Two nice things happened.

 Two nice things happened on one day at work last week. I'll tell you about them. 

Nice thing number one.

An elderly gent came up to me on the door at the market and said "Do you mind if I have a quick word mate?" I braced myself for the normal Covid related moans. "I'd just like to thank you lot for the way things are being run here. My wife and I always feel safe shopping and everyone is always so helpful. Thank you" It's only a little thing but it went a long way.

Nice thing number two.

Later that very same day a younger, much taller gent approached me. "Jon! I've been waiting for our paths to cross" With his mask on I wasn't too sure exactly who he was but he seemed friendly so I didn't run away. "It's me, Dave from the SMART group" This was a group I ran for a while supporting addicts entering into or already in recovery.. "I wanted to thank you for the support and advice from your group, I went into detox and I'm two and a half years dry now!" Fabulous. A few more pleasantries exchanged and he went on his way. 

It's always nice to know you've had a positive affect on someone's life, puts the spring back in your step, for a while at least. 

 The Great Lockdown

One Monday, many years ago I was at work setting up some social distancing measures when the news came in, LOCKDOWN! I'll  remember this day till the day I die. A feeling of trepidation, questions running through my head like cars on a medium to heavy traffic day on a major trunk road. 

• How long will this last?
• Will we still be able to see friends and family?
• Will the panic buying escalate to the point food will become scarce?
• Will there be riots and other civil disorder?
• Does this mean I can go home from work early?

Realising the enormity of the situation I knew what I had to do. I should keep a regular diary of how things changed at home, at work and out in the soon to be almost deserted world. This could be an immensely useful document in years to come, something to refer back to when the Grandchildren grow up and ask "what did you do in the great plague Gramps?" It would document the pressures on people in a situation so sudden, so alien that there was no way to prepare. 

Of course, as you may have guessed, I didn`t bother.

Probably would have been rubbish anyway.

Six months of lockdown later I`ve had another idea. A lot of interesting things have happened through this period. At work, at home and out and about there have been some lovely little stories. Little snapshots of life during a pandemic. Some happy, some sad some funny but all worthy of a share. I`ll start popping some of my tales up here and if any of you have anything you`d like to share no matter how short or epic it may be I`ll stick it on here too.

Let me know in the comments below or give me a shout on facebook.

J