Firstly, after thousands flocked to our parks over the Mother’s Day weekend, the takeaway refreshment services in the park cafes closed on Monday 23rd March. And then came the PM on the same evening, perhaps influenced the pictures of crowds on the commons and parks of South West London, restricting walking in groups and outdoor meetings. The latest position in Wandsworth is that although parks are still open playgrounds, outdoor gyms, toilets and other facilities are shut.
Although a day later there are lots of genuine exercisers including walkers, runners, cyclists, roller skaters, family ball game players and tai chi practitioners others read the single daily outing for “exercise” to mean sitting on a park bench enjoying the sunshine. But there is also some very foolish behaviour on display, like pairs of joggers coming from behind and squeezing between two walkers who have left a gap 3 metres apart and vigorous football played by a group of lads who are unlikely to all come from the same household.
It will be interesting to see whether we are to be asked to increase our vigilance over the coming weeks.