As you can see, the pathway wasn't all that wide - not wide enough to allow adequate separation for social distancing purposes. It linked the pavement on the main road at the back of Waitrose with the front of the store, which faced the large car park. The section of tarmac off to the left was how cars got into the car park, but at 8.30am it wasn't at all busy, and it was an obvious way to get safely past those waiting in the queue.
Strangely, however, some people insisted on using the pathway regardless. Why, I do not know. It brought them much too close to people like me, who, for all they knew, might be infected and could pass the infection on to them as they came past. So odd that people will take risks like this! Is it just an inability to adjust to a different situation?
Well, we (the people queuing) had to edge sideways out of their way every time. In my case, off to the right onto the soil around the shrubs. Thank goodness it was dry. I hope the people who made us do this got the message that they ought to have used the parallel empty slip road for the cars: but I'm not hopeful.
And then, something rather more serious. A young man steamed up from behind, phone in hand and earbuds in ears, so that he was in his own little musical world. But he could nevertheless see where he was going. He was walking a bit too fast, and we had no warning at all. He swept by only a yard away (we were all standing on the right-hand edge of this none-too-wide pathway). He was gone before anyone could protest or admonish him.
I looked at the lady in front of me, and we both rolled our eyes in frustration, then discussed what had just happened. The young idiot. It wasn't credible that he couldn't see us, even if preoccupied with selecting his next music track. What on earth was he thinking? He looked fit, and was clearly nimble, and could have easily used the slip road for the cars. But no, he had to brush past, risking us if he were infected, or himself if any of us were. Stupidity.
Later on, I wondered whether he had been struggling with some ongoing and impossible-to-escape personal crisis. Maybe - being young and not used to a solitary life, or just not resilient - he was having a testing time coping with social distancing. Ignoring reality, shutting it all out, turning up his music, and behaving as if he wore blinkers, might be his way of getting through this. Who can say.
I also wondered where he might have been going. He definitely didn't do any shopping at Waitrose!
It's not just young people. I was in Waitrose earlier this week, and trying hard to keep away from anyone else. A lot of dodging about was needed. And if somebody was already at a section of shelving that I wanted to look at, it was necessary to hang back until they had finished. That was often a test of patience, if they dithered or decided to stare in to space, lost in thought. Not everyone knew exactly what they wanted to buy, or were relying on memory. I didn't see many using a written shopping list they'd put together in advance.
Anyway, I was looking for some pasta, as I'd run out sooner than expected. I wanted both penne and fusili. I took two steps back, to look deep into the lower shelves in front of me - and collided with a middle-aged man who had snuck up close behind me, very quietly, to get something from the opposite shelving. I said sorry automatically, and so did he. But why was he ignoring social distancing, getting so close to me, for the sake of a bottle of soy sauce, or whatever it had been? He could so easily have hung back until I had finished.
Perhaps he thought I was dithering!
