Monday 10th May 2021 – Jab 2
Today we had our second vaccination.
As with the first inoculation we were summonsed to Hinckley Leisure Centre. The seating arrangements were as before, socially distanced chairs in about 10 rows running from the front of the hall to the back. The difference this time was staffing. Whereas the previous appointment was on a Sunday, today clearly fewer staff were available for this weekday appointment. I suppose someone has to keep the GP practices operating. As a consequence, instead of a nurse and assistant per row, just one nurse was responsible for two rows.
We found ourselves in a supermarket checkout situation, watching the adjacent queue. Would they be served first? As always, we were in the wrong queue, the adjacent queue being checked out first. But at least our queue was served by a nurse. One row enjoyed the services of a GP. No-one wants a doctor when it comes to needles. Give me an experienced nurse any time. I’m sure that I heard an occasional whimper as the confident Doc cheerfully and enthusiastically punctured an arm.
Tuesday 11th May 2021 – Cob shops fail to survive Covid
I walked past my previous office building. Since March 2020 I have only been into the office once, to collect belongings after a decision that the office is to be leased to someone else, if rumour is correct, to the local Magistrates Court. We currently temporarily reside in an office on the far side of the City Centre, deemed to be more Covid-risk-manageable. The bakery/sandwich shop immediately adjacent to our “old” offices has not survived the loss of custom, and the premises is now up for let, as is another sandwich shop, or “Cob Shop” as such businesses are termed in Leicester, two doors away, both having been in business for many years. The only surviving take-away shop in the area is a more upmarket venue, serving various mixed salads and pasta dishes in neat plastic containers, more suited to the occupiers of the remaining office building in the vicinity, occupied by accountants and financial consultants.
Myself and my colleagues miss “The Bakery”, the sandwich shop adjacent to our previous office. The availability of a freshly baked warm sausage roll, or maybe a bacon butty, less than a minute from your desk, was often irresistible.
Friday 14th May 2021 – Bare faced shoppers
Maybe because of ongoing talk of further relaxation, I am seeing more mask-less people in shops, coming across one or two bare face shoppers in most stores that I visit, not just youngsters, or from any particular culture or background, although those not wearing masks are predominantly male. With two vaccinations under my belt (not literally – that would make my eyes water) I am now reasonably relaxed about such encounters. Most are younger than me, and probably less protected than I am.
Monday 17th May 2021 – Normal service (but not as we knew it) resumes
The first major relaxation of lockdown – going inside other people’s homes, and visiting indoor food and entertainment venues is now allowed. On this first day of the new freedoms, I opted to drive, rather than cycle, to work, and promptly got caught up in my first rush hour traffic queue for over a year. It feels reassuringly normal.
Tuesday 18th May 2021 – Home visits recommence
We have been told that the office risk assessment now “allows” us to visit people at home, which in practice we are instructed to do so when necessary. I welcome this. For me meeting a wide variety of the Great British Public is what my job is all about. I’ve missed it.
Friday 21st May 2021 – Back to our local pub!
Our local pub has once again opened its doors, and, being semi-retired, we have resurrected our pre-Covid habit of a Friday Pub Lunch with retired friends, toasting those still at work for a few hours before their weekend commences. BUT this is not quite normal service resuming. Pub etiquette is strictly for masks to be worn until customers are until seated, scan the NHS Track and Trace QR code, and wait for table service. No discussing ale options at the bar. We two blokes had forgotten our masks, and would have had to return home if not for one of the ladies having spares.
Saturday 22nd May 2021 – Celebrating with song
Tonight, as I write, we are watching the variable performances, weird costumes and startling stage designs that is the Eurovision song contest, Covid-cancelled last year. Participants and audience have been covid tested, and Iceland failed, the test indicating that at least one of the Icelandic participants was Covid-positive. The Icelandic group have been banished to their hotel room instead of competing live. At least one thing has already returned to complete normal after a Covid pause. In the Eurovision Song Contest, United Kingdom has Nil Points.
Wednesday 26th May 2021 – A birthday trip “abroad”
We are celebrating my wife’s birthday by going away for a few days, taking advantage of relaxed rules governing international travel to cross the border into Wales. We didn’t travel far into the Principality – just 40 minutes. With the constantly changing classification of countries from Green to Amber at short notice, we may need to make a sharp exit.
We are staying in a guest house, a small hotel, although with social distancing limiting the number of available tables in the dining room, only bed and breakfast, not dinner, was on offer. Only three tables were in use over breakfast, suggesting that only three of six rooms were occupied. Presumably the owner was playing safe by halving the number of guests for the time being, rather than designating a breakfast appointment for each room to avoid close encounters. Fully masked, we located our table, sat down, and as we removed our masks, the owner appeared with jugs of fruit juice to take our order for a pot of tea and Full Welsh Breakfast, pretty much identical to the English version.
We pre-booked an evening meal at a nearby recommended pub/restaurant that opted for “sittings” to maintain social distancing. The result was that diners were separated by empty tables, which was certainly detrimental to the overall ambience. Fortunately, it was the sort of local establishment where customers and staff happily exchanged banter despite the distance between them, and we were included in this, maybe even more so thanks to the limited number of customers.
Thursday 27th May 2021 – Back on home territory
After re-crossing the border into England, we stopped for a while in Ludlow, where we passed a local establishment of note. A large banner read “Welcome To Your Local Walk Through Covid Testing Station”. Well, it makes a change from welcoming customers to the local Co-op.
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A re-visit to North Yorkshire. Comparing the experience with a visit 1 year ago just after Lockdown 1 was lifted
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Life in the UK changed for everyone in March 2020