What we're the most bizarre/memorable moments of the pandemic for you?

[Jaggerdagger]

Just wondering what they are for you?

I'll start. One of mine was seeing a children's playground cordoned off with tape, including all the park benches.

"Were"! Bloody autocorrect.

Being at work in a hospital with the contrast between utter mayhem on the wards with the rest of the building (communal areas, canteen, entrance hall) being funereally quiet and empty.

Watching the news and seeing a group of about 6 police approach two people with a disposable barbecue on a completely deserted beach and the police putting it out by pouring a cup of water on it and escorting the people (arresting?!) away.

Someone on here claim that bread and milk were not essential items.

Mine was walking by a local conference centre/theatre that has been turned into a covid testing centre on the car park. Walking by one evening with the big lights, tents, fences and generators in what was once a place of joy seemed very surreal. Felt like I was in a film. This was probably in the January lockdown last year.

Hearing the announcement that once schools closed they would not be reopening. Obviously this was not strictly true but an enormous and very sad pronouncement.

With one day I was sent to WFH and furloughed.

*Within

A police officer on the news telling a family to get out of their own front garden and inside the house. Because Covid doesn't stop at your front gate.

Going to visit my dad the first time in lockdown. I took him a bag of goodies which he took from me with gloves on, we had a short conversation over the wall, then he cried as I left. Heartbreaking.

Woman on our local fb page sitting in her window all day reporting cars for driving to the dog walking area up by her house. She claimed the virus was being spread on their car tyres 😂

Losing all my work within 72 hours of lockdown being announced and realising that no government help would be available because I hadn't been self employed long enough

Seeing the police parked outside of the local park checking to see who was going in and checking if they lived in a house together. It just seemed utterly and disproportionately ridiculous at the time and now but most people seemed supportive of it. DS asked why the police were there and what they were doing and it occurred to me that we always tell children that the police are the good guys, who catch bad guys and take them away but here they were stopping families from meeting other families to walk and talk and play together and that they were the bad guys.

I thought this thread would be interesting, partly to hear other people's experiences but also to realise how grateful I am that we are slowly getting back to doing "normal things" (not to disregard the awful news at the moment, though).

I felt like I was in a film too.

I cried buckets when I heard about schools. Some of my students are still suffering with many long term effects of lockdown and it will be a long road ahead to support these young people.

Nervousness around social distancing. I was out walking in the early days of the pandemic and had to move into the centre of the pavement to skirt round a tree. A guy on the other side of the pavement stuck his arm out as a warning not to get anywhere near him, glaring at me like I was Typhoid Mary!

Noticing that people had stopped making eye contact.

Lining up with 40 other people for a bag of yeast, during lockdown 1.2

@GeneLovesJezebel

Going to visit my dad the first time in lockdown. I took him a bag of goodies which he took from me with gloves on, we had a short conversation over the wall, then he cried as I left. Heartbreaking.

I hope you've managed to have some quality time with him since!

The week commencing 16th March:

Gone to IKEA to get some photo frames. We normally go to the cafe on the way round for breakfast. But it was closed!

I went to B&Q and they were only letting people in in batches. A man who reminded me of Jason Mamoa stood in the entrance explaining very strict one way and queuing rules.

Going to the supermarket and there was so many empty shelves. Buying toilet roll because everyone else was. I normally have a few months of san pro in anyway but my friend told me to buy some as it's not something you want to run out of, and there might be supply issues so get it whilst I can.

Going to pick the kids up from school on the Friday and they came out with worksheets and exercise books. Not knowing how long they'd be off for. The clouds were grey and it felt like very ominous.

Had a real sense of impending doom that week. At the start of the week, we thought everyone was being a bit dramatic but as the week went on reality was hitting that something big was happening.

@Jaggerdagger

Just wondering what they are for you?

I'll start. One of mine was seeing a children's playground cordoned off with tape, including all the park benches.

A couple of the parks here are still like that. Infact quite a few things for kids shut and still haven't opened.

The fact we are still wearing makes (Scotland). Especially having to wear masks into the school playground. Wtf?!

Walking the dog over to the temporary mass morgue that had been set up.

A woman leaping into a bush when she saw me coming in the opposite direction.

People crossing the road to avoid us on our daily walk

Posts on Mumsnet in 2020 such as:

"Should I order a takeaway?" replies were "Yes but wash the packaging/ wear gloves, nuke it all to 200c/ NO I wouldn't!"

"Neighbour has friend in garden! AIBU to report them?

"Anyone else washing their food shopping in the bath?"

"Is speaking to my neighbour over the fence allowed?"

Crazy times.

One way systems everywhere. They made NO sense and actually meant that more people were being force into a isle in the supermarkets etc. I remember going to sainsburys, standing in a queue for 45 mins, walking into the shop and being force to go down an Isle with 6 people in that I didn't even need to go down! But the one next to it was empty. Nuts!

Being blue lighted to hospital, at 26 weeks pregnant, when my waters went, and I had a massive bleed. DH wasn't allowed to come with me. We didn't know if our rainbow baby was alive or dead.