‘What’s your weirdest Covid pandemic memory?’ – 23 utterly bizarre things that seemed completely reasonable at the time

Immediately after the pandemic and the seemingly endless lockdowns, it felt like everyone just wanted to forget and get on with life. But now, after several years, we have a bit of distance on it all and the memories that are coming back feel increasingly bizarre.

They’ve been discussing this on the AskUK subreddit after user DogEatingWasp posted this question:

And the answers certainly did not disappoint in terms of batshit strangeness. Check these out…

1.

‘My mother-in-law knocking on our door at 8am, leaving a tub of ice cream for us and running away. She called us on the way home telling us to eat it for breakfast because fuck it. I love her so much but she is nuts and so was the whole pandemic!’
–5minute_daft

2.

‘My mum did something similar in 2020. My husband opened the door and she hurled a packet of prawns at him from the street and ran away.

‘Honestly though she would have done that outside of the pandemic. She was wonderful but chaotic. I miss her bonkers antics.’
–FantasticWeasel

3.

‘Got a mildly ridiculous one. Lost my grandad, aged 108, to COVID in May 2020. Due to social distancing we had a tiny wake for him outside at a local beach, just six immediate family members.

‘I took some food for everyone. My sister brought 70 falafels. Only her and I eat falafels. Her car was full of them. I think it was stress-buying, but it was so funny and really lightened a sad day.’
–Character_Life840

4.

‘Going to a restaurant on the first night they were allowed to reopen in July 2020 and being told that if any of us wanted to use the toilet we needed to raise our hand and ask for permission.’
–elalmohada26

5.

‘Having a video interview with a cat I was adopting!’
–rosetyler86

6.

‘Being an ‘essential worker’ having to do nights and politely asking my furloughed neighbours not to clap for essential workers that week and being called a ‘killjoy’ and ‘selfish’.’
–Drath101

7.

‘However you slice it standing outside your house door clapping at the sky as a mass nationwide event is pretty fucking weird.’
–Ralphisinthehouse

8.

‘Walking home from work one day, I took a shortcut through a deserted cinema carpark and encountered what I can only describe as socially distanced dogging.

‘The two participants were sitting in separate cars with the doors open; and the gentleman was pleasuring his ladyfriend using a sex toy taped to an extendable mop handle. The spectators had arranged their cars in a semi-circle around the couple to get a good view.’
–Alternative-Emu2000

9.

‘Me and my mates riding around the countryside on our bikes with backpacks full of beer and getting shitfaced in the woods like naughty teenagers. We hear voices coming through the trees and think we’re gonna be rumbled.

‘They came through the bushes and saw us sitting there half cut, we all stared at each other for a few seconds. One them raised a bottle of wine in the air and we all cracked up laughing.

‘Turns out it was some teachers from the local school doing exactly the same as us. Had a great laugh.’
–Born-Wasabi8016

10.

‘The idea that you could eventually go to the pub for a drink but only if food was being served…because we all know that Covid knew the difference between alcohol only or alcohol + “a substantial meal”.’
–x0_Kiss0fDeath

11.

‘I ordered ten stick insects and a ukulele during the 3am hysteria hour while on my fifth night shift in a row at the hospital and forgot until they actually turned up. Surprise!’
–marmighty

12.

‘The Rice Alliance – v early on people panic-bought supplies so there was no rice in any of the shops in my town. A group of us formed a rice alliance so if any of us spotted any rice we’d buy some for everyone. I eventually found four bags of basmati in a Tesco Express and had to work out how to distribute them fairly.’
–SouthernPansie