[ageinghoody]

Yesterday I was able to go and walk around Dunham Massey parklands. Limited numbers with a pre-booked arrival time, ensuring plenty of space to "keep your distance". Mrs Hoody is currently attempting to book a slot at Lyme Park for next week on the same basis.

In a week or so I'll be permitted to do something similar in the rather more confined indoor space of the likes of Primark in the Trafford Centre should I be so inclined (I'm not!).

And yet the continued existence of Chester Zoo, world leaders in animal welfare, veterinary science, conservation and education, is in severe jeopardy, despite its 128 acres and 16 km of paths.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-m ... e-52875282

[MikeGC]

absolutely baffling, we've sponsored an animal in a tiny attempt to help yet it would be a prefect place to have a "socially distanced" meet up with my daughter and granddaughters

[H's D]

There are loads of other examples. e.g.

It is permitted for your infant/young child to go to nursery mixing with several adults and a dozen or so other kids, some of whom may well be the children of essential workers, healthcare and care home workers (inevitably having a higher risk of having exposure to covid).

It is not permitted for your infant/young child to be looked after by your parents so that you can focus on work, even if your family are working from home and both households have been in lockdown for months.

[Lord Elpus]

I can understand the zoo thing. Essentially it's because crowds will gather in frront of certain paddocks. Customers who have paid a large entry fee will object to being asked to move on.

A more trivial example is a Country Park we walk round which at this time has lots of goslings, ducklings, coot chicks etc. Families naturally gather to watch them thus blocking the paths so we have to wait for them to move on. Being stationary is not a good thing when cyclists and joggers (both incredibly selfish and unobservant of social distancing and breathing out hard) are using the same paths as walkers taking exercise. We also notice that dog walkers tend to occupy the whole path/road space available - especially a couple of dog walkers walking abreast.

[ageinghoody]

I can understand the zoo thing. Essentially it's because crowds will gather in frront of certain paddocks. Customers who have paid a large entry fee will object to being asked to move on.

A more trivial example is a Country Park we walk round which at this time has lots of goslings, ducklings, coot chicks etc. Families naturally gather to watch them thus blocking the paths so we have to wait for them to move on. Being stationary is not a good thing when cyclists and joggers (both incredibly selfish and unobservant of social distancing and breathing out hard) are using the same paths as walkers taking exercise. We also notice that dog walkers tend to occupy the whole path/road space available - especially a couple of dog walkers walking abreast.

Well as a cyclist, a runner and a dog-walker I object strongly to the crass generalisation.

Yes there are inconsiderate examples of all, but over the last few weeks the (thankfully few) deliberate unkindnesses I've encountered while running (too many people around for cycling) have been exclusively with walkers (without dogs), who have quite clearly chosen to make my passage past them as difficult as they possibly can. Mostly by taking up as much space as possible and totally ignoring my presence, but on two seperate occasions, when I've stopped before a narrow bit of path and stood aside to let approaching walkers pass, they reacted the same way; viz. moved into the middle of the path and stopped, feet astride, with their hands on their hips and a smug "I've got all day" smile on their face.

As a new septuagenarian it's particularly disappointing to note that all the inconsiderate or downright malicious behaviour I've encountered has been from older people! Not many younger ones about true, but those I have met have been friendly and considerate.

All of which of course is "off-topic" even for this "off-topic" thread.

[eBike]

Equally O/T

Having stuck rigidly to the law/guidelines all along, we decided to ride out this week. The Trans Pennine Trail and Ladybower twice, 3 separate days out. We met loads of people going the same way as us or the opposite direction. Walkers with or without dogs, serious runners, joggers, horse riders and cyclists of all levels of ability and ages.

Everyone was polite, sensible and, above all, courteous enough to raise a hand, smile and say "Good morning". The reason was probably that we all realised how lucky we were to be out in the fresh air and sunshine enjoying some stunning countryside and happy enough to share it. Many aren't that fortunate.

Didn't someone or other say "we're all in this together"

[Lord Elpus]

I write as I find walking every day. Walking as a couple we maintain social distancing when passing other walkers and usually walk in single file as do other walkers. Cyclists on the paths (marked "no cycling" ) like to bisect the safe distance reducing it by half. Joggers never give way and we've had to walk into nettle beds or onto a busy road to maintain 2m. distancing.

Talking to other walkers they too identify cyclists, joggers, and dog walkers as the most likely to infringe the 2m. distancing rule. Anyway that's our experience and we walk every day on various routes.

[wrinklieshark]

Talk to dog walkers....they will say, as I do, that the biggest offenders are the 'new walkers' .
Not all by any means, but those of us who walked every day with our dogs before the lockdown brought out the new wave of excercisers, will be very pleased when they all find something else to do and we can have our paths and fields back, without all the litter they leave behind! This week's weather is helping

[Flumpty]

I'm glad that I live "up here" and not "down there".

I enjoyed a very pleasant 2 hours walking a narrow canal towpath yesterday and only encountered happy & cheerful families, walkers, cyclists and doggers - no one hysterically leaping into the canal because we were only 1.25mt apart or verbally abusing others.

[SimonG]

I write as I find walking every day. Walking as a couple we maintain social distancing when passing other walkers and usually walk in single file as do other walkers. Cyclists on the paths (marked "no cycling" ) like to bisect the safe distance reducing it by half. Joggers never give way and we've had to walk into nettle beds or onto a busy road to maintain 2m. distancing.

Talking to other walkers they too identify cyclists, joggers, and dog walkers as the most likely to infringe the 2m. distancing rule. Anyway that's our experience and we walk every day on various routes.

No jogger has ever given way? Not even one?

I walk every day and almost every jogger I meet has given way. A few haven't but I wouldn't tar all joggers with their inconsiderate brush.

[Lord Elpus]

We have walked every day since returning to the UK in mid-march and I've never had a jogger give way. Most have earbuds in and are in a "zone". Now we specifically avoid certain stretches which joggers use simply because of them. Ok we may have been "unlucky" but as over 70's we must be careful. Younger people seem to think they are invulnerable to catching the virus but it will prove interesting to learn after the pandemic which age group is responsible for spreading the virus.

To give a couple of examples :- there is a narrow bridge over a river and we waited until the bridge had no-one using it and had reached a position only a couple of yards short of the end. A cyclist appeared and didn't wait for us to clear but rode down the middle of the bridge a couple of feet away from us. He had lots of time and space to stop. On the same bridge two families were at opposite sides of the end of the bridge chatting but maintaining the 2m. We therefore had to wait to use the bridge and whilst waiting several cyclists and dog walkers walked through the socially distancing families. We don't go there anymore.

[eBike]

Good grief, we're all getting out for exercise and sanity, cut people some slack. Sometimes people get self absorbed in their time outdoors and create minor inconveniences for the equally self absorbed.

I've found that a polite word, a smile and some consideration make a big difference.

FWIW - grinding back to Fairholmes (Ladybower), rounded a bend to find a guy slumped forward in a wheel chair alone in the middle of the trail. "You ok ?"............

"Yes, I'm just changing the film in my camera". 5 minutes later we were still there chatting.

Be Kind

[Lord Elpus]

Because of others' poor behavious we are very aware of others coming towards us. It's more difficult when people approach us from behind, especially cycists with no bell or similar warning device.

Your wheelchair bloke was lucky to get film for his camera.

[wrinklieshark]

The last time I said 'Are you OK?' was to an elderly (well, probably my age ) couple with walking sticks who were looking a bit distressed.
Turned out the laces on her trainers (!) had come undone and neither of them could bend down far enough to fasten them.
So the social distancing went for a burton, and she looked away and I held my breath whilst I retied them for her.

[eBike]

Because of others' poor behavious we are very aware of others coming towards us. It's more difficult when people approach us from behind, especially cycists with no bell or similar warning device.

A personal decision but I prefer a polite "Excuse me" or the currently more useful "Coming up behind on your left/right" depending on where the safer space is. The only "fail" is when people have ear buds in which, these days, is quite often. Headphones are easy to spot so less of an issue. In the end it costs nothing to slow down.

However, now that BBC Sounds has an archive of Desert Island Disc available I can see the attraction

Your wheelchair bloke was lucky to get film for his camera.
I thought that but apparently not so. Expensive for sure but he was something of a retro purist.

[ageinghoody]

We have walked every day since returning to the UK in mid-march and I've never had a jogger give way. Most have earbuds in and are in a "zone". Now we specifically avoid certain stretches which joggers use simply because of them. Ok we may have been "unlucky" but as over 70's we must be careful. Younger people seem to think they are invulnerable to catching the virus but it will prove interesting to learn after the pandemic which age group is responsible for spreading the virus.

To give a couple of examples :- there is a narrow bridge over a river and we waited until the bridge had no-one using it and had reached a position only a couple of yards short of the end. A cyclist appeared and didn't wait for us to clear but rode down the middle of the bridge a couple of feet away from us. He had lots of time and space to stop. On the same bridge two families were at opposite sides of the end of the bridge chatting but maintaining the 2m. We therefore had to wait to use the bridge and whilst waiting several cyclists and dog walkers walked through the socially distancing families. We don't go there anymore.

Oh well you have my sympathy for your truly exceptional poor fortune in the people you've met.

I do indeed wear earbuds, but they're not at a volume which prevents me from hearing traffic or conversation. To be fair, I've rarely had the chance to give way to walkers as they tend to beat me to it. If only they knew how grateful I'd be to slow down or stop for a breather myself occasionally!

Re age concerns, I mentioned before that I've just turned 70 myself, and very oddly my age seems to upset some people in itself! Quite regularly some passer-by will indulge in a jocular line of the " more energy than me at my age" type. Frequently it turns out I'm older than them and that revelation has occasionally made them less friendly. One remarkable chap, who'd asked me if I was a lifelong runner, became almost apoplectic and borderline abusive when I told him that I'd taken it up a couple of months before my 67th birthday.

That baffles me!

[H's D]

It's interesting how people worry and get quite aggressive about absurdly low risks but ignore the large ones they are far more familar with. Fear of the unknown I suppose,.
Fundamentally if you have an infection with an average R number of less than 3 and you are shedding virus, you will on average during the whole course of your illness infect 3 people.
We know it's mostly shed by coughing and spluttering over people who are very close to you. SOo..... if everyone just stopped to think : Who would one most likely infect ?, One would probably come up with a list of spouse, a friend or two, neighbourss and work colleagues. My personal list would normally be around a dozen, but currently it is AT MAXIMUM about half a dozen, I barely talk to many others or get close to them currently but, if it was anyone, it would be, in order of likelihood: my wife, son and girlfriend, who all live at home and eat together. I would characturize them as VERY HIGH RISK from me! There just isn't any evidence or likelihood left that I would infect a transiently passing dog walker or cyclist orput one at any significant risk at all. The oppsoite equally applies. It's all conjecture and hyperbole... Yet we focus on such things disproportionately.
Of course even more significantly now we know the R figure for someone still working from home or isolating is less than one, so it is most likely/almost certain that the only person one will infect is one's spouse or main carer. I think everyone will be like that, hence my lack of excessive concern.
However do people in general even acknowledge that the risk is very very low for the individual currently by rationalizing it. Only 1 in 5-700 infected? It is only huge for the NHS and in communities where social distancing is completely impossible, like a care home or hospital........Yet we accept far greater danger getting into the car and driving a short distance.....
It's all very dystopian this "fear shaming".....If anyone wants to know where significant flare-ups and the majority of cases currently lie they should listen to the LSTM Sage professor on Radio 4's Today of Saturday the 6th on listen again. The focus should still be on the same old....One hour 9 minutes onwards ..........
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jsym

[poyntonshark]

You have a Wife, a Son AND a Girlfriend all living under one roof?

That's a very accomodating wife.


There are times when I appreciate living in a relatively remote community, 50km in 3 directions to the next nearest town, god knows haw far to the south, theres an ocean to cross untill you get to Antarctica, not many carriers there. 0 cases in our town, yet still stories of cars stopping so that someone could scold couples out walking about social distancing.