COVID cringe memories (light hearted)

[Floogal]

Looking back at the pandemic, especially at its height in 2020, what made your toes curl?

1. "Imagine". Enough said.
2. The Marsh family.
3. On the local news, footage was shown of the Thursday clap (may or June). There was a parade of bhangra drummers and smarmy bratty kids doing the irritating floss dance. Was that point the 'applause' was seen as having had it's day.

I know some people may mention the dancing nurses, I only saw tiny clips on the news. Even that made me cringe.

The pubs in Ireland closing at 8pm because obviously covid only came out to play at that time.

No disrespect to Captain Tom himself who seemed like a good man but that strange uniform chair and other assorted sentimental tat.

Oh god so much. Yes the clapping, I remember my neighbours looking down the street at who was and wasn’t clapping, judging those who weren’t. All that captain Tom stuff, I never bought into it but all my family and friends did, they were aghast when I said I hadn’t sponsored him. Weekly zoom calls make me die inside. And just masks.

YY the rainbows and the Marsh family

‘Doing their bit’ 🤣 utter madness

The first clap in our street was nice. Everyone was friendly from their doors. But once was plenty. No one knew how to stop it. One lady up the road still doesn’t speak to others in the road because they didn’t come out on time for the weekly clapping!

The person on here arguing that milk is not an essential purchase to put in your coffee because you could eat some cheese instead.

On the other hand, a genuinely good thing was Sam West reading poems every day and putting them on Soundcloud. I still listen to some of them.

I went to three different supermarkets to try find a very specific food item for my child who has ARFID and, thanks to the stress of lockdown, was down to eating only that one food.

I got told on MN that this was not essential, the general reaction was that I was a plague-bearing witch-cunt who had willfully murdered someone's frail old Nan with my germs. Never mind my DC literally starving if I didn't go to the three supermarkets (three supermarkets that are pretty much next door to one another and share a car park so it was still only one journey).

I remember seeing a family in full ski kit going shopping. It was central London and about 27 degrees.
Captain Tom ( how weird!), clapping and though I did enjoy Chris Evans during this period ( Zoe Ball was painful) his son sleeping in the garden for most of the year and the updates - urgh who cares.
My mum knitting a face mask was peak lunacy ( for her drs surgery- what was she thinking!)

Clapping

So many people letting others know they were an essential worker.

Paranoia about taking the dog for a walk at 2am in the isolated countryside.

Where to start?

The clap
Captain Tom
The endless performative virtue signalling
The making up of imaginary rules such as ‘only one hour’s exercise a day’
The twee suggestions for fun activities to do while ‘staying safe at home’ with the kids (my main lockdown activity was developing clinical anxiety)
The smug assertion that all we were being asked to do was ‘stay at home and watch Netflix’ when this demonstrably wasn’t true
The deification of NHS staff and consequent terrible online art

And of course (although this doesn’t quite count as ‘cringe’) the sudden collective decision that full-time education was an unnecessary frippery rather than a fundamental human right, and that anyone who questioned this must hate spending time with their own kids and want people to die.

<breathes>

My mum making face masks with a panty liner 'filter' (clean!!) but that was up there with many WTAF moments.

My DH only being allowed to support me in my labour once I was past 5cm dilated. How did covid know not to infect past that point?

People putting frames on their Facebook pages saying “Stay the Fuck Home”. As if it made them somehow a bit no nonsense, tell it like it is, don’t take any shit. I imagine the kind of people who watch GB News, revere Clarkson and co and end comments on social media with “End of”.

Oh and the obsession with daily exercise despite being a nation that's obesity rates are ridiculously high everyone needing essential 10 hour bike rides etc. Mental

The term 'the front line' made my teeth itch and I am a Nurse.

The clapping - hypocritical bullshit.

Bubbles - fuck off.

.

I’ve now Googled the Marsh family, I still don’t know who they are, and I fear Google thinks less of me for having done so.

Militant rule followers.
Clapping for the NHS. That became Covid treatment only, and my Dad died from cancer as a result. And how many others have the same story....
Dancing nurses. They now look like utter wombles.

Whilst there were cringy things, I also have fond memories and see some good changes.

I was diagnosed with cancer just before lockdown so got to enjoy my treatment with no waits. Had to stay in my car until they were ready for me then straight in for the treatments each time. I even remember taking a photo on the M25 Good Friday when there was zero traffic in either direction. God, I’d love that to have continued.

All non face to face hospital appointments went zoom or telephone and I’m glad that most of that has continued.

I used to walk the dog at night and never saw a soul.

My DH only being allowed to support me in my labour once I was past 5cm dilated. How did covid know not to infect past that point?

at my hospital birth ‘partners’ were only allowed in when it came to pushing! So mum left to labour alone for hours and hours with no support. Really at that point it’s just letting someone in to ‘watch’ the main event and see the baby be born rather than actually letting a woman have a supportive presence for labour and birth.

Also all the pregnant women who had to receive bad news alone at NHS scans. Meanwhile private scan places allowed in partners!

@honeyandfizz the term front line also made me cringe as a nurse. If you didn’t work on a covid ward you were probably less likely to get covid in comparison to the general population as all the patients had tested negative and we had PPE…

@JauntyJinty yes!

Not a lighthearted answer but - bloody loos being out of bounds so even if I could go out anywhere it was pointless.

Also all of the following terms:

’childcare bubble’
’socially distanced walk’
’stay safe’
’mask up’
’stay the fuck at home’
’school isn’t childcare’

Everybody carping on about banana bread🙄

There'd be emails at work sent out and responses like:

Morning everyone! I made some banana bread. It's waiting for you in the office kitchen. Enjoy 😉😁'
'YAY 🤗'
'🎉🎉 😁'

Every fundraising event was full of everybody's 'famous home made banana bread' as a prize.

🤬🤯