In January, if someone had said in 2 months time...

[Thorilicious]

You'd have to stay inside at all times, apart from a walk or to get food, what would you have said?
I'll admit when it happened in China, I felt sorry for the people there, but selfishly, pleased it wasn't happening here. Now look at us...

They kind of did. Or at least we knew it was a possibility then. I’ve been half expecting this since mid January.

Yes, I was thinking this was a real possibility too.

If you’d said it last summer I’d have been horrified.

I never thought this could happen here, it’s so surreal, like something out of a movie! Staying indoors, everything closed, kids not allowed in supermarkets! It’s crazy

If you'd said this at Christmas I would have been horrified. A few weeks ago a friend of mine was planning to come to Paris from the US and I was going to meet her there. Seems incredible now.

Ditto. Last summer I’d have found it much harder to believe, but I’d still have spent time searching for evidence it may happen/ scouring the news.
I’ve been anxious about pandemics (and nuclear war) since about age 4/5. I used to “play” at how I’d keep me and my family safe, and had insomnia so badly due to that that I was on sleeping medication from my GP for the worst nights as a child. I guess I’m not too surprised because to me it’s always been a possibility

I’d have believed them - it was obvious that we were at risk as soon as the news started trickling out of China. That’s when lots of people started getting organised.

I wouldn’t have been surprised because I was following online what was happening in China.

I would not have bought all the nice spring clothes I have.

I would have not got all excited about our foreign holiday which we are now going to have to cancel.

Howmanysleeps - same heat re the fear, it’s been my wake in the night and worry thought for years. I think it’s been such a frightening thought that lots of people/governments have been reluctant to prepare.

I would not have been surprised. I work in infectious diseases. I put together about 2-3 weeks of food and supplies in February, and started to plan ahead in work anticipating exactly this. It's not that surprising. We've been long overdue something like this. But we're very comfortable in our ways and a bit blind to how fragile our way of life is.

From about mid Feb it started to seem a more real possibility. We hadn't got round to booking a holiday this year and I was still idly googling but instinct started to tell me not to actually book.

My world ended in December when my darling hubby went to pick up or daughter for work and died in his car during the journey take care everyone x

@abigailsnan I'm so sorry for your loss

To add to the list, six months ago if you told me in 2020:

Schools would be closed, completely, for almost six months
My DS GCSEs would be cancelled
Our holiday would be cancelled
Supermarket shelves would be bare and finding food would temporarily become a struggle
My DC would all want to join me on a daily dog walk
My DC would be unable to see their grandparents who they saw daily for months at a time
I’d be at home, unable to work, because my thriving business became a temporarily closed business

I’d genuinely not believe it - I wouldn’t have thought in the UK even one or the above could possibly have been true - and I would also have wondered how I’d be able to cope with such dramatic changes. We’ve all adapted really well though.

(Yes, I’m purposely picking trivial things, but when you write it all down it feels strange how many things have changed so quickly)

Yes, because we've been doing that since January 2016 when DD got ill. But I didn't expect that life would have improved for us because suddenly everyone is housebound and all kinds of online services and provision have become commonplace. She even had a GP appointment by phone yesterday which until now had apparently been impossible to provide.

@BonnesVacances I'm so sorry things have been tough up till now, and hope your dd is OK

I wouldn't have paid for our new kitchen, that we now can't have for months.

Aw thanks @Thorilicious. In fact her life is much better now because her friends are off college and they are around to FaceTime. It was lonelier for her before.

Pandemic had always been a highly likely risk. Plus People following the news from China wouldn't have been at all surprised.

What frustrated me was trying to get friends and colleagues to understand the possibility and people reacting like I was neurotic. I hope they feel a bit remorseful now.

And I remember threads on here where some of us tried to warn and just got accused of hysteria.

@abigailsnan I am so very sorry

I didn't even consider it even a tiny bit as something that would effect us.

Abigailsnan I'm so sorry.

Its the speed of the shut down that I can't get my head around.

I would have believed it could reach us here, but I was very naive in thinking it probably wouldn't be a big deal. If you'd said we might stop overseas travel for a while, I would have believed it. But never that we'd be on lockdown and facing being completely overwhelmed with cases. I would have guessed we'd have a few cases that would have been easily traced and those involved treated without a major spread or impact to the majority of the population. Like I say, it was very naive.

In January I cancelled a holiday to Thailand with a heavy heart I knew it would come to this. Nothing prepared me for the overwhelming claustrophobia I felt when the PM made his announcement on Monday. I pray every day now that folk will use their loaf so we can cling to a daily walk.

In every dreadful situation there's humour though, I did a shop yesterday like Supermarket Sweep.

It’s weird looking at photos last year when we had no idea