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How many of you are still going out and what area are you in?

235 replies

Lottiebugz22 · 19/03/2020 19:45

Just interested to see what is happening in different areas around the UK right now. From high coronavirus areas to low coronavirus areas.

OP posts:
GuyFawkesDay · 20/03/2020 18:15

West Midlands.

Got to work (teacher) but everyone else is now inside.

Got shopping booked next week, though what may arrive is a lottery.

Kids finished today. Walking home chatting to their friends. I cried.

AdoptedBumpkin · 20/03/2020 18:31

It will be a ghost village where I am. School closed, pubs closed, limited hours in the shops that are still open.

bettertimesarecomingnow · 20/03/2020 18:54

Waaaaay up north. Still popping to shops if required but not taking kids in.

Spent the day at the beach yesterday and today the garden. Lots of places we can go and see nobody

IpeartreeI · 20/03/2020 18:55

Northeast. People out and about as normal apparently according to FB.

MissyJane2 · 20/03/2020 19:51

MissyJane2 that had to be a joke post, right?
No one can actually be that ignorant and selfish!

All right I suppose I am being selfish moaning about not being to live without my comforts. Like buying what food I want, eating what I want and being able to go out where and when I want including go to the seaside and on holidays.

I probably wasted a lot of money on most of those things even food buy buying in bulk or expensive items.

Well now we can't get things like toilet rolls or even a can of beans,it's just as well I bought extra packs of toilet rolls before Christmas which I still have.
Because other wise if I had just bought one or 2 every week I would not have any now.

But they are not going to last forever and I will have to buy more eventually. But I know now because of this crisis that unless the government can stop this virus soon, it's going to get much worse and this could go on for months or even years.
Oh My God

Yes I know by going I risk catching the illness myself. And just because I don't have it now does not mean I won't catch it in the future.

Thankfully my cold or flue is getting better so the outside air or the going out is getting rid of my cold or flu. Bringing my fever down maybe but my GP said I don't have a fever.

If I had someone to come round and stay with me I would stay at home but I don't.
I am a 56 year old woman and my parents are dea and I have no one, no family or friends. My neighbors won't help me so I have had to go out to get food and supply because I ran out.

But have had a lot of trouble finding them and even when I did everything in the shops is rationed. You can only buy 2 or 3 of everything, so I could not stock up for the week, I have had to go to all different shops( most of them corner shops since they were the only ones who had food and things and are not rationing.) Just to get what I needed.

I have got most things now so I don't have to go out again unless I want to.

There is no lockdown but the Prime Minister has now ordered all cafes,restaurants and pubs to close and a lot of shops are closing until further notice.
Trains and buses are still running but London transport is reducing their services from the 23rd March until further notice. There will still be trains but not so much so you could wait a long time for one.

So although there is no lockdown and you don't have to stay at home.
If everything is closed including the public toilets then it's not worth going out to the town centre anyway. Because there will be nothing to go out to.

It's like if you go out on Christmas day there is nothing open so I don't go out because there is nothing to go out for.

In this case the food shops and chemists will be open.
But what if you live in a village or somewhere where there are no supermarkets or shops or they are a bus ride away?

how to you get there if there is no public transport and if liker me you don't have a car?

Can we still get a min cab or taxi?
Or have they stopped running as well?

At least we are not on lockdown so they won't arrest us for going out.

But the real worry is all of the hardships with not being able to get food. It is effecting my mental health.

Do you know how humiliating it is every time I do into a big food store like M&s and Tesco to have to ask the store staff
"how many items do you allow me to have?
What are your rules?"

And being told I cannot have more than 2 tins of fish or 2 tubs of cartons of soya milk which is hard to find anyway.
So when you find it you want to get more cos you have run out and need to stock up for the week.

Yes the worst thing is the no food situation not only that but even though they have not put us on lockdown.

Shops and everything is closing and may remain so for a long time.

So what sort of a life are me and everyone else in this country going to have ?

England is fast becoming like a prison camp.
I just wish the was a way we could get out of England and live in another country that does not have all of this.

But every other country on this planet has got the same problem.
I feel sorry from the mums, the old and the sick people who need food but cannot get it.

Some mums I talked to said they have no nappys for their babies.
What are they expected to do if the shops won't stock their shelves?

How do we know the big supermarkets are not holding back the goods on purpose?

Even people who are panic buying cannot possible empty a whole supermarket like Tesco or Sainsburys.

There is something else going on that we don't know about.
And no I am not panic buying.
I am in a 1 bedroom flat and have not got the space.
Also I am intelligent to know that if you buy too much food it goes off and will be useless in a week or 2.
So you can't buy like that.

I am watching the new on TV and I see this woman who is an NHS nurse crying in front of the cameras saying she has no food in her house, no vegetables or anything. And how is she going to maintain her health and a healthy diet.
Yes she was crying and said that to the cameras.

But the supermnarkets are not doing anything about it.

People will stop going to them if they carry on like this.
If Tesco and the big stores don't change they might as well close too.
Because noboby wants to go to a food shop that has no food.

But having said there there are not a lot of other places to go except the corner shop.
But they have not always got either.

No I don't live like this for months and even years if this crisis does not get solved.

*I remember this time last week I was going out and buying all of the food I wanted and loved. And could buy as much as I wanted.

Now I cannot even get any potatoes or anything and I am worried sick I am going to starve.*

I don't think the coronavirus is going to kill me I think it's starvation.
Because there is no food if this goes on for months,
And If I survive that mine and everyone else's life will become a living hell. Everything closing down this whole situation is like a nightmare we cannot wake up from.
It's like something out of a horror movie.

One person said the new and internet news articles is making it worse by panicking everyone.
I think they are right.
Maybe it would have been better if the government had not told us all of this.
Then people would not have been looting the shops and the shops would not have been shutting and sacking their staff.

Maybe the news should just keep quiet and let the Doctors and the NHS deal with and treat those who are unfortunate enought to have this Coronavirus.
That's what they should be doing.
Not locking us in and starving us and ruining everybody life.
One person I spoke to said her friend is thinking of committing suicide because of this.
It's upsetting people including me.
Tell the government to resove this crisis please.
Not in 12 weeks time NOW.
We have had enough.

Duchessofblandings · 20/03/2020 20:23

😳

Elieza · 20/03/2020 20:33

That’s the biggest post I have ever read.

Duchessofblandings · 20/03/2020 20:39

You read it all Elieza?

Crikey, well done. I gave up half-way through. It must be a sick joke, surely?

Goawayquickly · 20/03/2020 20:45

Blimey. This crisis has only just started, it is the same for everyone. Shops are recruiting not sacking, and nobody is going to starve. You speak as if only you alone are affected Missy

SisterAgatha · 20/03/2020 22:13

That was really long. I did it. If doesn’t matter what you say to me, the answer will stay the say. Stay indoors if you have symptoms or this will go on forever. You will just be giving the virus new hosts.

And stop being humiliated that shops are doing rationing. We all face that. That’s life now.

TickTockTickTockT · 20/03/2020 22:15

I wonder when we do go into lockdown,

Will people stop buying as much?

Will they lower the units you can buy?

I’ve literally eaten fish all week Angry

It’s a joke

Xenia · 20/03/2020 22:19

Outer London. Schools ended at end fo today so obviously parents were out collecting them. Shops not too busy. I go out when necessary for work about once a day to the post box or post office but no one else is in there when I go so I am not even in a queue or not today anyway and in the shop I tried to keep 2m away from everyone.

People do a lot of walks up our road but 2 meters apart. Lots of joggers. 3 ladies on horse back were down the road a few times as usual today - not sure how close they were to each other, chatting but a fair way and they might be the same family.

MissyJane, you don't sound too happy. Yes some of this is awful but we just have to put up with it and get on with it. it is as it is.

Lancelottie · 20/03/2020 22:25

It takes time to get used to so huge a change, MissyJane. It feels very unreal to a lot of people.

MiniTheMinx · 20/03/2020 23:04

South East, took DC out of school and college a week early last Friday, by choice, my choice. I realised that if schools and colleges closed and exams would be likely cancelled we may as well just give up and stay home.

I stopped work over 10 days ago and so far I have only been to a super market once to buy a few essentials. It was pandemonium and I didn't want to be in the crowd. So we walk to a local shop every evening once the rush is over and just buy a few bits. So far we have found enough to keep the cupboards stocked. But every day there has been less in the shop.

Husband is still travelling on public transport and going to work in what I consider a non essential role, in a non essential business which will more than likely fold. My hope is that Boris and chums reduce train timetables between here and where he works so that he will be forced to stay home. I want him at home.

I'm happy at home, I don't feel I'm missing out on anything. Two DS have been happy and keeping themselves amused. I will go put fuel in the car though because I want to fill it up......I don't know why I just always feel I need a tank of petrol in an emergency! and we will go for walks in the country.

ShanghaiDiva · 20/03/2020 23:05

The action the govt is taking is to resolve the crisis. This will take time, but we all need to make sacrifices.
No need to feel embarrassed in supermarkets: most products seem to be limited to 3 per customer. There is enough for everyone if we are all sensible and are prepared to compromise.

UYScuti · 20/03/2020 23:27

Yes it does take time to get used to it and as soon as we start to get used to one change we get another change imposed upon us, the second we think we are on solid ground it disintegrates again and we lose our footing
We are all totally discombobulated 😳 which is an amusing sort of word but this ain't funny, we are all constantly reeling, it's bad for our immune systems I'm sure.
this is lockdown by stealth because they knew that in a modern liberal democracy it would be too difficult to it impose look down in one manoeuvre that's my current working theory 🤔
Vast swathes of data will be gathered about this and the next time there is a similar event they will orchestrate it so much more professionally and get us totally stitched up in no time

jessyjo2 · 20/03/2020 23:36

Going to school to get learning packs. Don't even have to get out of car, they bring it to me. Really good of them.
As we live in country, a good long walk in the fields, closer to 2 miles than 2 metres away from anyone!!
Unfortunately husband works in a shop and it hasn't closed yet, that's our biggest problem.

TicTac80 · 20/03/2020 23:55

Hospital nurse in the South East do I can’t WFH. I started the social distancing thing in February (for my kids and me), and now only taking them to school and myself to work, bar essential trips (pharmacy, medical appointments). We are staying in touch with friends and family via FaceTime, Skype etc

MissyJane2 · 21/03/2020 02:27

That was really long. I did it. If doesn’t matter what you say to me, the answer will stay the say. Stay indoors if you have symptoms or this will go on forever. You will just be giving the virus new hosts.

And stop being humiliated that shops are doing rationing. We all face that. That’s life now.

You are right I hate all of this the way things are now.
Last week the shops had lots of food and I was buying as much as I wanted. No shop or cafes were shut down everything was normal

Now they have shut down a lot of places and are reducing public transport and there is no food anywhere.
I can't believe my life has changed or should I say been destroyed in a week.
I feel like I have just been put in prison.
We have had crisis before such as London being bombed and shops closing. The news always blew things up and made it sound like it would go on forever but in a week or 2 things went back to normal.

I hope it will be the same for this crisis. That it will only last a few weeks then shops and pubs will open again and there will be food on the shelves and no lockdowns or restrictions. And my life will be as it was before and I will forget about this.

But from what the news on TV is saying it seems like it won't be and we are going to be in this prison for a quite some time.
I don't want that to happen. I just want this resolved and I want my life back.
I don't want to live like this for the next 6 months or even years.
I think most people feel the same way as I do.
The way things have been this week 4 days is enough. I can't bear the thought of another few weeks of this.
I have had enough already.

It's as if everyone in England has lost there mind or gone mad with this thing and I am the only normal person left.

As for my worry about starving, I now have enough food to last at least 4 weeks. I have a big bag of dried rice that I can biol up. I think I mentioned in another post that I don't have a cooker but I can boil it in the microwave.

And I did that today and it turned out all right.
I had southern fried chicken breast from M&S with the rice and Terriaki Sauce from Sainsbuys.
So I didn't starve today and I haven't yet.

You only need a little rice to make a meal about half a cupful as it swells up when you boil it.
So a pack of dried rice will last a long time, months, and give you many servings. You can feed a whole family on that so it's good value for money and cheaper than buying the individual microwave able rice in bags.

So if I cannot get potatoes I will still have the rice.
If I can get some dried pasta that will also give me meals for many weeks to come. I can have it with my chicken or my fish fingers.
It will fill me up.
Bread can be frozen and I have some in my freezer for a rainy day.
Still got no room for my frozen chips though.
But I can eat the fresh potatoes I still have they will last another week.

I did go out to Tescos again today, I went in the evening when it's quiet. Some people were out and they spoke to me.
They think the same as I do that we should not be locked in our homes and they want to go back to normal living.

I spoke to a member of staff at Tescos and he thinks that only Centeral and inner London areas such as Hackney will be put on lockdown if it happens. Not Goodmayes or Romford where I am.
Because we are Greater London, meaning although we are London Bough of Redbridge and London Bough Of Havering we are Essex on the postcode so classed as Essex.
So maybe they will forget about us.

I hope he's right. I don't care if they lockdown Centeral London because I don't want to go there anyway so it's no loss to me as I hate the West End.
As long as I can still go out where live and go to my local town center Romford and Ilford I will be happy with that. It what I normally do.
I mean it's where I normally go when I go out.

I like to go to Southend in the Summer but I don't suppose I will be able to do that now unless they end the crisis.
Not much point in going on holidays, I remember this time last year I was at the Premier Inn in Liverpool.
But as the government have now ordered all restaurants closed they won't be able to serve their full English breakfasts now.
And there won't be anywhere to eat as you can't eat out anymore.
So what will visitors who are staying in hotels here do about food?
As you can't cook in a hotel.

Oh Good news,I found toilet rolls today in Tesco.
There was one of the store staff who had the trolly with them in the middle of the store and she said we could have up to 2 packs each.
But they were big packs of 24 rolls so I bought one pack as I could only carry 1.
So I now have a pack on 24 toilet rolls which will last me for 2 weeks.

You only need 1 pack as it's a pack of 24 so I don't understand why people are pulling loads and loads off the shelves.
Where do they store them all?

But I am very happy I got my toilet rolls.

MissyJane2 · 21/03/2020 02:34

Yes it does take time to get used to it and as soon as we start to get used to one change we get another change imposed upon us, the second we think we are on solid ground it disintegrates again and we lose our footing

We are all totally discombobulated which is an amusing sort of word but this ain't funny, we are all constantly reeling, it's bad for our immune systems I'm sure.
this is lockdown by stealth because they knew that in a modern liberal democracy it would be too difficult to it impose look down in one manoeuvre that's my current working theory

You mean by closing most shops and all the pubs and reducing public transport services, it's another way to make up stay at home.
Because there is nothing to go out for.
Yes if everything is shut that puts most people off of going out.
Coz when you get out there is nothing out there.
I know what you mean.

There would be no point in me going to the shopping centre if all of the shops are closed.

DidoLamenting · 21/03/2020 02:43

Edinburgh- I'm still going into work. Probably about 80% of staff working from home but I'm in the small group still coming in.

ShanghaiDiva · 21/03/2020 08:00

@MissyJane2
Yes, this is exactly how it works you close everything and people stay at home. This is exactly what happened where I live in China, except the did it faster.

QuimJongUn · 21/03/2020 13:02

@MissyJane2

I like to go to Southend in the Summer but I don't suppose I will be able to do that now unless they end the crisis

'They' can't end the crisis. Only the pandemic being over can do that. And the best way to do hasten that is for us all to follow the advice re social distancing, not going out unless you absolutely have to for essential/exercise and being fastidious about hygiene.

Not being an arse and moaning that 'they' have messed with your plans isn't essential to this aim, but given everyone IN THE WHOLE WORLD is going through it too perhaps being a little less 'me me me' might be a good plan. These decisions are not taken lightly and they've been made for everyone's benefit, including yours.

MissyJane2 · 21/03/2020 15:34

Yes I am acting like the spoiled brat child who cannot get her own way.
It's not just my life that's being upset by this, it's millions of people all over this planet Earth. The whole of the planet, not just me.

Even if I stay at home I could still get it.
I live in a block of flats on a housing Estate. And we still have to go out into the communal hall in the block to get our post from the mail boxes in the communal hall.

And we still have to go out into the communal grounds to go to the bin store shed in the grounds to put our rubbish bags away.

Not only that by the my neighbors here throw all their litter and rubbish and even their food on the floor in the communal grounds and leave it and their bin bags outside the bin shed.

So that is adding to the risk because I am constantly picking up their rubbish and putting it in the communal bins in the bin store because my neighbors are littering.

We have got mice in the bin store because of this.
I live on the ground floor so I don't want them coming into my flat which is why I am picking anything up that gets thrown near my window.

I have complained to my Housing Association I have been complaining to them for 2 years but they don't do anything,

All the HA have to do is send out letters to everyone telling them not to do it and put signs up. But they don't.

So that does not help us either.
I was thinking of getting a sheltered flat with Anckor Housing Association for the over 55's as I am 56 because of this.
But I can't see myself doing that now with this crisis.

Yes I am complaining about my life being ruinined or put on hold because of this crisis.

But the truth is I wasn't exactly doing very much with it before.

TheGinGenie · 21/03/2020 15:39

Devon, only going out to go to work and to buy food.