Firstly, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s taken part in this project, giving up your time and telling me your stories. I’ve loved chatting and catching up, and speaking to people I haven’t spoken to in quite a while, sometimes years. It was a chance to record a unique time in people’s lives, andContinue reading “Tales from lockdown – author’s note”
Category Archives: Tales from lockdown
French sunshine
I recognise the sofa on the screen, and realise Bev is back in her house in Cheltenham. She’d spent the previous six months with her husband Rich travelling through Europe in their motorhome, and I ask her how she feels to be back. ‘It’s nice being in the house but I’d rather be in France.Continue reading “French sunshine”
All the M’s
‘There are three main words I can sum lockdown up in-Mum, masks and memory teddies.’ Ged laughs. Her Glaswegian accent is a treat to listen to, and I lean nearer to the screen. ‘Mum is now 92 and went into a care home about a year ago with vascular dementia. I don’t think I’d haveContinue reading “All the M’s”
Watercolour riches
‘I was like, let’s just stay home forever,’ Clare said in her wonderful Northern Irish accent, laughing at the screen when I asked her how she found lockdown. ‘I found it pretty good. I’m really introverted, so the opportunity to stay at home in my own company, for an unknown amount of time, just seemedContinue reading “Watercolour riches”
Chef with a heart
Ben, or Coops, as he’s more widely known, runs a hospitality and events consultancy, and work just disappeared when COVID19 hit. He says: ‘There’s no restaurants open, no hotels that want consultancy and no events going on in the British summer. My cash cow from May until the end of September, gone. I thought shit,Continue reading “Chef with a heart”
Little House on The Lincolnshire Wolds
‘I thought it was going to be like Little House on the Prairie. You know, rolling around in hills all day frolicking and baking. Actually it was nothing like that at all.’ Vic is sat outside, making the most of a warm June evening in the UK. ‘I think I was a little bit unrealisticContinue reading “Little House on The Lincolnshire Wolds”
Caricatures and containers
“I’m glad to be back in New Zealand but it’s definitely not the homecoming I’d envisaged,’ laughs Abi. She arrived in New Zealand on 1st January, returning after years living away in the UK, Switzerland and France. She was just getting settled and had some job offers on the table when lockdown hit. ‘Lockdown wasContinue reading “Caricatures and containers”
Teacher times
‘It’s gone faster than I thought it would. I was teaching on the Monday, someone came in and told me we’d be finishing as we were about to start ‘locking down’, and all of a sudden it was organised chaos.’ Linda’s smiley face is on the screen, glass of wine in hand. She’s one ofContinue reading “Teacher times”
Diazepam and dog walks
Alex pops onto the screen. He has a beard. He starts talking and I hear some words about having sunburn and working in the garden but I’m distracted trying to figure out whether I’ve ever seen him with a beard. It’s a long time since I’ve seen him. ‘It’s really hard to explain. It feelsContinue reading “Diazepam and dog walks”
The Paps Life 