Finally pubs in the UK have been ordered to close, and the Government is going to pay people’s wages. These measures would have been unthinkable a month ago, perhaps even a fortnight ago. These decisions were made in response to a very serious situation, yet lives and livelihoods continue to be lost. The dread of the novel coronavirus can feel a little overwhelming. At the same time, we as individuals need to go through our daily lives as best as we can.
I am into my penultimate toilet roll, but I have almost given up on finding any toilet paper in the supermarkets nearby. I didn’t bother leaving home yesterday, because there were rumours swirling of an impending London lockdown from the night before, thus hoarders would have cleared things up, and the weather wasn’t great either. This afternoon around 2:30, before the announcements of pub closures and mass subsidizing of wages were made, I went to the shops to see if I could get anything. You never know, there might be loo rolls. Even if not toilet paper, then perhaps I could buy tomatoes for salad and some grapes to go with the cheese. I shall cause a one-man riot if I run out of cheese.
There wasn’t much available at the local Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, or Tesco. Shelves for vegetables, fruits, and meat were almost completely bare.
However, there were still a few things available. I bought a couple of mangoes, a box of dates, and a pack of figs. I really like mangoes and dates, and figs will do for the cheese. Perhaps these fruits were just put out on the shelves, or maybe hoarders don’t like them, which is a tad odd as they seem to buy anything that is available.
Anyway, despite not being able to purchase toilet paper, tomatoes, or grapes that I was looking for, my shopping trip was not in vain. Now that people are forced to drink at home, I suspect alcohol will disappear from the shops pretty soon.