New limit on groups in England from Monday?

[Engine Doctor]

Posted by EarlyBird on 09/09/2020 07:28:00:

Apparently pubs will be open but limited to six people at one table. Does that mean there is not limit for drunken people to gather as long as there are no more than six at each table?

If the above is correct then can we have gatherings of 6 scattered around the field ? As we generally behave and respect the risk of infection unlike the teenagers and 20 somethings could this work

[SIMON CRAGG]

As an interim measure, we are maintaining our booking in system, but reducing the numbers to six am slots and six pm slots. May change depending on the BMFA guidelines.

[kevin b]

Posted by Stuphedd on 09/09/2020 10:41:47:

Our club lost 2 members this year , sadly terminal , so that leaves us with only 5 , So this is one problem we dont as a club have to worry about. But how long can we "hang on "??

cheers

I suppose it depends on the ages of the remaining members.

Joking apart, our club has just taken on three new members over the last few weeks. That has now pushed us into double figures ! So where as before there were usually about five of us turned up, there are now eight. Sod's law I suppose.

[Stuphedd]

With ref to Kevins post .

yes we are an old club both in club age and the age of the members .The members we lost were 76and 77 !

We do have one youngster in his 20s , we need him to keep us on our toes , one newbie in is 40s but the rest of us are double that , but all young at heart with a normal weekend being only one short of a full house ,so with a limit of 6 we still need one more member !

we go to fly as there is no club house to socialise within !! and when its too windy we have RC cars !

stay safe and young

[Andy Stephenson]

Organised sports are exempt and as model flying is an officially recognised sport and we have rules which organise us then I can see no reason to change our habits on flying field.

A.

[Geoff S]

I think you're on shaky ground there, Andy. I think the 'recognised sport' term implies a competitive element so you could argue that (say) pylon racing, aerobatic or scale events might be exempt but flying for fun in a club environment may not be.

Just guessing, of course.

Geoff

[Richard Wills 2]

depends if the exemption term is 'competing in' or 'participating in' I suppose.

[cymaz]

As far as I understand it, team competitive sports has to pass a number of tests. A written risk a

assesment needs to be done and a policy document drawn up. This then needs to be scrutinized by the relevent governing body before being signed off.

[Megawatt]

Ok so if there are 7 flyers at the field all social distancing by 2m - is this an illegal gathering of more than 6 or is it 7 legal groups of 1? If 2m is not enough what is? There will certainly be several groups of less than 6 on the golf course!

[Andy Stephenson]

It's been stated that the police won't press fines on gatherings of less than 30 people so I say go fly and if they come and break you up that's OK, but I think model flyers are a low priority for the cops.

[Nigel R]

I expect the first the police knew about it was when the briefing went on TV.

[Chris Berry]

Some interesting guidance from UK Angling and UK Golf, both of which are activities similar to ours.

Turn up as an individual, partake in the activity alone, maintain distance and leave once done.

No socialising or gathering.

https://anglingtrust.net/covid-19/#individual

[Cuban8]

Nothing new as of this moment on BMFA website.  I suppose they're just as confused as the rest of us. I'm sure that if clubs remind members visting a field to fly to  refrain from forming any close groups when chatting in the pits etc so keep 2M apart at all times, or when flying, keep to say a maximum of three pilots at 2M distance so calls for landing etc can be easily heard, I really don't see how we could be accused of operating irresponsibly. This is what is happening at my clubs. A dozen over the field yesterday at mid-afternoon and everyone was well spread out.

Keep it simple with something that people can understand and usually they'll comply (no body wants to catch the bug after all).

Edited By Cuban8 on 11/09/2020 22:46:40

[Simon Chaddock]

+1 on not catching Covid, particularly as many (most?) RC flyers are in the 'at risk' age group.

[paul d]

All rather confusing, had a email yesterday confirming that the modelair event at old warden is going ahead next weekend.

[Ron Gray]

Yes, very confusing Paul, I was going to go to it but in light of the current situation I have decided against it and am surprised that it is still going ahead.

[Chris Berry]

Having read up, or at least tried to, on this topic on the UK and Scottish government websites I suspect many hobby and activity clubs and societies will be in a similar position to us. I.e. no provision in the guidance and open to interpretation, as with most legal documents.

As I see there are two aspects to this. Clubs and non clubs.

It could be argued that those who fly from private club sites, for which you pay a subscription are operating under the auspices of an organisation and therefore it is an organised activity with covid secure protocols. This could enable booking, tracing, the control of numbers, sanitiser etc

Secondly, those who fly from public, non subscription sites such as slopes or parks, then it is no different to parents taking there children to a park. Multiple families and children at a park, playing on the swings, all independent, all going there as individuals to use the same equipment but not gathering.

[Cuban8]

Had my regular news email from Motor Cycle News this morning and their take is that it's perfectly OK for a group of 6 friends to meet up at a venue for a ride out, but no more. Presumably, if another group of 6 also decide to meet up at the same venue but keep away from the original six, then that's OK.

So........can both groups then leave together and ride together? What happens if another rider tacks onto a group of six during the journey? If they're all members of a club does that make a difference as opposed to just social friends.

I think you can see certain similarities to our predicament. All far too variable in an attempt to create a 'one size fits all solution'

For outside activities why not just have 2M socially distanced groups of no more than six and a social distance between those groups of say say 6 metres. Avoid mixing between groups if at all possible. Maximum as before of thirty peeps. Adding caveats and fiddle factors just confuses people so they then ignore any rules anyway.

Something similar in place to the Old Warden drive in airshow concept that I understand was very successful and with the vast majority following the layout.

I fail to see how any else more involved will be better.

 

.

Edited By Cuban8 on 12/09/2020 09:39:18

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Peter Miller on 09/09/2020 09:47:05:

Actually the testing system is impressive.

If you have the symptoms you have to go and be tested.

People here in East Anglia have been told to drive to Aberdeen, Wales and the lucky ones to Bradford.

One lady who was due for major surgery in Norwich was told she had to be tested the day before. After a lot of kerfuffle she managed to get tested in Cambridge, a mere 60 miles away.

THey couldn't organise a booze up in a Brewery.

And the new government motto" It has all been changed!"

 

Where did you get this info Peter? First hand or from the internet/sensationalist media perhaps or do you know this lady personally? I can tell you that my daughter lives in Suffolk (Lowestoft) and one of my grandaughters had a bit of a temperature a few days ago. She rang for an appointment and the next day travelled 5 miles or so to Great Yarmouth where the test was conducted quickly and efficiently and came back negative in less than 48 hours.

Edited By Martin Harris on 12/09/2020 09:57:47

[Keith Miles 2]

Methinks there is too much “over-thinking” about the “rules”.

The only reason for the introducing of number limits and potential penalties, and the inherent “confusion” is because some members of society are incapable, or unwilling, to follow the original and continuing basic guidance and to make adjustments to their behaviour in order to continue to minimise the risk to themselves and others.

The only way to make the rules less “confusing” would be to impose another total lockdown, something which is neither desirable nor viable, especially in the long term.

If I remember correctly, model flying was not banned during lockdown, although “non-essential” travel was.

We also know much more about the virus than we did back in March and I would guess that the authorities, based on data collected since then will, in practice, be far less concerned about activities such as ours especially club activities that are appropriately and responsibly organised and ever more so when it takes place on private land, outdoors, and where social distancing is easy to achieve.

We had twenty members visit our field last Thursday. Fifteen were in attendance at one point during the day. We all “camp” in excess of 2 metres apart, guided by ground markers. Toilets and clubhouse are closed. Only the workshop is open, one person allowed in at a time, wearing a mask. Only two pilots are allowed on the flight line, spaced more than 2 metres apart, either side of a taped off area.

Of course, it’s not what we would wish and it reduces the flying slots on busy days, but we live with it!

I doubt that I or any other club member is likely to be considered worthy of the attentions of the local constabulary as, in essence, this whole issue is about transmission risk rather than pure numbers.

[Peter Miller]

Posted by Martin Harris on 12/09/2020 09:55:28:

Posted by Peter Miller on 09/09/2020 09:47:05:

Actually the testing system is impressive.

If you have the symptoms you have to go and be tested.

People here in East Anglia have been told to drive to Aberdeen, Wales and the lucky ones to Bradford.

One lady who was due for major surgery in Norwich was told she had to be tested the day before. After a lot of kerfuffle she managed to get tested in Cambridge, a mere 60 miles away.

THey couldn't organise a booze up in a Brewery.

And the new government motto" It has all been changed!"

Where did you get this info Peter? First hand or from the internet/sensationalist media perhaps or do you know this lady personally? I can tell you that my daughter lives in Suffolk (Lowestoft) and one of my grandaughters had a bit of a temperature a few days ago. She rang for an appointment and the next day travelled 5 miles or so to Great Yarmouth where the test was conducted quickly and efficiently and came back negative in less than 48 hours.

Edited By Martin Harris on 12/09/2020 09:57:47

About Anglia.The East Angian ITV news.

[Peter Miller]

I see that Sporting events are allowed.

Due to the organiser having a cold and also the stronger winds forecast for Sunday (When more than sixpeople can gather) our spot landing competition is being posponed.

That means we can have more than six at our organised competition next week end

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I think I prefer first hand reports to the media - who often rely on taking things out of context in order to boost advertising revenue or have political agendas. Who knows whether the person booking a test from Norfolk and getting an appointment in Scotland entered their details correctly, for example?

Has anyone on the forum actually encountered problems in booking tests recently?

Edited By Martin Harris on 12/09/2020 12:12:29

[Andy Symons - BMFA]

BMFA Statement

**LINK**

[Andy Symons - BMFA]

Posted by Gary Murphy 1 on 12/09/2020 12:06:01:

Not knocking the government BUT the experts, Who thinks this stuff up?

no masks in gyms or spacing of treadmills etc,all sweating and panting. Cinema`s masks must be worn BUT spacing of seats is arranged?

now no groups of 6. So at the gym all can sweat and pant in close proximity BUT break the law if 7 go to the vending machine together!!!!

This will be like climate change, lots of people earning money by being experts on the subject. These experts don't want to lose their new jobs of grants,so really want covid to be around for ages.

We need to get tough and realise we are not immortal and get on with life.

At the gym I go to they have closed off every other cardio machine, spaced machines out, limit attendence numbers and to prebooked only, provide disinfectant for use before and after using any machine. All very well spaced, thought out and very safe.