This time we all know what a lockdown means but does that mean we are any better equipped to deal with it? ALIX NORMAN asks what we will be carrying over from the spring to help us cope this time around
Lockdown 1 was a shock to the system. From mid-March to near the end of May, Cyprus shut up shop. Remember those text messages? I can’t count how many times I pressed the wrong number, and then set off for the pharmacy trembling in fear that I’d be pulled over and asked to explain why I wasn’t, in fact, going to the bank again!
And we never found out whether we were allowed to go more than once place: I mean, if we needed to take groceries to a disabled friend, were we allowed to go to the supermarket and then to their house? Or was that two trips, which should have been conducted on two different days?
Those work forms too, presented confusion. During Lockdown Mark I, my printer was out of commission and there was no way I could print out a form for every visit to the office. So I filled in our details in pencil, rubbed them out, filled them in again, and shook in my shoes. Fortunately, I was never stopped. Not once. So all that worry was for nothing…
And that, I think, is my primary takeaway from Lockdown 1: “Worrying won’t make it better.” As we head into Lockdown 2 I need to remember those words. Because none of our worrying will make this draw to a close any faster. We just have to pop the kettle on and Wait It Out. Preferably with a decent supply of loo paper to hand!
“I’m preparing,” says 32-year-old Oroklini-based teacher Elena Sarkis, a self-confessed worrier. “But I don’t think I’m prepared – can you ever be? Okay, if this lockdown is anything like the first, then I’ve learnt it’s better to have more than you need rather than be stuck, so I have stocked up the pantry with pasta and the fridge with bread. And we’ve all got masks now, so that’s not going to be an issue like it was back in spring. When the first lockdown began, I only had one mask which I kept using and reusing until I could get to the pharmacy. Since then, of course, I’ve bought boxes of the things. But I’m sure there’s something else I’ll have forgotten about now!”
Generation Z seems to be less organised if 22-year-old Limassol resident and trainee programmer George Melandris is anything to go by. “You just never know, do you, what you’re going to need or want, so why bother? The first lockdown taught me that the worst problem was boredom: I live alone, and I tend to rely on my social circle for entertainment, so the last year has been really hard. I found myself on my phone a whole load of the time; I was so bored I connected with people I haven’t spoken to for years! It was kind of nice to find out what all my university crowd had been up to over the last few years, but you can’t fill an entire day with phone calls – it’s not like going to a bar or a café where there’s stuff going on around you that you can talk about when the conversation runs dry.”
This time, although George hasn’t done much in the way of stocking up on food – “Why? I can order, right? And if I’m desperate, my mum will bring something over!” – he has gone out of his way to get in a little more entertainment. “I got some new PlayStation games, which are great for keeping you busy at home,” he reveals. “And I’ve downloaded video editing software, so I can do more with my TikTok account: making videos is fun, and it fills up a lot of hours.”
45-year-old Cally Cooper is also concerned with staving off restriction-induced boredom, but she’s relying on more cerebral pursuits. “I remember wishing I had more books during the first lockdown,” laughs the Nicosia-based artist. “I’d read everything in the house, and I was crying out for more material – I even set up a Kindle account and started trying to read on my phone. It was a disaster; I don’t know how the kids do it!”
Over the last few months, Cally has been refilling her shelves. “I kind of thought there would be a second lockdown,” she admits. “So I ordered from Amazon, from The Book Depository, and I’ve been to bookshops almost every week! It doesn’t matter how long this lockdown lasts, I’m covered: I’ve set up a reading nook by the window; I’ve filled the pantry with cat food; and I’ve got a stack of about 40 books to keep me going…”
“It’s the kids that worry me,” says Vivian Nicolaou, whose two daughters are aged six and 10. “They were so good last time round – I explained why they couldn’t go to school, and why they couldn’t see their friends, and they really seemed to understand,” she says with pride. “But all the same, it was really difficult for them. There are only a certain amount of diversions you can provide when you’re a single mum who’s trying to do all the accounting for an office in turmoil from her kitchen table! Although my daughters are now both allowed mobile phones purely to keep in touch with friends, I don’t have the money to go out and buy them video games or tablets. I learnt that long walks – especially in the evening, just before bed – are a good way to burn off all that youthful energy. Treasure hunts were another winner,” she laughs. “When we were outside, we’d play ‘find a blue flower’, ‘spot an orange cat’. And when we were inside, it was all ‘can you find mummy’s diary in less than a minute’, or ‘bring me the smallest chocolate in the fridge’ which were both enjoyable for the girls and useful for me!”
For Peyia-based retiree Greg Nolan, technology has been the big lockdown learning curve. “When we went into lockdown 1,” he says, “I didn’t know one end of a keyboard from the other! But now I email, Facebook, and even Skype on a daily basis.”
For those who are now forced to work remotely, gadgetry is certainly an area of focus as we head into Lockdown 2: over the last few months, most of us have made sure we’ve got a decent phone, a good computer, and are au fait with Zoom. But technology is also proving a real saviour for the older generation; especially those like Greg whose families live in another country.
“First I bought a proper smartphone, and then I treated myself to a laptop at Christmas, in the knowledge that this second lockdown might happen. So now I sit under my olive tree and chat to my family in the UK, or I play bridge online in the evening. I can even order my groceries online now,” he adds in wonder. “Back in spring, I was relying on friends to help me shop for the necessities – now I can get anything I want delivered. And not just from Cyprus: I ordered a pack of cards from the UK, and a couple of Meccano kits too – things I know will keep me busy when I’m stuck at home this time round. That first lockdown certainly taught me to embrace new things,” he laughs. “Let’s see what this second one has to teach us!”
