Like millions of others in the UK, my family and I followed the restrictive rules, which were in place at Christmas 2020 when we were told to follow the law.
For me, it meant my children weren't able to come home for Christmas, as it would have meant them travelling from a lower to higher Covid tier. It was the first time in 28 years I had not spent Christmas with them.
Everyone has been affected by the pandemic and made personal sacrifices, because we had no choice. None more so than those who were unable to see loved ones in nursing homes or hospitals, to share final moments or attend funerals.
Two years into the pandemic and a report into events in 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister and the heart of the government has confirmed politicians broke their own laws; the laws they enforced on us, telling us we would be breaking the law if we didn’t 'follow their rules.'
The Prime Minister received and paid a fine for breaking the law by attending an 'event' in breach of the restrictions his own government introduced.
Like the vast majority up and down the country me and my family ‘did the right thing,’ but whilst we were all doing the right thing, politicians in the UK government and their staff partied. Words fail to describe how we feel. Families didn't see one another, because we were all told we couldn't. I am incensed by the injustice for everyone who made huge sacrifices because we were asked to. We will look back at this unprecedented time in our history with so many mixed feelings.
If like me, you are high risk and vulnerable, and you're now 'hemmed in' or 'locked up' because of lifting restrictions, you have become the fall guy for their rules, their bad behaviour and their decisions.
What I write about on my blog around UK politics is ‘real life.’ In the longer-term we shall all continue to be affected if we don’t make better choices around those we elect to look after us and to keep us safe.
I talk about the pandemic so that I can feel better, yet I know many questions will go unanswered.
Wow, where do I even begin? This is exactly why the pandemic is dragging on, people refusing to do the right thing. The 'let them eat cake' attitude, which is what they're doing, while the vulnerable and high risk are suffering.
I can definitely relate to how you must be feeling right now, which truly isn't right and hopefully can change. The big question is how to make this really happen, which I'm thinking may require, speaking out in ways that people definitely won't like.
Thanks Randy. I get that people genuinely want to get back into their lives, but all of our lives have changed and we're not in post pandemic times.
We're still in the throws of the pandemic, (even though governments are telling us otherwise). It is because the virus is still out there, that we should be doing more to help and support one another.
If politicians did more to bring communities together by making decisions that fit the different socio-groups, people like us could fit into our lives.
I pray something changes. Right now being four-walled is difficult. It's not how I imagined my life would go. Thank goodness for my writing.
Like you, I also did the right thing throughout lockdowns and the restrictions we lived under for many months, which meant not seeing our children or my elderly mother for months.
But seeing the way this government has treated us with contempt I would not do it again. When the law makers become the law breakers what can they expect to be the outcome?
Yes, quite and for everyone who followed the law, I am sure this is still difficult to get their head around, also.
As we speak, people continue to talk about these very matters on social media. I am praying for change. Also, sowing a seed one blog at a time.
We have to be the change and although it's a big ask, I believe if each of us changed just one small thing, those changes would ripple and send a message to the politicians making the decisions for us.