People's behaviour in London

[catandcandle]

NC for this, because I probably sound like a bit of a loon. We left London as the lockdown 2020 started and have been living in deep rural bliss in an EU country ever since. Here we still have social distancing, madatory masks indoors everywhere, sanitisers at every entrance. I have spent a lot of the pandemic not going anywhere much, I WFH and it has been possible to pretty much isolate throughout. I did get on a holiday to another European country in the summer (after being double vaccinated) but it was country with low rates, I wore an FFP3 on the plane, and because it was a hot country I spent nearly the whole time outdoors and only went to eat at outdoor places etc.

We decided (after DS aged 12 has now been double vaccinated), to come on a trip back to London (DH for various reasons including fetching things he had to leave behind, me and DS just to see London again and see some friends). DH has gone today, DS and I plan to join him on Friday, for the weekend.

DH has just arrived in London and he called me telling me I am going to freak out, there are people in the shops without masks, no sanitiser at the doors, and when he asked someone to please social distance in a shop they mocked him. He is right, this will be very difficult, I have not encountered these things through the whole pandemic!

I am not asking AIBU, I very possibly am, but this is how I feel, and I hve been managing the pandemic this way because I could. I still want to go to London, and I realise I can take my own sanitiser and keep myself away from people. There is no way I am going to go indoors or on public transport without a medical-grade (FFP3) mask. The rates are just too high for me.

So, I just wanted to ask, are there still people who are going to be as cautious as me there? Will I be stared at and mocked because I (and DS) are wearing masks, shy away from contact and sanitise our hands? I don't suppose I should really care what people think of me, but I would just like to be prepared. I feel incredibly nervous about this trip now.

It's completely normal where I am now, just the occasional person wearing a mask. I welcome it tbh.

I usually wear a mask and no one looks twice. Just a total non issue. I wear them in shops but not on a train if i can SD.

'He was visiting me from a place where they often wore masks if they hd a cough or cold. He was wearing one (back in 2019) when he walked into a pharmacist in London, to ask for some cold and flu meds, and before he could even speak he was shouted at and threatened by other customers and told to leave. i think they thought he was a robber or a junkie or something. I don't suppose that would happen now, of course, but it does make you wonder about people's attitudes to masks.'

Ridiculous example OP and I think you know it.

@IrishMamaMia Why ridiculous? I was responding to the post by @onlychildhamster where they were describing attitudes to masks they had encountered pre-pandemic, literally just gave another example along the same lines, you didn't pull them up for being ridiculous?

The general point was i believe that there are places where the wearing of masks is completely commonplace and ordinary, and yet it seems to provoke such strong reactions in the UK.

@catandcandle

The general point was i believe that there are places where the wearing of masks is completely commonplace and ordinary, and yet it seems to provoke such strong reactions in the UK.

Where in Europe was it "completely commonplace and ordinary" to wear masks pre-pandemic?

Neither me nor the other poster said anything about it being in Europe

It's ridiculous because you have come on here asking if people wear masks in London and whether there's a bad reaction to them. You've been told multiple times (11 pages in thread) that there are about 60 per cent of people in London wearing masks, that it is a completely tolerant place where you are unlikely to be abused and that Covid rates are low in London. You keep coming back with worst case scenarios. I find it really strange tbh.

@catandcandle

Neither me nor the other poster said anything about it being in Europe

So I guess you're referring to the wonderful (supposedly) mask wearing 'Asian countries' which MN is so obsessed with?

Who cares what was "completely commonplace and ordinary" in SK or Japan? The fact is that almost nobody wore masks outside of an operating theatre in any European country 2 years ago.The UK is not unusual at all in this regard. When masks were required, most people wore them, but now that they're not, many don't. Nobody will care what you do in London one way or the other.

Yes see what Iced Purple said above. It wasn't unusual to see people from SE Asia and tourists wearing masks on the tube pre-Covid.

Not sure why you're getting such a tough time on here OP! Hope you have a good trip.

You misunderstood me, I realise that my original question has been pretty comprehensively answered and I thanked posters for the information. I have had a lot of very helpful info on the thread and I feel much more relaxed about the trip now.

But alongside that information I got quite a bit of feedback about my understandable and logical caution, such as the view that continued mask-wearing in the middle of a huge city in a pandemic, even under my particular circumstances, was unreasonable, indicative of mental disorder and even required psychotherapy.

Then a poster came on who made a side point, pointing out that some cultures outside the UK have had different attitudes to masks, which is clearly the case, and I just echoed that (and actually my brother does not live in Asia, he lives in the United States, it so happens that in the very small town where he lives, where there are a lot of elderly people, many people did mask whenever they were ill, or so he told me anyway).

It was a bit of a sideways development in the conversation, to be sure, but not ridiculous, given what had gone before.

To clarify: When I said "you misunderstood me" I meant @IrishMamaMia and @IcedPurple

Well I definitely don't think it's indicative if a disorder to wear a mask that's for sure and I'm glad that you are feeling more confident about the trip. I disagree with the slant in your argument that people in the UK are particularly anti-mask though, it's not my experience.

some cultures outside the UK have had different attitudes to masks

Can you explain your experience of the UK 'attitude to masks', and how it differs - again in your experience - from other comparable countries?

No, not my experience. I was just relating something that happened in London, two years ago, to my brother. It was just an anecdote. I never said I experienced it.

@catandcandle

No, not my experience. I was just relating something that happened in London, two years ago, to my brother. It was just an anecdote. I never said I experienced it.

Well no.

You said "some cultures outside the UK have had different attitudes to masks, which is clearly the case".

What is this British 'attitude to masks' whereof you speak, and how is it different from 'attitdues to masks' in nearby countries?

I meant some of the attitudes displayed on this thread, plus my brother's experience suggests an animosity to masks in some people, which does not exist in some other places.

I was just responding to @onlychildhamster 's post

@catandcandle

I meant some of the attitudes displayed on this thread, plus my brother's experience suggests an animosity to masks in some people, which does not exist in some other places.

You'd get the same mix of reactions and attitudes in most countries in the world. I'm not seeing what's so unique about Britain.

I live in London.
Still wear a mask in shops (unless I’m literally popping in for a minute to pick up milk) and on transport.
I’d say it was about 50/50.
I like returning back to normality.

I was on the tube yesterday at rush hour and about 80% were wearing masks. Train wasn't that crowded as still well below normal capacity.
I wear a mask in shops as do many. I don't do the social distancing thing as it's hard on busy London streets, but I respect people's space as much as I can (which I did pre Covid. I see sanitiser everywhere.
So where do you live that's still so strict?

@maofteens I live in Ireland.

@Dishhh

*@Newyorkhereicome*

Tal45
That'll be why we're having 35,000 cases a day and most of Europe are on only a few thousand. It's so easy to wear a mask in a shop, sanitise your hands and give people a bit of space, but there is no social responsibility in the UK, people are far too selfish and entitled for that.

No the reason we have 35,000 cases a day is because we test around 10x more people than the ROW.

But the cases are there, aren't they ...

Yes the cases are there and they are in every other country as well their figures are low because they don't test

Not in London but in another large city and mask wearing appears to be pretty much over. I was on a crowded train on Saturday and there were maybe three people in the carriage wearing masks. A similar proportion on the tram yesterday. Also, social distancing non-existent. However, no cares / bats an eyelid if someone wears a mask, just one of those things now isn’t it?