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#48 Pete Could this virus get me? Could I die? Would they care?

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Pete

It’s tough at the moment. I’m thinking a lot about my family. Mainly my ex-wife, my sister Jan, my daughter Nicola, and the grandchildren that I have no contact with. You don’t stop loving people because they don’t want to be in your life. It’s hard. You kid yourself it’s for the best, but it tears you up inside. Could this virus get me? Could I die? Would they care? Old fears and feelings creep up on me and I have to get out. I walk to the allotment, and spend a couple of hours hoeing over several beds. It’s hard manual work, and it’s so satisfying. I really do start to feel better. The allotment effect is astonishing.


Precis

On 16 March 2020, one week before official government guidance, and just as Covid 19 was turning into a global epidemic, the Performance Ensemble went into lockdown. Our weekly company workshops came to an abrupt halt, and we disappeared behind our individual front doors. The easy ways of communicating, face to face, were no more. But we still needed to connect. Nine of the company started to keep diaries of their experiences, as a way of overcoming the isolation. Here they are: 31 days of lockdown, recorded during the months of March and April, beginning on 16 March and ending on 1 May, just as restrictions started to be eased. Edited by Barney Bardsley