Going Shopping Again after many months in lockdown is both exciting and scary. I’ve decided to share my views on the shopping trip to Cheshire Oaks from yesterday. The non-essential shops have opened in England from 12th April and I’ve been to a few shops, in quieter areas and not at peak times. I haven’t been to a mall for months, my husband suggested we should go and we went. I thought it will be very busy and I was concerned that people will not be careful. While I was very right about the first thing, it was very busy, I was very wrong about the second issue, most people were careful.
Cheshire Oaks was busy, the parking lot was nearly full, but it is such a big place that it didn’t feel as busy as it could have been. If you see on the picture on the left, it looks like very few people were there, it is a bit misleading, as I’ve waited for a gap in the crowd to take the picture.
As it is outside, it’s safer because it is well ventilated. What I was very pleasantly surprised about was that most people, about 80%, had their masks on outside. In England we’ve never had the requirement to wear masks outside, it is something that doctors said we can and should do, but it was not mandatory. People kept their distance where possible, outside and inside the shops too.
Most shops and all busy shops had someone managing the flow of people coming in. As you can see in the right-top picture, I’ve discovered that my boots matched the colour of the waiting spots outside the shops, how funny is that. In the shops there were hand sanitising stations at the entrance.
We didn’t have anything to eat, but we had some coffee and the food court was very well thought of, with plenty of space between tables, some were covered, people were queueing properly. It was very nice.
I felt very relaxed and browsed through many shops. I looked at pots and crockery, clothes, especially jackets, as I need a thin one for spring. Luckily I found the perfect one and got it. It’s a gorgeous light grey jacket and I’m very pleased with it. On top of that, we bought some tea and coffee. The “Coffees of the world” I got has 9 types of coffee, many of them single origin. I will do a coffee-tasting soon. The tea pack has 8 different flavours, so a tea-tasting session should be on the cards too.
Overall shopping felt safe and really enjoyable. From next week more restrictions will be lifted in England and we will be able to visit museums and have a meal in a restaurant, not only outdoors. It should be confirmed later today. I am very happy that we are in a point where we can safely do that. I am also very happy that most people were considerate and decided to wear masks outside, that they made sure enough space was kept from others when possible.
Are you looking forward for more restrictions to be lifted? What’s the situation where you live?
It’s interesting to hear how that was for you. I tend to wear mine if it is crowded outside (and to be honest, it’s a pain to take it on and off anyway so I tend to keep it on anyway. I was really cross on my train on Saturday as I was in a carriage with 7 men and about 8 women including me. All the women were wearing their masks and every single idiot man had taken theirs off or hadn’t even bothered to put one on. I was so annoyed about this that I stood up before my stop and addressed the whole carriage asking why all the men in the carriage weren’t bothering to wear a mask since it is mandatory. The only one that acknowledged me told me to chill as I was wearing one and not to bother about them. When I got off the train, I told the male guard on the platform but did he bother doing anything about it? No!
That’s why I went shopping, I went to the restaurant, but I wouldn’t go on public transport. I had to go somewhere with the taxi yesterday and the driver didn’t have his mask on. At least three windows were open and I kept mine all the time, but it’s annoying.
It is good people are wearing masks where there are any types of crowds. From what I’ve seen, everyone here wears masks in shops and closed spaces (offices etc) but not in restaurants or cafes (indoors or outdoors). I typically keep my mask on outdoors if I’m going in and out of shops because it’s too much hassle taking it on and off. I just take it off when I get home. If I’m going to walk outside and I don’t plan to go near other people then I don’t wear a mask (but I always have it in my bag).
For us, masks are mandatory indoors, but never outdoors, so it was even better to see that people would go the extra mile and wear them outdoors too.
I’m doing pretty much like you, when shopping is much easier to leave the mask on, you are right.
I’m like you, I was wary of how busy shopping centres would be and whether people would still wear masks and social distance. We went to Salisbury recently and it was absolutely fine: busy but people were all being sensible. Fingers crossed it stays that way, even when all restrictions are lifted. We’ve come too far to throw it all away now!
That’s great to hear. I hope people will keep some of these new things we had to do, like masks. I will wear mine after the pandemic is under control too, in supermarkets for example.
I’m glad you were able to have an enjoyable outing.
I’ve found it a bit disheartening to see how many folks no longer wear masks inside stores now that the mask mandate has been lifted in our state. Most stores now have signs saying masks recommended rather than required. It would bother me more if I weren’t fully vaccinated.
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I don’t understand the issues with mask wearing in US, it’s puzzling.
In UK, most people have masks in shops, with some exceptions, where it’s still mandatory. I will continue to wear a mask in shops even when it’s not required, because there are other respiratory diseases out there and it’s not like it’s too much of a hassle to wear a mask anyway.