Lockdown Stories - Property Collection

Lockdown stories

REAL LIFE SHORT STORIES, WRITTEN BY REAL PEOPLE

The

Recording history with our community

The

Over the past weeks and months we have all realised how important ‘community’ is

In these strange times, it has been wonderful to see the local community come together. Over the past weeks and months we have all realised how important ‘community’ is.

As an avid reader and lover of history, I thought it would be a fantastic way for the community to get together if we could all share our own personal stories of lockdown.

Whether they are funny, sad, uplifting or

CRAIG COOK

even strange, these stories, your stories, will live on as part of the history of our community during this time.

With this in mind, I spoke to my colleagues, my friends and my family and we all started sharing these stories and put them together in what you are reading now.

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them…

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Tomorrow’s yesterday BILLY DEXTER, UK SALES & TRAINING MANAGER

I

didn’t know what to write for this. I’m sitting here

The dog didn’t know what happened, but in her

trying to come up with some clever, creative idea to

eyes, she’d hit the jackpot. Everyone was at home

write something uplifting, entertaining and maybe

all of a sudden. Normally, most her day would be

even a bit funny. But where do you start? What do

spent moving from one of her favourite spots for a lie

you talk about? One day some kid is going to be sat

down to another (I assume of course, not being there

in the classroom learning about what happened

in the day I don’t know what she gets up to). Now

with the Covid-19 pandemic and how it changed

I suspect she can’t wait for us to go back to work,

everyone’s lives at the time. It could be the next

she’s never been walked so much and she probably

generation of children, or the one after or maybe

just wants some peace again. After a walk she goes

even the generation after that.

for a lay down on the sofa, we usually put on film4

So, I’m writing this with my future children,

for her so there’s some background noise to make

grandchildren and further in mind. We’re living in the history of the future right now, so that’s the theme I’ve chosen. Trying to explain what it’s like now.

As the coronavirus made its way to the UK, gradually we all watched as the infection numbers, climbed more and more each day. Most days were a shock.

The numbers had grown so much. Eventually bitby-bit, the country went into lockdown, people were told to remain at home; don’t leave unless essential.

The dog didn’t know what happened, but in her eyes, she’d hit the jackpot.

Everyone was at home all of a sudden

The fortunate people worked from home, however, a

her feel comfortable, it was Cheaper By The Dozen

lot of friends and family of mine, aren’t so fortunate.

2 yesterday, which left me feeling somewhat guilty;

They don’t have their jobs to go back to once we

lets by honest it isn’t as good as the first one, plus she

make it through to the other side.

hasn’t seen the first one.

I was one of the fortunate ones that was able to

In the face of the chaos of the pandemic, and my

work from home, so whatever happened at least I

mums interior design efforts, something happened.

had a reason to get out of bed in the morning and

Across the country, and across other countries, we

do something. My mum wasn’t so lucky. Being a

saw a change in the world. Before the pandemic,

hairdresser, she is one of the one’s that are going to

people were becoming disconnected. In a world

be last to go back to normality. That’s difficult for my

of next day delivery, endless streaming and smart

Mum, she likes to be busy, so she’s put herself to task

phones, I think people lost the sense of togetherness.

to keep busy around the house. The problem there

But during the pandemic, that changed. We came

is that there is only so much furniture that can be

together more than I’d seen in my lifetime. It’s been

up-cycled and so many rooms that can be decorated.

a huge reminder that you can never underestimate

None of the house looks the same as it initially did at

the human ability to adapt to change.

the start of lockdown.

4

The

Zoom quizzes have become something that happens

amazing work that they have been doing helping to

almost on a weekly basis in my life now. Before

fight the virus. People bang on pots and pans, truck

lockdown I would have been the first to come up

drivers drive through the village beeping their horns

with an excuse for not attending an online quiz with

as loud as they’ll go.

my family. But I don’t have any better offers right now. It reinforces that togetherness and adaptation.

It isn’t about the quiz and winning (Although obviously I always do win…) It’s catching up with family that I haven’t seen in a long time, it’s having a laugh and a few drinks with people I hold dear.

So that’s it really, that’s my experience in the pandemic crisis, it’s bleak and we don’t really know what lies ahead, until there’s a vaccine then there’s no eradicating Covid-19, but people are doing what they can. In the face of unknown though we’ve adapted and stood strong. We’ve come up with new

In two weeks, I went from not really being interested

ways to connect, new ways to have fun and we’ve

in taking part in a quiz to being the quiz master

carried on. The title rings true, one day this will just

and curating my own quiz. It very quickly became

be history, something that people look back on for

something that was the highlight of my week – and

generations to come.

my family are really easy to catch out with trick questions, so that definitely added another element to it for me.

Friday nights are of course the best part of the week for a lot of people, that hasn’t really changed whilst in lockdown. Between the renovation work my mum’s tasked herself with, she’s made the effort for Friday evenings to be different and something to look forward to. The local pub is closed for the time being of course, but they’ve also adapted to the change and launched a take away menu.

VE Day 75th anniversary happened whilst in lockdown, but that didn’t stop people coming together; street parties were happening all over the village. Bunting of the union jack was draped across almost every house. Just like 75 years before, people and communities were coming together, it brought a tear to my eye, I felt proud to be who I was and where I was from.

Every Thursday, without fail, all the neighbours come out to their front gardens to clap for the NHS and the

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Short Story JON WHEATLEY, EDITOR

E

ight weeks had flown by. Eight weeks of socially distancing with the woman he had grown to

love. His soulmate. Not in a cheesy way though, in a real way. The way only someone who has ever truly been in love knows. ‘Soppy git!’

Wake up, drink coffee, let the dog out, eat lunch, smile, laugh, watch TV. ‘Woof.’

kids TV, eating fish fingers. ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy…’

A smile slowly returns. A warmth grows inside his stomach as he hears their giggles and smells their hair. At bedtime they all sleep in the same bed. He sleeps at the foot of it, with their hot toes poking him.

He doesn’t care.

In the morning, earlier than he usually wakes, he

Eight weeks of it feeling more like a holiday than a

watches the sun come up as he watches them sleep.

lockdown.

The eldest is murmuring something. It sounds like,

Sunbathing in the garden, building a BBQ, watching the sunset in the hot tub, drinking homemade

“Daddy, when ‘roronavirus’ go away.” He slips in between them and cuddles them.

mojitos. Lime, brown sugar, mint leaves, white rum,

The next day they are gone again and he is alone.

soda. ‘Aaahhh.’

Only he doesn’t feel alone. A fire he hadn’t felt for

But eight weeks was over. It wasn’t his choice. If he wanted to cuddle his two sons and not just watch them from over a fence, he would have to go home to what they had jokingly called, ‘The storage shed.’

years burns inside of him. A faded tattoo down his left bicep reads, ‘Never Surrender.’ He remembers an old saying from when he worked in the bar on the High Street. Nearly ten years ago now. “Keep on

swinging.” The man who had said it to him had died,

Now he was alone five days a week.

but the words still reared their head when he felt

Wake up alone, coffee from yesterday’s unwashed

himself spiralling down.

mug, sun is shining but not leaving the sofa, no

Now he starts writing. Whenever he gets a free

appetite, ‘Sigh.’

moment he thinks about a story. One of hope. One of

Whatsapp and FB videocalls weren’t the same. When

love. He video calls his girlfriend and they laugh. He

he messaged her, he started receiving one-word

makes her smile. “You’re funny,” she says. They have

answers. When they spoke via video she smiled, but

a virtual smooch. Yes, he’s alone, but he’s not really.

then looked down. Her lips tight.

Inside of him he holds every conversation he ever

Euro 96 on repeat. The Sopranos. BBQ Pitmasters. A dent on the sofa. ‘Pwwuurrrr’ And then the boys would arrive…

had with someone, every laugh, every tear.

This is a story of hope after all. Isn’t that what he’s seen every day? The man giving his spot in the queue up to a nurse. A smile and a wave to his

The youngest nearly as tall as the eldest now. Nice

neighbours he never used to talk to. People really

tans from days in the back garden in the paddling

meaning it when they ask, ‘Are you okay?’ He turns

pool. Daddy’s garden isn’t big enough for a paddling

the news off, especially the BBC which just seems to

pool. Daddy’s house isn’t big enough for much.

be finding fault in everything.

Playing stickers on the sofa, building Lego, watching

He starts listening to music again. Really listening

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The

to the lyrics though. Up-lifiting songs. Heavy songs.

maybe, they will realise that too. Maybe everyone will

Sad songs. But always listening to the lyrics. Sure, the

be stronger and kinder in the future.

beat makes a song good, but the lyrics, they mean something more don’t they? A blast of genius or profound insight at the right time.

He thinks about the first day when the lockdown is lifted. He thinks of the bright, blue, white and red flags draped across the street. He thinks of the smell

Now when he looks outside and sees the sun, he sees

of sausages and burgers on a barbecue. The smell

hope. He sees joy. He can smell smoke on the breeze.

of beer and the sounds of people laughing. People shaking hands with strangers. People enjoying each

For now, he will stay home, but soon… soon he will do everything he has always wanted to do, but not yet done.

Someone having a BBQ. Charcoal, Firelighters, a match. ‘Whoosh.’ Fire. Just like the fire burning inside of him.

At night time he reads. Anything he can find. Five books at one time. He realises this won’t last forever.

And can guarantee when the world goes back to the ‘new normal,’ he will wish he had taken the chance to do more things. But he also makes a promise to himself. He won’t take things for granted. He will always be thankful for everything he owns. For every

other’s company. His boys running around like loons.

His mum in the corner watching and smiling, proud of her son and his sons. He thinks of holding his girlfriend’s hand again. Of kissing her. A song playing in the background – Something with Spanish guitars and a fast beat. The warmth of the sunshine on their shoulders. It’s going to be a good summer, he thinks.

Back on his sofa, he sits down and writes some more.

He messages his girlfriend and tells her he loves her.

He calls his mum and tells her what his kids did the past weekend. He hears them laugh. He loves that sounds.

For some unknown reason he thinks of Mel Gibson in Braveheart, ‘They may take our lives but they will

never take our freedom!’ He smiles and picks up the Sky remote. For now, he will stay home, but soon… soon he will do everything he has always wanted to do, but not yet done.

moment he spends with his kids. Every moment he spends with his girlfriend. Every moment he spends with his parents. This won’t beat him. Losing a job didn’t beat him. Getting separated didn’t beat him.

His eldest son being born grey and not breathing didn’t beat him. His other son being born sevenweeks premature didn’t beat him. He is strong. He doesn’t just think it, he knows it. And he knows everyone out in the world is strong. Maybe, just

7

Lockdown CAROLINE LEWIS, VOICEOVER ARTIST AND PRODUCTION MANAGER

S

ince lockdown my brother, sister and I have been

always be met by my sister with sheer disbelief,

staying in touch, like most of the world it seems,

and she would demand to get on the lorry to check

with video calls. Growing up we were not close. I

for herself because she was sure there would be a

am the youngest of 3 siblings, being 5 years younger

bottle lurking in a crate somewhere, but the driver

than my sister, a card-carrying tomboy, and six years

just couldn’t see it. I learnt many years later that my

younger than my brother and I was rarely allowed

mother and the Corona Man had a secret signal they

to spend play time with them, as I was always ‘the

had devised between themselves whereby, if there

baby’ and not welcome at their Indian Camps or

were insufficient funds to enjoy ice cream sodas

dens and I never did master the art of climbing a

that weekend, my mother would stand behind us

tree. During one of our earliest calls we laughed that

and gently shake her head whereby he would then

Corona was, for us in our childhood, the brand name

impart the world shattering news. Cream soda was

of ‘pop’ - fizzy drinks. And I was surprised to learn

an essential ingredient of our all-time childhood

from my South African friend that is it still widely

favourite in the summer – ice cream soda. It was a

distributed in her native land. It is astonishing that it

rare treat because it was an expensive concoction

took a world pandemic for us to talk and reminisce

to create and gone in a flash, only to be met with

sufficiently to remember the Corona Man.

demands for seconds that could not be provided

Every Saturday morning he would drive his lorry along the streets of the small market town - well it was a city actually with a rather fine and beautiful cathedral, but I’m not one to brag - where I grew

a) because there was no more cream soda and b) because there was no more ice cream – the only 2 ingredients in this hedonistic delight and minor details that did not compute in my 5 year old brain.

up, stopping at any lucky household who flagged him down, where he would exchange empty bottles leftover from his delivery the previous week, for full bottles of glorious sticky, neon-coloured, sugarladen pop. Each Saturday morning we would wait in trembling anticipation of his arrival, each taking a turn to stand in the front garden of our home and look out for his lorry as it came into view round the bend at the bottom of the street, desperate to be the

It is astonishing that it took a world pandemic for us to talk and reminisce sufficiently to remember the Corona Man

one who could run into the house shouting excitedly ‘the Corona Man is here!’ and then to squabble over who would enthusiastically give him the empties

Our Saturday morning encounters with the Corona

and wait in silent reverence at the side of the lorry

Man seemed to me to last forever until one day,

to learn of any new flavours that might be there to

in an attempt to avoid one of the many dogs that

tempt us and subsequently plead with our mother

roamed the streets, he drove his lorry into our front

to buy, or to learn with heart-rending sadness that he

wall and was taken, bleeding and dazed, into our

had just sold the last cream soda. This news would

house, where he proceeded to bleed all over the

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The

kitchen floor. He was ministered to by my mother,

what fate threw at them and got on with it. The wall

who cleaned his cuts and made him strong tea

bore the scars of that day for the rest of the time

while my father phoned his wife – we were one of

that we lived there, and for all I know, still does.

only 3 houses in our street who had a telephone at that time – to explain and reassure her that her husband was not badly hurt and to find out when she could arrange to have the lorry removed as it was blocking the street. No-one phoned 999. It was, after all, the early 1960s and you only phoned 999 in an emergency and as far as everyone who had witnessed the accident was concerned this was not one such occasion. The Corona Man only had minor cuts and bruises according to all the neighbours, who by now had filled our kitchen and were spilling out into the garden, and it was clear

I have no doubt we are not the only family or group of friends that have been reminded of halcyon days during these past weeks and I have every faith that those days will return to be joined by new memories of lockdown and how we survived this unparalleled time. For those of us fortunate enough to have lived through these times unscarred we know that memories are precious and unlike ice-cream sodas, or any other lovely sugary treat, don’t make us gain weight.

Stay safe everyone and treasure all the memories.

for all to see that, as he was only a little shaken but not unconscious, he would clearly live. Also, he hadn’t broken anything. This fact that had been ascertained by one resident who had grabbed each limb in turn and given it a vigorous shake, followed by the demand to know if it hurt. We were all a little more gung-ho in those days, the war still being very fresh in everyone’s memory. Sadly, this sorry event resulted in the Corona Man no longer delivering delicious bottles of delectable pop to us, or anyone else for that matter, because he could not afford to replace the lorry. Comprehensive vehicle insurance was a luxury few could afford in those days; most vehicles were only insured for their liability for injury or death to third parties or, as anyone over the age of 50 clearly remembers, third party fire and theft. No-one repaired the wall either. My father’s opinion was that it was still standing and not likely to fall down and anyway it was only stones, so no real harm done. I am not entirely sure that anyone claimed damages in those days, they just accepted

9

Life in lockdown ANDREW ORMISTON, COPYWRITER

O

nce upon a time I had a hair style.

Hell, it seems, hath no fury like a man in search of plain flour

Well, I use the word ‘style’ in its loosest possible

form. It wasn’t a Beatles moptop, a wedge, curtains, one of the many Beckham creations, or even a mullet; just the ‘yeah, looks great’ look favoured by busy males who can’t think of anything better to mumble when the barber holds up a mirror.

satellites traced their path across the heavens like an

Now, deep into lockdown, it’s what a hairdresser

ethereal daisy chain. The April Lyrids meteor shower

might term “out of control”. Coupled with a patchy

was the most vivid I can remember.

grey beard, I look like an ageing caveman who has

And, then on the eve of my birthday, the best present

discovered electricity by ramming his fingers into a

of all: a small pin-prick of light moving surprisingly

live socket.

swiftly on a west-to-east trajectory it must have

It’s not a good look.

plotted a thousand times before on its never-ending

But it is what it is. Things could be worse … a lot worse.

If there is one thing the COVID-19 Lockdown 2020 has – or should have – taught us is that life is too precious to gamble with. Image and possessions mean little; the little things we take for granted mean a lot.

voyage above the planet. It was almost as if the crew of the International Space Station were saying: Happy birthday.

As for the days… My goodness. The light, the colours, the sound of nature trumpeting a new beginning.

The air seemed cleaner, the colours more vibrant, the

We live in a cul-de-sac backing onto a no-through

hedgerows laden with blossom I would scarcely have

road and open countryside; have done for more than

noticed as I sped by, eyes fixed on a never-ending

25 years. Although the A47 is barely more than half a

expanse of blurred tarmac.

mile away it is no more than a hum. But, after March 23, it became eerily quiet, an early Christmas morningtype of quiet… and it was wonderful.

But the sounds… Working from home allowed me to wander outside for a break to watch the little sparrows constructing their nest in the Virginia Creeper; to

As the biting chill of March gave way to an

hear blackbirds and thrush competing for seconds

exceptionally warm April, odd things happened,

of airtime while the chaffinch perched on our TV

unnatural things in this rush here, rush there 21st

aerial advertising his virility on whatever the chaffinch

century. A clear blue sky was just that, a very clear,

version of Tinder is – Twitter, perhaps? I haven’t heard

very blue sky. No traffic – air or road – meant no fumes,

him for a while now, perhaps he is hunkered down

no vapour trails. No pollution.

with the new love of his life.

Such clarity brought its rewards in the night sky.

However, a modern-day Charles Dickens would have

Venus, usually no more than a vague dot, burned

written: It was the best of times, it was the worst of

bright and was easily discernible. Elon Musk’s Starlight

times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of

continue overleaf...

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The

foolishness. It pulled mankind together, it pulled mankind

we must go out, the fabric of society will be rent asunder if

apart.

we don’t get dressed up in our finery and go out”, we have

It has been tough, it would be foolish to say otherwise.

I have two key workers in my immediate family – my wife, a senior member of staff in a building society, and my eldest son a manager in Britain’s largest supermarket chain. And while the nation clapped for the NHS, I

been told to stay at home. So we have.

We found old video cameras, got them to work and have relived old holidays on Saturday evenings, our eldest son joining us via Facetime to offer a biting commentary on my shirts, waistline, hairline, whatever.

applauded them, my own barely-acknowledged heroes

Thousands are not so fortunate. For them, holiday

who faced an increasingly-fractious public without

memories will bring sad smiles and tears. Many tears.

masks or capes while my youngest son and I worked in the relative safety of our ‘home offices’, rarely venturing further than the end of the drive.

And neither do we have the relentless pursuit of consumer perfection. As our favoured supermarket found it difficult to cope in the early days when panic-buying

Both can tell shocking stories, the sort of tales that

was the norm, we turned to independent suppliers. And

would be dismissed as unbelievable in normal times, yet

as we have – and will – remain loyal to them, so they have

believable in these strange, unprecedented days.

slipped little extras into our deliveries; last week three

Hell, it seems, hath no fury like a man in search of plain flour.

And yet we are getting through it. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month.

Many a time, I have offered a silent prayer of thanks to whoever is on duty Upstairs for keeping us safe. I don’t know why, I’m not religious. It just seems the right thing to do: to be thankful for what I have, not what I would want.

As I look around, I realise I have a home not a house. I have no idea how. Looking back, I have been nothing but a billpaying guest for most of our time here. Things have been created around me. Yet I suspect millions would beg to trade places, such are their own desperate positions.

As a family, we have shown ourselves to be strong; loving, caring, loyal. And funny.

Instead of the treadmill of “it’s the weekend, we must go out, where shall we go, I don’t know but it’s the weekend

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sticks of young, freshly-picked rhubarb, this week a dozen stalks of asparagus with stems as thick as my fingers.

Simple things. Yet it has taken a pandemic and thousands of deaths to make us appreciate them.

Quite shameful, really.

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Lockdown and I JONATHAN BAINES, VIDEO EDITOR

H

ello,

In troubling times like these I have learnt, at least for me, coping is all about your mindset. When fighting anxiety or depression I have learnt that

I hope you and your nearest are managing to stay safe and positive during these troubling and strange times. For my part I live in a rented property with my girlfriend and I am under no illusion just how lucky we are. The amount of people that must be struggling living alone cooped up in a house share or small flat, or even those with no partner to have a social outlet, it must be tough. We haven’t got the

with negativity you must also have positivity to keep the balance and that has honestly helped me out so much. Think of it as whenever you get a bad thought you think of a positive one too from the situation, this brings balance to my thoughts. I knew from the start of lockdown I would need to motivate myself because being in bed all day living in your

most money or biggest home, but we’re safe and have each other, believe me or not, it’s a lot more than some people have, so we feel privileged and grateful every day for that.

At the start of lockdown, I knew the hardest thing to overcome would be not seeing my family. We travel to see my parents every Sunday, or sometimes Saturday, without fail and this for me is something I look forward to every week. Although I’m twenty

I knew that I needed to be positive and make the most out of the extra time I had, after all, time is precious

seven years old my parents’ home is my safe place,

pjs or laying there scanning social media while

somewhere I can go and not get judged and talk

binge watching show after show wouldn’t help my

openly about my thoughts and feelings, be myself

mental illness, and in short would be a waste of

and feel relaxed; and in a way it’s my safe haven,

time. I knew that I needed to be positive and make

without it I must admit my mental health at times

the most out of the extra time I had, after all, time

has been a struggle. I miss playing with my niece,

is precious. I’ve started reading more, exercising,

laughing around the table with my family over a beautiful meal that my mother has prepared and giving my family members hugs and compassion. I worry for my sister as she not only works in a hospital on the front line, but she also lives sixty miles away in Birmingham on her own, which I know will be a struggle for her. It is tough but we’re all healthy and safe which is the main thing and hopefully soon we will see light at the end of the tunnel. As I said

doing weekly quizzes, I put up a dart board up and even completed some video games that I never got the chance to do. With this extra time, I believe it is important to spend it wisely, learn and improve yourself, whether its hobbies or cooking, the time is yours and you should spend it wisely. In troubling times, you do have to look at positives and the good instead of the bad and negatives in the world.

before, I’m sure a lot of people are a lot worse off and

The virus has been a real eye opener for me, it has

I should count myself as one of the lucky ones.

made me feel like the world is made up of small

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The

cogs in a big system and as soon as one stops

wait to share it once again with family and friends,

moving none of the others move. I thought to myself

but until then I will continue to be positive and happy

how can a virus that you cannot even see put the

with what I have. I hope you are finding the same.

world on pause? It has shocked me and made me

Wishing you all the very best, and hoping we can

feel sick to my stomach that something we can’t see

all return to normality soon being safe and healthy

or physically fight can put our lives on pause. It does

along the way, take care all,

show that in the world we take a lot for granted and sometimes don’t think about the bigger picture. I

Jonathan Baines

have been pleasantly surprised on the news with the rise in nature since the lockdown. Of what I saw, the sea and water around the globe seems to be clearer with less pollution and rubbish being dumped and disbursed. Wildlife and nature seem to be thriving too which is brilliant. I really hope we care more for others and our planet once out of lockdown and we can all learn and take something from this horrendous time. Although we have death and darkness, we also have life and light.

As lockdown has started to ease, I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel, looking forward to the future is a joy to my brain. Only yesterday my girlfriend and I stayed up late gazing up at the ceiling while expressing happy thoughts to one another about our future together. If you have done this before with a partner or close friend you will know the time will literally fly, but it is worth it. We talked about having children, our own mortgage, holidays, pets, all happy thoughts. We do this from time to time being together for nearly three years now but during lockdown having happy thoughts and discussing them with someone you love really gives you peace of mind.

I hope you too are finding that, despite this very troubling situation, there are some upsides to be explored. Mostly, for me, the upside is time. The more I have of it the more precious I realise it is and I can’t

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An Ode to Dreams, Love & the Poignancy of COVID-19 CRAIG COOK

A

ll human beings prosper and build shared

dream it. You can do it” & “Sharing is Caring”, now

futures through Dreams & Love and that’s

came to mean so much more with the poignancy of

what I am taking from COVID-19. A persuasive and a joyful celebration of mankind’s Dreams for the future and our space in belonging and longing for being together.

the daily death tolls and external suffering.

You have to dream for dreams to come true.

Somehow the gamesmanship of the politicians and the incredibly selfish tweets from over the pond, full

COVID-19 brought for me a part trembling &

of hatred still does not dampen that British spirit of

uncertain silence on the streets and ghostly faces

‘we will get through this’ and at its heart, Love.

observed somehow closer at hand than ever before with smiles, wrinkles and the nod of ‘we are here for each other’ and a “hello” genuinely given, but these days never a brash loud Hello but more often quietly

COVID-19 is the tragedy of our lifetimes but it also underpins to wake each day to be in Love with the life that you have or can have. Live every day of your

& respectfully delivered from over 2 metres as we pass each other carefully.

Each day a reminder of the last 5pm blast of the solemn passings of our fellow human beings and their family’s tragedy, but of hope, CARE heroes & dreams for the future as well. The juxtaposition of

Live every day of your life with respect for others – even if not returned

fantastic heraldry and suffering a reminder to us all of how small we are in the big picture of life. We can

life with respect for others – even if not returned.

only hope to do our best each day and an obligation

Brilliant smiles a little apologetic these days with

to dream for yourself and others. That’s life and

others losses but life is only worth having if lived. The

mankind at its purest.

breakfast munch from my little dreamers as they in

Cloistered in my home, safe with all my children happy and aware of the facts but not the emotion of the tragedy unfolding at others doors, meant an air of optimism and Love unfolded with each dawn as the habitual day belonged to hard work, but now

no shy way seize their day for their simple dreams of more chocolate and ice cream and X-Box time and family film time when my fabulous Mrs, and the love of my life, collapses with her ‘loves’ after an endless day in the home office.

a growing sense of fellowship through clapping

“It is Perfect my life” I say to myself. Well perfect for

as one. Children’s Rainbows pervasive upon each

me and I am truly grateful. Now back to pursuing

healing street walk with the windows doffing their

those dreams to share success with others.

cap to a community response and the zest for life and creativity of the children we live for. A reminder each day that I am so very grateful for the love and aspiring dreams on my little one’s shoulders that we try to inspire through our family mantra’s. “If you can

17

The

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