What's something you secretly liked about quarantine?

Paradise, unfortunately it didn't last.

Now, even wearing masks is frowned upon.

It felt like heaven to me to.  The people all went away.  It was so quiet.  I would lay awake at night just to listen to the quiet.  A favorite tv show of mine was "The Last Man on Earth" because it showed a world without people, so no one to be afraid of.  No loud voices or misunderstandings.  No one to get mad at me for reasons I could not understand.  

During quarintine when we were allowed to leave home I went out into my neighborhood and when I looked as far as I could in any direction there was not a single person.   In the tv show I liked so much I wondered if I would be scared or lonely if I was that character, no other people anywhere.  I thought about that a lot.  That day during quarantine when I was alone, not one person anywhere, I did not feel lonely, I felt peaceful.  It was like the show came true.  

Outside my window is a sidewalk and busy street.  Always noise day and night.  I listened and listened.  Not a sound.  No cars, no people shouting or laughing.  I felt peace.  I am heartbroken for the people who got sick, I do not want things like the disease to happen but for me being autistic, and non-verbal and being afraid of being around people all my life, for the first time, for a little while in all that quiet I felt safe. 

The UnitedWeStream online events; from Manchester.

There was even an Art Battle, to raise money for the NHS, and I successfully bid for one of the cheapest drawings. £61 charcoal sketch, of a Victorian Nurse, at an auction where proper Mural Art reached nearly a Grand. (Even then, I thought to myself, "Those lot could afford to go priovate!")

I still keep the Artwork, as a symbol of how our good nature was taken advantage of.

Sorry, anxious. Deleted.

Yes! I fact I was begging for it.

Someone coached me on how to use photoshop so that I could eritva series of artworks that badly needed editing to make them more professional. I bought a cheap used laptop especially for the purpose 

I got my time back again! And for several weeks I used it, often working till 2 or 4 in the morning. It was such a gift!D

Day job anyway had been getting particularly thankless. It was so good to be out of it. 

I loved lock down, loved the isolation and love not being round people 

TheCatWoman said:

I enjoy the banter with you

Here's some irony, and some karma that perhaps I deserved.

Following all my comments that you perhaps broke everything electrical, I set out this morning to do the garden - using the (quite expensive) lawnmower I'd recently bought using the Which recommendation.

And it broke.  Power simply cut out.  No obvious reason.  No damage, not the fuse, nothing I can do.  Fortunately I'd completed the garden first...  but all the same.

Maybe I deserved that one !!  

I remember one common grafitti from years ago, 'Don't flush the toilet, the English need the water.

I know second home owners are a blight on many of our coastal areas and beauty spots, nobody seems content with two weeks in a caravan, unless its theirs, although they tend to spend weeks or months here.

The history between the English and Welsh is a long and sorry one, Edwards castle building projects were deeply resented, people were forcibly moved from thier homes and relocated, and banned from the new towns built around the new castles. During the industrial revolution Wales powered so much of it and yet has had little recognition let alone recompense, the Barnet formula dosen't work, it was a really hard fight to get some of the money when HS2 stopped to be redistributed here, although money for rail transport was diverted by Westminster. Then there was the whole mess around covid which stoked things even more, health is a devolved power, we watched covid creep westwards and northwards, so we got it a few weeks later than the south of England, our government didn't want to come out of lockdown, widely supported by people in Wales, but England decided to end lockdown without any consultation with the devolved governments or regional mayors, so people from England were confused about the rules, then decided they were't going to abide by them, I was actually told by a tourist that the Welsh had to wear masks, but they didn't, because they were English and didn't have to abide why Welsh rules. We had a big spike in Covid cases after lockdown ended in England. Before that, the police had to man the border to stop people breaking out rules, people were found to be sending their luggage by courier to try and circumvent the rules. I'm not saying the rules were perfect or fair for anybody, but they certainly led to a big build up of resentment, especially when it ended up with another wave of second home ownership. Welsh language is another flash point, nearly all Welsh people are bilingual, very few older people aren't and really struggle with English and many more are so used to speaking Welsh that it takes them a couple of minutes to get their brains speaking English. Again the attitude of many English towards spoken and written Welsh leave much to be desired.

I miss the peace and quiet too, probably more than anything else, our village is much busier than it was before covid, traffic levels are as high off peak times now as they they were on bank holidays pre covid.

It gave neurotypicals a taste of life in our situation.  What's normal for us became the norm for everyone else.  Given how quick society is to forget it may happen again someday.

One good thing was the clear skies unmarked by vapour trails from passenger jets.

I did XD

So many school attenders must have cheered when that happened.

Due to the lockdown, a lot of people weren't outside anymore. 

As a result, I saw so many amazing things around my city. 

The absolute highlight was watching a sparrowhawk family grow up next to a path in an estate and seeing young peregrines flying overhead at low altitude in a chalk pit. Also encountering tawny owlets in a forest. 

And also the comet too!

We??? What do you mean we?

I have no idea what this member is talking about.... 

overwhelmed & underwhelmed ( O & U ) said:

Beaches, like the countryside, can be beautiful.  As soon as loads of people arrive its spoiled. 

Always. People ruin everything....

I miss the peace and quiet most. I also miss people having to stay in, suddenly I didn't feel so bad for always staying inside. All feels like a lifetime ago now.

No school XD the best part for me.

And no tourists in Cornwall. I was able to go out and see hardly anybody, it was so nice not having to mask and hide away inside.

The peace and quiet was one of my favourite things. Hardly any noise of traffic, no noise of people in town. It was like being the last person alive at times.

This wasn't actually goading.  Historically the Welsh, as you know, always resented the English - in particular - coming over the border and taking what they saw as Welsh homes for their holidays (and leaving them empty most of the year).   Some were even burnt out.  It's historical fact.

I admit, I might have found it amusing in an ironic way that the practice still carries on - but then people are buying up holiday homes all over for the same reasons - all over the world - to indulge.  They aren't satisfied with 2 weeks in a rented cottage or whatever anymore.  

We've got probably thousands of homes on Holiday Parks around here that sit idle for months on end while so many are homeless.  It's the same thing in a way.  If I had it my way, I'd issue compulsory purchase orders on the lot, or at least have that income diverted into building social housing. 

As often, there's little the individual can do about these things - other than to point out the unfairness & injustice - and try and find a little humour - the context of which often gets lost as you type. 

I didn't bang the keys when typing that out, I'm actually a very soft touch typist, I'd appreaciate you trying to wind in your goading, it does get a bit boring ater a while which is a shame as I enjoy the banter with you.

Interesting post, thanks for creating. A couple of things stand out for me, the lack of traffic was great, the peace and quiet that created was something I have never experienced, especially during the day. Working from home and not having to go into the office, that was a big plus. 

Hi, yes I also have a lot of lockdown nostalgia- I had a great time especially during the first lockdown and actually felt much happier and more connected to people during that time. I loved the quiet, being able to work from home and having less social pressure and demands. I also realised I like online socialising a lot as it is less stressful to be able to socialise from the comfort of my home and it’s much easier to escape a video call or phone call than an in person meeting if necessary. In addition a most of the handful of friends I have were by that point spread out accros the globe so there weren’t many opportunities to see each other in person anyways and then during lockdown we actually ended up connecting more and I started for example playing board games online on a regular basis with one of my friends. I was lucky that during the first lockdown I was able to stay at university (as going home would have been challenging and meant a lot of upheaval and change) where I was in my comfort zone. A few people also stayed in my accommodation who were very nice to be around (but they never put any pressure on me to join in) so if I did want to interact with someone there was that option. I have actually met quite a few people who thrived during lockdown. My mum also benefited from it. I am always cautious about how I put it through as I realise that a lot of people really struggled and I obviously wouldn’t wish for another pandemic but the lockdown did have a lot of positives for me which I miss.