Two years

Posted on March 14, 2022March 14, 2022 by David Hopkins

March 20th, 2020. Friday.

A day I will never forget.

On this day we did no work, but we were all in the office. A day we’d planned for but never really thought would happen.

Desks were cleared and cleaned, Lockers were emptied and bags packed. Sets of keyboards and computer mice were distributed alongside cables, monitors and, for those who wanted them, a chair. We were generally quite upbeat and the mood was light but we knew it was a serious thing we were doing and that we didn’t know when we were coming back.

We’d been planning for a few different eventualities as we read about the different ways Covid was affecting people and communities. We’d planned for different ways we’d be able to work in the office and at home, at different times and in different configurations across the multiple teams, but the thought of a total lockdown was one that only became reality in the last few days running up to the Friday.

At this point only a few people had heard of Zoom, and even then not all those who’s heard of it had even used it. After the weekend Zoom and Teams was the default setting in all our working lives. For many, it became the only way to see family and friends too.

After the weekend, reality hit home, and it hit hard. Friends and family, co-workers, neighbours, everyone had to get used to isolation, anxiety, fear, and so many more emotions you can only describe it for yourself. We all had different perspectives of what this would mean. It was scary, and something no one had any idea how it would affect us.

Fast forward two years and we’re still in the same position we were then, except this time we’re being told covid is nothing to worry about anymore, despite are numbers rising in the UK again (depending on which data and spin you listen to and want to believe) and we’re on the brink of a major war in Europe.

Part of me actually wants to go back and enjoy those early days of lockdown again – for me it was an OK time, but then I had my health and my immediate family were safe at home with me. Not everyone felt the same, nor would probably want to do it over, but the current state of the world somehow feels even more desperate now than it did at the start of lockdown.

March 20th, 2020. Friday.