Wymondham Bridewell
| What was your reaction when lockdown was announced? | What have you missed most, apart from family & friends? | What have you been doing? Have you learnt something new or unusual? | Has lockdown been difficult or easy, could you get used to this way of life? | What is the first thing you will do/like when life is back to normal? | Anything else you'd like to say about your lockdown experience? |
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| A chance to take a breath. | Nothing. | Quilting course online. Embroidery for Norwich Castle Banner Group. Making cushions for my guest room. Painting in various mediums. Gardening, walking, Yoga, cooking. Home schooling a granddaughter. WI Zoom Committee Meetings. Keeping contact by Zoom and telephone with friends and family. Zoom quizzes with family. Baking and cooking some new recipes. Watching the wildlife from my garden and sitting room. Teaching my granddaughters to use the sewing machine. | Loved it except for not seeing my daughter and all her family in Somerset, but my son and his family are only a mile away, so chats over the farm gate and more recently in the farmyard and field. | Have friends and family to stay. | I feel very blessed to live in a lovely place with a husband I have a great relationship with and acres of lovely countryside to walk in. |
| Didn't really appreciate quite what it was going to mean. | Going swimming, eating out. | Lots of gardening, growing vegetables, lots of reading, learnt to Zoom! | Living on my own I have found it quite hard. I would hate for it to become normal. | Hug my sister whose husband died last month. | I have managed quite well as there has been no alternative. I think people have become kinder. |
| When can we visit our family? Is it really happening? Local shops - how will they cope? How long will it last? Home schooling - parents and children - will it work? | Trips to the hairdresser. I have grown out my fringe for the first time ever, and more grey roots are appearing daily! Appointments for the Dentist and GP. | Yes, there has been plenty to do: Sewing Scrubs uniforms for the NHS. Sewing face masks for family, friends and WI members. Furloughing 400 employees in our business (but unfortunately this only extended the inevitable, and the Book Distribution business was forced into Administration by July 2020), I was the 'last man standing' at the business, in my role as Payroll Manager. Sending parcels for family birthdays, via a courier, instead of going to their birthday parties. Booking 'Slots' for grocery deliveries to ensure we had a regular supply. I found time to enjoy crafting projects. I learnt about Zoom and other online meeting systems. I then introduced our WI Committee to Zoom. Other meetings also continued via Zoom: Trefoil Guild, Wymondham Heritage Society, WHS 200 Club, Medical appointments and many others, including business meetings whilst I was employed. We transferred our pharmacy to Pharmacy2U to get medication delivered by the Post Office, to avoid the long queues at local pharmacies. I saw a call on Facebook for new Leaders in Girlguiding, so I signed up for the training, and I am now a leader at a local Brownie unit. The Brownies have been meeting via Zoom so I am really looking forward to meeting all the Brownies when we can move to face-to-face meetings. | Lockdown was not easy. Travelling to the office for specific reasons when lockdown started was eerily strange - mostly lorries and vans on the A11 and A47, I felt I should wear my office badge and lanyard in case I was pulled over by the Police for travelling during lockdown!
| Get a vaccination when available. Gather all our WI friends together for a super party - a reason to dress up and get our hair coiffed! Stop social distancing and start hugging family and friends once again. | I realise how fortunate we have been in my lifetime; until now I had no experience of such a contagious disease as Covid-19 and what measures had to be put in place to keep the "R" number under control. The government's 4 Step Roadmap easing restrictions has been in place in 2021, and it has been led by the science, one more step after 21 June has yet to be launched and social distancing may revert to something of the past. The pandemic has crossed the globe across so many communities; in the UK many adults have now had two vaccinations; we may require boosters in the autumn. |
| Supported the PM, an essential move. | Hugs, Foreign travel. Socialising. WI. | No particular projects, just keeping in touch with family and friends. Puzzles to keep my brain active. Short walks. | I would not like to have to get used to it but I have been happy to keep to the rules. | I think it will be a long time getting back to normal, but look forward to household mixing, and seeing my great-granddaughter born during the first lockdown. | It makes you realise the freedom we took for granted before Lockdown (and the pandemic), |
| Pleased to see some form of sanity. Felt sorry for people on their own. | A HUG. Going to the theatre. Holidays. | Learnt how to Zoom. Decorating. Staying in. Abiding by government rules. | With the company of my husband, life has been good. This way of life I could accept if really necessary. | Socialise. | Made me appreciate relatives, friends and freedom, and take time to think of simple things. |