10. Leaving Lockdown
Posted on 2 June 2020
After over three months of near isolation, I left my bungalow to walk into town.
A grey summer sky greeted me as I opened the front door and stood on my porch. I’d usually walk or cycle into town twice a week, but having left it so long I wondered how stiff my legs would be after such an arduous work-out.
I say arduous because for me to walk into Grantham’s town centre is a three mile round trip that really pushes my right leg. settting off, I went through the alleyway that led to the main road, and strolled down the long sloping hill that winds its way into the town centre.
I’d arranged to meet my friend Chelsea, for a coffee, and there she was waiting for me on the St. Peters Hill crossroads – just by the local Wetherspoon pub. We bumped elbows and went to a cafe in the high street. The cafe was near empty and, as I stirred my mug, I began reflecting on the lockdown.
For me, the lockdown had been a largely positive experience. I’m lucky / priveledged enough to work from home and so I didn’t have to to have the stress of being ‘forced’ to venture outside. I only went out for the allowed exercise and shopping. The only demon I faced was loneliness as all my Quaker Friends are based outside of Grantham and all my local friends met in the pub, where I would usually have one drink and a coffee, was still closed.
I’d had three months of self-isolation that had taken me out of the daily routine and into a period of focusing on things I needed to do, but had put off. This was mainly boring housework , but also included me startingt to sell on ebay.
In my bungalow, I’ve got a large spare room and have been wondering what to do with ever since I moved in over three years ago. Over this time I’d built up a collection of Quaker / Peace related items, mostly badges and postcards as well as other collectables.
My first sale was the 1980s CND badge ‘You Can’t Hide from a Neutron Bomb’ – a very apt image.
Images by Smudge
