The Lockdown Lowdown

Wow! Just wow! New Zealand hasn’t recorded a single new case of Covid-19 in a week and there is now only one active case in the country. It does increasingly look like “we’ve knocked the bugger off” and it’s a testament to what can be achieved when we all work together. 

But it’s not over. Not yet. Level 2 of the Covid-19 restrictions will be with us a while yet. And in the words of that rapscallion smuggler Han Solo, “Don’t get cocky kid!” Get a little too relaxed and we could find ourselves back in lockdown.

But it does feel like the start of the end of the episode, so it seems like an appropriate time to share my experiences of life in lockdown....with the help of song titles obviously!

It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

I will freely admit to anyone who cares to ask, that in the early days of the lockdown I was a little paranoid. Hands were washed numerous times in an hour, door handles were wiped down and let’s not of course forget the food washing incident. 

I’m not, by nature, a nervous person, but this virus had me spooked. It did feel like the end of days, heightened by the daily increasing number of cases. Every sniffle because a Covid-19 early onset symptom and a sore throat was just cause for a trip to the hospital.

But all was well really. The sniffles were caused by running in the cool morning weather and the sore throat by belting out ‘Champagne Supernova’ at the top of my voice the evening before after one bottle-to-many of wine. Apparently. 

If anything, it was a lesson in not letting the situation get in the way of common sense. Ah common sense, the last refuge of the ill prepared.

No Surprises

No alarms and no surprises. We were very lucky to be able to work from home. If we had a short commute before the lockdown, it got a whole lot shorter! And, not being on a particular timetable, we could turn off the 6am alarm call. Getting up with the sunrise and not some hard-wired requirement to get up at the same time regardless was a revelation. We are naturally early risers but 7am is a much more civilised time, besides who wants to be stumbling around in the dark these days?

I’m Free

I suppose it’s ironic really that despite being in lockdown, working from home brought with it a new found freedom. Unshackled from the daily timetable for having to get to the office meant that we could arrange our day around our own requirements. So whilst maintaining our commitment to giving a solid (ish) eight hours of work each day, we took in some fresh air in our morning walk, had chats in the kitchen and generally made sure that we kept on top of our mental wellbeing. And just to add some irony, and I mean real irony and not the Alanis Morissette kind, because we live so close to work our morning walk took us right past the office. 

Back from our morning walk and ready to get to work

We Can Work It Out

Being in lockdown and working from home could have been a nightmare. Without the clear break that a journey to and from the office naturally gave, the working day could quite easily have merged into free time. After all, when you’re working in the dining room when exactly does the working day end? So we came up with a routine that made sure we marked the end of the working day; computers and monitors were closed down and stored out out of sight and we stepped out of the house and did a loop around the park. 

You could argue that it was a rather circuitous commute considering we working at home but it worked. The physical act of leaving the house and returning to a living room without working equipment on display really marked the end of the working day. It also had the advantage that we had half an hour or so to whine about people who had pissed us off during the course of the day. I’m never ceased to be surprised at the ability of people to wind me up from a distance.

The home office wasn't without it's distractions

Enjoy the Silence

What the lockdown really emphasised was how noisy everyday life used to be. In the absence of noise from traffic, aircraft, factories and construction sites nature’s natural symphony took over. Birdsong filled the air, leaves on trees rustled in the breeze and a tranquil calmness replaced the hectic pace of modern life.

In the narrow garden in front of our house, we saw Tuis, Fantails and even Kingfishers. We even discovered a lime tree that we didn’t know we had. Not bad for urban Auckland.

It was great while it lasted. Only a few days after the most severe of the restrictions were lifted, mechanical noise slowly returned. 

Look carefully, but this is a shot of a Kingfisher in flight

Empty Spaces

On the first morning of the lockdown we stepped out into a new and strange world. Once bustling shopping streets were deserted and the cars that clogged to roads had disappeared. Crossing the road was no longer a test of patience and you could literally walk down the middle of the road without fear of being knocked over. Suddenly there was a lot more space for humans. Roads became an extension of the footpath and car parks became places to exercise. So this is what it would be like if people didn’t feel the need to drive everywhere! It was a revelation.

Traffic? What traffic?

Television, the Drug of the Nation

Well not so much television, but the broadcast of the lunchtime briefing. Everyday at 1pm New Zealand gathered around screens to see the Prime Minister and her team give an update on the progress of the virus. It became essential viewing. We’re the sacrifices that we were all making paying off? Early numbers suggested not as cases continued to rise well into the lockdown. The cool and calm Dr Ashley Bloomfield told us not to worry. This was to be expected and it wouldn’t be until ten days into the lockdown when we would see any change in the trajectory.

And change it did. Right on cue. 

Whilst a minority accused the Prime Minister of being too visible, these briefings really brought the country together and helped keep us focussed and committed to the common cause. Everyone was included in the information, and although the subject matter was serious, there were moments of light relief. The Easter Bunny might be a bit delayed the PM warned us. 

Freeze-Frame

Walking around the empty shopping streets took on a surreal feeling. The whole place resembled the set of a horror movie and I was half expecting a zombie hoard to come into view round the corner of the chemists. It was deserted. Frozen in time. Shop windows displaying offers that had long since expired, summer clothes that people increasingly didn’t need and all with the hastily handwritten written note saying they were closing and would reopen as soon as possible. 

And of all of the high street shops, the most bizarre feeling was saved for the party wares outlet, as it proudly displayed St Patrick’s Day paraphernalia. A snapshot in time from the pre-lockdown days.

Hopefully we never have to go there again. But we certainly won’t forget. Not in a hurry anyway. And who knows, maybe we can learn from the experience? The lockdown has given us a glimpse into what a new future could look like. Why go back to peak hour commuting? Do we really need to be in the office everyday? Is that flight really necessary or could you hold the meeting online? Why stop walking just because an easier alternative is available? And are electric scooters really a sensible transport choice? Remove the pressures of time and who knows where the future will take us.

They Think It's All Over.....

Thursday 14 May 2020 marked the day that New Zealand moved away from a lockdown and a managed return to normality. Actually it was 23:59 the day before but let’s not lose any sleep over one minute. Which, coincidentally that’s exactly what a number of people will have experienced whilst they were waiting for their barbers to open. Yes one such establishment wasted no time and opened their doors at exactly one minute to midnight and welcomed in the great unshaven for a trim and a tidy. Well, probably more than a trim. Hopefully they didn’t charge by the kilo of hair removed. 

Exactly how well managed our return to normality will be depends, in most part, on the good people of New Zealand. From Thursday offices reopened, restaurants invited customers back into the premises and shops opened their doors once again to people. Not bars though. They have to wait until next week. But once they’re open, the only thing that will remains closed entirely will be our border. That will remain firmly shut for the foreseeable future other than to those hardy souls who want to be quarantined for two weeks at a government managed facility. 

The odd thing is that we won’t know how well the managed return is being managed for at least another two weeks. That’s the frustrating thing with viruses - they lurk about before deciding to show their faces. But so far, everything looks encouraging. Last week New Zealand recorded three days in a row with zero new cases and this period, again due to the annoying lag of the incubation period, relates to the time we moved out of full lockdown and into Level 3. For those keeping score, our new cases for the last week have been 3, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, and today 1.

Being allowed to roam again is a very odd feeling and I’m not sure I like it. I knew where I was with being told to stay home and save lives. Part of me wants to stay locked up and out of the way but another part, who hasn’t been seen for eight weeks, wants to get out and about and see stuff. Not that it took much persuasion to get me to the pub on Thursday night.

“Shall we go and check out The Lumsden?”

“But what if there’s too many people there?”

“Don’t you want a pint?”

“I’ll get my wallet!”

I needn’t have worried, the pub was following the Government’s guidelines explicitly. As we approached the bar, we were greeted and shown to our table - thankfully it was a glorious autumn Auckland evening so we could sit outside - and asked to scan the QR code on the table. This immediately brought up a web page where we could enter our details should we need to be contacted.  Menus were brought out and beer was served. Very civilised. If the result of the lockdown is that table service is finally brought to pubs in New Zealand, then I won’t be complaining. 

One of the many odd things about New Zealand is that it adopted queueing at the bar to get drinks. “Ah, but that’s what we do in the UK” I hear you mumble. Well yes, except we actually queue in New Zealand. It’s not unusual to see a long line of people snaking around the bar lounge waiting to be served. In the summer, during one of the many long weekends we have at that time of the year, we visited Russel in The Bay of Islands, and popped to the local bar for a beer or two. Unfortunately there was also a wedding party there at the same time so we were met with a huge queue - it wasn’t quite out of the door and into the street but it was close. With no other option, we joined the end of the queue and quietly waited as we inched our way towards the bar. In most part is was extremely well behaved but inevitably there were some locals who thought they deserved to be served first. As we got chatting to the people around us in the queue, the discussion took its usual turn. Where were we from? How long had we been in New Zealand? How long were we staying?Why did we live in Auckland when we could be living somewhere nicer like Russel? How on earth do we cope with the traffic congestion? Did we know that Auckland wasn’t really New Zealand? Wasn’t everything more expensive in Auckland? I was just about to launch into my usual speech about how Auckland keeps the New Zealand economy moving and without us New Zealand would struggle to function when I finally reached the front of the queue. Saved by the bell...or to be more precise the beer tap. Queuing is better than the scrum that occurs in many UK establishments but table service would be a small sliver of light in these dark times. 

I digress. Apologies. So for the first time in months we sat in the open air, sipping our beer and waiting for food to arrive. It was a great feeling to be finally out and about again. For us the lockdown hasn’t been too difficult but I know that won’t have been the case for many. Some will have lost jobs, seen their income disappear, spent each day working from their bedrooms, lived in fear of physical abuse or even lost loved ones. Its been tough on the nation but hopefully the effort has paid off. It really is now up to us. Keep to the rules, be vigilant and take care of one another. 

It is, of course, entirely possible for things to move in the wrong direction. Just as we have seen in China and Singapore, reopening the economy is a risky business and it just takes one person to trigger an outbreak. Then, as fast as you can say “well that’s disappointing” we’ll be back in our bubbles. But, fingers crossed, the lockdown is over and bubbles are bursting all over Aotearoa. for the last time

On The Way Out?

Could it really be over five weeks since we gave up normal life and entered lockdown? Is it just over a month ago when many things we took for granted would soon become a distant memory? Sitting in a bar, going to the movies or not worrying whether the washing up liquid was going to last another week. It seems like a lifetime ago.

Last Tuesday, or the 29 April 2020 if you’re reading this from the comfort of a Covid-free future, New Zealanders took a first step towards something approaching normality. If this were a Hollywood movie, I’d imagine a scene where the protagonist’s door opens slowly, light and fresh air pouring into the darkened room for the first time in a long, while a tentative step was taken into the real world. What had changed? Would you recognise anyone? Was the hairdresser on the high street still there? The camera slowly pans to show the nervousness on the individual’s face, their head turning to their family who are wondering if it’s safe to finally emerge from the safety of their home. They exchange looks. He encourages them to come take a look for themselves, and breathe fresh air. Dramatic music swells in the background and he utters these immortal words, “Fancy a Big Mac then?”

Well maybe not in a Hollywood version of this tale but absolutely in the real world. Why a meat patty in a bun and not a walk on the beach or a trip to the park? Starved of anything remotely normal it’s understandable that grabbing a take-out would be the first item on many peoples’ minds. Comfort food with a comforting message that maybe everything was going to be all right. All that, plus it saves on the washing up.

According to one dubious statistic published in the national newspaper, in one day New Zealand munched it’s way through the equivalent of a year’s worth of burgers. Whilst I find that to be hard to believe - I mean it can’t be right can it - I can imagine that we got through a lot! Fast food chains, both multinational and home-grown, were inundated from midnight the day the lockdown was eased. Huge queues formed, not all observing the social distance requirements, whilst orders were handed out.

Predictably, some commentators got all snitty about the hubbub and questioned the intelligence of those partaking. Quite how ones personal taste in fast food has any correlation to intelligence is lost on me. No doubt it’ll be these same commentators who queued up later that day for their take-out flat whites and cappuccinos. Ah, but that’s different. That’s coffee and that’s not bad for you. Besides, you get a much better kind of person at a coffee shop.

So what if the thought of a burger and fries was really the thing that kept people going through over a month of bubble isolation? In the words of the immortal bard John Lennon, “Whatever gets you through the night, it’s alright”.

So New Zealand has turned a corner, if corners are a useful measure in the fight against a virus, and we do appear to be heading back to something resembling normality. Evidence from other countries would suggest that it’s not going to be an easy route and there’s likely to be some bumps along the way. Most importantly, the low case numbers we are seeing now are a reflection of where we were two weeks ago. A message from the past to our future selves if you like. Although it might seem like all’s well, we will have to wait at least another two weeks before we see how well this phase of the recovery had gone. Yes, we can enjoy take away food again and can spread our wings a little further, but we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. 

But the signs are good and if we play it right maybe, just maybe, we’ll get back to something that resembles normality. This coming Monday, just a couple of days from now, we’ll find out if the restrictions are being relaxed a little bit more. Another step towards a normal life. Not out of the woods but shops reopen, people can return to their offices and most importantly bars can reopen. Albeit with sone limitations, such as compulsory table service and no standing. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Yes we’re heading in the right direction, it hasn’t been without sacrifices, but if we stick with it it’ll be gone and then we can figure out what that means and New Zealand’s place in the world. I do worry about the good results and our new found freedom going to our collective heads and ....well you can imagine. We mustn’t forget that with great freedom comes great responsibility.