Chronicles of COVID-19

Title

Estelle, Cork City

Contributor

Estelle

Subject

COVID-19 (Disease)

Coverage

Ireland; Cork; 2020s:

Date

25 April 2020

Language

English

Creator

Cork Folklore Project

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Description

GENERAL PHYSICAL LOCATION RIGHT NOW

Glasheen, Cork

USUAL LOCATION

Same

Q. 1 STAGES

The first time I heard a mention of Corona virus was on CNN News in Australia. My husband and I had travelled to Sydney with masks in mid-January. The masks were to protect us from smoke damage, as the wild bush fires were raging at the time. People were advising us not to travel as the fires were raging near the outskirts of the city. We were child-minding for our daughter in Sydney from mid-January to mid-February. We saw an item on the news about a virus in Wuhan, China a few days after we arrived. Some days later we saw a report that a full planeload of passengers had arrived in Sydney airport from Wuhan. We registered this with dismay, realising that we would be returning home through the airport. The irony of the masks was that we experienced a slight problem with smoke only once when we travelled north to Cams Wharf for a little holiday with our daughter and family. This was just on the journey. The only real worry people talked about at that time was smoke. We had dreadful storms in Sydney on the weekend of Feb7th. A tree fell down in the park and took out the power supply. Many other suburbs were affected. We had no power till Tuesday Feb.11th. No TV, hot water, or showers is bad, but the loss of air conditioning is a disaster. We never spared a thought for the virus. We never suspected that the Corona virus would impact more forcefully on our lives than smoke and electricity. Both my daughter and her husband believed that Australia should close down travel from China into the country at this stage. Commentators reported at this time they felt Mr Morrison was slow to react. We travelled back to Ireland in mid-February, through Singapore airport. A few passengers wore masks on the plane. A handful wore masks in the airport. I'm afraid our reaction was to comment, "Aren't the Asians great people for the masks and umbrellas?’ We came through Heathrow and all appeared normal. We were met by some family members in Cork airport and all came home for the tea and sandwiches. Looking back from this vantage point, I consider we were both fortunate and foolhardy. We feel very blessed that we got home before any lockdowns. Nothing of our Australian experience had suggested that this virus was globally virulent.

Q. 2 EVERYDAY ROUTINE

As an old age pensioner, I would not have believed I would have been very much affected by a curfew. The reality is that much of my everyday routines ended very abruptly. This has been hard to adjust to. I find I snooze off again when I wake up. In normal times, i generally got up at 7.30. My everyday activities began with exercise classes four days a week - spinning, aquacise and two sessions of keep fit. These are all geared to over55s and the fun we have is tremendous. The cuppa afterwards is good too. Two days a week I minded grandchildren and enjoyed taking them to their activities and chatting to other grannies and mothers. As I have lived all my life in Cork I partook in regular monthly school reunions, work reunions. I go to the theatre and have five tickets for The Mousetrap in Cork Opera House cancelled for April 6th.My husband and I have two tickets for the AVIVA stadium - Munster v Leinster cancelled April 19th. One family of grandchildren in Dublin were due down to us for the St. Patrick's week. Every time we chat to them they're asking for "your lamb stew, Granny". Four of our grandchildren have birthdays in May. We make huge efforts to be with them on their special day. Not this year. At our age, there are many funerals to go to. We have missed one in particular that caused grief. My relationship with the news media has changed a lot since returning from Australia. We got into the habit of watching CNN and this continues. I find it very reassuring to listen to RTE's own reporting each day with clear and coherent answers. Then to tune into President Trump on CNN and thank the Lord for our own hardworking politicians. I also found Mr Johnson less than inspiring on the BBC.

Q. 3 GROUPS

The experience has been very difficult for people with small children. They were blithely told to work at home. Who, in their right mind would imagine that one could work at home with smallies running riot about the house? I imagine the bosses who thought of this as a solution hadn't done much child-minding themselves. And the very people who generally step happily into the breach in times of stress are cocooning in their own lonely homes. Our daughter in Australia and her husband have been ordered to work from home. Meantime, the crèches and schools remain open as usual. This is a worry to us. People, who live alone, in my opinion, are suffering more. It is difficult for an older independent person to avail of the help which is generously offered. As a neighbour reported, "I feel embarrassed asking for chocolate and crisps, when the youngsters are under so much pressure themselves." A young neighbour who lives alone and is currently working from home says "the loneliness is terrible". There has also been more talk of pain and illness among my own contemporaries. None of us, at this point, would dream of visiting a doctor.

Q. 4 WAYS WE TALK

I find myself spending more time chatting on the phone than ever before. It was some time before I understood that Covid 19 and Corona Virus were the same. At first I thought it was a ruse to pretend that we didn't have the virus here. The rumour that struck terror in our hearts was the one which warned us What's App was going to charge. Mercifully, not true. The jokes I enjoyed most were the caricatures of President Trump in bright orange Technicolor with the line" I myself inject Dettol every day". There is no need to make up jokes about his handling of the pandemic as we just watch reruns of his real life speeches. Since I am cocooning, I haven't seen any of the posters except on TV. Living with social distancing is a challenge. A small boy lives beside us in an area of older people. He misses the company of our grandchildren and is inclined to move a bit too close when we venture to the garden. It is heart-breaking to tell him to keep a distance.

Q. 5 COMMUNITY RESPONSE

MY family are most solicitous of our wellbeing. As are all the relations of my compatriots. This evil has brought out a tremendous amount of goodness and kindness in our society. Our local supermarket, small, family run, has been wonderful to respond with phone calls and deliveries. I watched many of the educational classes on RTE in the mornings and I thought they were excellent. Our keep fit trainer put up exercise videos for her class, even though she is currently unemployed. This has been a wonderful addition to the lives of all her oaps. She has also set up a What’s App group for us to communicate with each other.

Q. 6 THOUGHTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS

My big worry is that something may go wrong in Australia for my daughter and family at this time. Even if we could manage to fly there, I understand we would be in isolation for 14 days. This is a huge worry. One of my Irish granddaughters is asthmatic. I worry she may catch the virus. I think we are very blessed at this time to have a proper house and a garden to potter about in. Even as adults, managing in a small space at this time must be challenging.

Q. 7 SIMILARITY TO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

No Response.

Q. 8 CHALLENGES AND COPING

I generally try to attend Mass every day. I miss that a lot. But I have learned how to find `Masses on RTE and YOUTUBE. This morning, I had Mass from Nova Scotia. It is fascinating to see the slight differences from country to country. I miss the general walking - to the shops or to town. I can get 100 steps around our garden. So ten rounds gives me a thousand. Living with an avid golfer at a time of golf club closures was stressful at first. But we adjusted! I miss meeting friends for a coffee. I have learned how to have four persons on a What’s App. I have learned how to use ZOOM but find the numbers need to be limited, as many of us don’t possess first-class hearing.

Q. 9 THE FUTURE

HEALTH - I would love to think that this might lead us to a one tier health system. Would the consultants and private hospital management boards ever agree? EDUCATION - It is surely the case that more learning will be delivered by means of technology. I think this Corona time experiment has been very unequal in terms of access to technology. OLD PEOPLE - It reminds me of the situation on board the TITANIC when I hear of the situation in Nursing Homes. When the ship was sinking, First class passenger’s lives were seen to be more valuable than those of steerage. The delay in considering the vulnerable people who live and work in these homes has been less than admirable. I hope one outcome may be a greater respect and funding for these in the future. HSE - We will not casually criticise the HSE as lightly in future. They have risen with great courage to this frightening challenge. LOWER PAID JOBS - We are all conscious of owing a debt of gratitude to the people doing the heavy lifting in these times. I believe we will continue to respect them more in the future.

Q. 10 IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT SPRINGS TO MIND?

We are fortunate that we are on pension and this has not been affected. My heart goes out to the people whose livelihoods have been so suddenly and dramatically altered by Covid 19. Our attitude to this crisis would be very different if we were financially impacted. IT IS HARD TO SEE A WAY BACK FOR MANY. I am resigned and capable of paying extra in taxes to help the younger people affected get back on their feet. Perhaps a theme to include might be if this experience relates to anything in your past life. It reminds me of the Polio epidemic in Cork when we had to play for the Summer in our own garden and all our childhood pals who had relations in the country were sent away for the duration. It was a lonely time.

Q. 11 IN A NUTSHELL

It has been a time of great worry and uncertainty. The latter being by far the worst aspect of this. The virtual company of family, friends and neighbours has been a wonderful comfort. The watching of old TV comedies has been a help Any messages - "This too will pass" Like any war, there will be casualties, but chin up. "Our family never died a Winter yet" - My late father's admonition in times of woe.

age

70+

gender

Female