This is how it was:
We stayed at home, the NHS survived, and the overwhelming majority got used to no work and a Government that told us exactly what to do. Every day merged with every other day but at least there was “furlough” to protect jobs and generous arrangements to soften the blow of enforced idleness. We complied and the hideous daily death toll began to fall.
Then the Prime Minister tweaked the rules:
In future it would be fine to go for a longer walk, take a drive, meet a relative. With luck some of the children can soon be back at school and if it is impossible to do your job from home then we ought to get back to work. Carefully, of course, two metres apart if we can and ever alert to the danger.
His words raised eyebrows across Somerset. There were puzzled faces everywhere. Perhaps lockdown had become a comfortable habit. We are now being asked to think for ourselves. It is a shock, but probably a much needed one
Any Prime Minister who promises instant solutions and a bottomless pit of money is a liar. It is absurd to expect governments to have all the answers and the cash to cover every cost. We all knew that lockdown would not be everlasting. The PM wants us to start using that excellent human quality common sense.
From now on we must behave thoughtfully and intelligently. If a family from Birmingham believe it is ok to drive all the way down to Exmoor for a dose of day-tripping then they really haven’t got the message. There are still no hotels open, no B-and-B’s, no cafés, restaurants. Even the public toilets will stay locked.
Boris wants us to use our brains, do our own risk assessments, think things through and make sensible choices. Some countries order their citizens to wear masks. We leave it to common sense. The choice is yours. But if you value your own life and your family and your neighbours then you will not imperil them by acting thoughtlessly.
As Del Boy, in “Only Fools and Horses”, used to say: “Don’t be a plonker!”