Freeman Brothers was first established as a funeral director in Horsham, West Sussex, in 1855. The company now has a further three offices across the county – in Billingshurst, Crawley, and Hurstpierpoint – and provides a dedicated service via an experienced team. This weekend, the UK marks the annual COVID-19 Day of Reflection, and Becky shares her current thoughts…
In some ways, it’s hard to believe that it’s now five years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overnight, our lives changed in a dramatic fashion, with no idea of when or how things would return to our previous idea of normal. In addition to health and public services experiencing pressures they had not seen before, all sorts of other adaptations were suddenly made within our lives.
Parents had to become teachers as well as doing their regular jobs. Families and friends lived at a physical distance. Many professions were temporarily closed down. Services shifted to online provision, and lots of people had to quickly learn how to use technology such as online platforms.
No aspect of our personal, social, or professional lives was untouched and, on top of it all, there was a brand new, life-threatening virus to worry about.
There were some positives for lots of us. Many of our lives slowed to a different pace and, with the withdrawal of some options, there was the space for others. I’d lived in the home I was in for most of my life, in a small village, but I’ve never walked around the place as much as I did when taking the opportunity for a daily walk during 2020. A lack of novelty was something that was apparent in a number of ways – incidentally, I haven’t seen a finer demonstration of this than the five minute scene produced as a spinoff of the BBC1 show W1A which parodied a TV development team wrestling with the idea of what happens when the channel, ‘runs out of repeats’ – and my walk was one. However, when I challenged myself to spot at least three new things each time, I was surprised by how easy it was, and how much more mindful I felt during the experience.
This isn’t to say that any of us should or shouldn’t be nostalgic for the situation we found ourselves in during 2020 and 2021. Memories of this time are painful for a lot of people, due to the difficulties they experienced and the losses they encountered. To draw on television as an example again, we are starting to see some fictional media call back to the darkness of that time period – there’s a medical drama currently airing in the US which depicts the present day, but involves characters who worked throughout the pandemic, and incorporates flashbacks to that time; I’m told it’s incredibly emotional and hard-hitting. Whereas, shows which were being produced whilst the peak of the pandemic was ongoing chose to address the situation in more varied ways, including even ignoring it altogether.
Which brings us to this weekend and the annual Day of Reflection. Originally marked on the anniversary of the UK’s initial lockdown period, 23rd March, the date now shifts slightly each year, and this year is observed on 9th March.
It is a chance to pause and remember, as I have done via this post. My own feelings include gratitude towards those who worked tirelessly to support those who were unwell, keep safe those who remained well, and provide a solution forwards – notably by the development of an effective vaccine and a better understanding of successful treatment protocols, as well as fully establishing how the virus was even transmitted. For those of us who weren’t involved in these processes, it’s easy to forget that they even happened – many of us played the role of staying as safe as we could and waiting for answers whilst, unbeknown to us, others were attempting to speed up scientific processes in order to save as many lives as possible.
My main hope is that, in remembering, we do not forget, just as with other similar occasions throughout the year. Pandemics occur regularly, and one of the ways to ensure that survival is improved in future is to continue learning from the past. If you are reflecting this weekend, I also hope that it is able to be with positive memories of those you miss.
