A mate pointed out in a similar discussion that that a picnic requires a blanket and a teddy bear.

Maybe a take out coffee does encourage non-essential travel, though everyone I know tends to get a coffee while out – essential shopping or exercise – rather than getting a coffee being the reason to be out.

Still, if the government advisors deem it safe for takeaways to be open with social distancing and other Covid measures in place, I’ll take their advice over an internet opinion. If the place is too busy or doesn’t seem to be following the rules, I’ve walked/ridden away.

Last weekend we bought a McDonalds then went to an NT property and the kids ate it in the car before we went for our walk around the grounds. We also bought coffees from the NT Cafe.

We’re scum, aren’t we? I’ll resign my STW membership forthwith.

We’re scum, aren’t we? I’ll resign my STW membership forthwith.

No, please stay. You provide a valuable sevice, we need people to look down upon 😉

Maybe a take out coffee does encourage non-essential travel, though everyone I know tends to get a coffee while out – essential shopping or exercise – rather than getting a coffee being the reason to be out.

All that’s keeping some shops going right now, all our local cafes have converted to take out only shops and doing a roaring trade. Given outdoor transmission risk to supposed to be close to zero, seems a good compromise right now.

Eh? A takeaway can be anything edible you buy that can’t be eaten sitting in or at the premises, a picnic is a packed full lunch with the specific intention of eating outdoors as a group or at least two people.
When I go into town on a Saturday afternoon to do some shopping, I would normally have a coffee and something to eat in a local cafe, but they’re closed, so the next best thing is a coffee, a panini and a muffin, and then sit on a bench nearby.
That is not a ‘picnic’, it’s me grabbing a quick lunch and coffee while making the best of the circumstances, I can’t walk eat and drink at the same time, and I’m damned if I’m going to walk a mile back home to consume it.

😀

One of my kids and I walked to a supermarket last Saturday, to get some bits for tea (translation: dinner/supper depending on where you are and how you were brung up!). As it was lunchtime we bought a pasty, can of pop and Mars Bar each and sat on the side of the river (alongside said shop) to eat it. I joked that we were out for a picnic. Didn’t occur to me that we might have been criminals.

I’ll join Tallpaul in the scum class..

Take out coffees are the only thing stopping a lot of small local businesses from going completely broke at the moment, I think the compromise is a good one.

Whatever anyone’s position on the lockdown(s) are they seem to have broadly worked quite well at reducing the R-number and the take-out coffee provision was available throughout 90% of them I recall.