It looks like we are heading slowly towards this ‘new normal’ and an ease of Lockdown. But what will that mean for Shepton, and other small market towns?
We’ve had no choice but to get the bulk of our shopping online, and from large supermarkets which remained open. Will our already vulnerable high streets and independent shops survive? As a family, we have managed to support a few local businesses by getting the odd take-away here and there from places like Sunrise Chinese take-away, Mughal Empire Indian restaurant, Rosemary Greek restaurant, and some cakes, coffees and essentials from Denelas Bakery, Sweet 11, My Coffee Stop, The Fairy Godmother Shop, Dredge & Male and Collet Park Cafe. But with barely any income , and two kids eating me out of house and home, I admit to having relied on Salvation Army food handouts, and mainly stocking up on Aldi’s basics to survive. I’m not sure that’s going to change anytime soon, even when ‘non essential’ shops reopen. People have got used to making their food go further, not wasting anything, repairing old clothes and a sort of ‘make-do and mend’ mentality. This is great for the environment, but not for the high street. How can we balance supporting local businesses, saving the environment, and saving money? It’s something we’ll all have to think about. I don't want to see any more small businesses close down, but I also have less money to spend on them. We got chickens at the start of the ‘crisis’. I’m so glad we did, the lovely girls ‘Buttercup’, ‘Henrietta’, ‘Galaxy’ and ‘Cinnamon’ give us 4 eggs a day. We’ve been growing lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, courgettes and potatoes, and composting our food waste. I’m kind of uneasy about things going back to ‘how they were', infact I’m not sure they should. My eldest will go back to school on June 1st, but maybe just in the mornings, and probably just 4 days a week - as someone with autism, this might suit him much better than a full on 4 day week. SAT’s were cancelled, and I feel like he dodged a bullet! People can work from home, no more stupid long stuffy horrible commutes on overcrowded public transport or in gas guzzling cars, isnt this better? What Do we think about a 4 day working week? How about we pay carers, nurses, teachers, bin men, cashiers and key workers more, and respect them too? Why not take this chance to rethink society, and make it more fair. Lot’s of things have been really difficult and heartbreaking during this pandemic. We’ve experienced a kind of grief, a loss. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, however we do it, as individuals, as families, as communities, let’s do just that- let’s come back stronger and better than before.
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Last weekend we really enjoyed lockdown for a change. Thursday evening’s sunny daytime BBQ gave way to joyous clapping and over the hedge chats with neighbours. We all decided on our small street to mark the next day’s 75th VE Celebration with a socially distanced ‘Street Party’. One lady kindly donated tons of bunting, and flags from her knit and chat group. On Friday morning, everybody was out on their doorstep to observe the 2 minutes silence ( slightly ruined by my eight year old shouting halfway through “Have we started yet?” After that, we all chucked each other bits of bunting, and worked out ingenious ways to hang it, without breaking any safety rules. I spent the afternoon wearing a 1940’s style dress, collecting fresh eggs from our ‘lockdown’ backyard chickens and boiling them up for egg sandwiches. The boys picked some of our homegrown lettuce and tomatoes. Wayne fixed our paste table to put out on the drive, and then went off to secure our essential beers and Prosecco! At 4pm , our next door neighbour started to play some 1940’s wartime classics, and we all plonked ourselves down infront of our houses for the weirdest ever, but quite fabulous VE day ‘street party’. We enjoyed our sandwiches, tea, squash, cakes and even an extra special treat, a gorgeous “Afternoon Cream Tea” pack of scones, cream and jam - which high street bakery Denela’s delivered to many local Royal British Legion members and local veterans. Just so you know, you can still buy freshly baked goodies from Denelas, as they have an ingenious serving hatch fitted in their door for take-away orders.
The sun was boiling hot, and some joggers, and other friends from our local roads popped by during their daily exercise - keeping a jolly 2 metres apart ofcourse! Our kids clambered on the Landrover and made toys out of twigs and leaves like the olden days. The adults chatted, danced, drank and partied till almost midnight! Athough it was a bit weird celebrating ‘freedom’ , in such a strange time- when we are far from free, it was really nice and made us all appreciate what we have. Ofcourse, most of us are anxious and unsure of the future. Money problems, health worries and missing loved ones is getting to us all. Start by being grateful for the little things, and hopefully the big things will sort themselves out. If any local businesses would like Radio Shepton to feature them as they think about re-opening, or perhaps you have an interesting lockdown story to tell. Contact me via facebook.com/radioshepton |
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