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Original poster

Are we still supposed to be shopping solo?

115 replies

biser · 26/02/2021 18:31

I've just come back from the supermarket. There were a LOT of twosomes. Also saw masks being warn as chin-warmers.

Have the supermarkets, again, given up monitoring this?

OP posts:
MaxNormal · 27/02/2021 16:33

ThatDamnKrampus where I am people are shopping in couples and I've never noticed anyone bat an eyelid, certainly DH and I have not had any hassle so hopefully it's just on MN that you get people with nothing better to do with their time than get worked up about this sort of thing.

2021hwg · 27/02/2021 16:35

It really depends on circumstances. If you drive it's fairly easy to do a solo shop. If you need to walk or get a bus home it can be very hard on your own.

ifitpleasesandsparkles · 27/02/2021 16:43

@MaxNormal

ThatDamnKrampus where I am people are shopping in couples and I've never noticed anyone bat an eyelid, certainly DH and I have not had any hassle so hopefully it's just on MN that you get people with nothing better to do with their time than get worked up about this sort of thing.
It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance.
IcedPurple · 27/02/2021 16:47

It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance.

I can't say I even notice who my fellow shoppers are or are not with. It just doesn't register. But on MN, so many people have spent the last year mentally calculating whether or not groups of people are from the same household or not, and then coming on here to get all superior about it, with the latest "Is it just me...?" post. It will be tough for them when they no longer have the opportunity to do this.

Sparklingbrook · 27/02/2021 16:50

It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance

Possibly a concern in RL for anyone working in a supermarket when there's lots of people in the shop. There's signs up, tannoy announcements and security on the door at supermarkets around here reminding people to shop alone where possible so it's good they are taking it seriously IMO.

BishopBrennansArse · 27/02/2021 16:51

DP helps me carry shopping (I'm disabled) so yeah we go together.

Sparklingbrook · 27/02/2021 16:52

@BishopBrennansArse

DP helps me carry shopping (I'm disabled) so yeah we go together.
And that's understandable. IIRC the last tannoy I heard said 'shop alone unless you need assistance or you have children you need to bring' or something like that anyway.
rawalpindithelabrador · 27/02/2021 16:54

@IcedPurple

It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance.

I can't say I even notice who my fellow shoppers are or are not with. It just doesn't register. But on MN, so many people have spent the last year mentally calculating whether or not groups of people are from the same household or not, and then coming on here to get all superior about it, with the latest "Is it just me...?" post. It will be tough for them when they no longer have the opportunity to do this.

Yep! CBA'd to calculate what others or doing and in real life, most people just chunter on not giving a fuck anymore.
Macaronirabbit · 27/02/2021 16:57

In normal circumstances I really dont take any notice of who's shopping, but it does make you more aware when there are signs on the shop door saying shop alone when possible and multiple tannoy announcements asking the same....and I do notice lots of people are shopping in pairs/families. Similarly there are multiple announcements on the trains saying masks are compulsory...but only 50% of people seem to be wearing them.
Although I admit it makes no difference to me to shop on my own because I always have. (And I drive so obviously easier than if you had to carry shopping alone)

MrsFezziwig · 27/02/2021 16:59

I wonder if the opinion of supermarket workers who are basically sharing their workplace with twice as many people as they need to is quite as blasé as the “who can be bothered to give a toss about this” brigade?

LucilleTheVampireBat · 27/02/2021 17:00

@IcedPurple

It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance.

I can't say I even notice who my fellow shoppers are or are not with. It just doesn't register. But on MN, so many people have spent the last year mentally calculating whether or not groups of people are from the same household or not, and then coming on here to get all superior about it, with the latest "Is it just me...?" post. It will be tough for them when they no longer have the opportunity to do this.

You really make me laugh Iced 😁
Sendingasurprise · 27/02/2021 17:30

A lot of very dim and entitled people here.

Everyone should be shopping solo unless they have young children they cannot leave with someone.... or they are supporting someone with a disability (who isn't shielding). This is to minimise risk to supermarket staff and other shoppers. And to support exhausted nursing staff picking up the pieces on the wards. Genuinely, why do you put your own preference for shopping in a pair (or more) over this?

The poster who says they understand 'it's a numbers thing' but then can't see why it matters as one household shares the same germs.....surely you can understand that the more members of the household are physically in the shop to spread or catch the virus.... the more the virus spreads. Hmm

And this person.....

'I've been shopping with my husband or teenage son throughout all of the lockdowns and haven't been questioned by any of the supermarkets we've been in ( Morrisons, Asda, Aldi ). Also nobody irl has looked at us funny or said anything. It seems to me that it's only sneery people on Mumsnet who have an issue with this for some unknown reason'.

Why are you gloating about increasing the risk for everyone? Maybe you have a disability and are being supported or vice versa. But you don't say this....you genuinely sound rude and ignorant of all the sacrifices being made by others. And I'd put money on the fact you'll have made others uncomfortable, but are too wrapped up in discussing what to buy (likely with masks akimbo), to even notice.

Sparklingbrook · 27/02/2021 17:34

@MrsFezziwig

I wonder if the opinion of supermarket workers who are basically sharing their workplace with twice as many people as they need to is quite as blasé as the “who can be bothered to give a toss about this” brigade?
Apparently it's 100% only on MN, this. So who cares about the retail staff eh?
Chihuahuacat · 27/02/2021 17:37

It’s hard when you don’t have a car - we both need to carry the shopping back, or we end up going twice as often which also defeats the point!

Sendingasurprise · 27/02/2021 17:42

And this one...

"It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance"

Get this.....many people will have been.judging you but you are too self-absorbed to notice. Still, what's another case...another hospital admission....another death of a nurse? As long as you and hubby can discuss which pickle to buy?

Sparklingbrook · 27/02/2021 17:47

The word 'askance' is something I've 100% only heard on MN, it's been everywhere on here since Covid.

Macaronirabbit · 27/02/2021 17:55

When people are shopping in pairs (because of a preference rather than actual need) or not wearing a mask (again out of preference) what do they think when they pass multiple signs requesting mask wearing/solo shopping, and hear tannoy announcements (very frequently) asking the same? Do they actually not see or hear them, or just think it doesnt apply to them, or is optional?
(Like the people who invited my DS to a birthday party - why do the rules apply to thousands of other kids that couldnt have a birthday party....but not yours??Hmm)

ifitpleasesandsparkles · 27/02/2021 18:56

@Sendingasurprise

And this one...

"It is 100% only a concern on Mumsnet. We've been shopping as a couple since last March and no one has ever so much as looked at us askance"

Get this.....many people will have been.judging you but you are too self-absorbed to notice. Still, what's another case...another hospital admission....another death of a nurse? As long as you and hubby can discuss which pickle to buy?

You think that's why people shop together? You haven't the foggiest about anyone's circumstances you judgemental shrew.

ifitpleasesandsparkles · 27/02/2021 19:00

@Chihuahuacat

It’s hard when you don’t have a car - we both need to carry the shopping back, or we end up going twice as often which also defeats the point!

Bingo!

There are some hateful comments on this thread from people who can't imagine that some people walk to the shops with rucksacks on their backs and humph all the messages home. Some people need someone with them for caring reasons. They haven't a clue why two people might be shopping together.

No one bothers me when I shop with my partner and I see many people shopping in pairs. It wouldn't occur to me to wonder why they are. Jesus Christ, everyone is doing their best.

Toocold · 27/02/2021 19:21

Sending a surprise...can you point out where I said it doesn’t matter?.... because I did not say that .... whilst you’re judging everyone else whom is shopping in pairs I am judging you on your reading comprehension.... it sucks to be judged doesn’t it.

Viciouslybashed · 27/02/2021 19:24

I think most people understand that some will need to shop in pairs for some reasons. But some on mumsnet just think they can do as they like. Poor people working in retail. Some people are just ignoring the rules and the consequences of their actions.

Toocold · 27/02/2021 19:25

As others have pointed out, there are a plethora of reasons people shop together... I cannot get worked up about it and I will be so glad when the policing of others ends. I do not believe for one second some of the judging posters on here haven’t broken a single rule.

VinylDetective · 27/02/2021 19:37

@MaxNormal

ThatDamnKrampus where I am people are shopping in couples and I've never noticed anyone bat an eyelid, certainly DH and I have not had any hassle so hopefully it's just on MN that you get people with nothing better to do with their time than get worked up about this sort of thing.
It isn’t just on MN. It drives me crazy. They stop in the middle of aisles for a chat and block the shelves while they’re vacillating over which tin of tomatoes to buy. We haven’t been in a shop together for a year. Someone needing a carer is fine but it’s mostly couples having a trip out.
HoneyIShrunkMyAss · 27/02/2021 19:40

I’m thankful I live in an area where the vast majority of people are not selfish arseholes and shop alone. The more groups of people who go in together, the longer people have to wait outside to get in.

User7538943 · 27/02/2021 19:52

I can't say that I have noticed but I always shop Tuesday or Wednesday in our large Waitrose for a few things, it's largely empty so i wouldn't notice if families shopped in there.

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