Friday 26 June 2020

Sunshine or showers? Going to the beach ... or not? Following the guidelines.

When I went out running first thing it looked as though the weather was about to break. It was very cloudy and dull but in fact still rather warm, not to say muggy. Not long after I got back from my run it rained, quite a heavy downpour, but now the sun has come out and we have quite an expanse of blue sky. Not the wall to wall blue of yesterday but enough to give us quite a bright day. Thunderstorms are forecast for later. We shall see.

Maybe a good storm will put off the beachgoers. I can almost understand the impulse to head for the beach but I cannot understand the will to stay there when you just about have room for your sun umbrella and all you can really do is sit and look at all the other people sitting under their sun umbrellas going, “Phew! Isn’t it hot!” Even the sea looked crowded in the footage we saw on television news. No wonder some sensible people turned back and went home.

And then there is the fighting! Three people were stabbed in an incident on Bournemouth beach. Who goes to the beach equipped for fighting? It beggars belief! And street parties! There was Brixton a couple of days ago and then Notting Hill last night. Police who went to break things up were attacked. Where did the urge for street parties come from though? I am pretty sure we had no such things before lockdown, except for special occasions like the Queen’s Jubilee. Listening to the reports, however, these are not street parties proper involving the whole of a community but a bunch of individuals deciding to have a crowd of friends round and setting up music and dancing and drinking on the street, upsetting the neighbours.

The Great British Public, praised for the ability to follow instructions during the lockdown, have just gone a little crazy! It’s rather as though the genie has been let out of the bottle and it’s going to be hard to put it back in if it should turn out to be necessary to do so.

Reporting maybe does not help. When it became clear that Liverpool were about to become champions last night, TV news reporters reported happily, almost joyfully that Liverpool supporters were gathering outside the Anfield football stadium to celebrate. They kept it going all night. Fortunately the fans were not violent but neither was there much evidence of social distancing!

Meanwhile outdoor pools and lidos, where numbers could be restricted ore easily than on beaches, remain closed. Going to an outdoor pool, could be a nice, more manageable alternative to the beach.

I have just heard on the radio our Prime Minister deploring people’s new tendency to disregard the guidelines on social distancing. Quite so!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.

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