Lockdown easing in England

[groom]

Roopat, I think a lot of families will face the same dilemma, as any with three children won't be able to meet both grandparents. It's a pity it isn't 6 people, if it is friends all from different households and 8 if it is just two families from different households. I think a lot of people will bend the rules a bit where families are concerned and meet up in private gardens, even if it means there are 4 adults and 3 children. If you social distance it shouldn't make any difference.

[candleflame]

I think families will do whatever's best for their family , if they have more than the apparent 2 children per family .
I wouldn't like to be sat on the trampoline mind you!

We went for a walk on a disused railway walk near us a few days ago and saw what you could tell were two different households - mum plus teenager and a different mum plus their teenager. The mum's were perfectly distanced chatting away happily. The teenagers,  both boys - I'd guess about 13 year olds - were behind  arguing! They had a branch of a tree with them and one was telling the other, you have to be at the other end of that branch , that's 2 metres you idiot. That's a quote. I had to laugh inwardly. I wasn't sure if the mum's had given them the branch or they decided to use it!

[Maiden Stone]

There's a handy, simple to understand chart "UK rules on meeting up" at the foot of the article "Coronavirus: What are social distancing and self-isolation?" 
https://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51506729

[Maiden Stone]

Strange - I was sure I heard that as part of the briefing yesterday, but I can't find it in writing anywhere. Maybe I imagined it.
Edit:  It is in Scotland, not England.  Groups of up to eight, but only from two households.

Nicola Sturgeon is in the habit of making things clear in her briefings. I'm often unsure at the end of the PM's public outings what he said.

[Maiden Stone]

People across the back lane from me had grandpa visiting today. I heard him and youngest child (aged 4) saying goodbye to each other. It made me happy. The couple next door to them may have had visitors as well.
I hope there are no barbecues.

[sonofthom]

There is a large area of public land opposite our house and it has been busy all day with people out enjoying the sunshine. Children have been laughing and playing with each other and adults freely chatting to each other. So called social distancing seems pretty much dead and it is increasingly clear that the confused and muddled governments of the various parts of the UK are losing control of their ability to micromanage people's lives. We had to make an essential car journey today and the roads were back to where they were before lockdown. Whatever your personal views may be it seems clear to me that people have had enough of the politicians and their myriad of rules and restrictions.

As regards North Korea there were 58 new cases identified today and no new deaths - I don't see this as being a big spike. The European nations with which we are most directly comparable have restored freedom to their people without any adverse effects.

[Maiden Stone]

Reply 68 sonofthom. I think you have confused and muddled your North and South Korea. South Korea was mentioned by roopat. Perhaps it was the combination of the words "government", "control" and "micromanage" in your post which put you in mind of North Korea.

[sonofthom]

Oops, thanks Maiden Stone; a bit of a Freudian slip as Scotland has been compared to North Korea quite a bit recently. However the figures I quoted were correctly for SOUTH Korea.

Maybe I should take up an online geography course during lockdown?

[arthurk]

And still they go on....please, in the words of that awful song 'Let It Go'!!!

I'm sorry you were upset by my posts, but I think you might not have grasped how angry and upset some of us are by recent events, and such feelings can't be just told to go away.

In some ways this forum is a microcosm of the country as a whole: some people are feeling hurt, betrayed and deceived, while others urge them to 'move on' or 'calm down'. Some people seek answers to difficult questions, others want to close down the discussion.

Belittling people for taking things literally when (with no indication being given at the time) they were not meant to be taken that way or 'only a joke', or putting out misleading or confusing information, can be symptoms of gaslighting. Those who experience this are right to feel aggrieved, and should not be blamed for drawing attention to it.