The 10th of March will always be a day to remember, it was the day that my late Mum was born. In 2020 it was the day the UK’s Prime Minister declared that Pubs, Restaurants and Clubs should close. Within an hour all my future bookings until the end of June were cancelled or postponed. I must say that every one of my guests was understanding of the situation.
Windermere – overnight became a ghost town. Our ageing locals were no longer to be seen. The streets were dead. Wildlife began to come off the hills into the towns to see where we were.
This is Bowness – on – Windermere 4 days after lockdown started.
Once a week, I ventured out to Kendal to do my shopping, on one day (the journey is 8 miles) I think I passed 4 cars on the A591.
The local shops – Co-Op, Sainsburys , Booths and Boots and the Post Office stayed open and later on Musgraves the Ironmonger during lockdown. Everyone realised that this was going to be a few weeks before some degree of normality would come round. Painting and decorating became the norm, scaffolding around buildings and DIY jobs were done with proficiency. Because most stores were closed, the online shopping went mad. Thank you the delivery drivers for the handling of our paints, nuts bolts, paint brushes and wood filler!
It was surreal to have the most amazing weather during lockdown. Clear skies (no vapour trails from jets) and a general quietness in town. Face coverings became the norm. As restrictions began to ease and one could travel short distances, it gave me opportunity to visit beauty spots that would normally be very busy with holiday makers. Of course Windermere was my favourite spot – being only 15 mins to get there.
Not a soul to be seen at Rydal Water
Thursday nights were clap for the carers, it was thrilling to see how many of us partook for a couple of minutes just clapping for the carers, this then changed to clap for the key workers. Hell, our life would have been very difficult without our key workers! Everyone at home tuned in every day at 5:00pm to watch the daily briefing from the government. Be Safe, Stay at Home, shielding, PPE, antibodies, COVID-19, The R, the science, respirators, death, recoveries, lack of taste/smell , furlough, job losses, social distancing , 20 second hand wash, anti bac hand gel and TOILET PAPER all became part of our lives.
As our lives slowly get back to the New Normal I just hope that everyone will be sensible in their approach to the New Normal. We simply cannot afford a second wave.
