Mask advice gave me a flashback to those strange covid times

I had to visit my local doctor recently and when I phoned for the appointment, I was asked to wear a face mask to the surgery.

There were lots of colds and flus knocking around, including our old friend covid, and the doctor didn’t want to be unavailable for his patients so, he was taking precautions.

Fair enough. I duly turned up at the appropriate time with my mask on and I was seated in a small room on my own. A window was open for ventilation, and I got a flashback.

It reminded me of how our world was turned completely upside down when covid-19 first struck. We had to get used to doing things differently. Isolation was difficult, and not being able to shake hands was totally alien to us.

Wearing face masks was hard too and we didn’t like it, but we followed the advice. Well, most of us did anyway.

Some didn’t agree with the advice and refused to co-operate, while others abused those who did wear a mask, even though it was none of their business. Thankfully that’s all behind us now. Or is it?

At the end of last year, I contracted eris, a subvariant of the coronavirus. My wife became unwell soon after and was flattened for about ten days. She tested positive for covid, and it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Our daughter was heading to Australia on New Year’s Day with her husband and their three children, and we had been planning a few special days together in the run-up to their departure.

That plan was knocked on the head. They couldn’t afford to get sick with the long trek ahead of them, so we were all forced to keep our distance.

Not the ideal way to send them off, and it got me thinking about another send-off when things didn’t exactly go according to plan.

I went to a funeral in Mallow and at that time we weren’t allowed to attend the service in the church, so I drove straight to the cemetery to wait for the arrival of the hearse.

When I got there, I sat in the car and watched the service being streamed on my phone. Being able to follow these services online is one positive we can take from the pandemic.

The rules at the time allowed us to stand outside the church or cemetery while maintaining a safe distance. All we could do was offer to the mourners by being present. Being there for them in their grief, even if it was from afar.

I was concentrating on my small screen in my car when I heard car doors slamming. I looked up and I could see people getting out of their cars as a hearse was coming down the road towards me. I panicked.

I was caught on the hop and assumed I must have somehow clicked on a recording of the service, and that it had now finished and had arrived at the cemetery. That wasn’t possible of course, but I wasn’t thinking straight, so I jumped out and made my way up the road to the entrance to the cemetery.

As the hearse approached the gates, I suddenly realised everyone was wearing a mask except me.

Red-faced from embarrassment, I ran back to the car to retrieve mine. By the time I got back to my spot at the gate, the chief mourners had entered the graveyard, so I had no choice at that stage but to follow them in.

It was a cold day and most of the people were wearing hats. Between hats, scarves and masks, it was impossible to identify anyone. I didn’t recognise any of the mourners, and I began to get suspicious.

I sidled up to a person standing nearby and engaged him in conversation. When he mentioned the name of the deceased, I realised I was at the wrong funeral, but I learned that a second one was due to arrive shortly.

Apparently, I had jumped the gun, so I made my way back to my car with my head held low for the second time and sat back in.

When the second hearse arrived, I repeated the process with the mask on this time. I stood at the gate and nodded a greeting to my buddy, which was all I could do, and headed back home.

It was hard to believe that the engagement we took for granted all our lives had suddenly become taboo. The simple act of shaking hands was no longer allowed and many found that lack of physical very difficult to cope with.

I going for a walk in the early days of covid when we were terrified at the prospect of catching the virus. We were only allowed to go for short walks to get some fresh air and it was on one of those occasions I met a character that I hadn’t seen for 12 months or more.

I was strolling along the footpath minding my own business on a quiet street when I spotted him standing at his front door. He’s an elderly gentleman and as soon as I got to him, he stuck out his hand to say hello with a big smile on his face.

I hadn’t the heart to say anything to him about covid advice, so I reached out and shook his hand. We kept our distance after that but chatted for a while.

It seems strange now, but I was so conscious of what I had done, I stuck the potentially contaminated hand in my pocket and kept it there until I got home and was able to wash it.

We’re off to see the grandkids in Oz and, covid or no covid, there will be hugs this time, no matter what.