Reply To: Should I be nervous about shops reopening on the highstreet

So now things have started to reopen – have you been into town yet? Or are you still waiting for things to settle down?

I’m in York, and what’s been interesting here is how many places haven’t opened yet. They’ve got signs up saying “we’re opening in the next week/fortnight” because they, too, want to make sure they avoided ‘the rush’ that was anticipated last weekend. I think many shop owners want to see what’s working for other retailers before they make changes to their own store layouts etc, too.

I prefer shopping online anyway, especially as I’m disabled and some shops aren’t equipped to handle the simple “Excuse me, do you have a policy for Blue Badge holders?” question when faced with a very long queue. I even had one ask me to show the badge… when I said “well, it’s in my car…” they told me off for not having it on me! (You have to leave it in your car when you’re parked in a disabled bay, that’s literally the point of it). On good days, I’m happy to queue – but standing for a long time is not possible most days so a clear policy of how to handle it would be helpful.

What do you all think about masks? Should they be compulsory in shops?