Quite a large skein of Pinkfeet flew over the garden this morning: I still feel privileged to see and hear these wonderful long-distance travelers. Talking of which (now there's a segue!) I was chatting to Richard, an acquaintance through birding and marine reef-keeping, who showed me some superb photos he'd taken of the Suffolk Yellowlegs. I came across the photos again on the RBA website, and noticed more images taken by other birders who live in my part of East Norfolk....
Now Greater 'legs would be a new bird for me, and of course I briefly considered going for a look when it first popped up on the pager. But we are supposed to be in the middle of a four-week lockdown! As someone remarked on TV recently, we're not supposed to be looking for clever ways around the lockdown, we're supposed to be following the rules to reduce the 'R' number so that - hopefully - we can all meet up with friends and relatives over Christmas. I spoke to a local Police Officer recently who provided a reasonable interpretation of the restrictions:
"If your car journey is longer than the exercise you take at the end of it, you are breaking the law!"
So far C-19 restrictions have cost my business around £18K in lost sales: we're not eligible for financial support, so we've just had to tighten our belts. We've also missed my Mum-in-Law's 90th birthday due to the current travel restrictions. On reflection, then, I feel that people who travel out of their own county for recreation and hobbies are not just bending, but breaking rules that are intended to protect us all and limit the effects of this second wave. Seems a bit selfish or, at best, thoughtless.
2 comments:
I checked the regulations and there is nothing about distance.
The regulations are here
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1200/part/2/made
That's kind of the point I'm making: although you can, in theory, spend time outdoors, a long-distance twitch which involves standing around with people from all over the UK isn't, I'm sure, what the Govt. intended. The spirit of the regulations is quite straight forward: stay at or close to home unless you have a damn good reason. These are the latest orders on the subject from the government website:
If you live in England, you must stay at home and avoid travel in the UK or overseas, unless for work, education or other legally permitted reasons. If you need to travel you should look to reduce the number of journeys if possible.
However you can still travel for a number of reasons, including:
travelling to work where you cannot work from home
travelling to education and for caring responsibilities
to visit those in your support bubble - or your childcare bubble for childcare
hospital, GP and other medical appointments or visits where you have had an accident or are concerned about your health
to buy goods or services from premises that are open, including essential retail
to spend time or exercise outdoors - this should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)
attending the care and exercise of a pet, or veterinary services
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