Your Covid-19 Lockdown Stories

June 7th, 2020
Author: Chris Conder
Posted In: Latest news

As stories come in from our survey we’ll put them here, so keep checking back and if you have a story please do the survey and submit your photos/drawings/videos with your account of how having good internet has helped you during lockdown. Thanks all! The survey can be accessed from this link: B4RN survey

Gra’s funeral.

My beloved husband died on 8th April 2020 (at the height of the Covid 19 and beginning of Lockdown) of complications from cellulitis made worse by Covid19. A double whammy! Consequently, Graham’s funeral and burial occurred under Lockdown Rules which meant our immediate family was not allowed to be present in person. One step son lives in New Zealand and another stepson lives in Australia with their families. They were able to attend their father’s funeral via live streaming which was organised by our vicar Michael Hampson. One stepson spoke about his father live from New Zealand during the funeral service. There were almost 200 households who joined live for my husband’s funeral from throughout the country and the world. What could have been a very somber and lonely funeral turned out to be spiritually helpful to family, friends, neighbours and the village people. Over two hundred socially distanced along the village street and this was captured with clapping and bird song in the live streaming.
Sunday and mid week Holy Communion have been live streamed. It has been so good to be able to worship together yet we isolated physically.
We have had family Zoom Parties, birthday celebrations etc, etc.
WhatsApp international phone calls have saved a heap of money.
My husband’s Death Certificate is even being accepted electronically by some companies.
Thank God for B4RN!

Graham, Iain and Margie

This is what was videoed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETHzB8_y5bA
Tommy and I followed Gra’s courtage on foot from our house and down our drive to Hornby Castle Gates.

The funeral director and vicar walked in front. Michael said prayers as we walked. We got into Gra’s jag at Hornby Castle Gates and Michael got into his car to film the journey with his webcam . Both cars followed the courtage touring the village up to Butt Yeats, round the triangle on the Wray road and back into the village, up to the Gressingham turn and back. The courtage stopped at the firestation and we followed it walking the final leg to church and into the churchyard.
Then Gra’s funeral and burial led by Michael in St Margaret’s churchyard with stepson Iain speaking live from near Wellington.

For those watching ‘The Entry of the Gods into Valhalla’ by Wagner then had to be accessed separately on YouTube so as not to infringe music copyright.

Margie Dixon

Hornby Probus Club

The Hornby Lunesdale Probus Club -held another Zoom meeting on Monday 20th July when the subject was Liverpool Football Club. – Behind Closed Doors.!

George Sephton, the official club announcer, broadcaster, commentator and writer told us all about the trials and tribulations of being the stadium mc/announcer with no actual supporters in the stadium. The matches are being broadcast despite this and need music and ‘atmosphere’ for sports fans around the world.

A unique experience for everyone and very entertaining.

Here are a couple of photos which Dave Collins took of our zoom meeting this morning.

Dave Collins

Probus club zoom meeting 20/7/20

Founded in the UK in the 1960s Probus Clubs were constituted for retired and semi- retired people from all walks of life. The title PROBUS is derived from PROfessional & BUSiness and appropriately this word has links with the Latin for probity .
Members meet up in non-political, non-sectarian, non-profit, autonomous clubs to meet colleagues with similar levels of interest, make new friends, and maintain and expand their interests.

Roger Carter

Hon.Secretary

Lunesdalel Probus Club

015242 22283

A locked down family.

Our broadband has never failed us since being in lockdown, even with all 4 of us on it all at once, I’m working from home and on Microsoft Teams all day. Home schooling and Zoom lessons are great, no glitches or buffering. Buying from Amazon has been a huge help! Keeping in touch with family and friends;Keeping in touch with local and national news; Virtual socialising (i.e. an online pub quiz); Gaming; Home schooling children; Ordering goods online; Watching TV, films; Reading online books or audio books; Radio or music; Zoom, Teams, Skype & WhatsApp. Teams was new through work. B4RN has helped Massively. Being able to video call my mum who has advanced Alzheimer’s and is in a nursing home has been invaluable. Also continuing hobbies online such a choir and drumming. I’ve never called my friends so much since being in lockdown, especially video calling. Why did I never do this before??? The children have been inspired to write and annimate a poem, I hope you like it and enjoy it as much as they did making it. Joanne Humphrey

It started off as games, entertainment and fun,
Then it suddenly became more,
As lockdown begun.

Although we can’t see friends,
Skype came to the rescue,
Face Time and Zooming,
We can still say ‘I love you’.

Video calling Granny in the nursing home,
We miss her so much,
Seeing her face, much better than just a phone.

Even our Grandad,
Aged 76,
Managed to throw WhatsApp into the mix!

Mum was sad, with no choir at home,
But thanks to B4RN,
Up popped Gareth Malone!!

When the government announced we had to work from home,
Out came the laptops,
From the deep unknown!

Zoom classes, staff meetings on Microsoft Teams,
No worries on bandwidth,
We can use to extremes!

B4RN helps us seek out positive good cause,
So we can help others,
Whilst our lives are on pause.

THANK YOU B4RN!!!”

Anne Mackinnon, artist.

Anne Mackinnon from Sedbergh has been 3 months in Lockdown as she’s been shielding her husband. She is an artist, and self isolating but she has carried on working. She’s been using a laptop, a tablet and a phone to keep in touch with family and friends.
This is her story and a film she made for a Cumbrian Primary School.

“I have kept in touch with local and national news via my B4RN connection. Virtual socialising has been fun, including an online quiz. I have ordered goods online, watched tv, films, radio and music and done online courses and research. I’ve mainly used Zoom and also conference calling. They were both new to me.

Each year I run a painting workshop as part of an Art Day at a Junior school in Cumbria.
This year as the children were at home, I was asked if I would make a video setting the children a task for their At-Home Art Day!
I decided to show them my studio and do some drawing demonstrations which they could follow.
My 11 year old great niece showed me how to use iMovie via little videos she sent me in Whatsapp, (she lives in Walsall) which meant I could do all the videos separately in iMovie and join them together as one. (I didn’t even know iMovie existed, so I have learnt a new skill).
This meant it looked much more professional and clear. I emailed it to the school and they posted it on their Facebook page.
It received many views and likes and some children showed their paintings.

I was also able to submit drawings of mine which will be included in a book, ‘Dreaming through the Lockdown Glass’, to be published by a Lakeland publishing company.
Lockdown has been very productive”.

B4RN and Hula Hoops

During lockdown, we have endeavoured to keep our community fit, entertained and in contact with each other in the following way.

Local people, living in Cowgill have salvaged small pieces of the orange ducting, that have been left over since the installation of B4RN a few years ago and delivered them to our home at Stone House. Colin has made them into hula hoops and we have delivered them to anyone who has requested one.

These have in the main, been people who run on a Sunday (before lockdown) with Cowgill Shufflers.

We have challenged everyone to learn to hula. Their videos of attempts and successes have been shared, with quite a lot of amusement. After lockdown, we hope to have a social hula-hoop session. The high speed broadband has allowed us to create these groups and to share videos and photos with ease.

Ruth. Teacher.

I am a Secondary school teacher with 3 children doing school work from home and I am working from home as teacher, we have a vulnerable family member so have access to click and collect and online food deliveries. We also are running a business from home;

Keeping in touch with family and friends – Zoom and Teams- both new It has been essential I am HOY and teacher setting lessons and keeping in touch with colleagues and students. School work and connecting with friends – B4RN has been amazing. 4 people, sometimes 5 when husband also working from home, all using B4RN all day every day for the last 11 weeks. Not a single issue. No issues with speed, no down time, absolutely amazing. We are in touch with family and friends, keeping up with school and work, and able to order food which we can’t go out to buy easily. While other things have been so very difficult, I have utterly taken our internet connection for granted, as it has been a seamless service. Thank you so much- it has made a very difficult time possible to manage.

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