Morrisons Supermarket, Dover: No Queue, No Covid-19, But...

...I did encounter a psychological virus: the "virus" a human being develops when they harden the surface fear of their psychological history, and in so doing, create a psychological weapon with which to damage or distress others.

The background to this aspect of today's visit to my local branch of Morrisons will be described on a sister blog (Dover: The Psychology of a Small Town) and a link provided here once it has been written.

The supermarket is located on Bridge Street, Dover CT16 1RA, and looks across a car park. Along an adjacent side are branches of Asda, Jollyes, Farm Foods, and Poundstretcher, all part of Castleton Retail Park, Charlton Green.

Consequently, this is an important and popular shopping area and queues have been quite lengthy since the Coronavirus Social Distancing rules and reduced opening times came into effect.

However, as you can see from today's photograph (taken at 10 am) all this has changed - at least as far as Morrisons is concerned, anyway!:

Compare the above view to the 11-second video of a Morrisons queue that I posted on this blog on Thursday, 9th of April:

See Covid19 Queuing at Morrisons (also on Facebook and Twitter)

The reason the queue has disappeared is because of a change in opening hours that was announced in an email sent on Saturday, the 18th of April:

From Monday 20th April our store opening hours are:

Monday to Saturday - 7am - 10pm

Sunday - No change

Supporting our NHS

Thank you to our very hard working NHS workers.

We continue to open our stores exclusively for you to shop between 6am - 7am daily (Sunday 9am - 9.30am*).

These opening times are valid in the majority of stores but some may vary, including Scotland - please click here to find your local stores opening times.  

 Of course, queues are still likely to form at traditionally busy times (Saturday morning, for example) but the shopping experience at Morrisons has definitely improved!

The main photo were taken during a permitted Coronavirus Lockdown bike ride.

A cycling route map and biometrics can be seen on this Polar Flow web page.

Abridged versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter.

Covid19 Queuing, Morrisons Supermarket, Dover, UK

(Test video for my Pixel 2 smartphone: not very exciting but I am pleased with the quality!)

An 11 second video clip of the meandering queue outside the Dover branch of Morrisons supermarket at 12.05 pm on Wednesday, the 8th of April, 2020:

Shopping under the Coronavirus lockdown rules hasn't been too onerous so far (except that I'm more accustomed to picking up "bits and pieces" on a daily basis) and I expect people have encountered bigger queues...

...and longer lasting ones, too: I ended up waiting only 20 minutes before I entered the shop and I say "only" because it took a good 7 or 8 minutes before the queue moved at all!

This was because the security staff's "policy of the day" was to let people in in batches of 10 or so - different to the "one in, one out" that some shops employ.

Anyway, I've posted the video as it's a Personal Best (or Worst, depending how you look a it) in terms of the longest time I've had to wait (so far!) before entering shop during the pandemic.

A few minutes after taking the video, the woman on the left in the candy-striped dress began to take a photo or make a video of her own.

A security guard - not one of those policing the queue - emerged from Morrisons and told her that she couldn't because she didn't have permission of the people she was photographing.

Perhaps this was because the car park is private property - I've checked online and it appears that filming in public places is perfectly OK unless you're doing it for nefarious purposes.

If I'm wrong and get arrested, please send food parcels to "John Latter, C/O The Tower of London" (and make sure they contain plenty of chocolate-covered brazil nuts - and not cheap brands either!)

Morrisons with no Covid-19 Queue

UPDATE Monday, 20th April 2020:

Morrisons have revised their opening times with the result that there was no queue whatsoever when I visited the store today.

Click on the link or thumbnail to read more.

The walking route map I took (Robsons Yard, Priory Rail Station, Marks and Spencers, Morrisons supermarket, Robsons Yard again):

Marks and Spencers is located in the St James Retail and Leisure Park at the bottom of the map; Morrisons supermarket is at the top.

Original map and biometrics on this Polar Flow web page.

Abbreviated versions of this post are also on Facebook and Twitter

The nearest I've been to panic buying in Dover, UK

Shopping during the Coronavirus or Covid-19 Pandemic and buying nine days supply of raw toast in one easy-to-freeze package! Dover, food, shopping,

Purchased from the Dover branch of Asda supermarket: one Extra Special Super Seeded loaf of bread.

Originally posted on Facebook and Twitter

More information on the Dover Asda supermarket (including opening times). https://twitter.com/johnlatter/status/1241715521244069889?s=20