Covid lockdown seems like a dream

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Last week at a social event I was chatting to someone who had been a student in 2020, and we were talking about our experiences during Covid lockdown. She was lucky I guess in that 2020/21 was her final year, so she had already made friends and had some fun and now the lockdown meant that she stayed in and concentrated on her work, which had certain benefits. Obviously the situation was much worse for people just starting a course and being cloistered away unable to meet their contemporaries or their tutors, with no chance to make the most of all the opportunities to try new things that university usually offers along with the educational aspects. But the funny thing about this conversation was that talking to her brought back memories of lockdown that I had already pretty much wiped from my mind! Only being allowed out once a day for some sort of exercise, staying 2 metres away from other people, household bubbles… I had almost forgotten about arranging video calls for the girls to chat to their friends, walking across the playing field to shout a few words through their open window to friends who lived nearby, everyone scrambling to figure out how to use Zoom and Google classroom and WhatsApp. But the biggest thing I had completely forgotten about was the Zoom ceilidhs! We regularly go to the ceilidhs that are held in the village every month from September to April. During lockdown of course all that was banned, but the enterprising organisers arranged for them to be moved onto Zoom instead, and the callers managed to create dances that could be danced by just one person (maybe with a broom or something) or by two or more in a household, while live musicians would be streamed performing in their homes. Of course they were just a pale imitation of the ‘real thing’ but at least it was a bit of fun (and, importantly, a bit of income for the musicians too) and we were able to see other people and participate in a group activity. My partner wasn’t that keen and after the first couple of times he bowed out, but the girls and I did continue to push the sofas back and gallop up and down the living room each month! I remember at the time some people predicted that life would never be the same, that people would avoid communal activities and that hugging would go out of fashion. Well not surprisingly none of that was true, and we are all happy to be getting together for real-life dances and hugging our friends, perhaps even more than before now that we realise how important it is! And I think my brain has just filed all those experiences away at the back somewhere as not necessary to think about most of the time! Has your life returned to normal? Have you blanked out parts of lockdown life? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2023.