Ain't much of a difference between Tier 3/4 and now to be honest... We'll see.

I don't think the end date has any practical meaning tbh. All through this dates have been changed when needed and restrrcitrons eased or increased when required.

Also the date relates to the all tiers law brought in from 2 December last year, and within that there is everything from tier 1 to 4, so within that areas can be moved in to different tiers over the next few months without further changes to expiry dates. We could all be in tier 1 by end of March - yeah I think it is unlikely too, but my point is you can relax measures moving areas down the tiers quite easily so that's still compatible with what the PM has said.

We have been in a tier system since 2 December and as noted yesterday we still are now.

Fixed. FoC. :)

Sorry should have been clearer, we are in a national lockdown uniformly, he hopes to move back to a tiered approach of varying restrictions down from the maximum restrictions now as from Feb 15. As he said this will be gradual.

Yes Tier 4 is essentially a lockdown. Changes now are no take away drinks, no schools, no tennis/golf. Expect Police to be stricter as well, they were quite relaxed during November lockdown so let's see if they are like March or even stricter than that, time will tell.

I think it's dependent on context. AIUI, the police are likely to go after higher-profile infringements now (parties, businesses ignoring rules, etc) rather than turning people away from the car park at the nature reserve (as was the case round here in Lockdown 1) but that also depends on the density of policing where you live.

(One issue I was recently made aware of was the issue of drug dealers as vectors for the virus, which is a tricky one...)

Yeah, lockdown 1 in March in London was very relaxed because the Met Police is stretched quite thin generally. It got to the point where Police were pleading with people to stop sitting on benches in Holland Park when the weather was so nice in April/May, but you could clearly tell they were not enjoying doing so. We saw today that they were not happy with people protesting today outside Westminster Magistrates for Julian Assange and outside Parliament against lockdown, but those were obvious breaches and even then they did engage first, asking people to leave and only fining them when they refused to do so.

I see it as unlikely that they will stop random cars on the streets or have 'CheckPoint Charlie's on main roads, same with walking on the street. Maybe if you are on a bench they tell you to move on? But frankly it's so cold outside no one is really out walking about or enjoying the outdoors anyway, I only saw a few people exercising and some dog walkers, not many people gathered outside. They also cannot easily tell you off for going to open places such as Starbucks, Pret, etc., but I guess may tell you to move on if you are standing outside speaking with people.

I found this funny earlier on from the DailyMail:

​​​​​"Meanwhile, Thames Valley Police has apologised for the behaviour of an officer who they said was 'a bit keen' in handing out leaflets asking drivers to explain why they were out and about as part of a crackdown on travel during lockdown in wealthy Maidenhead. "

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...head-vote.html

Up here, lockdown 1 was well observed. The roads were empty, and the only people you saw out and about were doing their daily exercise. All shops were closed other than the major supermarkets.

This time it's completely different. I went for a walk yesterday, and my local town centre was pretty much the same as it was during Tier 3. The only shops now closed are the hairdressers and nail salons etc.

Lots of people around shopping at the discount stores that were closed during lockdown 1 (Quality Save, Poundland, Iceland etc.). Greggs / Costa / Subway all open for takeaways, as were most of the other coffee shops. The local kitchen & bathroom showrooms were open, as were the vaping stores.

The dog groomer by Chiswick Park tube station is also open. Saw ‘em giving a trim to one of those small woolly dogs that my German Shepherd used to hate.

Here is the police guidance.

https://paas-s3-broker-prod-lon-6453...egs-060120.pdf

Quality Save and it's sibling, Home Bargains, were never closed during Lockdown 1 (and certainly not at the our local retail park). Poundland had many of its stores open but, strangely, not the one at the Arndale Centre. Right now I don't think shops with a strong, online presence should be operating Click and Collect - we need the city centre, Arndale and Trafford Centre as quiet as they were during Lockdown 1. Last couple of days I've been able cross busy roads without waiting for the first time since Lockdown 1 ended, so things are locally quiet.

U.K. National Express Buses Cancelled.
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55576567

For U.K.

Had a Take away Coca Cola last night. Was freezing though, no one out. 2 Kensington and Chelsea 'Marshals' walked by me but didn't have a problem with me sitting on a bench (I was alone). I am guessing being outdoors alone is tolerated.

Warm-down period. All part of your exercise regime :D