To be shocked at how dystopian going shopping feels now?

[GratefulLove]

Today I went shopping in my town centre for the first time since early March. I just could not process how different it all is now. Last time I was in town I remember picking up a box of paracetamol and some hand sanitiser in Boots "just in case" but aside from that it all felt normal albeit a little like the calm before the storm.

Today though. Hand sanitiser everywhere, one-way systems, floor markings. Obviously I knew all this existed from social media and the news but seeing my town, my familiar town so completely different has floored me in a way I didn't expect. Shops selling hand sanitiser and masks - I expected this in Boots and other pharmacies but I didn't expect Primark to have rows and rows of hand sanitiser by the tills. I didn't expect shopping to feel so clinical, it felt like a hospital visit.

I was in one shop and there were a group of young children playing and joking around with each other. They did not have masks on and seeing them playing around just looked so normal and then I looked around and saw all the adults with masks just looking expressionless and almost soulless. It just looked so frightening.

We are months into this pandemic and I still can't believe this is all real. It still feels like a film. I don't know, with the daily conferences now a thing of the past and headlines now involving more topics than just the coronavirus it kind of felt like things were slowly getting back to normal but this really cemented that they are nowhere near normal.

Also I just want to say how much I appreciate all retail workers.

[hellofromcornwall]

Yeah it’s different. Things have had to change because the world has changed.

Keep calm and carry on shopping!

[ShebaShimmyShake]

The bare shelves and limits on products were dystopian. Queuing was a bit distressing too, but I haven't had to do that for a while now. Masks, one way systems and distancing? Those aren't so bad.

[hellofromcornwall]

@Yesyoudoknowme that sounds risky! And yet across the sea in Somerset - people are pretty good at wearing masks and really good at social distancing. I was so impressed while I was there last week! I felt really safe.

Much better rule followers than in Cornwall

[PrivateD00r]

To be honest op, in a way you were lucky to be able to stay at home all of these months. Most weren't able to, hence why it is less of a shock. It was much much worse late March when shelves were bare and there were large queues outside every shop. It is so much better now.

I did feel it was quite dystopian at one stage, when I was driving to work and saw literally no other cars on the road. I work in a massive health centre and it was empty. Everywhere closed. I do home visits and there was no where to stop to use the loo. It was all so weird. I definitely see glimmers of normality now though.

[DorisLessingsLesson]

I actually love the new rules. It's great being able to queue at a till without people trying to jump in or pressing too close behind, etc. Admittedly it felt a bit like PacMac trying to avoid the ghosts as we weaved back and forwards through the rows to avoid other people but that just added to the fun for the DC

[FedUpAtHomeTroels]

I'm in a tourist area, I've given up going shopping except for the weekly groceries early mid week, less people around.
If you went though the town or near the beach you'd swear nothing was going on with the virus, no maks, no distancing, no one cares.
I feel sorry for all those people who work in the cafes and ice cream booths. The tourists are mad.

[Purpleice]

I also found it stranger in the earlier days of the pandemic when all you could do was food shop. We’ve just come back from a few days away in a very touristy city and had a lovely time sightseeing and shopping. Lots more cafes have tables outside, which is really nice. I felt pretty safe and got used to mask wearing. I live in Wales and really wish they’d make mask wearing mandatory here too.

[SnuggyBuggy]

The problem for the high streets in this Internet age is if they can't offer an enjoyable, tactile, convenient experience what have they got to offer that you cant get from home?

[middleager]

@Minesril

Why does everyone compare this to the handmaid's tale? There are other dystopian books which don't involve women being raped!

I don't mind the mask wearing. We went to John Lewis to buy some lights (brought our first home in oct and are very excited to turn it into our home!) and had a great time choosing them.

Our two John Lewis stores have not opened since the pandemic and won't be opening again. The store was a bog draw to the one retail park, so I wonder how it will do.

YANBU OP and you are allowed to moan. Shopping is not just a practical experience for many.

[cologne4711]

I don't know about dystopian but my local Waitrose have excelled themselves again. Up until now you've been able to use their self-serve tills really easily, put the stuff into your bag while you scan, pay, and off you go.

But now they've decided to move to the "weighing" model which means you have to scan everything first and then put it in your bag, unless there's a member of staff around to ok it to let you put it in your bag as you go. But then I wanted to use two bags. And then I made the mistake of touching the bag while I was scanning and made it heavier than it should be. And then my card wanted my PIN and while every other machine just asks you to put your PIN in, Waitrose require the staff member to ok it (although that may have been because I thought it had been accepted contactless and took my stuff off the scales). But she had to sort me out FOUR times.

That is utterly ridiculous. Firstly it means people have to hang around longer at a time when you just want people to get their stuff and go, the staff are having to come up to customers all the time to sort things out and the whole process takes at least twice as long.

[middleager]

big

[Camomila]

I went to a shop yesterday and saw a tiny tot, about 4yo, in a tiny mask. Why, in God's name, WHY? Is she protecting me? hmm

She probably just wanted one like the grown ups. DS (4) made himself one to play 'shops and coronavirus' with his toy food and till yesterday.

I don't much like wearing my mask either as it fogs up my glasses and I feel like I can't see properly. I also get a tiny bit sad every time I go to Sainsburies local (right by the station) and there are hardly any sandwiches to choose from.

Hopefully things will be better next summer.

[Livelovebehappy]

I agree OP. Went into my local town a couple of weeks ago. First time since wfh. It was deserted. It felt so sad and surreal. I think back to my last trip before lockdown - popping in for my nails done, sitting in the square eating a pasty with lots of people milling around enjoying the first glimpse of spring weather, and just taking it all for granted though. Atm it just feels that life is never going to go back to being normal, but hopefully it will. I remember thinking back at the start of lockdown that it would just be a couple of weeks, and here we are 5 months later.

[wanderings]

@Theredjellybean Mask wearing was made mandatory with NO review date.
Can we say this louder, please? You're absolutely right. NOTHING has been said about this measure being temporary, yet the masked mafia on here are saying all the time "it won't be forever". Boris thinks he can get away with this, because by now we're used to him pulling restrictions out of a hat on a whim, and he thinks we won't bother to question it, as we're so docile and compliant.

[frustrationcentral]

@BananaPop2020

All the pleasure has gone from shopping right now. I have pretty much stopped going apart from essentials. The rules are so arbitrary and do little to encourage spending.

I'm exactly the same. I'd have no desire to pop into town for a wander currently, there's just no pleasure in it!

[cologne4711]

I recall the first time I went to the local pharmacist it felt very unreal with them in their full medical masks. The same for the staff in Boots

Well they've completely overegged the pudding. I have no idea why they think they're at so much greater risk than eg people in Sainsburys. I never liked Boots anyway, their stores are so badly staffed, but after all their trying to police "essential" purchases, taping of aisles and similar idiotic behaviour I won't shop there again unless I am desperate.

[Rainbowb]

@Minesril

Why does everyone compare this to the handmaid's tale? There are other dystopian books which don't involve women being raped!

I don't mind the mask wearing. We went to John Lewis to buy some lights (brought our first home in oct and are very excited to turn it into our home!) and had a great time choosing them.

There is a clear link - restrictions on freedoms in the interests of the “greater good”, shopping being an impersonal experience where people can’t interact, people policing each other etc. The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t just about rape, it was about people’s freedoms being slowly given over to state control until they find they have sleepwalked into hell.

[Livelovebehappy]

fedupathometroels don’t feel sorry for the cafe owners. I’m sure they are more than happy to have lots of customers, and would rather have people queuing at their doors than no customers at all, which is happening in none tourist towns.

[BoxhillBertha]

I wonder if there's synaesthesia going on here. Some people find masks very disturbing whereas they don't bother me at all, i barely notice them.

The people that think its all part of a big conspiracy by our govt make me laugh.

Perhaps its because I've travelled a lot to countries where masks and or burkas are normal?

[Maxdash]

And people wonder why I'm not eager for a trip round the shops! I wasn't one for browsing the shops pre covid, I certainly won't be now! Very happy in my house and garden thank you very much.

[ssd]

I totally agree op, though I don't know what dystopian means.
Anyway, it does all feel so weird all this. I spoke to someone in a call centre yesterday and instead of saying goodbye they said stay safe. I was just reminded how weird life is now. When I watch telly I can forget as most things are pre covid, but then an advert comes on filmed in someone's living room and it all comes back.
So just to say I know what you mean.

[BoxhillBertha]

i think less people are using shops because the majority coped fine without them in lockdown. I certainly realised I didn't need a lot of the crap I used to buy.

[sportinguista]

The main dystopian element I feel is the announcements it feels a bit like those in Blade Runner at the start when he's going around the city and all these 'public service' announcements usually on behalf of corporations pop up and tell you they're working for your benefit.

The mask thing is hugely uncomfortable and ensures I go round the shops at an even quicker speed than I did before (not keen on shopping anyway!).

Aspects of the whole pandemic seem dystopian anyway and it feels a lot like constantly waiting for things to happen but being 'paused'.

DS and I are going to the hairdressers for the first time today and I'm kind of wondering how that is all going to go. It's usually a friendly local hairdressers and I cannot really imagine it with all the gear!

[Trashtara]

I went to a shop yesterday and saw a tiny tot, about 4yo, in a tiny mask. Why, in God's name, WHY? Is she protecting me? hmm

I have a mask with astronauts on that DS (4) has clamed as his and insists I put on him in the shops.

[Trashtara]

*claimed