coronavirus photo diary week six: Sunday 19th - Saturday 25 April

Sunday, 19th April

A thoughtful tale from the riverbank - 

I got talking to this young mother on a walk, discussing what her young children would remember of these days. 

I think a memory of my own childhood may have prompted the conversation.

The power cuts of the 1970's, and the lights suddenly going off in the pub where I grew up...

Locals drinking by candlelight, eating only sandwiches and other cold food, the mutter of muted conversation...

A strange time, something not right with the world, I remember understanding that, but also rather a fun one for a kid.  

What will the children of today carry with them of the silent streets and shuttered society of the coronavirus era?

 

Home haircuts... hmmm.

But what else do you do with the barbers shut, and the only alternative is looking like a caveman?

This was Monday, 20th April, 2020.

 

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the streets of a modern city looking this way, no matter how long the lockdown goes on for.

Cafés, bars, shops and stores, shuttered and boarded up, at mid morning, when they should be bustling with busyness.

This was Tuesday, 21st April.

 

Do you believe in karma?

Why do I ask? Because Wednesday 22nd April brought a lift to the mood. 

The webinars I've been doing on Storywriting have been well received, but even better...

I saw this on LinkedIn, from a trainer who had joined us -

I posted my appreciation and got a lovely message in reply...

Isn't that lovely? One good deed deserving (and giving rise to) others. 

There's been an uplifting lot of that in these difficult days, and it's always good for the spirit.

 

Shopping has become a whole new experience in the coronavirus era. 

First, you have to try to time your visit, to minimise the queue...

As queue marshalls have become a sign of the times. 

And woe betide anyone who transgresses another new, but quickly familiar sight...

Cones, the like of which you'd usually see at the gym, marking out the correct social distance to wait for your turn. 

This was Thursday, 23rd April. 

 

Feeling more upbeat on Friday, 24th April.

The Storywriting Social part two went very well last night, with a lovely group of people. 

The audience is growing, which must be a good sign, and the series seems to be helping to lift the spirits, just as intended. 

Anyway, aside from the self-indulgence, I was out on a run and saw this, which also gave me a lift...

It was on the Mill pub, in the centre of Cambridge, by the river. 

I hope - and genuinely believe - that sentiment is spot on. We will come back, and better. 

 

I see this a lot in Cambridge, but always find it a sad experience - 

Of all the colleges have seen in their hundreds of years, not much compares with today.

Not in modern times, anyway. 

This was Saturday, 25th April.