ARE you an older person determined to drive your children up the wall by misunderstanding every bit of coronavirus advice? Here’s how:
Decide you can only shop at 7am
You heard about ‘silver hour’ for older shoppers on the wireless. Now you’re all flustered about it and think you have to go shopping at Sainsbury’s every day at 7am sharp with your birth certificate and at other times you’ll be turned away.
Get information from your imagination
Rather than looking up factual information from the NHS website, simply imagine things about the coronavirus. Now phone your weary children with another pointless query such as ‘Auntie Lynne’s got tropical fish. Can she get it from them?’
Believe ‘social distancing’ means ‘continue visiting crowded places’
Avoiding a virus passed between humans clearly does not mean avoiding busy coffee shops or cancelling your weekly trip to Preston market for Eccles cakes. Where on earth would anyone get that idea?
Chuck in a bit of bigotry
As younger family members try to help, put them right off with some good old out-of-date bigotry like ‘All the foreigners can’t be helping. There was Indians living 16 to a room in Bradford in 1979.’
Rely on the worst kinds of media
The Express and Mail, naturally. Also treat as gospel anything some cretin phones in to Talkradio. Before long you’ll be convinced coronavirus is a devious scheme – admittedly without any clear or useful goal – by the Russians. Or if you’re an Express reader, aliens.
Assume you are under house arrest
Firmly believe you literally must not leave the house for 16 weeks, even to go in the garden, and endlessly fret about it to your children until they wish they were doing 16 weeks in solitary just for the peace and quiet.
