Anyone nervous about lockdown restrictions ending?

I find the govt messages confusing too. Personally if I didn't have a dog to walk I wouldn't go anywhere but I do and he's a large active breed so there's no way he can't have exercise for months. so given that I have to be as careful as possible. Luckily I live rurally , its my understanding you can only get it from an infected person coughing or breathing near you.

I go out really early so we're first to the fields I don't touch anything anyone else has touched. I use a mobility scooter anyway cos I can't walk enough to manage the dogs daily walks (arthritis is knees) so I stay on that and no-one else uses that except me.  I usually don't see anyone on the walk other than the odd jogger in the distance or maybe another early morning dog walker but I keep a large distance away from anyone.

Shopping and prescriptions (and other deliveries) get left outside my door. Only other contact is brother coming to cut grass and drop off food. we chat from a distance through the back door (into the garden, which is glass).  I've been doing this since early march and had no symptoms yet of anything (other than stiff painful knees!).

I won't be going to any pubs this year even if they do open before xmas. Hoping to be able to go to brothers for a BBQ at some point in the summer where we can sit in the garden with plenty of space for a longer chat for a couple of hours and still see him xmas day so hopefully there's no second wave hitting us by xmas!

I am still confused about what the stay at home advice really means.

Does it literally mean, stay at home?  Don't go out.  Or go out,  but stay in the local area and don't travel 50 miles to exercise in a national park.

Social distancing is also confusing.  2 metres?

Outside my local Waitrose people are queuing over 5 metres apart.

Yesterday at Asda, well, this certainly wasn't 2 meters.

Should we stay at home?  Like this sunbather?  

Hint, look at the attic window.

Or should we visit local parks.

This was yesterday's VE Day crowd in my local park.  Everyone enjoying the warm sunshine and still keeping their distance

Greetings. In certain parts of London, "Lockdown" meant nothing. Kebab and Curry Restaurants reverted to "takeaway only but it's okay if sitting down to have seconds". People gather in groups of five and hang about. They used to keep children indoors but now the children have run out of Phone Apps to play with... or something.

I have been wanting to say (moan) this publicly for a long while... in large cities some people live in East-facing Flats, and so how are they going to keep all of them indoors inbetween June-September, without starting a 'Human barbeque' en-masse...? 

I have a dog to walk and usually avoid a local nature park as its always busy even from earlyish in  the mornings but because they've closed off the car park it was deserted and we had the place to ourselves at 6am!  Just goes to show most of the dog walkers/visitors going there are from further away or just very lazy! 

I don't go out again as more people are heading out to walk their dogs and exercise from 8am onwards so I've been setting my alarm for 5am and trying to be out somewhere between 5.30-7am Luckily we have a decent sized garden and the dog has more toys than he knows what to do with..lol!  .and would rather than a game of football (in the garden) than a second short walk 'round the block' on a lead.

I always got food delivered to me anyway so that hasn't changed though slots have been harder to get and family had to drop off some food at the beginning due to panic buyers taking multiple slots a week and crashing the sites! (cos shelves were empty in the supermarkets). That seems to have settled down a bit now.

I'm in Scotland, so no worries about Borris' speech as it doesn't apply to us :p

Though I am a bit worried about work when it does ends At the moment we are almost all working from home, which I'm much more comfortable with - no noisy open plan office, no bright lights, no migraines, not much meaningless social chit chat needed, it's perfect. So dreading having to go back to office working. What's worse is that it is really confusing as whether we'll be allowed to work more from home in the future - doubly confusing as the pre-COVID set up is that we were officially allowed to work from home, but people tended not to work from ome more than one day a week, so not sure if there's an unofficial rule that we had to be in the office most days!

Socially, not a much has changed since lockdown as didn't socialise much before hand. And the "bubble thing" won't make much difference to me as friends/family don't live nearby. So I have a justification to keep my  "bubble" as just me until the virus has passed, which suits me.

While shopping yesterday, I had the opposite experience in Fultans. 

Although my local Waitrose & Aldi have implemented social distancing very formally and effectively,  with uniformed security guards only letting one person in when one comes out, and they have long queues of shoppers outside standing many metres apart.

Fultans are different,  they have few customers and only a poster on an outside window stating a one in,  one out policy.  Yesterday when I arrived there was a couple outside arguing whether or not to go in, they were waiting for someone to leave the shop.  I walked straight in.  Inside there was nobody at the tills and only three customers in the whole store.  The reason nobody was leaving was because the place was almost empty.  

When I finished my shopping and left, the couple finally walked in, very nervously. 

Since the beginning of lockdown most people’ve been observing social distancing rule in Tesco but yesterday was different - some people just didn’t bother anymore. 

On my last walk I’ve noticed more people and some of them didn’t bother to keep distance.

And my neighbours started openly visiting each other. Few weeks ago they were mostly standing and talking to each other outside in the middle of the street.

I understand that people are fed up but it stresses me out.

A few scenes from our lockdown.  This was April, now it's busier. 

I agree, in our town there's more people out and about than ever before! On the road and in the street. Their even going to each others houses here and its not taken seriously at all. So in relation to our town they may as well send everyone back to work as people are mixing anyway. It will be more peaceful for those sheltering or recovering as its been so stressful

Takeaways are starting to open.

My local chippy opened last week, although it insists you pay online and just collect the food.

Another chippy has reopened completely a few days ago.

Two local chinese takeaways have reopened,  although they insist that only two people are allowed inside at any time.

This week I saw people having picnics in the park, playing football and even badminton.  The weather is fine and people are out and about.

However when I walked to the city centre, I'm avoiding bus travel, it was very different.  In other parts of the city the streets are deserted.  People are staying at home.

Where I live, people have been very sensible and reasonable. 

Social distancing is being practiced,  we have long drawn out queues outside supermarkets and the post office.  People tend to stay in small family groups in the parks and woodlands.

However, people are not staying at home and most go out more often than once day, and spend hours sunbathing and relaxing in the parks.

I live next to public footpaths which are part of the Dalesway link.  And the paths are very busy, full of dog walkers,  cyclists, ramblers, whole families, photographers and it's obvious people are not staying at home.  It's like a bank holiday weekend every day.  Lockdown?  The lockdown is employment and non essential shops.  People are outside most of the day.

Annoying aren’t they? I think it’s disrespectful, especially at night. But it is what it is I guess. I’m funny with noises anyway, I seem to notice lots of annoying sounds that others don’t seem to notice. 

The boy racers never stopped where I live 

I'm very worried about restrictions being lifted - we already have an awful death rate and I'm concerned that it'll spike again if restrictions are lifted too soon. As much as lockdown is difficult and it's tough being out of routine, I'd much rather focus on saving more lives.

I don't know if you have health vulnerability , but on a general level I guess no one is forcing us to socialise.  If i get pressurised I might try answering that I am exercising a new normal which means caution and minimal socialising. And we shouldn't have to defend it in further details.   The easing of lockdown will only work if everybody doesn't rush out at once.  #justdoingmybit

(In my case, I fear my partner will call out "hogwash!!! loser!! anti social *%&%%/!!! " and force me to go out anyway, but others might succeed if the friend is suitably understanding)

I was hoping some people wouldn't be able to visit for at least until xmas! Do you think people in the shielded and vulnerable groups will also be able to do these 'close family bubbles'?  or will they have to stay isolated for much longer after restrictions are partially lifted for others?  I'd heard 12-18 months for vulnerable/shielded groups until a vaccine was found?

Hi

I will actually be relieved, because lockdown is like someone else in control and making me very anxious.  Plus , my routine and my work had to change and all of this has been harder and my work days longer and depressing.   I've had food anxieties, shopping difficulties,  financial issues and family ones too. 

However, I am dreading someone more extrovert suggesting a lot of catch up socialising, such as all the missed birthdays etc.  Just let it go!  my dentist isn't  going to examine me twice to make up for the cancelled check up!    I guess this is something that all introverts will experience and not just autistic ones.  I need to get back into social things slowly as well as feel safe.  

But since there are 5 workdays and 2 weekend days every week, the first issue is weighing more heavily than the second, so I hope for some normality and the end to all this rotten videoconferencing.  

I’m not comfortable with the lifting restrictions at all. I like the quiet of lockdown. The only thing that I want back is the routine appointments (I was supposed to see the dentist and cardiologist in April). I miss my parents a bit but I won’t be seeing them soon anyway (they’re in different country and I usually see them 2-3 times a year - last time I saw them in August). As for social bubbles I’ve noticed that most of my neighbours are socialising and seeing each other regularly (basically every day) so they’ve already expanded their bubbles. I’m guessing if they will be allowed to expand bubbles further it’s going to be the same as allowing them to see anyone, anytime they want. 

Yeah I think you are right although I cannot stand video calls so tend to use normal ones. I am lucky that whilst my town is small and in the middle of nowhere we have 3 supermarkets as well as a co-op, Iceland and m&s in town so queues haven’t been too horrific overall but you are right - timing is key. Mid afternoons I find are best round here. 

Yeah that’s right. I’d like to see family, you can do video calls, but it’s not the same. I think the supermarket queuing will have to go on for some time yet unfortunately. It’s just a guessing game of trying to find the quietest times to go.