The last Saturday before lockdown

[Joan0fSarc]

What were you doing?

I had a lovely afternoon in town with DH looking at guitars in music shops, buying some wine and bits for dinner. Really mundane stuff by usual standards but I'd give anything to do that now. We came home on a crowded bus - I had no idea it'd be the last time I'd use public transport for months!

[MRex]

We were already staying home by then. The Saturday before that we were cooking and tidying for a family party on the Sunday. Then we did some shopping early in the week, final playground trips and that's that, locked down.

[Ormally]

The Friday before, DD's class (age 8-9) should have had a pizza and sleepover night in the school hall! I'd said no to that because of the gathering clouds but was in the minority at the time of my reply - it didn't go ahead, obviously.

On the previous Monday (?) went to Boots on the way to school and obtained vitamins (slightly random, and expensive - what was left) and sanitary stuff.

On that weekend, threw together a panic parcel for both parents' early April birthdays with the few bits I'd already got and went to the P.O., expecting that essential deliveries only would be introduced very soon.

[BillyAndTheSillies]

On the Saturday we went to ikea to buy some kallax units and other stuff to tidy up the house as we had an idea we'd be stuck in for a while.

Sunday we had lunch with the IL's at a local restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day early. Haven't seen DH's brothers since then.

[teenagetantrums]

Oh and had a last drink in the pub before lockdown.

[teenagetantrums]

I had just come back from gran canaria a lovley weeks holiday. Wasn't back at work till following week. So was probably shopping and washing.

[WiseUpJanetWeiss]

The weekend of 1 March we went to my DN’s family birthday party. I was glued to the news and worried.

6/7/8 March we went to Chester Zoo (pass holders) and for a walk at a nearby forest park. We were convinced by then we were headed for lockdown soon. It was quite surreal.

On 10 March I went to see my mum in her care home after work. I had an inkling lockdown was imminent, and I got the call the following day from the manager who had made the call because she couldn’t justify waiting for the official instruction.

14 March I went to the hairdressers (my friend) and to see DS, DSIL and DGS. I knew I wouldn’t see them for a long time after that. My hairdresser thought it would all be over by yesterday - my next appointment.

We went into work on 16th and made arrangements for the team to wfh from then on.

[lovinglavidaloca]

Just remembered I was ill so was self isolating and only went back to work on the first day of lockdown to collect stuff to do at home.

[Joan0fSarc]

@PuppyMonkey I think I count Saturday the 14th as the last Saturday before lockdown, even though officially it was the Saturday after. The 14th was the last normal-ish Saturday, even though a pandemic was declared the Thursday before and panic buying was in full flow. And there was definitely a sense of shit hitting the fan, and that it was going to be a long time before we'd all get to go to pubs/gigs etc again.

When I started this thread I was halfway through writing a post about going to a bar with DH when I remembered that my actual last Saturday was far more mundane and the bars all closed the night before.

[Joan0fSarc]

I'll be thrilled when I can be in my house alone for a couple of hours

I love having DH and DD around all day (DH is wfh and DD's uni closed weeks ago), don't get me wrong. But oh it'd be lovely to have that peace again after they've all gone out in the morning and I have my coffee followed by a bit of guitar playing, as loud as I like because I won't disturb anyone! Then get all my stuff done out and about and back to do a bit of cleaning or whatever before they all get home.

Looks as if DH will be wfh permanently however and goodness knows how DD will find a job (she graduates this year). So a quiet house is something else that's gone by the wayside for the foreseeable!

[PuppyMonkey]

Oh yes and the date bars, cafes and restaurants were ordered to shut was Friday 20 March - but we’d all been advised to “avoid them” for the week running up to then. Schools shut on the Friday too. That was England anyway, didn’t Scotland close earlier?

[snowstorm2012]

I was on my honeymoon, got married on 7th March and went away on the Monday. Flew back two weeks later just as lockdown was announced. Still can't believe how much changed over those two weeks.

[SinisterBumFacedCat]

Self isolating because I had a temperature and flu symptoms.

[PuppyMonkey]

Lockdown was announced on the evening of Monday 23 March for those who seem to be confused.

But it was quite obvious from about Thursday 12 March that things were going tits up. Remember when Ireland said they were cancelling ST Patrick’s Day events, that was about Tuesday 10th, as I had a friend who was supposed to go and she was gutted. And the daily updates started from about the Thursday that week - Boris said he wasn’t shutting schools and my teens were really pissed off.

Anyway DP had gone for a lads weekend on 7-8th March, they went to a Blues festival on the south coast. One of the friends had just come back from Rome - surprise surprise DP got possible Covid symptoms on Friday 13th March - he thought he was better on the Monday, but relapsed and we all self isolated from Tuesday 17th.

I was keeping a handwritten diary - it’s good for future generations to see how it all panned out.

[TokyoSushi]

It was my 40th birthday. My party was cancelled, my replacement dinner at The Ivy was cancelled, but my lovely friends surprised me and came for a little breakfast party in my kitchen. Then we took the dog to the beach and my parents came to see us in the evening. It was actually really lovely, I've not seen my parents since and have only seen local friends by standing at each others doorsteps for 10 minutes while dropping various things off.

So far I have spent all of my 40's in lockdown, I miss my old life!

[OldEvilOwl]

Actually I think this was the Saturday before that one

[OldEvilOwl]

We had a memorial service for my uncle who had died a few weeks earlier after a long illness. I'm so glad we were able to do this, and my mum and all her siblings were able to be with him when he passed. Another few weeks and he would have been by himself in that hospital bed. We went to the pub afterwards for drinks which went on quite late

[CrowdedHouseinQuarantine]

I had been noticing people in the queue coughing without using their hands !

[CrowdedHouseinQuarantine]

Had cancelled my weekend away, for some reason we did not see my DM
I think ds cooked
trying to convince dd to come home, one dd had already come home and we were stocking up on loo rolls and doing dm shopping.
just nervous

[CeibaTree]

We went to Kew Gardens during the day, and that evening I met a friend for dinner and cocktails in central London. I'm so glad I did as I was feeling rather lazy after a long day walking around Kew so was really tempted to cancel the evening. I remember the train on the way home was really deserted for a Saturday night, so I guess a lot of people had already decided to stay at home.

[megletthesecond]

yy joan. Tbh I'll be thrilled when I can be in my house alone for a couple of hours and have a good tidy up. I miss gym classes and parkrun but I think that'll have to wait until next year.

[okiedokieme]

The thing I most want to do is sit outside the pub with a cask ale, this is pretty low risk if they spread the tables out and could be done now if the government allowed it, luckily the landlord is delivering beer at the moment but it's not the same

[okiedokieme]

Went to the local museum and to a really popular restaurant which was packed plus a couple of bars the week before. The Saturday before lockdown I did university pick up.

[Joan0fSarc]

Lots of people I know have all these huge plans for exciting things they're going to do once lockdown is over. Me, I'm going to cry tears of joy when I get on a bus to do a bit of shopping in town, or go to my local for a pint with DH (if it reopens). All the mundane stuff which in the beforetimes often got on my tits because it was so routine. I want the mundane, routine stuff back more than I want fancy holidays or big nights out. The sort of day my last Saturday before lockdown was, in fact. But without the constant weight of impending doom hanging over me, as it was then.

Imagine how wonderful that will be.

[Trumpton]

We went into lockdown on Thursday 26th March but I was already in quarantine as I returned to the island Friday 20th after an operation in England on the 17th. ( The day the 14 day quarantine came into force for people coming to island )
So my last free Saturday was 14th March .
Coffee out in morning . Wander up to nice shopping centre for DH to order a fab tweed jacket ( he has been lusting after one for years )
Then a lovely dinner at a local pub with friends and an evening of music and dance at an arts centre .
I miss my old life !

[zafferana]

I don't know what I did on that particular Saturday, but I definitely made the most of the week leading up to it. I went to two exercise classes that were then shut down, I got my hair cut and coloured on Fri 20th (just before the schools closed), I had a walk in the park with my friend and her dog, and DH and I went to the garden centre and bought plants for our pots and some big bags of top soil and compost. I cancelled a session with my physio and also eye tests for my DC as I felt they weren't essential. I'm so glad we made the most of our last gasps of normal life. I'd love to just go and browse in some shops now. I miss normal life too OP.