GOING OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 150 DAYS... MY EXPERIENCE

Hello world.....

My mum and I had been indoors for 150 days. The last time we went out was March 4th – we went into town twice that day – we then came home and decided to stay in for the foreseeable. I can remember the first few days feeling really depressive and restrictive. The first few days were a bit of a blur – the two main feelings were boredom and fear of this awful new virus that was slowly overtaking the entire world. Each day we watched the news religiously (we still do). The first week there were no deaths, but then the cases began to rise and the deaths too. My mum became more and more scared – she's somebody who is classed as vulnerable so we both decided that staying in was definitely the best move.

After two weeks of being indoors, the UK government decided to put us in lockdown. A year prior, the word 'lockdown' was completely foreign to us all and the word 'pandemic' was something that was out of a movie or something. 

Anyway, cut a long story short – we stayed indoors for 150 days before venturing out. No 1-hour daily walks, no supermarket visits, no NOTHING. We simply stayed indoors and made the best out of a bad situation.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and we decided that we needed to venture out sooner or later. So we bit the bullet and decided on the beginning of August. So on August 1st, we woke up early and ventured out of our apartment for the first time in 150 days. We bought reusable face masks a few weeks prior, we ensured they had filter pockets and nose wires (again, something that would have been foreign to us all this time last year). 

The big day....

Going out was nerve-wrecking. My mum was absolutely petrified – she didn't want to go really, but she did and I am still SO proud of her. If it wasn't for new Primark pyjama bottoms and pumpkin spiced candles from TK Maxx, I doubt we'd have gone!

The day we went was pretty hot and stuffy – we walked about 15 minutes to the bus stop and wore our masks the entire time. Wearing the masks for two hours straight was a super uncomfortable experience, especially where they were two-layer masks with an added filter sheet – not enjoyable in the slightest.

We used anti-bac wipes and hand gel throughout the day. We didn't touch our faces at all. And we kept out masks on ALL THE WHILE WE WERE OUT OF OUR FLAT. 

When we got on the bus, we felt pretty safe. But there were two utter thickos – one who had his mask around his neck while texting, and another who was doing her makeup with her mask off – HELLO? GLOBAL PANDEMIC? ENCLOSED SPACE? MASKS WORN ON BUSES? Nope.

We got to the shopping centre and it was very empty. We arrived at around 8:30am and had to queue outside of Primark (which was inside the shopping centre). There was one lady in front of us who was wearing a mask *kind of*. She then pulled her mask to her chin and proceeded to cough without covering her mouth. She then put her mask back into place. WHAT ON EARTH? Are people really that stupid?

Shopping was an okay experience – very hot beneath the mask, but the shops were fairly empty, the staff were all helpful, happy and respected your space. The shopping centre itself had sanitiser throughout, but not everybody wore masks, which still baffles me even now. 

By the time we had finished, our faces were dripping with sweat, our bags were heavy and the shopping centre was beginning to fill up with people, most of whom were not wearing masks. We ended up getting a taxi home – which felt really safe and clean. When we got home, we washed our hands and got changed straight away before cleaning every single thing that we purchased. 

Overall, it was nice to get out of the house. But we won't be hurrying back to the shops anytime soon. We're now back to staying at home for a while, but we plan to go for a stroll soon to the local common and then on another occasion we might get a bus to the Thames and sit on the embankment for a while. But who knows, we could be in lockdown again before then – thanks to all of those who don't follow the simple rules that are put in place to keep everybody safe!

I just thought I'd share my experience with you all. It's normal to be frightened during a global pandemic, it's normal to still want to stay home, it's normal to not feel comfortable with socialising yet. If I'm 100% honest, I doubt myself or my mum will start mixing with other people and households until early 2021 – and that's OKAY! If you're scared and you're able to socially distance, DO IT! 

Please don't feel pressured to meet up with friends and family if it doesn't sit right with you. Just because everybody else is mixing, doesn't mean you have to as well. 

Stay safe my loves, and if you do venture out – please wear a mask *one that fits PROPERLY* not only for your safety, but for all of those who feel uneasy also!