The world was a different place four short months ago. Those months have been the longest ever due to 'lockdown'. I'm conscious that I'm beginning to forget what life was like at the time and want to make a few notes to help me remember.
I think I first heard about coronavirus around Christmas 2019, a strange disease happening in a province of far away China. And then it started to spread. The world is so much smaller these days and places are more inter-connected than ever before. I did a print-making course in January, trying out different ways of making prints. Then I went to Belgium in February 2020 to see an art exhibition about Van Eyck without a care in the world. Whatever was happening was far off and far away. It wasn't long till we started seeing stories about the virus creeping across Europe in Italy and in Spain and then the first cases reported in the UK.
Panic buying started in supermarkets in March, with people stockpiling pasta, pulses, rice and toilet rolls, grabbing whatever they could. I remember joking about going out to do some 'stockpiling' by which I meant going to the supermarket. It was an odd time. I think we all knew something was coming, but what?
There was news of cities closing, borders closing across Europe. The seriousness of the situation began to sink in as the reports of death tolls grew across the world. It sounded like things were pretty awful in Italy and in Spain and we saw film of empty streets in Rome and Madrid as tourists stayed away and locals stayed at home. The few people you did see were wearing face masks. At home, people were starting to work from home and people started to prepare for an expected lockdown. Things were changing.
I went to the member's preview of the new Titian exhibition at the National Gallery on 13 March. It was as crowded as you'd expect so I decided to go back on the Monday to see it again, and I did. Monday 16 March and I'd never seen London looking so empty. I walked into the foyer of the National Gallery and, instantly, you could tell something was different. Where were all the people? Where was the bustle and the noise? In some of the rooms there was only a guard and no punters. It was very strange. I'd suspected that it would be my last visit into central London and it was. I went to the London Graphics Centre for some art supplies, Fopp for a couple of DVDs and to Foyles for a couple of books then got the tube home, popped into a supermarket for bits and bobs and got home, shut the front door and decided that that was it. I was now in lockdown.
I think I first heard about coronavirus around Christmas 2019, a strange disease happening in a province of far away China. And then it started to spread. The world is so much smaller these days and places are more inter-connected than ever before. I did a print-making course in January, trying out different ways of making prints. Then I went to Belgium in February 2020 to see an art exhibition about Van Eyck without a care in the world. Whatever was happening was far off and far away. It wasn't long till we started seeing stories about the virus creeping across Europe in Italy and in Spain and then the first cases reported in the UK.
Panic buying started in supermarkets in March, with people stockpiling pasta, pulses, rice and toilet rolls, grabbing whatever they could. I remember joking about going out to do some 'stockpiling' by which I meant going to the supermarket. It was an odd time. I think we all knew something was coming, but what?There was news of cities closing, borders closing across Europe. The seriousness of the situation began to sink in as the reports of death tolls grew across the world. It sounded like things were pretty awful in Italy and in Spain and we saw film of empty streets in Rome and Madrid as tourists stayed away and locals stayed at home. The few people you did see were wearing face masks. At home, people were starting to work from home and people started to prepare for an expected lockdown. Things were changing.
I went to the member's preview of the new Titian exhibition at the National Gallery on 13 March. It was as crowded as you'd expect so I decided to go back on the Monday to see it again, and I did. Monday 16 March and I'd never seen London looking so empty. I walked into the foyer of the National Gallery and, instantly, you could tell something was different. Where were all the people? Where was the bustle and the noise? In some of the rooms there was only a guard and no punters. It was very strange. I'd suspected that it would be my last visit into central London and it was. I went to the London Graphics Centre for some art supplies, Fopp for a couple of DVDs and to Foyles for a couple of books then got the tube home, popped into a supermarket for bits and bobs and got home, shut the front door and decided that that was it. I was now in lockdown.
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