To miss the first lockdown?

[TidyOchreReader]

I know it was a tough time for many but I genuinely loved that first lockdown. I think about it all the time. There was something strangely blissful about slowing down, having fewer obligations and just focusing on connecting with people - even though we couldn’t physically see them. And when you did see someone, the gratitude was immense. AIBU to feel nostalgic for that time?

Agreed. The fact that it took so long for the t.v briefings to be signed said it all really. Before anyone jumps in with "well there were subtitles", they were haphazard at best and not easy to follow at times.

I really like hearing all the positive experiences that some people had during lockdown.

And the reason for that is that, for me, hearing them mitigates, admittedly in a small way but even so, all the truly awful, life changing, irreversible shit that was thrown at my family and my loved ones.

@BogRollBOGOF But while people of comfortable means were happy to keep children off, that enabled the government to create conditions that kept children off longer with no questions asked.
This is one of the worst and most sinister aspect of lockdowns - the massive harms were not questioned AT ALL.

No questions were asked about the harms of keeping children off school.

Starmer and his party failed to ask these questions.
The press failed to ask these questions (because only "government-approved" questions were allowed in the Tory media.)
The electorate would probably have liked to ask these questions, but were not given the chance.

Heck, one of the only people who actually put Boris on the spot was Justine (was it Justine?) of our very own Mumsnet!!!!! She grilled him (about Partygate) when all journalists had completely failed to do so.

People got very sick and many died from covid during lockdown, we should never forget that. But personally, I lost my job (before furlough even started) which meant I had no money and had to go on benefits for the first time ever, BUT the weather was amazing and I got to spend the whole summer at home with my daughter who was 3 at the time. So I understand OP as I also have many happy memories. But it was different for everyone and most people were not as fortunate

In some ways I see where you’re coming from. But so many people had a terrible time or even died, lost a loved one to the virus during Covid that it feels a bit thoughtless to express this.

My mother had cancer in 2020 and I was unable to be with her because I lived in Australia and she was overseas. She died in 2021 and I was only able to have the last 6 weeks of her life to care for her because of border closures. I would do anything to have been able to spend more time with her.

Benevolent ageism has also increased tenfold since lockdown thanks to anyone over 60 being deemed frail and vulnerable regardless of fitness or health status. I'm not that age but I do have grey hair although I'm slim and superfit. The number of simpering shop assistants addressing me as sweetheart or my lovely is staggering. I'm good at impersonations and usually repeating something back in the same accent/tone of voice shuts them up. I absolutely dread old age and having to put up with this level of ageist idiocy. I hope I die long before then.

I often think about my neighbours, she was 88 when lock-down begin, her DH 90, they were out daily doing the shopping, gardening, once lock down begin, they both went down hill rapidly before dying. Very sad.

Whilst it was good when they did - eventually and only under duress - introduce BSL interpretation, the subtitles remained shit and therefore the subtitle users were still disadvantaged.

It does depend on the disability and it was deafness I was referring to (in addition to other co-morbidities). I was talking in terms of access to particular services, not across the board, and certainly not with reference to things like healthcare.

I agree that being deaf (or otherwise disabled) in terms of trying to access services like healthcare would have been challenging for many people. I know from deaf friends and clients of the difficulties they faced trying to communicate in public spaces when so many people were masked up and would not remove their masks to communicate with a deaf person (they may have had good reason not to!). But it still created that additional barrier at a worrying time.

I'm sorry about what happened with your husband and how you were treated. 💐

Yep, very much depends on the disability. My disabled (ND) child experienced a decline in access to services during lockdown, for example, what with not being allowed schooling. For others, their circumstances improved. Then of course there are disabled people whose experiences were affected by wider factors just as non-disabled people were such as domestic violence, furlough not being enough to pay their bills, lack of access to dying loved ones etc. It's a very diverse picture.

On signing specifically, I remember a press conference in late 2021, when Omicron was kicking in, where there was no BSL interpreter at all. Absolutely disgusting.

There were many unsigned broadcasts during the Covid era. As I remember, individual BSL users had to take legal action to try to enforce provision.

Thank you.

Yes, the masks did cause a particular problem for those with hearing difficulties.

During lockdown, I stumbled across an online religious service where they had someone signing. This was a volunteer and he's still doing this on a voluntary basis.

Most of the provision that I'm aware of seems to be provided by volunteers.

There was an after-service discussion one time and the volunteer commented that - in his opinion - fewer people are now learning BSL because of a reliance on technology and that this is causing a cultural shift. I've no idea whether there are any figures available for this.

Before I retired, I did work in secondary schools with pupils with hearing difficulties - one pupil had a cochlear implant. The schools are relying more and more on tech, but it's not always reliable. (I retired from my permanent post before lockdown.)

I recall that the pupil with the cochlear implant did have back-up from a teacher who worked with the local hearing-impaired service, but she wasn't always available. She would help by signing during class discussions.

I recall that the pupil's regular English teacher took BSL classes when he realised that there were often problems with the cochlear tech breaking down, but he did this in his own time with no support from the LA.

Bit like being in the eye of the storm. That quiet, peaceful spot where if nothing bad was happening to you personally it could be nice to have no responsibility and take a breath from the everyday rush. Just a short distance away though others are experiencing the chaos of the storm.

It was a weird time. I had to carry on working outside the home with toddlers so no PPE, no social distancing. We felt abandoned by the government in that everyone else in the world had to be protected except us with the age group less capable of keeping germs to themselves! They were also the children of key workers so it meant their parents were also working outside the home, many in hospitals.

Im a single parent and youngest was in Y6 so I had to leave her to do her work without supervision. She was home with older siblings so safe but with nobody there to push her learning.

I was very grateful we weren’t in a flat so could at least get out in the garden.

@AgitatedGoose I’m 63 and not that fit but look reasonably ok - I have a friend though mid 70s who is slim, mega fit, does Pilates and swimming several times a week - she is fitter than most30 year olds

Do you also like the economic disaster and the inflation and drop in living standards as a result of locking down the economy?

Do you like the hundreds and thousands of excess deaths as result of health service becoming Covid service, the drop in output from the NHs.

And don’t like children’s education being decimated and their mental health being destroyed.

Some people really have no clue. Scary to think that these people get to vote.

Well, with that argument, nobody should get any positive experience from anything, as there is shit happening everywhere all the time.

I hope you are not voting because you are spectacularly missing the point.

It was shit. My DP is self employed as are many of our friends. We were all skint, and isolated from family and friends. At least we were lucky enough that I was working (although semi-furloughed) and bringing in some money. My friend's mother died in the first wave and he was unable to return to his home country for the funeral.Another friend's mother wasn't able to access a doctor and get tested quickly for worrying symptoms and when her ovarian cancer was finally diagnosed, she was too far along for anything but palliative care.

I became depressed over that first winter. Many people I know never completely recovered psychologically. I would be delighted if I never saw a bloody Zoom "pub quiz" ever again.

So while I am happy for you, OP, that it wasn't too awful for you, YA still being VU.

No, because those things highlighted were a DIRECT consequence of the covid restrictions and lockdowns and many issues were, mostly, avoidable or could have been mitigated with more sensible appropriate restrictions.

so what? That's completely irrelevant here.

It's not the OP who put the restrictions in place.

So the OP should lie or feel guilty about her experience of lockdown in light of all the horrible stuff that was happening and that wasn’t directly affecting her at the time? Okey doke.

As I said earlier if someone posted -‘ I miss being a mistress - thoroughly enjoyed my affair with a married guy and had a fab time ‘ - people would be all over it with negativity, because so many many women on here have had a shit time with exactly that situation and life changing situations for them - be it money, careers, mental health - whatever. I just think there are some things that are real ‘think it in your head ,but don’t voice it on forums’ situations - and this to me is one of those situations, although yes I accept others don’t feel as I do about being sensitive about posting what are real big triggers of the ‘I enjoyed/I miss ’ kind — in situations that so many had a totally shit time of.

But lots of people were not traumatised by lockdown, lots of people's lives went back to normal. I would imagine very few women would be happy finding out their husband had been having an affair. That's the difference. Lockdown was so varied for everyone.

@crikeyalmighty and what do the results of the poll suggest to you? What does the fact there are so many varied responses on here suggest to you? Perhaps it isnt the 'only say it in your head' thought that you think it is.

I don't think it has gone back to "normal" for anyone. Economically it was a disaster and the cause of the cost of living crisis, inflation, and the forthcoming tax rises. The NHS hasn't recovered. It almost certainly caused Labour to win the last GE which has adversely affected lots of people too! Very few people will have been completely unaffected adversely in one way or another because of the lockdowns.