home is where my safety is

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I've always been a bit of a homebody, so being at home a lot is something I don't mind. But I think I'm going to have a real problem when it's time to face the world again. I'm not going to be able to successfully do it. In England the current guidelines are that you can meet up with people not from your household, but must remain the recommended two metres apart when doing so, and no more than six people can gather together. I don't know if that means you can meet up with five people who all live in a different household to one another, or if it's still only two households. You can now have a barbecue with friends/family in your own garden, following the same guidelines as above, but presumably you shouldn't be going in their house to use their loo. From the front of my house I have a clear view of an open and very large patch of grassland. I want to call it a park, but it isn't really, although it does have benches and bins and a playground and a basketball court. It's a popular place for dog walkers and playful children/teenagers. The actual play area and equipment is still locked up. Teenagers have been congregating there since Monday. I don't mean huge groups, but little groups, five or six. But they're not social distancing. Of course they're not. They're hormonal kids from good families who haven't seen each other in the flesh for WEEKS ... give them a bit of freedom and they're going to take the whole nine yards. When lockdown first commenced, I went for a walk every single day. But gradually I ran out of muster and now I feel I've achieved something if I can get out for a walk at least twice a week. We needed some milk, so after work yesterday I popped to the little expensive high street convenience shop. And nobody seems to care about social distancing anymore. It wasn't busy at all, but people weren't interested in the government's idea of #stayingalert. I turn my head and hold my breath when I walk past such selfish people, although I do wonder if I should perhaps just cough at them. It's the same at Tesco. Everybody queues respectfully to get in, eagerly proffering their hand to the lady at the entrance for some sanitiser and they wait to be told to go further. But once inside, it's like a free-for-all. It's supposed to be one way, but there's always those customers who think it doesn't apply to them. Patience is a virtue long forgotten as people grumble and reach across others to grab something from the shelf, practically within snogging distance of them. And - somewhat amazingly - the worst offenders for this practice are those who wear masks! I have shared many sad little smiles and eye rolls with fellow patient shoppers. And honestly, don't get me started on those customers who suddenly see a nearly-forgotten friend and stop for a natter, blocking the aisles, with absolutely no regard for anyone wanting to get by at a socially acceptable distance. I nearly cried in Tesco the other week. So I now hate going out, and am only doing so if I really need to. And I'm pretty sure that's still supposed to be the case for everyone anyway. But who knows? Even Boris doesn't have a friggin' clue. I live in a rural area and I don't think that helps as Corona hasn't yet had the opportunity to feistily dance among the masses just here. Hopefully she won't. But isn't it when people become complacent, stop believing in the dangers, that we get a second wave? I am so confused by this virus.