What one moment will always stay with you from this?

[Ostryga]

Mine was realising panic shopping was everywhere, and that I needed to buy an entire food shop for Dd and I before lockdown.

I cried when I found a shop with chicken and milk.

The fear I felt of the virus at that time, and also not being able to make sure we had food is something I hope to never repeat.

Trying to get MIL (hundreds of miles away) some basic food, after Tesco and Sainsbury’s cancelled her online orders with hours notice. Eventually found a farm shop type place that could deliver to her and the feeling of relief was immense. The distance between our families just seemed so huge and impassable due to travel restrictions, like we’d let her down.

‘You must stay at home’.

Absolutely terrified me. I’d be getting ready for a while but never really thought it would come to anything. It still upsets me how much this has all effected our lives.

We pretended to do welfare runs to our parents and all kept 2 metres. The roads were empty and I had loo roll in the car In case we got pulled over!

I think my biggest memories are the week leading up to the first lockdown. Dd1 Was one of the first to finish school, they didn’t have enough staff to open safely so closed on the Tuesday. Dh work place (Manufacturing) sent them home On Wednesday and told them they would be paid for a week and then if they couldn’t re-establish the supply chain (they get parts from European countries who were already closing), they were on their own And basically out of work. When Boris closed schools and childcare (I‘M a cm, I only had one key worker child on my register, who did have another parent Who was at home), I was then left with no income and I remember crying so much As I didn’t know what we were going to do. Luckily Dh was then furloughed, and the SEISS was introduced, but the Financial uncertainty was awful. The kindness of some of my parents really shone through, offering to pay me As it wasn’t my fault I had to close, so we could afford to feed our children.
Collecting dd2 and ds from school on that last Friday. Dd had gone in late as she was so scared of the virus, but I’d got her in at lunch time. It was dds last day at her school before transition to the next school and I thanked her teacher for her work Over the last 6 months and said it would be strange not having a child at that school etc. The teacher looked at me like I’d gone mad and said they were only closing for 2 weeks and everyone would be back in after Easter when everything had calmed down. That was dds last day at that school.

And the PP. who mentioned the ambulances, I remember that too, we live by an A road, south of the main City hospital, the ambulances seemed to be constant. I remember wondering where they were putting all the patients, as they would also be bringing them in from the north, west and east of the city, and if they were sending as many I’ll people as the south were sending, they would be overrun with patients.

Standing outside in the pouring rain having a staff meeting to decide that we didn’t feel it was safe to reopen the school in January.

I'm school management. We had a meeting via Teams on 28th December, and then another two on New Years Eve to decide what to do. Our unions were strong, we decided to close before Johnson 'let' us close. Only allowed parents into the playground to pick up work packs and Teams passwords. We saved lives, no doubt about it.

We pretended to do welfare runs to our parents and all kept 2 metres. The roads were empty and I had loo roll in the car In case we got pulled over

Ha yes, I did that too. Once every 2 weeks took them a bag of treat food, a Chinese 'takeaway' from Waitrose and a bottle of wine. They were able to shop, but only went for basics. I was queuing for the supermarket for my own family, so did them some fun stuff so I had reason to stand in their driveway for a chat.

When a colleague kicked off because I’d negotiated different working hours.

I wasn’t skiving, I had 2 young dc to manage around work.

He has no dc & had absolutely no idea what we we’re trying to manage at home. It was bloody chaos.

Meeting my DD in supermarket car parks so we could see each other - not risking hugging or getting too close
On wet and cold days parking our cars next to each other and chatting with the windows down

My best mum friend has a little boy who is two weeks younger than my daughter. We all spent a lot of time together in their first year. They both turned one near the beginning of lockdown. I bought him some clothes for his birthday and they were hung over a chair, everytime I walked past the chair I cried because I didn't know when they would see each other again.

Not being able to go to my Uncle's funeral or visit my Mum when she ended up in hospital twice. The realisation that the Department of Education doesn't actually give a shit towards the people you'd expect them to look out for - pupils and staff.

@tedsletterofthelaw

When I was stood in (I think) B&M bargains and watched as six or seven people pounced on the poor lad rolling out the trolley of toilet rolls to restock. It was carnage, and utterly embarrassing.

Nothing as queer as folk.

The toilet roll thing was utterly bizarre. Hardly an essential purchase. I'd not worry about having toilet paper as long as I had running water

My mum having to go through cancer treatment alone and not being allowed anyone with her for her mastectomy

The beautifully quiet roads in March/April last year.

This

Light-hearted but the "Is anyone else finding Chris Whitty strangely attractive" thread was the best thing I've ever read on here. And yeah, he's still my weird lockdown crush

@MarshaBradyo

When some could go but not all, seeing children skip past to school with their friends which felt so contrasting to our situation stuck at home.

I still think this was really weird. Years R, 1 and 6 get full time school. Years 2-5 get nothing. Don’t understand it - they said it’s so parents can work, but you can hardly leave a 6/7 year old year 2 child on their own at home all day

I remember when lockdown 1 started easing arranging to meet my dad at asda so we could both queue and shop. He is over 60 and works for the NHS so we couldn't hug.

I stood, mask on looking at him and cried. And so did he. The last time I saw him was on the doorstep the day after lockdown. They had been at their caravan and told to go home so had stock of lots of things, I hasn't been able to get. Every winter the stock up toilet rolls, cleaning things long life food to last the summer at the caravan. I was so grateful. But knowing he worked in the NHS and both parents were vulnerable, I worried I would never see one or both again. Seeing him in the car park at asda, broke me. I had kept together fairly well.

A few weeks before, me and dp had had an awful row. He went to his sisters. I sat on my own (my kids were with their dad) and cried for days on my own. But wouldn't let him come back. Didn't call my parents as I knew they would come round. And I was scared they would catch it. The fear I felt for my parents and children was just overwhelming.

One good day was my dds 16th. It fell when you could have 6 people in the garden. We set up a gazebo. Locked ourselves in and she hosted her 5 best friends for a tea party. All sat, 2 meters apart. It was beautiful to watch from the house. But also surreal. Several of them had their 16th around the same time, they took the lack of fuss so well. Didn't complain or kick off that they couldnt have a big party. They acted with more sense than alot of adults I know.

Lying in my bed, fighting to breath and listening to the paramedics argue with control over whether I could be brought in to be assessed or not (I wasnt, first lockdown, hospital overwhelmed). Really thought I wasnt going make it

I was the point of contact when my grandad was in hospital because my gran was too upset to ask the right questions and remember what she was told by his doctor.

I phoned her one day to give her the daily update on his condition and she burst into tears asking had I phoned her to tell her he was dead, because she'd had a feeling she would always be in the house on her own from now.

That was a horrible time, and I saw them both more vulnerable than they have ever been.

Thankfully he came home and he is now fine, but he was so very ill.

Seeing the children's play areas locked and bolted.

Working from my bedroom and then dreaming of work each night.

Watching those initial press conferences.

Being so angry and totally destroyed by the Cummings incident. I honestly thought we were all in it together upto that point. I felt like such a fool.

Seeing my Dad for the first time in months.

Eating out to help out.

Being so low in November. I didn't realise how poor my mental health was until later.

Feeling very alone during pregnancy and birth last year. My husband could stay for 30 minutes after my daughter was born and had to go. I ended up staying alone in hospital for a week with our baby. Coming home to just my husband and kids. No one to congratulate us, no one to hold our baby or help out with things. I went through pnd and it was rough.
There were good sides to it though. Our family has bonded even more than before.

That I was doing really well dealing eith my emotional/ boredom eating, was in great shape and really fit and covid ruined it. The lockdown and living on my own the boredom set in, and emotional eating came back. I put on weight I had worked so hard to lose and in worst shape of my life. I'm talking more than 4 stone here! And I'm struggling, really struggling to get back on track and I hate what I've done to myself, hate why I couldn't of been more mentally stronger and everyday I try to be better and fail, I feel like ill never get back to that person I was or that fitness level.

My weight has always been a struggle but I was finally felt I had a grip on it and bang lockdown just changed all of that

My birthday was on 13th March and we had a giraffe feeding experience booked at a safari park and I spent the previous week wondering if it would go ahead. It did and little did I know it would be the last day out for months.

Being told by some idiot on here that DH was thick as he'd bought me chocolate when he went to the corner shop for milk. Apparently he should have been there in the first place and buying chocolate made it worse.

DH asking me if I thought it was safe to have a takeaway. I told him it was fine if he didn't want one but I was having one and he could watch me eat it. He had one!

Having a ridiculous moment myself when I told DH he couldn't clear out the garage as it's in a service road at the back of the house and not actually on our property. I was worried he'd be fined for being out! Thankfully I came to my senses!

Having a pay cut from work despite doing longer hours and work getting more and more stressful. DH telling me to leave if I wanted to as he was so worried about the state I was getting in about it.

Seeing a post on here where someone said anyone isolating should be in a room with the door taped shut and a hepa filter to filter the air.

Being told if I loved DH I would wear a mask in the house so I didn't give him covid. To the best of my knowledge I didn't have covid and I don't know why he wouldn't have to wear one!

Empty shelves at the supermarket.

Queuing outside Tesco express with a lad ‘on the door’ asking what you want before you went in - ‘eggs’ ‘sorry we haven’t got any eggs’ ‘flour?’ ‘Sorry no flour either’. It was like wartime!!

Also had an argument in Sainsbury’s with a man with lots of missing teeth because it was the height of panic buying, you were only supposed to have one trolley per household. Him and his wife had a trolley each even though they were together. I mentioned to my husband that they were breaking the rules and they heard me and it all kicked off 😬

So many things, but the one thing that is in my mind clear as the day it happened.... I was walking my dog in the local park and saw an elderly gent with bags of shopping sit on a bench for a breather. A passing police officer on a bicycle, stopped and told him to move on. He was not polite about it either.
It just struck me how crazy the whole situation was. It made me incredibly sad and angry.

Seeing a post on here where someone said anyone isolating should be in a room with the door taped shut and a hepa filter to filter the air.

Was that the poster that insisted that people weren't meant to be out in their gardens, at all. Ever.