Lockdown, virtual catch ups and a rather clandestine trip to town

It’s a new world we are living now as we come to terms with the latest set of restrictions laid out by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar last week.  

  Offaly has gone quiet as we adapt to coronavirus lock down. Birr resembled a ghost town when I went to get some groceries over the weekend as the vast majority of people obey the sweeping restrictions that mean we have to stay at home, only leaving to buy food, care for vulnerable people, do work deemed essential or briefly exercise within 2km of our homes.  

A nationwide lock down has left Offaly’s public spaces hushed and deserted amid overwhelming support for extreme measures to control the coronavirus pandemic with the hope that community spirit will ensure compliance.

  Practically speaking, the last week has been a tricky and difficult one but we all have to do what we have to do to “flatten the curve”. Working at home for most of the week, here is a snapshot of my strange new world and what is becoming just another average day in our household for the foreseeable future.

  Firstly, there is the extra laundry, the extra food preparation and the firm commitment to try and keep the boys doing some school work while both myself and my husband work full-time at home. This was after an initial anxiety about how long they were going to be about of school, how will I get the work done, manage the kids and the house?

  Like many people out there, I am also worried about my family and friends getting Covid-19 and have gone from cautious, to nervous, to panicked at a breakneck speed. But now as I write this piece, I am full of a hopeful resolve that we will get through this together.

The latest from the WhatsApp group is a mixture of how the hell do we keep the kids entertained, to realising how lucky we are as we hear of friends’ friends who are isolating in one bed apartments in Madrid and are thinking of repatriation as they are not allowed even to go outside and they are “going out of the their minds”. Then, there are the suggestions as to what to do for exercise during the lockdown.

  Personally, we are very lucky to be able to get out for a walk and have the space to let the boys go outside. The nice weather last week meant they were able to even say hello to some of our neighbours as they passed up and down the road for their walk or on the tractor as they went about their daily routine.

  Next, was the arranging of a virtual catch-up with some friends, which was proving more difficult as we are all on different schedules with regard the ages of our kids and some of us are working and others aren’t. But, it went ahead on Wednesday night and boy, was it nice to chat and have the ‘bit of banter’ for a while. Not, that my husband is a bad conversationalist or anything!

  Then, there are the daily photographs of what the kids are being up to which included a few from us of the boys playing cards with their dad and me joking about “how we have taken up to gambling” during the lockdown. “A great way for my kids to pay for their college fund,” one friend jokingly remarked.  After which, we got a photo from one of the girls to how it was great her partner was doing the cooking but she couldn’t quite understand the need to use four pans and a saucepan and how she was left doing all of the washing up, saying she needed to introduce the “clean as you go concept” in their house.

 I will let you know later on in the week how the working from home is going and how the boys are getting on with their ‘home-schooling’. I did one rather clandestine trip into town to take a photo for the paper earlier in the week where it was eerie quiet and slightly apocalyptic. The photo was worth the trip, however, as you can see below as it embodies the great community spirit of not just the Birr Outdoor Education Centre but all of us.

I, also, came across another one in the Square, in Birr which I thought was a lovely nod to our frontline staff, which I included above.

  That is all from me for the time being but on a personal note, no matter how unpredictable the future feels, the Tribune will remain with you, delivering as much local news that we can. Together we can find a way through this and please stay at home so we can keep everyone well and safe and look after yourself, but remember you are not alone. Email news@midlandtribune.ie or WhatsApp (087) 3751974 if you want to stay in touch or follow me on @kogog on Twitter.