When you were "out and about" where exactly were you? The latest government guidance says this:
"We expect and recommend that members of the public continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed spaces where you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet. For example, on public transport."
Were you in any such places? I have seen people wearing them in the street, in the park and even when driving in a car alone. The guidance also says this:
//You should use your judgement in deciding where you should wear one.//
So what makes your judgement on these people (who have made their own decisions, as advised by the government, and of whom you obviously disapprove) any better than theirs?
//Quarter of a million new cases in a week. My area is around 500. But people are ignoring it.//
And your point is what, exactly? The 7-day average of daily new infections has been over 30,000 since 21st September. In that period, the number of new hospital admissions has reduced from around 800 a day to around 650. The number of people actually in hospital has declined from 7,800 to 6,800. The seven day average of daily deaths (which are by no means a proper measure of how many people have died as a result of catching the virus, but it's all we've got) has reduced from 144 to 108. So why does it matter how many people are said to have contracted the virus? Each of the three top causes of death in the UK is recording more than four times as many deaths as Covid.
//No mask wearing, packed pubs, public transport rammed.//
The "science" behind the efficacy of wearing non-medical grade face coverings by untrained and undisciplined people is nowhere near as cut-and-dried as you suggest, However, we've been there, done that. It is now a matter of personal choice. I've been to London three times in the last couple of weeks. Buses, trains and tubes are probably carrying less than half their normal number of passengers. The incidence of mask wearing has declined considerably in the last couple of months and I would now put it at less than 50% in most places.
//So it is real, active in the community, and I am still doing my best to avoid getting it...//
That's your decision and others must respect that. Quite how long you will continue with those measures is also your decision. As far as I am concerned the pandemic in the UK is over and the disease is now endemic (as most new respiratory viruses eventually become). With 40,000 new cases reported daily there must be many times that number tested and I don't really understand why all these people are being tested every day. The only people who need a test are those suffering from symptoms and then only to establish what they are suffering from. Time has come to move on.