This week, I have been mostly shackled in the belly of a rival pirate ship. I did my usual weekend shift though did stay an extra 15 minutes to finish a pick, however the 2 weekday shifts I was asked to stay on. The first day it was an extra hour or two. After 2 hours I tried to escape but was beaten back and, in the end, I worked over 3 hours extra. The following day was 2 hours extra, and they even squeezed an extra 6-hour day shift out of me. Next week, instead of 12 hours, I’m scheduled to work 22 hours. See what I mean about a rival pirate ship? Lol. Obviously, we can say no, but when your contract is coming to an end, and they’re discussing who to keep on or not, then maybe this isn’t such a good idea. If they don’t keep me on, at least the extra money will come in handy. If they do, then all well and good though I have stated I’ll do a maximum of ‘only’ 25 hours a week. I was asked about full time. Oh hell no. Apart from the hard work and I’m no spring chicken, the tax ‘man’ and even the student loans people, would have too much of my salary for my liking and I did tell them that.

So, our PM, also affectionally known as BoJo the Clown, has after months of stating that masks will not protect us, has now backtracked and decided that masks are a good thing and from Friday, they were mandatory in enclosed spaces. His reasoning is that they will give people confidence to go out and shop. Well, locally at least, that doesn’t appear to have worked. Despite stating that shop workers do not need to wear them, our boss has decided otherwise and unless medically exempt, we must wear them. One customer was complaining her glasses were steaming up and she couldn’t see what she was buying. It’s hard to feel sympathy for someone who only has to wear a mask for a 30 or 45 minute shop, when you’re coming to the end of a 6-hour shift of wearing one, I can tell you! Personally, I’d rather keep 2 metres apart, and have limited numbers in the store than wear a mask. It made me so hot, and the final ‘pick’ I thought I was going to be sick. To that end, I’ve ordered a face shield, and will see how that goes. Work has a limited amount of those, and they’re for medical needs only but have said I can wear my own if I prefer.

Numbers in the shop have been down all week apparently, and Friday, instead of being very busy, customers were very thin on the ground. The only ‘busy’ aisle was the one containing toilet rolls and cleaning products. One pick of mine, out of 6 crates, four of them were crammed with huge packs of toilet rolls, and a previous crate had 6 bottles of bleach in it. I think people are getting ready for a potential second lockdown.

If customer footfall is down, online orders have skyrocketed hence my extra hours. We do Click and Collect now too and that’s so busy I’ve seen supervisors on the floor completing those. I think this is where you order stuff, and after a short time you drive to the store and wait in a designated spot and your order is brought to you thus limiting your contact with others. My son has stated that he thinks that shops themselves will close down if this virus ‘panic’ continues, and that High Streets and so on will be filled with warehouses and most shopping will be online. I’ve always thought most humans are sociable beings, and this isn’t a nice picture. I hope he’s wrong.

On that cheery note, have a good weekend, and somebody please tell me where the sun is hiding as it hasn’t made much of a show around here. Take care, be safe.