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Original poster

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

758 replies

Jaggerdagger · 11/03/2022 07:09

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.

OP posts:
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5
mamaduckbone · 11/03/2022 19:00

So, so many.
-Queuing for 40 minutes to get into the supermarket on Easter Thursday 2020.
-Hearing the news that schools were closing and thinking initially that it would just be a couple of weeks' extension on the Easter holidays.

  • someone shouting at my dc for getting too close to them on a walk, outdoors.
  • driving to work along deserted roads and keeping my teacher ID badge on the seat next to me in case I was stopped and questioned.
cptartapp · 11/03/2022 19:02

My two DC studying for A level and GCSE's (which they didn't even know whether were going to go ahead) alone in their bedrooms week after week after week whilst key years of their youth passed them by. Then DS1 going off to uni to live alone in a city he'd never set foot in before.
So very proud of them.

D0lphine · 11/03/2022 19:05

Going to the supermarket and there being no carbs at all! No bread, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes, no oven chips or frozen smilies etc. not even unusual things like gnocchi or potato cakes.

So that's my memory. Wandering around the supermarket looking for any form of carbs.

winterchills · 11/03/2022 19:11

Food shopping just before the first lockdown with all the panic buyers. Only a few loafs left, my daughter dropped it before she bent down to pick it up a man barged in took the bread and walked off fast.

CosmicComfort · 11/03/2022 19:13

I worked throughout. What I found most peculiar was driving to work on empty roads, streets devoid of life and empty car parks at work. It was just us on the wards, there was no one else around, they all vanished within a few days to work from home. A lot still aren’t back.

Very odd times. No other lockdown was as weird as the first.

Thelikelylass · 11/03/2022 19:14

The most dystopian it felt for me was when I started working from home and to keep up my stamina I'd walk down to the station at lunchtime with the dog in that amazing heat. Silent streets, the social distancing signs on the platform and then watching the empty trains roll in and out opening doors, no one getting on, no one getting off.

SpringBeavers · 11/03/2022 19:20

I also recall a friend of mine who was going through a divorce and had left the family home due to DA which was an immediate threat to her, leaving her older teenage son behind. The son got covid and the ex / 'father' dragged a suitcase of belongings into the driveway and told his son to get the fuck out of the house. My friend had to go and physically manhandle her child into a neighbour's car as she does not drive and the son was really unwell.

Parker231 · 11/03/2022 19:28

On a positive note I have lovely memories of working at the vaccination centre where people, young and old were so happy and patient queuing in the sun, wind and rain and so many thank you comments. I saw the best of human nature.

SatansFork · 11/03/2022 19:30

The day it was announced schools were closed. It was a Wednesday. We had been seeing students and staff isolate for about a week before, and year groups stay off due to staff shortages, with speculation about whether we might close early for a couple of weeks before Easter. However the cancellation of exams made it really hit home for me. Our exam years looked completely shell-shocked the next day and it was a real test to try to stay positive about it for them. On the Friday I took every textbook and resource I possibly could, got in the car and just cried all the way home as it was then I knew we were probably in this for quite some time.

ChiaraRimini · 11/03/2022 19:36

Taking DDs hamster to the vet to be PTS 🥲 it was only a couple of weeks into the first lockdown. The vet came out to the car park and took her inside while I sat in the car. I cried like a baby.

Sunflower101 · 11/03/2022 19:39

My DH Uncle died alone in hospital . He died in May 2020 and I was unable to join my OH for the funeral. I stayed at home homeschooling as there was no one else to look after them. Funeral was 10 minutes at graveside, socially distanced, no entry into church, no hymns or wake.

itbemay1 · 11/03/2022 19:44

Being told by manager to colour copy passport, id and work registration documents to put in my car and an emergency overnight bag just incase. Being given a gov parking permit. Driving to work (NHS) and expecting some sort of check point on route (into London) but roads were totally empty at 7am (1st lockdown) surreal.

Mommabear20 · 11/03/2022 19:45

Going through most of my pregnancy appointments and induction of labour by myself with our first child.

CanIJustHaveAWord · 11/03/2022 19:48

Walking into work (food retail) and a colleague saying 'have you seen the booze aisle? It's battered!' Then walking down and seeing literally no wine or beer left on the shelf. We had the same with pasta and rice within a day or two.
I overheard a young woman on the phone crying saying 'they haven't got any left'
I went over and asked if she was ok and turns out she was after baby formula.
As luck would have it we only put one out at a time because of theft so I could quickly sort out her problem. In a sea of 'no, I'm sorry we haven't' and 'it came in but it's all sold, I'm so sorry' being able to actually help someone was a big thing. It was really awful having to keep letting people down when they wanted/needed something.
The ones who kicked off at having to follow a one way system because 'I only want vodka/fags' made our lives so much harder.

Scbchl · 11/03/2022 19:51

When we were driving ten miles away to a completely abandoned old railway line to go our walk and the police were behind us the whole way and I was literally dreakibf out we were going to get pulled over for being further away than we were allowed.

Last week we drove past it and were laughing at the absolute absurdity of it.

DrMaryMalone · 11/03/2022 19:51

Getting a message from my boss at the time to say that our colleague had been taken from his flat to hospital by people in hazmat suits a couple of days after returning infected, from Northern Italy.

Trying to organise a charter flight to bring workers from Eastern Europe to the UK for the seasonal harvest as everything else was grounded.

Buying a 2nd hand breadmaking machine in case we couldn't buy it at the shops and making 1 loaf that was like a brick before I donates it to someone else!

CanIJustHaveAWord · 11/03/2022 19:52

@Thatsplentyjack

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!
And not being allowed to overtake anyone in ours.
CanIJustHaveAWord · 11/03/2022 19:54

@Daffodilsbythebrook

The M6 being almost empty. It was creepy.
Yes! The roads being empty was scary.

I think for me the scariest part was the panic buying. As someone who reads lots of 'end of the world as we know it' type books there's always stuff to be had in the abandoned shops but there was just nothing left.

JemimaMuddledUp · 11/03/2022 19:56

The council phoning to organise delivery of a weekly food parcel as I was on the shielding list. Felt completely surreal. I turned it down as I didn't need it (I could WFH so no money issues, I had people who could fetch shopping for me if necessary), but it still felt odd to be considered for one.

Shielding advice in the first lockdown was to not leave the house at all. But after a couple of weeks of this I was going crazy, so I started setting the alarm for 6am and going out for a 3 mile walk every morning when nobody was around. I still worried that I would get caught (not sure by who - but I wasn't really thinking rationally), or that if I did catch Covid and become seriously ill people would be judgemental that I'd brought it on myself by going outside.

FrazzledY9Parent · 11/03/2022 19:57

Early in lockdown 1, seeing a sex worker standing by the side of the road wearing a mask and disposable gloves. Very upsetting.

Casheeeew · 11/03/2022 19:59

DPs mum posting me a box of fruit and veg because I was pregnant and we couldn't get any grocery slots.

Basically only getting food every 3 weeks and couldn't get normal food either.

Loading my mind a bit, thinking people sitting on benches whilst I waddled passed them were going to give me covid (I blame baby brain).

Twilight7777 · 11/03/2022 20:03

The most memorable was me and my mum doing a big shop, 2 weeks before the entire country went into lockdown. I’m CEV so we went for a last shop before we stayed in. Both wearing masks and visors on this trip, and I suspect people thought we had Covid, so they literally were running to stay away from us. We got a few extra bits just to tide us over (not stockpiling in anyway) like some nice boxes of chocolates and wine to keep our spirits up. We went into lockdown on the 10th March as we could see how it was going to go. Seeing the grounded aeroplanes on the news, and that first proper press conference on the 23rd march with Boris, was particularly memorable for me

Pyri · 11/03/2022 20:03

Another thing I saw on here was, during the panic buying / food shortage, someone’s neighbour made them a loaf of bread and left it on their doorstep. The poster threw it away in case it was contaminated

CanIJustHaveAWord · 11/03/2022 20:10

@MrsGHarrison87

In Aldi an elderly woman was buying a bunch of flowers and another woman started moaning loudly so everyone could hear. " Flowers!!?? I'm in here for bread and milk and she's in here buying flowers!" The older woman clearly had a trolley full of essential items and must have just fancied getting herself some flowers, bless her.
This has just reminded me of something. So obviously Mother's Day 2020 was a busy. We had loads of Mother's Day flowers left over so as a company they decided to give them away to key workers. Mainly paramedics etc. during the early nhs hours (which only worked if you worked later!?!?) Anyway I spotted a prison officer and decided she was a key worker too. I brought out a beautiful bouquet for her and said 'this is for you. Thank you for what you are doing' she broke down and said she was doing nothing but obviously she was working during a tricky time and it must have been awful for her. She went on to tell me her partner had died and she was off to his graveside that night so she would take them to him. As I'm stood there in tears for her I decided to go back into the back and brought out another bouquet of tulips and said 'well if that one is for him, this one is for you.' We both ended up weeping and I there was this moment of connection that I hadn't had at work in so long.
CanIJustHaveAWord · 11/03/2022 20:20

Working overnights in the supermarket to try and get some of the shelves full. Then walking into my home in the morning and telling the kids to stop as they ran up to hug me. I wouldn't go near them until I had showered and got changed. I was terrified of bringing it home.