Elderly customers ‘still very scared’
NON-ESSENTIAL shops in Cosham have reopened after the national lockdown – and one shopper has explained how their reopening comes as a huge relief.
While footfall represented a normal day in Cosham high street, many shoppers were relieved to embrace a slight return to normality after the four-week national lockdown.
For Sophie Gatrell, a day out shopping was a muchneeded break from feeling ‘very isolated’ looking after her five-month-old daughter Isla – who was born during the first lockdown.
Sophie said: ‘It’s nice to get out of the house and have some adult conversation. I’ve been going to the supermarket just as a day out in lockdown. I thought it would be busier today.’
The 29-year-old was made redundant from solicitor firm Coffin and Mew during her maternity leave.
She added: ‘It was very hard. In hospital, it was like giving birth in a prison cell – I was in a room on my own.
‘I couldn’t see my husband for five days, and I could only see Isla for an hour a day.
‘I just needed a hug from someone.’
Cafe worker Cocos Gabriella and director Cengiz Kaya at Cosham cafe Nino’s have said that trade had been a little slower than expected on the first day out of lockdown.
Cengiz said: ‘ We closed during the lockdown and expected it to be busier today.
‘People are still scared to come in. We have a lot of older customers and they are still very scared. I’m sure it will get better.’
Regarding the plight of the high street, he said: ‘Of course it will be harder for us if more shops close.
‘But in this pandemic, everyone is suffering.’