Coronavirus - a worldwide pandemic.

     

Coronavirus.  Covid.  Pandemic.  

Three words, but before some date in mid-February 2020 Jude and Marguerite had only heard of one of these words ...... pandemic.  However this was one of those words which you just did not associate with yourself, your family, your community or even your country.  Up to that point life was normal ..... nice and normal.  

So what was normal in 2020?  Well it was a simple life.  A quick flick through this blog lays it out quite nicely actually ..... it was something like this.      

Monday - Friday Jude would get up at 6.45am, make the lunches, and a cup of tea for both he and Marguerite, and feed Ben.  Marguerite would leave the house at 7.30am for work in Belfast.  Ben would get dressed for school and Jude would run him round at 8.50am.  Jude would return home and work all day before collecting Ben after school.  On Wednesdays Ben would have football training.   On Fridays at 4.30pm Jude would take Ben into Lisburn for his Drum Rock School lesson. After drums they would meet Marguerite at Lilly Johnstons for a beer and dinner.  Then at home a couple more beers.  Saturdays were the best.  Up at 7am and off to Ben's football match, which would always start at 9am.  On a good day Ben would score one or two goals and Glenavy Youth would win.  After football, if the weather was bad they would go to the swimming centre at Lisburn, Antrim, Boucher or somewhere.  If the weather was good then maybe a game of golf.  After lunch Ben and Jude would go and watch Cliftonville play.  Saturday night was takeaway from the Chip Factory in Glenavy, a few beers and maybe some television, or playing a record or two.  Sunday was chill out ..... or maybe a visit to someone.  Thrown in randomly would be nights out, cinema, Belfast giants, hurling, days out in Belfast, shopping, holidays, weekend trips, Man Utd trips, rock concerts, getting your hair done ..... etc, etc.  Normal stuff.  

So here is Marguerite and Ben on one of those normal morning, she about to go to work and he about to go to school. Happily living the 'normal' life. He's catching up on her height-wise!!  

It was just around the time this picture was taken things changed. 

A virus had quickly spread around the world.  Coming firstly from China it moved east through Asia, Europe and eventually through the Americas.  The first case of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in Northern Ireland was recorded on 27th Feb, and in the Republic of Ireland on 29th Feb.  It spread quickly and many people were dying.  This was frightening ...... one of the most frightening thing Jude and Marguerite had experienced in their lifetimes.  A pandemic had arrived on Irish shores.   

The World Health Organization's (WHO) advice was simple - stay at home, stay apart and wash your hands.  This advice was followed by Governments, many of whom moved quickly but in hindsight it soon became clear that many moved too slow.  Had borders been closed quicker, flights grounded quicker, people been told to stay home quicker and things like sporting events been stopped quicker the spread would have been reduced.  

The virus was invisible and easily transferable via touching infected objects such as worktops, hands, door handles, etc.  And because it was invisible the advice to stay at home and stay apart meant that life as we knew it had to change completely to combat the virus, to stop it's spread ..... and to save lives.  

This meant that the 'normal' described above changed ..... drastically and quickly.    

For this family it all changed on Friday 13th March.  Jude was at Queen's University speaking to a class of students seeking to go to the U.S. for a year after they finished in May.  Jude spent a couple of hours explaining how things were going to be great ...... exciting times were just around the corner for them all ..... the best year of their lives awaited them.  Marguerite was at work.  Ben was at school.  Jude left Queen's University's Student Guidance Centre and headed to his usual spot on Elmwood Avenue for a couple of pancakes.  When leaving his boss Ronnie called him.  Jude thought this was odd given it was only Lunchtime in Belfast .... so about 7am in Boston.  Ronnie:  'Jude ...... the visa has been suspended and a travel ban is in place from Ireland to the U.S'.  This was the first real bombshell to go off.  It meant the pandemic was now so serious that the U.S. were not accepting any more foreign nationals into the country.  No airline passengers.  This was serious.  

Jude hopped in the Mazda and drove out to get Ben at Ballymacrikett Primary School.  2pm Friday 13th March was the moment Ben's P3 ended.  Three and a half months early.  They went to their usual Drum lesson at 4.30pm in Lisburn but things were changing fast.  Sitting in Ben's lesson Jude remembers thinking they would not be back their for a long time.   That night Jude read a story about how 800 people had died in one day in Spain.  This would soon become the norm closer to home. 

Is 'freaking out' the right term here ...... yes, maybe it is ...... Jude was first to freak out.  There had been no word that schools had closed and Marguerite's work was still expecting her into the office.  However Jude and Marguerite went into ultimate protection mode and decided 'that's it ... we need to make our own decisions on this now ..... we need to protect our family'.  They decided to stay at home, stay apart from all others, including family, and wash hands regularly.  So this meant no more going to school for Ben, no more traveling into Belfast for Marguerite, no more sports, no eating out, no hair cuts, no visiting, no shopping, no football ... nothing beyond the gate of 23a Pigeontown Road. They had entered their own version of what became known as 'lockdown'.  By the end of the following week (19th or 20th) everywhere had closed down.  'Lockdown' had started and it brought many changes.   

School became home schooling. 

A routine quickly developed whereby Jude would start work early because he would be up earlier with their new arrival Holly the dog.  He would have a couple of hours work done before Ben would get up.  

Then it was between 1-2 hours of school work each day for Ben.  Literacy, Maths, reading, spelling .... it was all in there.  Jude always had a notion that had he played his hand a little differently he might have liked to have been a teacher .... here was his chance!!  

And to Ben's credit he did quite well.  He quickly became programmed into understanding that he had to do his school work ..... every day ..... and at the table.  Usually it would be between 10am-12pm.  

Work became working from home.  

This was already normal for Jude and occasional for Marguerite but all of a sudden both were working from home every day ...... but with the added activity of Ben and Holly for company.  Suddenly working from home was not as peaceful as Jude had always claimed it to be!!! It was noisy ..... and a new daily soundtrack of Power Rangers or the Good Witch accompanied Jude on his day.    

Anyone who could work from home did, while many others were laid off from their jobs.  So another word Jude admits he never heard before was 'Furlough'.  Maybe he did but it never really registered. All of a sudden it was on everyone lips ....... in years ahead and when people think back to 2020 the word furlough will be easily associated with the year.  So basically it meant that the Government paid staff to stay at home.  The worker would not go to work but rather stay at home and receive 80% of their pay.  This would have the long term impact of keeping business going, keeping cash flowing among the population and helping prevent a disaster in terms of employment and it's impacts.  Just how crazy this is can be summed up by recalling the events of January and February on the daily news.  At that time Nurses in Northern Ireland had called their first ever strike in a desperate attempt to get on a level pay footing with their counterparts in the UK ....... it amounted to a paltry 1-2% pay rise ...... a few pounds per nurse extra per week. This dispute went on for ages.  But then with this furlough thing the Government went from scrimping over the nurses pay request ..... to forking out 190 Billion (at time of writing - 13th July 2020) to keep people on furlough.  1 billion is one thousand million!!  You simply cannot make this stuff up folks ....... it happened in 2020.   And the irony in it was that these nurses and healthcare workers are the very same people who have been the heroes of the Coronavirus pandemic ....... going into work to help the sick ....... despite the dangers.  

People stuck Rainbow posters up in their windows to show support for the NHS Heroes working on the front line of the Coronavirus pandemic.     

The daily visit to the shop on the way back from dropping Ben at School or the weekly visit to the shops in Crumlin now required serious planning.  Home delivery, click and collect, shopping at 7am before crowds ....... this was the new normal.  Here is a pic of Jude in early April having just returned from his weekly 7.30am on a Weds visit to Tesco in Lisburn.  He would order online the night before and then 'click and collect'.  A brilliant service where he would simply pull up at the shop and open the boot of the car and they would fill it up!  Brilliant.   Here is Jude returning with his face mask intact.   

And just on shopping ...... some people got themselves into a frenzy and all of a sudden you realized that when disaster struck, or in this case a pandemic, the most valuable items in the ships were not the electrical goods, or the expensive clothes, ...... no ...... the public were only interested in clearing the shelves of a small number of items - toilet rolls, hand sanitizer and pasta. Jude did not go silly on this but some things did stockpile ..... beans, cereals, pasta (off course) and snacks which Ben likes such as rice, hoops, yogurts, etc.  

It's funny but Marguerite has often said to Jude - 'Jude, why did you buy 12 packets of spaghetti and 8 bags of Penne pasta?  To which Jude would reply - 'well, we do eat a lot of it .... and it was on offer at half price!!! 

All major music and sports events were off.  Football seasons were postponed or suspended, and championships like the Open Golf Championship, GAA. Wimbledon, all football, and even the World Snooker Championships were all off.  Concerts lined up in June were off, and that meant no Lionel Ritchie, Guns N Roses or Dalriada festivals for Marguerite and Jude.  Everything was off.  It was so bad that the sports channels had to revert to showing thousands of re-runs of old events ..... as there was nothing live to show.  This is all very hard to imagine could ever have happened ..... but it did.  

It wasn't all bad though.  Thankfully Marguerite, Jude and Ben had just got Holly, their new dog .... so in lockdown there was always a good excuse to go walking.  They would walk .....

....... and walk ......

........ and sometimes run!!  Here is a cool pic of Holly taking Ben for a run. 

Walking became the regular family activity for many.  The Pigeontown Road would be so busy every day and night with folk out walking, running or cycling.  

Board games were dug out and played more often.  Families were spending more time with one another ...... couped up like hens in a shed .... but it still meant spending lots more time together.   

And at moments like this you be thankful for small things that make your life that little bit more manageable, like garden space for example.  

For Ben having the garden was crucial.  

Just being able to go out and play football ...... 

 

....... baseball ........

........ playing with Holly ......

 

........ basketball ......

....... more football .......

........ or playing some big adventure on his climbing frame ..... 

...... it was all very important.   

Here he is with a lovely daisy chain he has just made for Marguerite. 

Ben practicing his guitar in the garden.  

And one great thing to come out of it was that Ben's reading improved brilliantly.  The one-on-one attention to this really took things to a new level for him.  His confidence grew and he quickly was into a groove whereby he could pretty much read anything.  

Marguerite started cutting Jude and Ben's hair because like everywhere else the barbers were all closed.  This was hit and miss.  Hit - because Jude hates going to the barbers.  He likes getting his hair cut but it's the waiting, the small talk, the time it takes to drive there and back ...... he just sees it as a bit piece of inconvenience sent to annoy him once a month .... a proper pain.  Now with Marguerite cutting his hair ...... so long as she does not make a dogs dinner of it (which to her credit she did not) then this soon became a hit, a winner .... bingo!!  Ben on the other hand ...... well he has not taken too kindly to Marguerite cutting his hair.  Half way through he would take the hump (usually due to the little cut hairs going down his back) and he'd end up looking like a poor refugee with his bad homemade haircut.   As soon as the barbers reopened in July Ben was back in to his sorted out.   

      

Mental health was something for everyone to think about.  It wasn't that folk were cracking up or anything but this Coronavirus lockdown had many issues attached ....... it basically took away people's everyday way of life, it kind of took away elements of your freedom .... and for many that can be unsettling.  Restaurants closed, bars closed, libraries closed, sports ended, school's shut ..... you name it, it stopped.  So from around St Patrick's Day through the time of writing it's been 4 months of this version of house arrest.  Having the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse was a great thing ........ it really helped fill plenty of time and provided lots of fun for everyone. 

Some people handled the weirdness of the 'lockdown' better than others.  For some people simply getting up and going to work is something they need to do to function properly. Everyone has different levels of mental health needs ...... kids, disabled people, workers, etc. Meeting friends or family, playing your sports, watching sports ........ it's unbelievable to think that this was all taken away .... but it was.    

Check out Ben's rainbow poster on the window there.   

Take Ben for example ...... Jude and Marguerite were always aware that he would be missing his friends and cousins, due to there being no visits, no schools, no sports.  Even play parks were closed.  Though thankfully in 2020 we have things like Zoom, an online call platform ...... 

..... this became the norm for communicating with friends, family and even work meetings.  It even became normal for Ben's Friday afternoon music lessons being delivered via Skype calls from his drum teacher. 

Here is a Saturday night family quiz which Marguerite organized on Zoom.  This was great fun and it got everyone meeting up to chat.   Just how folk would have coped with this pre-internet (really 15-20 years ago) is anybodies guess. 

Here is Ben playing one of his dominoe games ....... 

....... and his other 'old-school' dominoes game.  

Holidays in 2020 became 'stay-cation', i.e. staying at home.  Marguerite, Jude, Ben and Holly took the first opportunity to get away when things started to lift a little in June by getting away to the Boathouse in Portaferry for a few days.  That was great, just a change of scenery and a chance to have some fun.  But their planned holiday to Spain in August was cancelled ....... and even camping trips were ruled out ........ although with a little improvisation they did still go ahead in the back garden (see separate post)!!!  

One of the first things to 'relax' was golf courses opened up in June.  It made sense as it was easy to maintain social distancing playing golf.  And because it was the only thing available in terms of sporting activities then Jude and Ben signed up as members at Colin Valley Golf on Blacks Road in Belfast.  Jude would book the games online and they would play once a week .... every week.   Here is Ben in a rare shot of him actually carrying his own bag ....... Jude normally has to carry it!!!

  

Half time picnic!

Teeing off at the 8th! Ben's game developed really well to the point where he beat Jude.  Jude allows Ben a two shot start on each hole and with his straight hitting he was able to grind out a couple of victories over Jude.  This was pretty impressive given that Jude has been playing golf for about 28 years and Ben is only 7!!! 

This virus has been going on now for about 8 or 9 months in total and seriously impacting on Irish life since mid March.  In mid July things are easing in terms of the strictness of the lockdown ..... but the virus remains out there. At the time of writing a news story this morning warns of a potential second wave being much worse than the first ....... hopefully that does not materialize, if it does it will be a long and strange winter.  Getting back to 'normal' is needed for everyone .... soon.  Getting Ben back to School .... just running him to school was enjoyable ..... returning to watch Cliftonville play football at Solitude ...... being able to shop normally .... eating out ... going swimming ... using the Library ...... Glenavy Youth ....... Loch Mor dal gCais ....... going into Bushes for a fry ....... sitting in each other's houses ..... we want it all back.  

There is so much can be reported about the Coronavirus and it's impact on life ....... but I hope this post sums a lot of it up.  

One last thing ..... it's funny what things spring to mind in mad moments like this.  When he was a teenager Jude liked a band called Cinderella who had an album called 'Long Cold Winter' ..... on that album was a great song ..... the title of which he has thought about a lot these last few months as it is so apt for these strange times when we are missing all of our 'normal' things ......the song was called ....... 'You don't know what you've got until it's gone!