DAY 41 IN LOCKDOWN! 😷

With now over 40 days and 40 nights in lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, today seemes like a good time to reflect.

It has to be said that in terms of the daily routine, life as a voiceover artist is pretty much the same as usual when in lockdown; We are all very well accustomed to self isolation in our little sound booths cut off from any sights or sounds of the outside world, working alone around the clock with as few distractions as possible.

The usual commercials we record this time of year however have completely stopped!🤐

No Summer festivals, no country shows, no last minute getaways, no pubs or restaurants to advertise their special offers or events, no Summer holidays being planned or days out with the kids, no new films being released, no theatre productions, no concerts, no sport or fundraising events to advertise or ticket sales of any kind, no beer and bar-b-q products being marketed in the supermarkets, no college or uni open days, no hotels- The list goes on- There is nothing happening and nothing open and no-one can make any plans!

So what HAVE we been toiling away at in our studios? Well, a lot of phone system updates about businesses being closed, their hours being changed or information on how they are implementing social distancing. There was quite a flurry of these at the beginning and when things start changing again, I suspect we will have some more flurries of these. What else? Well not much actually! ....so I've been making a concerted effort to keep busy working on demos and equipment, making new contacts, getting things up to date and in order in the hope that we will see a big bounce back of activity when lockdown is lifted.

Okay, now work aside, what else during lockdown? Well, in the last 40 days I have finished watching all 8 seasons of "Game of Thrones" 🐉 FOR THE SECOND TIME BUT BACK TO BACK SEASONS THIS TIME!!!, All 3 series re-runs of "Gavin and Stacey" 🤣 as well as all 8 episodes of the gripping Netflix original series "The Stranger"! 😮 I've taught my young agility dog 🐶 to do a full set (12) of weaves independently as well as getting quite a decent tan, painting the deck, redesigning the garden, packing away all of the obselete items in the house, DIY that has needed doing for so long, cleaning, tidying, thinking, reading.........it goes on!!!!

For me, and many others in this country (not all-don't get me wrong! I am fully aware that for some home can be like or worse than a prison and I feel for those deeply) but for many it has been a once in a lifetime break from society and one's usual routines and obligations. It has been an opportunity to pause and reflect, to get things done and to spend more time at home with our loved ones 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 including our pets 😼🐶🐺🐱 (if we are lucky enough to live with our loved ones of course!)

I hear many people complaining about the measures taken or things that should have been done differently and although I understand people's feeling of frustration, in the face of very sudden global adversity I believe that our national response overall is one to be very proud of. We need to focus more positively on how lucky we are to live where we do! Nothing anywhere is ever going to be perfect in the face of a Pandemic and there will always be some suffering as a result but people's incomes and livlihoods have been protected as much as possible and our health system has been shown to be one of the best (if not THE best in the world)! and we are so unbelievably priveleged to live in this wealthy and democratic society; People existing in autocratic and poverty stricken countries will suffer from this virus for many years to come and what they will have to endure in the meantime is unthinkable!

We (society) will get back to normal and we will recover and I hope we can look back and just count our lucky stars! and remember the lockdown of 2020 and how stange it felt.

Thank you to all the key workers who have kept the country going 😷 and my thoughts today are with those who have lost loved ones to this terrible virus! 😥