It's been five years since the pandemic and I have questions

[BaggyTrousing]

• will Paddington ever be investigated for his role in the departure of our dear old queen?
• was the woman who wrote "and the people stayed home" ever taken to task for her contribution to the awfulness?
• what about that nurse who was roaring about bread in a supermarket car park? Hopefully shunned and avoided at least
• how do you all feel now about protecting the NHS?

I remember when restrictions were eased going to see my sis and her family. They are a family of 5 and we are a 4. I left my husband at home and we sat in households 2 m apart in her garden. I was worried if my husband came one of her neighbours would shop us.

Also met up with my SIL at a beach and she had some friends with her. I set up my chair 2 m away from them all

Bonkers

The madness. I was thinking this yesterday when musing that there was only one possible year that I might have had a school photo of both my boys together and I wasn't allowed to because my two children (who lived together) were not allowed to meet in school and sit next to each other for 3 minutes for a photo.

There was also that moment of the police raiding a church service, standing at the lectern, and telling everybody that they were there illegally. The question was, who had grassed on them?

There was also that utterly ridiculous rule about no singing.

When I decided that it was time to resist the nonsense, it took me a lot of guts to stop wearing a mask on public transport, in the space of widespread public disapproval, when we were still ordered to be doing so. But I did it in the end, and nobody challenged me.

With the self-appointed covid police really laying into people, as described on here, I came across another big irony. To try to find like-minded people who were against the lockdown nonsense, I joined a group which I shall not name. But as soon as I did, I was shocked by their vitriol, which used almost exactly the same language as the lockdown zealots, only with slightly different words.

For example:
"Look at all those lemmings queueing up for the clot shot, they're all going to die, it's very sad."
While on mumsnet and other sites, it was
"Look at all those selfish arsehole refuseniks, they're going to prolong lockdowns, and they're all going to die, it's very sad."

I am not exaggerating that.

Same here, my DC never got a Secondary school photo together.
I wouldn't have dared to express disappointment about it on here or anywhere else though.

When I decided that it was time to resist the nonsense, it took me a lot of guts to stop wearing a mask on public transport, in the space of widespread public disapproval, when we were still ordered to be doing so. But I did it in the end, and nobody challenged me.

I had to stop wearing a mask, they caused panic attacks which I totally was not expecting. The fear of being verbally abused only made the panic attacks worse. But the criticism for not wearing a mask didn't come from strangers, it came from someone I actually called a close friend. The friendship, surprisingly, didn't survive.

When you make the choice to call lockdown 'nonsense', you are devaluing the lives lockdown saved. Are you comfortable with that?

(And please no whataboutery, the lives lost because of lockdown are an equally valid discussion point, but not what I am asking here.)

When you make the choice to call lockdown 'nonsense', you are devaluing the lives lockdown saved. Are you comfortable with that?

What a ridiculous comment.

You're entitled to your opinion.

Although, out of curiosity, in what way is it ridiculous in your opinion?

I suppose not going into poorly ventilated , crowded spaces when a virus was about made absolute sense.

Remember BJ and his moments of glory. What an absolute prat the man is.

What was the pandemic? I worked in food retail, husband a fireman and DS a vet nurse, life went on as before, absolutely nothing changed.

I mean, the pandemic is still ongoing.
Not as many dying (thankfully) but still a significant amount. 266 in the week up to the 25th October (underestimate as there's vastly reduced testing too).
Some of the rules were (of course) ridiculous. I wonder if they liked it that way?
I still think we should protect the NHS and will likely wear a mask in health settings forever more now, I wish more people would.

Not sure we ever did establish key worker status.

First and second time round, my partner as a Paramedic was.
second time round my son, who was a mechanic at kwikfit at the time also was as kwikfit as a company serviced police cars… so his daughter was able to do her remote learning in school. 🤷‍♀️

How many lives did lockdown save, again? (Off to Google, wondering whether what I am told is any more truthful than what Boris might have told us) Was it a hundred thousand, or was it three million? The government shouted many things from the rooftops, such as how many people died (in spite of lockdown), and as we know, many of those were those who tested positive for covid, not were killed by covid, but I don't remember much fanfare about the lives that were saved. As Boris so loved giving us good news, why didn't he tell us more about what all the pain was for? And isn't it highly subjective whether a life was "saved by lockdown", just as there was the deliberate confusion of "death with covid" and "death by covid"?

I will take a lot of convincing before I believe that lockdowns came anywhere near being "worth it". It reminds me of the birthday card of somebody coming home from the shops, waving loaded shopping bags saying "25% off" and "40% off", saying "darling, look how much I've saved".

How nice for you. That must mean the rest of us made it all up, then.

And don’t watch the news I’m guessing or see other human beings either.

I stayed inside generally but you really couldn’t miss it. Although I’m guessing The British Antarctic expedition would have been fairly ok

I was working in a school that was literally full of covid and requested to work from home briefly as I had health issues and I was looking after my vulnerable father. I was instructed to have a meeting with HR regarding my fear of covid. I diligently accepted the meeting request to explain I wasn't scared of covid but objected to being in a classroom of boarding school kids who clearly had it but had refused testing ( with their parents blessing). The HR Lady then stated the meeting would be online due to her working from home because of the increased risk of covid infection in school at the time!! The school was batshit crazy and didn't follow any rules properly!!😂

Is that old gimmer still walking round his garden..?

For the NHS, whatever that means.

Fucking Paddington.

Did you never go out socialising, to see friends, for a meal?

You worked in food retail and absolutely nothing changed? Did you not notice the limited numbers allowed in the shops, queuing systems to get in, one way systems and social distancing within the shops, not being allowed in without a mask, panic buying and shelves being stripped bare, limits on the amount of certain items shoppers could buy etc?

🤣🤣🤣🤣

You're not alone there. COVID came on the back of a serious bout of PND and coupled with being responsible for toddler twins, worrying about elderly vulnerable parents and not seeing my adult DD for over a year I went a bit crazy tbh and I feel like I'm only now recovering. Hope your MH has improved xx

I remember our interfering busybody neighbours chastising people on Facebook for not joining in with the saucepan bashing on a Thursday night. I think Nhs workers would have preferred a pay rise, like normal people.

Wasn't there stats that showed it didn't save any lives, but merely spread them over a longer period? Which was how it was sold to us at the start anyway, but that got forgotten along the way. It was always to 'save the NHS', never lives, at least at the start.