from folks backdoors in a 20 mph wind, it has been nice to see folks using the opportunity to explore a place many of them are quite unfamiliar with, especially those who are using it as a way to explore local wildlife withy their kids.
Sadly the counter to this has been the report that, today Cumbria police, my area force, have found 300 air B'nB lets available in the Lakes actively seeking clients from this Friday, marketing properties as "the ideal place to self isolate", many, most likely, owned by folk who themselves don't live here. Right now Cumbria is up there ,way ahead of the curve for head of population and deaths in, for the North of the county are two pretty under resourced hospitals.
As for allowing people to feely move around, where do we draw the line ? Right now I would normally be in Lochaber at this time of year, I wouldn't dream of going there for the same reasons that I am **** off with people thinking that, right now my locale is an extension of their backyard. I don't even consider going 20 mins up the road into the Lakes National part onto the northern fells where I know well plenty of the folks who are farming the land I would be walking on.
There has to be a simple instruction to follow otherwise it becomes open to individual interpretation and, sadly, as we all know, due to the nature of our society abuse.
My wife retired on the 2nd day of lockdown after 35 years of teaching, she spent her working life longing to get out for a walk on a school day, It's not great, but right now we will accept what has to be and get on with shopping for 6 households, scarier than Sharp Edge in an ice storm right now in terms of the number of shops and pharmacies we are queuing at and going into.
Again, I agree with you. Like everyone on this site, we know the pure release of getting out on the hill, moor or shoreline, but how on earth are those in charge supposed to define and administer any other form of containment ?