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Original poster

Has anything near you permanently changed or not survived the lockdowns?

91 replies

Christmasconcerts · 20/12/2023 22:32

A toddler class I went to has stopped. It went on for ten years but struggled after the lockdowns and now has stopped for good. I know it’s silly to feel a bit sad - the baby and toddler market is saturated with classes.

I wondered if anyone else has had something permanently close its doors after lockdowns.

OP posts:
whynotwhatknot · 20/12/2023 23:44

lots of indie shops they tried but obviously was too much

the council should have lowered the rent after covid-its like a ghosttown

sorry to everyone who has lost someone

Reugny · 20/12/2023 23:46
  • Most of the parent and baby/toddler groups as older women stopped volunteering. Doesn't effect me but all the new parents who use to be able to go to one every working day in a different church in the area.
  • The local cobbler/key cutter. Only chain ones left.
  • A local laundry/ironing service though they didn't help themselves by moving away from a station
  • A local mini cab firm. Oddly they had a massive office which is being turned into flats.
SpringingJoy · 20/12/2023 23:47

There are some days now when I'm the only one of my team in the office. I like the flexibility of WFH but do miss the team atmosphere. But you can't gain one without losing the other sadly

Yes, this.

I wfh with two office days a week. I love wfh, it works so well. But I used to love the office back in the 'olden days' too, now they've moved to a building far smaller due to wfh. So instead of the office days being a whole department of 40 odd people, you get about 12 on the rota each day. Couple off sick or on holiday, couple who wangled wfh that day due to xyz reason - and you get about 6 or 7 of us rattling round, spending most of the day on teams and zoom calls anyway.

My ideal would be wfh 3 days and office 2 days but with premises big enough to hold the whole department...a perfect mix of old and new. Of course would never be possible but it would be lovely if it was!

Avacardo2023 · 20/12/2023 23:48

The 102 year old convent school my mum, my DDs and I attended. They were struggling financially but lockdown was the nail in the coffin and they closed down and sold the building.

Spareincoming · 20/12/2023 23:51

The health visitor/children's centre.
There’s no weigh and play, no breastfeeding group, no new mums group, no subsidised baby sensory etc, the children’s centre shutters rolled down in March 2020 and have never come up again. It’s over the road to the primary school and makes me sad.

JenniferBooth · 20/12/2023 23:55

@Reugny one of our taxi firms had fifty drivers pre lockdowns Post lockdowns they went down to 19

its bloody hard to get a cab and YET on the"competitive not going to A&E" threads its always oh just a get a cab. Id bet a penny to a pinch of shit its said by pro lockdowners

JenniferBooth · 21/12/2023 00:00

My cab for the hairdressers i have to book weeks in advance A cab for an emergency is a struggle

dottypencilcase · 21/12/2023 08:32

My marriage... our finances :(

yepmeagain · 21/12/2023 08:36

The best ever sandwich shop in our town. I am sad every time I walk past the boarded up shop.

usedtobeasizeten · 21/12/2023 08:36

A lovely restaurant we always used to go to. Shut down during Covid and has never reopened….

HamstersAreMyLife · 21/12/2023 08:40

Our best indie cafe. A couple of good shops in town. Mostly dislike the move to booking everything, the tip, local attractions. Even with an annual pass I had to book our local theme park which took the spontaneity out of nipping through after school so I didn't renew. Also local pool and similar now have limited slots, used to pay and go for as long as you wanted now it's 90 mins including changing time, which added to the price increase means it's no longer worth going as they pack the slots now as well so it's too busy and takes most of the fun out of it.

OfMiceandWomen · 21/12/2023 08:41

My yoga class. Loved going to it.
It is online now just not the same.

HamstersAreMyLife · 21/12/2023 08:41

Also school events. Since covid our school hasn't run any discos or fairs which is disappointing

Firefly2009 · 21/12/2023 08:41

The hairdressers that I went to. I wasn't bothered about the salon, just the hairdresser who cut my hair - now I can't find her or where she is working.

My own health.

scalt · 21/12/2023 08:43

My very last vestiges of trust in government and politicians. I will never look at government the same way again.

AnotherEmma · 21/12/2023 08:43

I work for a local Citizens Advice and we no longer offer drop-in. It used to be open every weekday morning. Now all advice is by phone/email with a very limited number of F2F appointments. We also lost a huge number of experienced volunteers and have many fewer now (and the new recruits obviously need training). We do what we can, of course, but our service is nowhere near as good as it used to be Sad

Lots of soft play places closed due to covid which is a shame but not the end of the world considering what others have lost.

Sorry to people who have lost loved ones or now have long covid Flowers

Lindy2 · 21/12/2023 08:47

My autistic teenager daughter. She had a breakdown after returning to school and her mental health is still extremely fragile.

This may have possibly happened without Covid. Autistic burnout is a very real and awful thing - I've since found out.

Unfortunately, mental health support and education support has also never properly recovered post Covid.

SaltyGod · 21/12/2023 08:51

Two local soft plays

Full time work in the office

Kids changing into PE kit at school

School providing water and and snacks, we provide these now

A toddler group that we used to attend

minipie · 21/12/2023 08:52

YY to GP surgeries. Awful and there will be huge knock on consequences.

Number of pet dogs seems to have multiplied x100

ZenNudist · 21/12/2023 08:55

AnyFucker · 20/12/2023 23:09

Gp surgeries

Came on to say this.

TBH our whole way of life has changed. WFH has made such a difference.

CoffeeWithCheese · 21/12/2023 08:58

AnyFucker · 20/12/2023 23:09

Gp surgeries

Our old one went from being amazingly good where they would get you in if they needed to see you - to consistently bottom of the league tables for actually seeing patients face to face, fucking up and losing referrals and being the worst of the worst.

Kids' dance class never reopened - in an area where all the others focus on fleecing as much cash as they can over the parents and milking the non-competition kids for as much money as they can to fund the competition side of the equation - the older lady teaching dance for the joy of passing her love on to the next generation, in a church hall, with a huge box full of handed down tap and ballet shoes for people to help themselves to - decided she couldn't get around all the restrictions being put in place to resume activities and gave up.

Lots of the smaller projects around here as well that adults with learning disabilities attended didn't reopen and the post-Covid cuts are hitting lots of the larger projects now and day centres, plus the care homes haven't recovered from the loss of staff during the pandemic. Plus the loss of routine for a fairly large chunk of my LD clients mean they never got back into the habit of going to their day centre etc and we're now under a barrage of referrals for ensuing behavioural issues as a result.

MissBuffyAnneSummers · 21/12/2023 09:11

Social Development of a great many children has been negatively impacted

Mental ill health being suffered by many

NHS - it's on verge of collapse

Many Local businesses closed

On the positive side

Can wear own shoes to go bowling instead of having to rent bowling shoes

Tech installed by local business for bookings and payments still n plac

lollydu · 21/12/2023 09:12

I really hate that a soft play near me still runs "sessions" that started over Covid so you pay the same amount but you have to stay only 9:30-11:30 for example. There's no reason to carry this on and I find it annoying having to book online beforehand - pre Covid you could rock up any time and stay or leave whenever you wanted. Also a lot of toddler sessions around me are now pre bookable only, I remember you could just turn up with cash on the door for one in particular and was nice for a last minute thing or spur of the moment.

Abracadabra12345 · 21/12/2023 09:26

Has anything near you permanently changed?

Yes, peace in the garden. All my near neighbours wfh so they are around much more than before lockdown, making me feel hemmed in (we have long,narrow gardens close to each other) and worse, making loud work / Video calls with windows or bifold doors open. There is no quiet, no peace because they are all at home rather than in the office. Not how I imagined retirement.

JustOneMoreBaileys · 21/12/2023 09:29

Being able to see a GP face to face.

The fun dog agility class I used to take the dog to. He was never any good, we were never serious but it was good fun, good for bonding and taught him how to be patient and meet lots of different dogs without the 'full on' ness of meeting freeform in a field.