Belfast in Covid Times

I found a few shots from our recent Belfast tip trip lurking in the Yashica that I took to Oxford a couple of weeks ago.   This was in one of the covered markets that have sprung up over the last few years - necessary given our weather here in Ireland, where it has been known to rain the odd time. These two young people were well masked up, even though they are pretty much outdoors:

Shoppers in Belfast, 2021.  Yashica T4 with HP5+, printed on Foma 133.

I suspect if I went back to that place today hardly anyone would be masked.  A couple of weekends ago in Oxford, which was really busy downtown, hardly anyone was masked, which I found a bit surprising.  While I wasn't too concerned when we were outside in the open air, when we ventured into into Westgate Shopping Centre I did put my mask on.  But I was definitely in the minority. 

Just in case you were wondering, Shopping Centres and me don't really mix, apart from the fact that they can be good places for a bit of people watching.  On this occasion I was out-voted but it was kind of necessary in order to get a few essentials for Missy's room. The good thing about a lot of the modern shopping centres is that while they are covered to a degree there's usually a good dose of fresh air wafting about.  In the case of the Belfast's Victoria Centre (not the one in the shot above) the designers have taken a novel approach and while it looks like a shopping centre in fact there is no roof covering at all.  Perfect in the summer but in the winter it's freezing cold to walk around and then when you enter a well-heated store you are way over-dressed and the whole experience becomes quite unpleasant.  Best avoided at all times, if you ask me...