Life in Lockdown - Kate

Lockdown has affected us all in different ways. The complete change of life that was thrown upon us all without really any warning was a huge thing for us all to come to terms with. Our feelings and thoughts changed on a daily and weekly basis. Sometimes by the minute. Being in limbo, reinventing ourselves and our lives and coming to terms with the restrictions that the virus put upon us all.

From cooking with Jamie Oliver and ordering everything online from the fruit and veg suppliers and the wonderful Geordie Banger Company whom we found at various food festivals last year, so that we didn’t have to venture out into the super markets.

We explored our local area in so much more detail. We found a secret beach in Newbiggin accessed by walking over the town moor, where the horses still graze, across the golf course, which of course was deserted, to the coastal path that down to a small cove of white sand and shingles covered in limpet shells. At sunset, when the tide was fully out we were solitary souls, just hearing the sounds of the sea birds and the gentle lapping of the waves. The place was deserted unlike the promenade where the couples, families and dog walkers tried to avoid each other.

We had amazing feasts cooked on the BBQ in the back garden and sun bathed with the smell of sun lotion wafting over us, making it feel like we were anywhere but Newbiggin. We had created our own holiday area. The restrictions felt positive instead of negative. We played scrabble and Yahtzee and read books. I rang my parents each and every day to make sure that they were safe and coping with the alien situation. As we were a 5 hour drive away and visiting was now out of the question.

Watching Grayson Perry’s art club inspired me to draw, I sketched Lilly as she completed her final project for her level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship in the garden. It was fun to get the colouring pencils out again and be creative for no reason.

We ordered herbs and planting troughs on line online and created our own little Herb garden as we were getting really into the home cooking and the new recipes we had found. The restrictions felt positive instead of negative.

Our experience of lockdown was a good one, and I know for many it was not the same. It’s an experience that I won’t forget and that I have learned so much from. I no longer take the car for granted, I think twice before using it. We stay local, we stay safe, we are mindful about ourselves and others and what we should now do and how we should behave in the new world that we are now entering into.