093 - Chapter 93

(Illustration: Kisses weren’t the same through a window,  cuddles couldn’t be given at a distance)

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus was, according to news sources, first reported in Wuhan province, China in January 2020, but now it was about to spread like wildfire across the world.

Brave health workers, would soon be putting their own lives on the line. They would soon be separating themselves from their own families, and putting their children into the care of relatives, so they could go to work and save lives. They had very little experience of the deadly virus they would soon be dealing with, because it was such an unknown quantity.

Fear and dread would soon take hold of us all.

Incidentally, our grand-daughter Leah needed her appendix out then, so our daughter Sarah, a GP in the south, and her husband were finding the going tough, but thankfully she did come through, just in time so it would seem.

Just before the outbreak in our country, when only stirrings of concern were being voiced from the Far-East, I recorded a wonderful choir for my Sunday morning radio programme. Mam and I had been sitting having a cuppa in the café at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle following her eye treatment one day, when down below in the main foyer came the sound of powerful singing.  I told mam I wouldn’t be long, and I went down the escalator to see who was producing such a lovely sound. I discovered there a group of health workers from the hospital itself raising funds for their Great North Children’s Hospital and so I arranged an interview and recording session with them, there and then for my radio programme.

The songs they chose for their radio session were popular ones, upbeat and uplifting, and great for radio, and their only accompaniment was one ukulele! The recording went really well, as did all their answers to my questions. However, when I put my last interview question to their two representatives, their smiling faces froze, and they seemed lost for words. I can’t quite remember what I asked, but it was connected with the pandemic that was heading our way! I sensed in that one brief moment, that the situation we were about to face was going to be serious!

The programme couldn’t be aired until March 2020, by which time Covid was dominating the news, and social distancing was being strongly recommended, particularly for the elderly, as hospitals said they would not be able to cope if too many elderly patients became poorly.

I began wondering why on earth our government hadn’t insisted on the Cheltenham Festival being cancelled, with it being a horse racing weekend with large crowds. Unbelievably, over 250,000 people gathered in close proximity over the four days of that event! Then, sure enough, Lockdown was declared once that weekend was over!

I explained to one friend how we couldn’t now go out for a meal we’d booked, or worship in the weeks ahead in the usual way at church, and that we would have to keep our distance as things were looking very bleak; and naturally she was so upset as the reality dawned.. We were all upset, and dreading what was to come. At the time there was no vaccines, there was no cure in sight, only isolation! It all looked bleak!

Lockdown meant that we ordinary people were only allowed outside for one hour of exercise; food had to be delivered, and only essential workers could venture out.

Bob and I developed a new routine to keep ourselves fit and active. We went out early into, and around, the nature reserve at the back of our bungalow and we walked 8000+ steps a day.We were so fortunate to have it  so near. How on earth did people in high rise flats in the inner town or city cope? I really  don't know.

First our walk took us into the woods and past a memorial tree, which was festooned with memorabilia, baubles and ribbons. It had been dedicated to a young woman called Lisa, who had died some years before. There, by her tree, every single day, we stopped and prayed for the sick, the dying and the departed victims of this awful disease, and for some kind of solution to be found to this horrific Corona virus. We each placed a stone there too, to mark our prayer.

We would also stop at the top of the pit heap, where there was a 360 degrees view, and there I prayed in a slow circle first to the north, then the west, then the south, and finally the east; for family, friends, the hospitals, for our country and the countries of the world.

Up there you could see that roads, towns, and the city had become silent, there was no activity anywhere, the air seemed fresher and  cleaner, and you could see for miles. Spring had sprung, birds were soaring and singing, daffodils and tulips were emerging from the soil. All looked normal, sunny and bright outside, but it was anything but that in people’s hearts and minds.

Once we returned from our one hour walk, we had breakfast, and tided the house, which didn’t really need tidying. I baked more than usual just to pass the time, and we began putting on weight.

It was uncomfortable and surreal for us who were in isolation, but it must have been hellish for our health workers working on the front line, and we shed tears for them as we saw their haunted faces on the news, their tired faces marked by red lines through the wearing of their masks which had dug into their faces. Many health care workers died over the course of the year. Heroes all! 

The PPI equipment which was meant to keep them safe, proved inadequate.

One nurse who worked in the ICU unit of a hospital, (not a member of the choir might I add), wrote movingly on her Facebook site: saying:

“I don’t want to be there, I’m scared, what if I bring this illness home to my beautiful, beautiful little girl or to my husband, the man who has loved and supported me for the last 17 years. What if I am one of the, already growing, young, fit, health care workers who ends up on a ventilator, fighting for my own life. Again, I don’t want to be there but... I WILL BE THERE, looking after the sickest of the sick people fighting for their lives against this awful disease.  Imagine feeling all of this then you finally get home 15 hours after you left that morning to sit down, pick up your phone, start scrolling Facebook and all you see are images, after images, after images of crowds of people gathered in parks and beaches, or complaining that sitting at home watching Netflix is just far too boring. You turn on the TV to see Boris, is having to threaten to enforce a military lockdown situation, as people cannot just sit down and stay in their homes for more than a day. It’s absolutely heart-breaking for people like me who are unable to stay at home, and who will continue to go to work and care for these people, who could have actually stayed at home yesterday, but didn’t ... so contracted the virus, spread it to others and made sure this horrible pandemic will be longer and harder than it ever had to be!"

What we missed most was contact with our family, but they were in Lockdown too, and later when they could venture out, they insisted on keeping their distance at the door, so they wouldn’t pass any germs on to us. Kisses weren’t the same through a window, cuddles couldn’t be given at a distance. One day our grandson Jack dropped off a 'kind deed' card he's made at school, especially for us, and I think he was a little startled when he saw tears were rolling down my cheeks! I think he thought his card had upset me, on the contrary it was just what we needed!

As Christians, we worshipped at home through social media. It seems that watching Christian programmes on television, tuning in to Zoom on Sundays, or tuning in to radio programmes like my own each week, was all we could do as far as worship was concerned. It was certainly an extremely steep and difficult learning curve for our clergy then, especially those not necessarily computer literate; every sermon had to be recorded too.

In order keep my mind focussed on what was positive, during ‘Lockdown’ that year, I decided to fill my time with an activity which would lift me up, something that might even bless others. Bob suggested I do a thought for the day, and so I decided to make one video of my songs, or friends' songs, every single day of that first lockdown, along with a meditation. This, I thought,  would be a positive step to guard my ‘sanity’  at this time.

But, I asked myself, where would I get the photos for the backgrounds to the lyrics. I couldn’t just use anyone’s photographs because of copyright restrictions. So, I took a ‘step out of the boat’ in faith, so to speak, (Matthew 14: 22-33) and did just one, just like Simon Peter placing his first foot on the water. I actually finished the video, and it only took me one day.  The next day I found photographs for yet another video!

They say the journey of a thousand miles, begins with one step, and this was true for me, miraculously so. Someone I knew from one of the schools I’d taught in, Shirley Palmer, whose hobby was photography, came to mind, and I felt moved to ask her whether I could use any of her photos. She very generously gave me permission, to dig down into her vast store of photographs, and simply help myself!

 Well, my oh my, what a treasure chest it was that I opened! There were hundreds of beautiful photos there. She left the choice of image completely to me, and every single day, for over 72 days, I managed to make one new video every day. She was the main contributor, though other friends generously offered photographs too.  But the entire project would have proved impossible without her help.

This project became known as LOCKDOWN LEGACY.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist...

All this provision reminded me of the prophet Elijah, and the miracle of the jar of flour and the jug of oil that never ran out. (1 Kings 17)

I also started writing my book, this one, during Lockdown too.

https://sites.google.com/.../shei.../my-life-and-faith-story

The idea for a book began when I suggested to our vicar that during Lockdown, it would be good for the congregation to be cheered up by listening to people’s faith stories on ‘Zoom’. She thought this was a good idea too and put this project into action. I had already begun to write what I would say, but I wasn’t one of the ones asked to share my story. Bob was asked, but by that time I had started writing and I couldn’t stop, and this is what you are reading right now.

This story about my life and faith might not end up for wide readership, it may simply be something I can simply hand on to my grandchildren, and their children and so on, so they can dip into it when I’m long gone, if they’ve a care to.  It will be something they might remember me by, a slice of history. They might even write their own one day! Who knows?