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.

We had the police showing up and telling off kids having a snowball fight in the park, because they might spread covid via the snowballs. They posted about it on Facebook in a big rant about how nobody should be doing it unless in their household groups.

Bit of a crush on Chris Whitty here. I still find him very fanciable. Knowledgeable, measured, calm manner. Right up my alley [looks sideways at DH ranting about BT customer service]

The police frequently made fools of themselves.

The snowy day in the January 2021 lockdown was an amazing day. Everyone had fun in the park, it was desperately needed - that January and February was bleak.

There was so much bollocks from the police during Covid.

Policing people's shopping trolleys and the supermarket aisles to see that people were only buying "essentials" and not chocolate or Easter eggs!!

Drones over the Peak District to catch walkers (not even covered by the guidelines)!!

Warning people for having a coffee in public while out in a park!!!

Arresting people for sitting quietly on park benches (or threatening to)!!

Then came the Sarah Everard issue. Wayne Couzens used his warrant card to arrest her for a minor infringement of the rules, abducted and killed her!!😠☹️

I also remember someone posting on here asking whether it was safe or legal to put washing out on the line.

Also, the heated discussions about having a barbecue in your own back garden. There were nay sayers, but most of us just got on with it and enjoyed it.

There were definitely people around on here who wanted everyone in darkened rooms with just dry bread and water to sustain us

I remember the "put cheese in your coffee" post. It really did happen and I read it.

The patients coming into the surgery refusing to wear masks because they were exempt.

We work at your GP surgery - we have access to your medical records! We know you aren't exempt!

@Topseyt123

There were definitely people around on here who wanted everyone in darkened rooms with just dry bread and water to sustain us

Saying ridiculous stuff like this really undermines whatever else you say.

Although a good many people on MN did express a desire for the vulnerable, shielding, and elderly to just shut themselves away and let so-called 'healthy' younger people crack on with life - and that isn't much different.

All those 'hunker down' messages! I hated that phrase so much and it cropped up loads.
We needed fresh air, exercise, fresh food, to see loved ones, to interact with people not flipping hunkering down like as we were in the blitz.
Some people really wanted rations and isolation.

reliance on stupid thin masks.
Brother in law is a doctor and was so that people genuinely seemed to have faith in these paper things saving them from covid. I saw fights between facebook friends as to the importance of wearing these pointless
paper things. And zero compassion for anyone who couldn't mask perform due to
anxiety or ASD.

Your BIL didn't break any rules because he would have fallen within the care exemption. You were ill, he brought you food. That was fine, regardless of what the MN dementors or the badly advised police would have said.

During covid I learned the types of people who would have gladly shopped Otto Frank and his family to the authorities.

The same sanctimonious people who were straight on a plane as soon as travel restrictions were lifted. Oh but wait they do it "safely" because they wash their hands and wear a mask and clap on a Thursday; it's everyone else that's ignorant and dangerous and must stay at home.

Anyway, the daftest thing - and this was only about a year ago - was someone driving a convertible - alone and with the roof down - wearing a facemask. I have come to the conclusion that some people need protecting from themselves, not others.

There were plenty of reasons for exemption that would not have been on medical records - that was why there were no exemption letters.

As for the doctor being confused about why people were relying on paper masks, why were we told to wear them by medical facilities for so long then?

And dentists - the fact that there was no dental care and then they insisted on your wearing their own silly paper masks rather than your own silly mask (whether paper or cloth).

Also the whole vaccine passport thing. Vaccines only protected me, so why did it matter whether I was vaccinated or not. It wasn't the case that like measles it would prevent me giving it to someone else as well. I am glad that they were not really introduced in England. I only had to show it once for a big event and then once when I did a trip to Guernsey, but then it was like 2019 once I got there.

To be honest, at first I thought you had to be a special brand of stupid to be a care worker and not be vaccinated (assuming no allergies to vaccines etc) but that was because I thought it would protect other people from covid, not just the care worker. As the "inmates" of care homes were being vaccinated anyway, they were protected.

I made two big errors during covid: one was to think that the schools would be back by May half term in England and the other was thinking that an effective vaccine was a pipedream.

I saw police officer telling off elderly woman for working in her allotment. There was no one around, she was the only one there. Who was she going to spread covid on? Carrots? It went way too far in some aspects and completely lost logic and purpose.

How bloody nice and helpful everyone was! Folk posting their phone number through the letterboxes of everyone on our street offering support and to get shopping but doesn't even say hi in the street now haha.

People posting on fb offering help and even financial support to anyone wanting to pm them.

It was all a bit showy. It was all a bit "look how nice I am"

I also remember being so, SO worried about going out for walks/bike rides if my child got too close to another person. Not because I was worried for his health, but because I was terrified that the other people would be worried and think I was a terrible parent for not keeping him under better control (for which I blame MN - I'm sure if I hadn't been reading threads on here with people worried about touching stiles I wouldn't have worried so much!!). What should have been nice relaxing bike rides were spent with me shrieking like a banshee "Keep to the left, KEEP TO THE LEFT" every time anyone approached.

YY PinkCherry The vaccine mandate for care workers was absolute insanity.

I carried a print out of the rules about bubbles for carers in case i got stopped on the way to my parents house. So i was 🤔 to ppl on here who said we wernt a papers please society. In a way we were for a while if we were having to carry print outs of rules around or letters from employers.

The Melbourne tower block lockdowns were social housing. A breach of their human rights and they have won a compensation payout.
Lockdowns of housing estates was one of the storylines in Years and Years. So another example of life imitating art from that TV series.

Although a good many people on MN did express a desire for the vulnerable, shielding, and elderly to just shut themselves away and let so-called 'healthy' younger people crack on with life - and that isn't much different.

Makes more sense than everyone shutting themselves away and destroying the economy!

Meant to tag @OCaptain

Loads of people said they couldn't see their elderly parents - they didn't seem to realise there was a care exemption right from day one (care homes excluded of course).
@enchantedsquirrelwood

I know - and still people don't realise .

@countrygirl99 - as per above - if your elderly parents required care - you were allowed to visit . At least you went regardless .

Drakeford had his ass kicked over Easter eggs. We were locked up with children and we weren't supposed to do an Easter egg hunt in our own garden. Honestly I believe the Welsh women led the fight back

Bloody hell that's absolutely awful four years and 5 months. Your immune system is worse than ours.

A relative had a teenage daughter with Downs Syndrome who was refused access to M&S for not wearing a mask as she didn’t have a lanyard to prove she was exempt.

Her mum did complain and was sent wine, chocolates, flowers and vouchers as an apology but shows how little sense she as being used.

Whatever blue masks we bought always had a chemical stink. I often wondered what on earth we were breathing in and what the long term effects would be. I would put mine on at the last possible moment and whip it off as soon as I could.

My then four year old grandson was terrified of germs at the time and still is. He's twisted it in his mind because of one teacher who was eventually put on the sick because she screamed at the class about them being germ ridden