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.