Very needy 'needy' neighbours!

I am disabled and mostly house bound. I have two sons, one working NHS, he is an engineer and helps keep the machinery working smoothly, my other son, also an engineer works for the water board. As I am "high risk", neither of them can visit.
I live in a quiet street, and all 3 of my neighbours have tested me, saying if I need anything to give them a shout. One even said if I fancied a chat, then we could sit on the doorsteps as there would be 2 metres between us.
I just wanted to say that I know how lucky I am.

Our neighbours are mostly reasonable. We live in a small village with no services (no shops, no bus service, no pub, no Church) , and most people are elderly. There are only ten houses in the street. My hubby and I are in the Vulnerable category - but a friend across the street has said to let her know if we need anything, and I've given my telephone number to the two elderly chaps (brothers) who live next door to us, should they need something. We go out once a week to the Supermarket, as we have no near relatives. Sadly, I think there are always some people who delight in being "difficult" - I'm just glad we don't have problems with anyone at present!

Should have said my neighbours texted me.

My neighbours pick up shopping for me although I try not to ask very often. They put a basket in their trolley and put my stuff in it, then pay separately at the checkout.
I reimburse them by BACS (which my son set up for me early on, as at 80 it was beyond my IT capabilities).
I suppose that ploy could be used by unscrupulous people wanting more than their fair share - so maybe not publicise it too much?

Rosina. I think conditions must be awful in hospitals at this time. Last year I had a burst appendix and because there were no available beds I spent the WHOLE of my hospital stay (including post operative care) in an A&E corridor. No privacy, no curtain around me, people passing my trolley at all times so consequently no ability to fully sleep and rest. That was then, last year. I was only allowed to move from my trolley in the corridor in order to go to the toilet and was only allowed to shower every three days because of the sheer numbers of people at the hospital. It truly was like 3rd world facilities. Imagine for one moment what it’s like now?

You have clearly had a bad time Onelifeletsliveit but given the crisis we are in I do feel that complaining to the press about sitting privately behind curtains is a bit much - and of course some poor overworked nurse is having to deal with the end result! It's ungrateful and demanding, and there is no place for this attiude now. What would these complainers have the staff do?

I've got a neighbour like that - he is calling the paramedics - phone in one hand , cigarette in the other!! Just before Christmas 2019 he had the ambulance out five times in two days, Yet a friend of mine just three miles up the road lay on the floor on one of those same days for five hours waiting for an ambulance. When she did arrive at hospital she had blood and iron transfusions.

I don't know how he is going to manage in 12 weeks isolation don't think the food box will contain cigarettes!!

I just can’t believe what you just described. I had a burst appendix last year and had to wait 3 hours for an ambulance ........ it’s the selfish that cause issues for the rest of us. God knows how long you’d have to wait for an ambulance at the moment; have to say, wouldn’t fancy getting in one either personally!! Don’t go on about the food box situation! I currently look after 7 people voluntarily in the community ......... I’ve had them all moaning about the fact I can’t find the brands of food they want in the shops, or sometimes not the requested item at all. What they’re not seeing is me outside queueing (sometimes for an hour at at a time just to get in a supermarket), to find it just doesn’t contain what they want. I do this all in my own time, I don’t get an allowance for my petrol so am paying a fortune in petrol going backwards and forwards for these people and sometimes I don’t even get a thank you. 3 of them are actually very sweet, which make up for the others. But jeez, it makes me wonder why I’m bothering.

Alexa I agree about the understanding of people. My mum is in a Care Home and has full brain function. We are self isolating as my partner is vulnerable aged 75. I am working from home in a telephony role. My mum called today as I had dropped a couple of things which was left at the door of the home. She asked my partner why he had bought orange squash he gave me the phone and told me it was lying on the floor. I said it was what we had in and she was lucky to get anything and I had a delivery next week and that was it. Said I should not be out she was oblivous this. Very frustating as my uncle died a week ago and two days later a great friend and she died of covid19. It has niggled me all day .

People around here have been so kind in so many ways. I am spoiled for choice for sources of help, should I need it.

I am sorry that others are not behaving so well.

Mind you I did hear of one local person who rang her help hub to ask if someone could go to Waitrose because she must have her goat's cheese yoghurt - now that is really taking the Michael. She said she was too frightened to go - I guess those getting the shopping are not exactly thrilled to be at the supermarket!

This recent scenario has brought out the best and the worst in people.
It will be remembered for a long time to come, more's the pity.

To the poster upthread who sprays her doormat with disinfectant, I do that too, but give it a good soaking in the boot tray that used to live indoors
It has ridges on the bottom and I filled it half full of Dettol and put a bristle doormat inside which soaks up the liquid.
On arriving home I wipe my shoes vigorously then remove them on the indoor mat.
Apparently, C-19 can be transferred from footwear even if the wearer isn't a carrier.

onelifeletsliveit you do seem to be struggling, my sympathies are with you really they are. Why do you feel the need to volunteer to look after 7 vulnerable people in your community. It seems too much for one person to bear. Cant you reduce the pressure on you and ask someone else to carry this burden. It seems to me that you are doing more than your fair share.

Totally agree with you on that. I order online from Tesco. I've been house bound for almost 15 years following a serious road traffic accident (a speeding car hit me from behind while I was cycling to work, sustaining 4 broken vertebrae {I lost 4 inches in height} and a serious head injury, but was sent home with no treatment; the hospital failed to X Ray the whole of my back and missed the 4 breaks). Anyway, I've been online shopping regularly for years, and always have a weekly order set up three weeks in advance; however, since the restrictions about self isolating etc hit three weeks ago I've not been able to secure any spots. Each day at midnight a new day is added three weeks hence. I log into my account about 5 minutes before midnight to try and secure a spot. No problem, I'm able to log in immediately; then I go to the appropriate page and refresh the page frequently waiting for the next day to roll over. When it does (exactly on midnight) it takes anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes for the page to refresh, by which time all of the spots have already been taken. Last week I actually managed to grab a spot; so started to add food to my order; feeling very relived to have finally captured a spot (this was the day the clocks go forward in the UK, so I reckon some forgot to log in at the correct time until an hour later). A couple of minutes into selecting food, a page popped up saying I was now in a queue and was not to close the page as it would automatically refresh once I got to the head of the queue. Over two hours later I finally got back to the ordering page, but by this time I'd lost my delivery spot because they only reserve it for 2 hours and it had been well over two hours since I initially got the spot. Once I'd ordered the first item I should have immediately gone to the payment to ensure the spot was paid for; hopefully when I do finally get another delivery spot, that will be the first ting I will do. I've contacted Tesco and was told they are aware of the problem and are considering some way to help those like myself who are house bound. I did have a carer, but he was called back to his home in Poland when his father was taken ill and I've not been able to secure another (probably because the wages are pretty dire and I'm unable to afford anything but the basic rate). Thankfully so far I've been okay for most things because I've always been a hoarder. Not in the way its being used at this time i.e. selfishly buying far more than is needed in the short term), but I've always bought things in bulk; usually when items are on offer, for example if pasta or rice have a buy one get one free or are reduced in price temporarily, I'll buy a whole box of them; same with anything else, so my cupboards are always full (usually). The only things I'm short of at this time are fresh foods like vegetables (apart from potatoes as I grew my own in the garden last year and still have a reasonable stock of them) and milk (though I've also always had powdered and UHT milk in stock for emergencies). As for bread, I've always got yeast and plain flour in stock, so have reverted to baking my own. I think my hoarding comes from my grandparents who always had their pantry overflowing all the time, plus they were thrifty, always buying when on sale. My grandmother said it was partly due to a reaction to the end of rationing in the 1950's. She said she would never again have empty cupboards. So I've always followed her example.

p.s. this comment seems to have stryed from the original post, but it was meant as a reply to

Yes I understand completely about the frustration of online shopping. I have a basket full of ocado shopping that’s been sitting there for weeks with no delivery available in exactly the same circumstances you describe,. I’ve always shopped with Ocado for my large items and then supplemented with local coop Aldi and village shops-but not anymore they can go to hell in a handcart I will never use them again and will now only ever use my local shops even if it does cost more. Perhaps we need to take these large supermarkets on when this is over. People have long memories

This lockdown is certainly showing which shops actually care about their customers. Tesco is quite definitely at the bottom of the pile.

Dear May 7
Totally agree . Have ordered from Ocado once a fortnight for years but now we are ignored. No chance of getting @ delivery and we are 74 and 76.

The one thing that worries me is how many unscrupulous people will get involved with 'helping' the vulnerable. Not being funny, but I have neighbours I wouldn't want helping me. I avoid community groups online , from what Ive seen its all picking on those who won't do all this clapping and all what neighbours are doing and not doing. Ive said it before, just don't look at what neighbours are doing and not doing. I wonder how many bitter disputes will begin during this lockdown. Remember, our actions and words during this time will be remembered for years. I personally believe being in isolation magnifies what should be insignificant and Im sorry, I think we are all now getting obsessed with this clapping thing. It should be up to individual choice and also nobody knows what is going on behind anybody's door.

I don’t understand the anger at the super markets.

They are completely overwhelmed with orders. I’m sure the use of online orders has more than doubled in an extremely short time. They had no chance to prepare.

Wise words Fiachna50.

Supermarkets are slowly getting orgainsed to more online shopping. That will be the way most will be shopping for the next 18 months, at least.
Note how Amazon has taken over our high street shops in this pandemic. Others have got to go online in a major way unless they become just suppliers for Amazon.

The supermarkets are lucky Amazon Pantry hasn't expanded into a real supermarket.

I've shopped groceries online for 15 years but slots became impossible a month ago.

The children have organised two deliveries from a distance and I got accepted in the Sainsbury group. Not easy as so many hundreds of thousands are still waiting until the Supermarket can get more vans and shoppers. But it's going the right way.

@Pikachu
I've shopped between 3 supermarkets for years. I'm a regular with each.

But this to-do has really revealed who they really are and how little they care.

I'm already mentally writing my email to each CEO for when it's all over and simply asking "tell me why I would want to continue shopping with you given the dire experiences with you during the crisis?"

I was already housebound before the bug, so I'd relied entirely on online deliveries. These weren't great to begin with. I always got the impression that delivery customers were treated as second best/almost an after-thought anyway.

Now, it's beyond shocking. Meanwhile, they keep sending wordy emails from said CEOs bragging about how much they're doing to help people.

Let's hope that this is a hangover from the delusional, consumerist, no respect for customers culture that these food giants have been fobbing off on us for the past decade or more.

We need change!!

@Summerlove

...and yet, 3 weeks before lockdown, I contacted each of the 3 supermarkets I routinely shopped at for years and asked them how they were preparing for what was coming.

Not one of these supermarkets had a clue even when I escalated my questions higher up. One referred me to the gvt page about handwashing!

If I, as an ordinary member of the public could see what probably lay ahead, why couldn't they? I just think they didn't care. They were making money anyway.

@GabriellaG54

Do you have a reference for the transfer of COVID19 on footwear? I've not seen that suggestion in any of my voluminous reading on this virus.

Thanks.

DITTO grannieiggle
We need to change the way we shop when this is over well I for one am definitely going to and I will give my custom to the smaller shops that have helped not hindered me if they survive this. In particular the CO OP