Week 16 in lockdown
Haircuts. That is all we cared about this week. Haircuts and when we can get one. Since it was announced that hairdressers could open again on July 4th social media has been awash with people gleefully posting that they have an appointment booked. Or smugly posting that they were in the salon at 12.01 on Saturday morning (lucky buggers).
I had to wait until Tuesday for mine but I didn’t care, the end of my shaggy mullet was in sight and that was all that mattered. There were a whole list of requirements that I had to agree to in order to secure my appointment: temperature checked on arrival; must wear a mask; no coats; wait outside; dont be early; payment at the styling station; no drinks etc. I agreed to them all (of course) and probably would have agreed to jog naked down the high street if it meant I could get my hair done again!
Three inches off and I felt like a new woman.
In other news this weeks pubs and restaurants opened this weekend too, though we were in no rush to revisit those. I know that they are desperate for the business and have put a whole raft of measures in place to make sure we all stay well but I still just can’t bring myself to think that eating out is a good idea. Maybe in a few weeks I will feel differently, I could certainly do without having to think about feeding people three times a day for a while!
Sadly for the people of Leicester they have become the first city to be locked down again. There is lots of speculation as to why but garment factories and a lack of PPE certainly seem to be highest on the list at the moment. I can’t imagine being given that sense of freedom, begin to think you can make plans and then have it taken away from you again. The frustration must be huge. Fingers crossed this doesnt have to be rolled out across other cities (though I fear it will once the pubs reopen this weekend).
Good to see that holidays are back on from next week too, especially for those who advertise their places on AirBnB or run gites as a living. These are the people I have been thinking about as I am sure they must have been falling through the gaps of support so for them to know they can get some bookings this summer must be a welcome relief. We have had two holidays cancelled this year ( a week in Germany and a week in France cooking curry) and have yet to hear about our week in Morocco. Sadly it is hard to get reliable information on foreign countries to know just how bad their figures are, and so it is making me very nervous about travelling their in September. Well, that is if we can, there are still certain countries we are not permitted to fly to unless we commit to self quarantining for 14 days when we return.
It does baffle me that so many people are keen to get “back to normal” and act as though nothing has really happened when on three days this week over 150 died having tested positive for Covid. If that were the case over all seven days this week that would be over 1000 people dying and I just cant wrap my head around people wanting to rush out and social in large groups, wander around shops for hours, or go to the pub when so many are still dying. Many of them asymptomatic apparently, so they would have no idea they are contagious.
I wanted to share this as a reminder in the years to come of the timeline of events since it is hard to remember now just what happened and I am sure we will all be shaking our heads and saying “surely not”. I have loved the Simple Politics account on Instagram, it has been delivering great snapshots each day as a reminder of what is permitted, happening or still banned, in layman’s terms.
Weirdly though, whilst we can go to the pub we can’t go to the gym. And whilst hairdressers are open, we can’t have our nails done or get a facial. We can also meet up with up to 30 people outdoors (though we have to be socially distanced from them) but why 30? Why not 25? Like so much of the rules that have been made during this pandemic there seems to be no real rhyme or reason behind it all. It has also surprised me that Scotland and Wales have had their own rules during all of this too, I guess I never really put two and two together that in some areas they are not governed by Westminster. Have to say I would rather be in Scotland right now, Nicola Sturgeon’s approach has been much better in my opinion.
Is it too late to move?
Image of holding a mug, courtesy of Shutterstock