It’s early morning in the UK, but Hannah’s already been to a workout class and is eating her breakfast when we chat, her long hair wet from a shower. ‘Busy is probably the word to use for my lockdown,’ she says, inbetween mouthfuls of porridge. ‘I’d go to work and I’d be doing my normalContinue reading “Intensive care angel”
Category Archives: Tales from lockdown
Ending the Era of Procrastination
‘Ten weeks for me, working from home,’ Sue says, looking wistfully out of what I presume is the window, just off camera. ‘This is unchartered territory for me, I haven’t been at home for this long, for, well, ever. It’s been quite weird in that respect, working from home is normally just a ‘treat’ dayContinue reading “Ending the Era of Procrastination”
111 what’s your emergency?
‘When we first went into Level 4 [total lockdown], it was a little bit like slipping into a parallel universe. All of a sudden, I was still carrying on the same, but everything around me was very different. No traffic or people, petrol was really cheap and you could park anywhere in the city forContinue reading “111 what’s your emergency?”
Cohabiting with a big pink saxophone
‘At first it felt like a bit of a holiday. You have to work out where you’re going to lock yourself down, so that’s the first dilemma isn’t it?’ Julie had several options, and elderly family to consider, but in the end chose to lockdown with her partner at his house. They’ve never lived togetherContinue reading “Cohabiting with a big pink saxophone”
Mercy tea, yoga and Pat Butcher
I’m still making my morning cup of tea when Dylan comes on screen, and it’s less than a minute before he’s promising to send me a mercy parcel of Yorkshire Tea, shocked at the barbaric tea conditions this Brit has to endure here in New Zealand. I laugh and ask him how lockdown’s going. ‘WeirdlyContinue reading “Mercy tea, yoga and Pat Butcher”
Live the life you love
Jenny laughs, when I ask her how lockdown is going. ‘Well, I’m quite enjoying it, I have to say, although it’s been a real emotional journey, from absolute, acute, ridiculous, over the top oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-die-tomorrow kind of anxiety at the start, with me making out my will and all sorts.’ That anxiety went away a bitContinue reading “Live the life you love”
The tortoise and the hare
‘Lockdown is very slow,’ Gemma pops up, and then ducks out of sight on the screen. ‘I was furloughed for the first four weeks, and as soon as I started loving furlough life, they called me back; our systems aren’t set up for working from home.’ The first week was weird, she says, mainly becauseContinue reading “The tortoise and the hare”
Planes, sailboats and faffing
Scott spent lockdown with his girlfriend, who moved in with him when the UK lockdown was announced. It went well, with Scott wishing he’d asked her to move in sooner, and they celebrated their anniversary with a BBQ and local adventures, rather than the sailing trip with friends they’d originally planned. Generally he’s felt fine,Continue reading “Planes, sailboats and faffing”
Lockdown dating diary
The screen flickers and I see the beams of Ruth’s kitchen ceiling, and I picture her little country cottage nestled in a picture perfect Cotswold village, surrounded by rolling hills and endless green English countryside. I see a figure in a dressing gown moving about at the bottom of the screen, and a voice shouts,Continue reading “Lockdown dating diary”
The Paps Life 