Sophia Mccracken reminisces on the times before the first UK lockdown
I think the movie must have been Terminator or perhaps Predator, it was one of those Arnold Schwarzegger classics, it got to a scene where there was a crowd of unmasked people all in each others social bubbles, I remember feeling anxious like they where all too close together and the situation was clearly unsafe.
This abnormal feeling was quite weird to project on an 80’s action film, I guess COVID manages to have that effect on you.
When the storm which is COVID was hitting the UK I was in fact watching an Arnold film, Kindergarten Cop. I was at my boyfriend’s university flat. We hadn’t seen each other since the Christmas break so I was pretty excited to see him.
COVID was out in the open but no one really took it seriously yet, I remember my boyfriend telling me that it was a small blip and that nothing serious would come of it.
In fact I remember a lot of people telling me this would all just blow over, friends, family and acquaintances alike had this belief that this would be something that would come and go, just like that.
Things escalated however. I remember going to Aldi’s and finding no toilet paper and no soap. I think this was the first example of panic buying I saw. The queues where getting longer and soon the store came with restrictions on how many items you can and can’t buy.
Panic buying wasn’t just a problem in Poole, Dorset it was happening all over the UK, for some reason stocking up on toilet paper and bread seemed vital.
Despite these things, life seemed to carry on as usual. Masks weren’t mandatory yet and you could still go for a hot meal without worrying about social distancing.
Even then I had this perception that universities would remain open and I’d be clubbing in Cheltenham in no time.
However, with the amazing advice of wash your hands, while singing Happy Birthday, COVID did not slow down in fact it picked up its pace.
Universities started closing left, right, and center. I remember my mum blowing up my phone. Her tune has changed. The virus was no longer a small issue that would eventually resolve, it was now deadly.
Hand sanitizer couldn’t be found anywhere not online or in-store. Toilet Paper was being sold on the Facebook market place for a way too luxurious price.
A lockdown, which seemed long overdue, eventually happened. Both me and my boyfriend ended back in our home town Plymouth and had to adapt to the exciting world which is Zoom.
Currently, we’re in our third lockdown and the prime minister assures us that it will be over by spring. Where have we heard that before? I think we got many months of restrictions to endure before we are allowed the pre-covid life we are all dreaming of.
