Shop safe

The photo album on my phone has a collection of signs that I see out and about that would never have existed a year ago. I have no idea if they will become a more permanent fixture of our world but, for now, they are a reminder that we live in ‘unprecedented times’. In years to come I may look back and wonder why I took them or I may look back and think how odd they were and how grateful I am they’re no longer part of our lives. Time will tell.

Today, I had to make a trip to Boots The Chemist to pick up a prescription. It’s a couple of minutes away from my house so it’s not a real effort and no big journey is needed.

They limit the number of people in the store more than any of the other retailers around here. I don’t know the real reason but it makes sense. It’s an environment where there are more likely to be vulnerable people who need to pick up medicines and the staff, possibly, more exposed. Social distancing seems very sensible.

Nonetheless, it’s very strange to be queuing on the street to enter a shop that looks empty of customers. And, because you can’t really see the other customers if they are also collecting prescriptions, everybody who joins the line asks, ‘is this the queue?’ They can’t quite believe we are stood waiting to enter an empty store, although I am not sure what they think we are all doing.