I was so sad after going to the supermarket today

[naughtycat]

I left my flat for the first time in 2 weeks. I live alone in a 2nd floor flat. I was quite happy on my own here in solitude! . I only went out because I had to pick up a prescription from the chemist. I don't eat much so food isn't really an issue for me. I just thought it would be okay to pop in to Lidl to get a couple of things...non essential.....including wine, cider, crunchy nut cornflakes, mars bars, broccoli, eggs.

I was literally 'Marked' by another customer who was making a song and dance about the 2 metres thing. It was not possible to do it in Lidl today!! People were being careful ....but it was not possible.

This guy (with his latex gloves and his stupid flimsy amazon mask ) made me feel so shit about myself.

I've stayed home for 2 weeks with zero human interaction I've never felt so calm and relaxed. Go out for the first time and immediately humans piss me right off.

People keep saying that is humans are sociable animals and we are not designed for isolation.

Well f@@k me I must be some kind of alien or something. I've been happy as Larry on my own for 2 weeks...one trip to Lidl, having to interact with other humans and I feel so low and sad!!

Surely there are other solitary human creatures like me out there?!

I would say eggs, broccoli and cereal were essential enough and if you are at the supermarket anyway, why not pick up some treats? Life is tough enough at the moment and whilst I wouldn’t want mars bars or cider a nice G&T at the weekend is something to look forward to.

As to feeling marked or hounded or intimidated by someone wearing protective gear, I think that might be your own issues at play OP. This is a new world with new rules and we are going to have to get used to it.

It was not possible to do it in Lidl today!! People were being careful ....but it was not possible.

Well, if the shop is so busy that you can't practise social distancing then go home and try again another time. It's 2 metres for a reason.

I envy you, this lockdown has made me feel a bit needy, I realised how much I need human contact and it’s a bit ridiculous . I’ve only helped my son finish his college work but Without work and maths classes I have zero motivation. Well done on adapting to to this lockdown and being independent.

Lidil is a cramped shop so the 2 meters thing is impossible.

Some people don’t understand their negative are theirs to cope with and take it out an anyone who’s around, he’s a bully who is having trouble coping.

Well done, we’re all in a very strange and stressful situation, some will cope better than others.

Surely the whole point of masks and gloves is protecting other people.

"“CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it. A facemask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms.”"

""WHO officials do not recommend mask wearing for healthy members of the general population. Masks should be worn by those with the disease or those in close contact with those infected.""

"Surgical masks are not recommended for the general public because:
-they can be contaminated by other people's coughs and sneezes or when putting them on or removing them
-frequent hand-washing and social distancing are more effective
-they might offer a false sense of security"

They may help catch airborne particulates when exhaled, but if you're ill, covid or not you shouldn't be out and about should you. Also I don't see anyone wearing goggles and nose-plugs. Masks are in short supply to the health care industry who actually NEED these masks to function effectively so I do think they should be limited to those and those only. And only certain types are effective anyway.

The guidelines are about minimizing trips in order to minimize potential exposure to the virus, not putting us all on a diet of gruel and turnips. Some seem to have decided that any sort of pleasure or comfort is just not in the spirit and that if they're miserable then by god everyone else will be too, and some are just in panic mode to the point where they don't seem to be able to think through why the guidelines exist and what they're designed to achieve (hint - it's not a drop in the nation's consumption of sweets). All you can really do is ignore both groups of people and get on with shopping when you need to in order to keep yourself fed, and then go home and be glad that you don't have to deal with them until you run out of food again.

A friend sent me news clips of the army moving bodies out of Bergamo in Italy because I said I didn't think that the police taking it upon themselves to stop people buying Easter eggs made any sense - no explanation of how adding an Easter egg to your weekly/bi-weekly shop would make anyone more likely to catch coronavirus, just WHY AREN'T YOU PANICKING OMG STOP BEING LOGICAL AND FLAIL WITH ME. I really don't see how that helps keep anyone safe but if someone wants to flail you can't stop them, all you can do is avoid them until it stops.

Of course masks help. There's more and more evidence to show that they do.

I wear a scarf but I am about to make a mask

They may help catch airborne particulates when exhaled, but if you're ill, covid or not you shouldn't be out and about should you.

The difficulty with this particular virus seems to be that many people may be asymptomatic but still infectious. The symptoms can be almost non-existent but also such as to be easily confused with other symptoms such as allergies or a nervous cough.

But totally get your argument about not taking up supplies which may be needed for health workers.

Are people really scolding the OP for buying some non essential crunchy nut cornflakes? Really?

Then I someone had better alert the supermarkets that alcohol, chocolate and cereal are non essential items so they can stop stocking them...

Omg this 'nonessential' malarky is unbelievable. Wtf are people on? So should supermarkets restrict their offerings to bread, potatoes, spam and, I dunno, maybe tins of mushy peas? Or maybe skip the bread, since you have spuds so you won't starve. If I brave the supermarket, damn right I'm buying whatever treats they are willing to stock for me!

When you get to a supermarket, buy whatever you like. What on earth does it matter?

not putting us all on a diet of gruel and turnips

This made me laugh

As far as gloves and masks. I have a pack of disposable gloves. When I go to the supermarket, I park the car, put them on as I get out the car, do my shopping, then as I get back in the car I peel them off and throw them away.
I feel it will help.

p.s. I did not buy the gloves, I found them in my deceased parents house when I cleared their belongings! I knew I'd have a use for them one day

Mask, no, but I do wrap my scarf round my head a bit.

Masks don't stop you contracting anything and gloves give you a false sense of protection.

Of course not, this is the reason why front line NHS staff don't wear them and aren't desperately pleading with the government for more of them

not putting us all on a diet of gruel and turnips.

Gruel AND turnips?

I'll probably be photo-shamed at some point as I took my children to the local post office, which happens to be in the town centre, earlier. Too young to leave at home and it couldn't wait. I looked good for the paps though 💅🏻

What the hair shirt and a bowl of gruel brigade forget is that we need people who can afford to do so to continue to spend money to keep the economy going and to ensure there are jobs after this.

We really shouldn't be castigating people for buying stuff if they do so in a legal way while maintaining social distancing rules.

In fact we should be encouraging people to buy some unnecessary and frivolous stuff. It might be the difference between another family being able to buy essentials or not.

This is why I am only going to the local coop and corner shop. If you were a 6ft man would he have acted the same way? I’m guessing not

Well, I have a list at home of things I'm coming to an end of - like if we're on the last carton of milk or have one loaf of bread left or the sandwich fillers are getting a bit low. Then, if I'm out anyway - like collecting a prescription - I pick the lot up.

And I add chocolate, cakes, sweets, a bottle of wine etc to the basket. I'm not going in specifically for the cake etc., so I'm not doing non-essential shopping. I'm picking up the essentials plus a few treats WHILE I'M THERE. And anyone who wants to check my basket is obviously too bloody close.

Ignore the ignorant OP. As for the mask etc., I hope he had eye protection as this virus gets in through the mouth, nose and eyes. Which is why we're being told not to touch our faces without washing our hands. And that is the problem with masks. If it slips you have to adjust it - with your hands. Gloved or not, your hand carries everything you've touched on it and the mask has all the germs it's protected you from on it. So if you adjust it, you move the germs onto your hands. Plus, of course, the exposed parts of your face will get the germs anyway so whilst masks help, they're not as good as the plastic shields which medical staff wear. It may also make you complacent, not think about the issue with your eyes or touching your face as you're 'protected' and that's the problem. And, of course, some people are wearing the same one each day rather than throwing them away after each trip - so germs are just harboured on them.

I saw a woman yesterday in the supermarket wearing her mask pushed up on her forehead. The point of that escaped me.

@WorraLiberty any need for such unpleasantness?

Hope you are ok OP