Really local!

As covid got its grip on the world, we at the bottom of the world were to be impacted too. We were lucky, for as the rumours of constrictions began to swirl and anxiety began to rise, a sad extended family event meant we got to see the whanau just before lockdown began.

And then the words, ‘we are moving into lockdown level 4 on Wednesday’ ! The queue at the checkout in the supermarket was something to behold, weaving all the way to the back of the shop, it was orderly though. Throughout the whole lockdown the supermarket staff at New World were amazing and although I was a bit anxious on my first visit, I felt confident in the hygiene practices that were evident and shopping, although not my usual happy place, it was bearable.

So the end of March, all of April and most of May it was just the two of us. How would we cope being the extreme socialites that we are…. Hmmm pretty well to be honest. Things were very much the same apart from we couldn’t go anywhere. Les Mills daily exercise classes complemented our exercise routines we had already established and our walks down to the Mount every other day kept us in good spirits. A call went out to put teddies in windows for kids to spot when out on their walks. Us big kids loved it. One lady at the Mount excelled having a themed new Ted everyday and he had his own Facebook page.

I had, pre lockdown, established ‘a beast’ so I was able to continue to make my sourdough bread and managed just, at times, to scrape up enough flour to keep us going. I did pay $8 for a kg of organic flour once, as it was the last bag on the shelf, I normally pay less than that for 5kgs!

Our walks to the Mount during level 4 every other day enabled us to at least say hello, from an appropriate distance, to other people. From being a bustling little town it soon became quiet. Many families took to their bikes with the roads now safe and the birds, no longer spoilt on chips, just sat around.

When in tricky situations it’s always good to have a laugh. We may not have the perfect relationship, if there is such a thing, but every day we have a giggle at something. To be fair, others would not find most of it amusing but that’s fine too.

During lockdown there was a mega moon, always cool to see the moons reflection on the sea and again reminded us of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place.

And then great joy, the move to level 3 and the loosening of some restrictions. Paint and grass seed could be bought and the promise soon of seeing the family… Better get those jobs done.