I posted above that I lost my twin sister at a time when we weren't allowed to mix outside our 'bubble'. You couldn't go to your GP or dentist, and if your pet had to be put to sleep you had to deliver them to the vet and leave them with strangers. I was only allowed into the hospital to basically say 'goodbye' because they must have known my sister was only being kept alive by machinery. I only realised afterwards that the reason I'd been allowed that visit was because she was dying, because they didn't spell it out. If she could recognise me she would have seen her twin, who she hadn't seen in a long time, dressed not as me, but as someone alien in all the stuff they'd kitted me out in. Although at least that allowed me to see her. No last hold of the hand, or a last kiss. She didn't respond to my voice but I'm sure she knew I was there, so I'm thankful for that.
We'd spent our childhood sharing beds and, as adults, if we were on our own and having problems we'd share a bed. When she was dying I couldn't even touch her. What I didn't mention in my previous post was that my sister had been found unconscious in her flat by a neighbour who had a key. My sister was a vulnerable person due to mental health issues. I lived nearby but because the regulation at the time was no mixing of households I hadn't seen her for a few weeks, just talked on the phone. I'll never know if my sister had been aware of being in serious need of help but not able to summon help, and how long she may have been lying there terrified until she passed out. The thought of what happened in that period and how frightened she may have been haunts me.
So no, I don't find any of this ongoing outrage "tedious", and I'm not going to 'unclench' about it. And the idea that you were stupid for obeying the rules in place; I think the majority did do this because they were terrified into believing they and everyone around them was in danger if they didn't. As someone said, you could hardly storm hospitals, shouting out that you would do what you want because you were able to make up your own mind about the risks. The dentist or the doctor weren't going to be hanging around in their surgeries just in case a rebellious patient was going to charge in demanding to be seen to. The vet wasn't going to say, 'OK, we'll ignore all the rules we've been given and allow you to stay with your terrified dog as he's dying'.
Sorry this has turned into an essay. I just needed to unload. All the talk of how boring and trivial this is and how there are more important things to think about makes me think some people don't have an empathic bone in their body. Yes, I understand that many people haven't been affected in awful ways by what's happened in the previous two years, but many have. So at least have the courtesy not to call them tedious and petty, and tell them to move on because it was a so-called work gathering which the PM briefly joined.