Because of my shift pattern I ended up doing the family shop on Saturday afternoon. The store wasn't particularly busy and the shelves were reasonably stocked but I was shocked and disgusted by the number of couples and families that were shopping together when the recommendation is still very much to shop alone and maintain distance. Most appeared to be treating the trip as an outing and one family of 5 or 6 members were like a bl00dy swarm, all over the bloomin place, getting up close and then congregating in a group effectively blocking whole isles at a time while they deliberated about what they wanted. I'm surprised the staff let them in, clearly a few of the group should have waited in the car while 1 or 2 at most did the shopping!
Just a whiff of lockdown easing and people have gone nuts, totally disregarding the situation.
We went for a shop on Sunday. Tesco here is still doing the one at a time rule. Ended up traipsing round behind a couple that had two trollies (you're not fooling anyone you know!). My wife is in a wheelchair so we can go in together. Anyway, stood behind this couple for blooming ages while they looked at gluten free cornflakes, then managed to skirt past them an aisle or so later and ended up at the reduced counter before them, which has a two metre cordon marked on the floor, spent 10 seconds or so picking up a couple of reduced pork pies (
) then noticed that the woman was standing right behind me rifling through the ready meals.
"Seriously?" says I, "Why do you think they've marked the floor out?"
"You should move a bit quicker then shouldn't you son?" Says he. ("Son"
)
I did my best Paddington impression and gave him a very hard bear stare, then pointed to the newspaper in his trolley and said;
"I see you read the Mail."
He gave me evils for the rest of the shop, which was nice.
But yes, social distancing and lockdown is officially over.