Morrisons turns down beeps and bike racks closed - the bizarre displays of 'respect' shown for Queen

12 September 2022, 18:45 | Updated: 13 September 2022, 07:43

Morrisons has turned off the beeping sound on their self checkouts as a tribute to the Queen, a shopper has claimed.

A shopper at Morrisons, spoke on Reddit, of their experience and confusion when using the silent checkouts.

In a statement, Morrisons's said:

"Our checkout beeps are not off. They have just been turned down a little as our music and tannoy announcements have been switched off in stores."

The person, who goes by the name u/Willyamsss wrote: "I was standing in the queue for the self-service in front of the others for what felt like an eternity as everyone in front of me struggled.

"I did what all Brits do and patiently became impatient wondering why everyone was struggling to scan, 'how hard can it be' I thought!

"It wasn’t until it was my turn and I found that they had turned off the beep! One of the assistants came over when I inevitably upset the machine, so I said 'I think people are struggling as the beep is off'".

The shop assistant responded: "Did you not know we are in a period of national mourning? We have turned off all beeps as a sign of respect!"

Another person, who said they worked at Morrison's suggested that employees were not aloud to use the tannoy to make announcements:

"I work at Morrisons and have had two shifts now in complete silence and we can’t even use the tannoy. It’s ridiculous!!"

Another user under the name puppet_life wrote: "Same here, I was working earlier this evening and was aware they're not playing any music at the moment but now you come to mention it, I didn't hear the tannoy used once either.

The silent tribute to Her Majesty by Morrisons is one of several gestures intended to pay respects to raise eyebrows amongst the public.

Norwich City Council has left social media users baffled after opting to close a cycle rack to the public during the period of Royal mourning.

In a photograph of the council notice uploaded to Twitter, it reads: "Royal period of Mourning. This cycle rack will be closed from Friday 9th September until Wednesday 21st September. If you leave your cycle here between these times it may be removed."

The user, who goes by the handle @Themightyhutch, retweeted another photo, claiming to show an updated version of the sign that clarified that the section of cycle rack had been closed off to allow people to lay floral tributes to the Queen.

The user wrote: "The sign has been updated. This is the stupidest thing I have ever been able to achieve."

Following the Queen's death, one Twitter user expressed surprise at a tribute to the Queen on the website of the lingerie and adult toys retailer, Ann Summers.

A black and white image of the monarch with the caption "Rest in peace Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022, thankyou your Majesty" sits above a list of popular Ann Summers merchandise categories including 'lingerie', 'sex toys' and 'lubes'.

Meanwhile the founder of green energy company Ecotricity tweeted an edited image of the late queen in a lime green jacket that had been replace with a football shirt emblazoned with the company's logo in bold letters.

The caption in the tweet reads "Thanks Liz."

One user was outraged by the tweet, commenting: “no, I’m sorry, that’s so disrespectful. how DARE you photoshop the queen to advertise your club DISGRACE.”

The Met Office also said it intended to scale back the content that it posted on Twitter, tweeting that "as a mark of respect during this time of national mourning, we will only be posting daily forecasts and warnings."

The ex-BBC journalist Jon Sopel, who now cohosts LBC's The News Agents podcast, said online that he was 'totally bewildered' by the move, asking "why is it disrespectful to give us tomorrow's weather?"

Read more: One million people expected in London to see the Queen's lying in state

Read more: Moving moment King Charles III leads Queen's children in sombre procession through crowd-lined streets of Edinburgh

Football matches were also postponed over the weekend, however the English Football League has it will restart its season on Tuesday. The Premier League has not said whether it will resume its matches after also suspending play over the weekend.

The Queen's funeral will take place on Monday September 19, which has been declared a public holiday by King Charles III.

The Royal family will observe a period of mourning lasting until seven days after the funeral, during which time royal residences including the Queen's Gallery and Balmoral Castle will close.

Official royal engagements may also be cancelled or postponed, depending on the wishes of the King.