The lockdown chronicles - early days

Year 2020 was going to be great. The 25^th anniversary of my career was approaching; a grand reunion of my undergraduate and post-graduate classmates was scheduled, and I finally overcame my laziness and joined a gym.  My son was going to take his GCSEs and the excitement was slowly but surely building up. Then as a family we were going to have a big break. Our worldly outlook was looking good.

Then news stories of coronavirus infections in China started appearing. Having lived through the 2003 SARS crisis in Singapore, and witnessed the speed and impact of the disease, I and my wife were naturally sceptical and started following the news more closely. She was pregnant during the SARS crisis and we still remember queuing up outside the hospital for temperature checks before seeing the doctor. Thermal cameras were ubiquitous - shopping malls, office buildings and airports.

February brought a business trip to India. The defence mechanisms we learnt during the SARS crisis kicked in automatically; I started using hand sanitiser and stayed away from crowds. The slightest sneeze or a cough nearby would send me running for cover. Some of my colleagues even teased for being germophobic. On return, I was glad that I was safely back home, but I was not ready for what was about to unfold.

Come March, the virus was christened SARS-CoV-2 and the disease was soon called Covid-19. Hand sanitisers started appearing in all offices and cleaners were working hard disinfecting surfaces more frequently. We started hearing conflicting views; “don’t worry, it’s all going to be fine”, or “it’s going to get worse before it can get better”. And then came the announcement of a lockdown.

From a work perspective, being a client-facing and travelling professional, remote working was not new. All I needed was a power socket and an internet connection. Train delays or taxi troubles were no longer a problem; all meetings were just a click and connect away. But not being able to meet the customers, not being able to watch their body language and respond accordingly, not having breaks between calls to gather my thoughts, or not having those cliché watercooler chats with colleagues started wearing me down. The real story though is that I interviewed, left my old job, and joined a new one all online during this time.

From an Olavian community perspective, I joined the rest of the Governors and School Leadership Team for the first ever online meeting of the School’s Governing Body by Video Conference on 10^th June, a unique experience. Curriculum, Finance and Premises committee meetings were held online as well. Though we were sceptical on how they would work, in the end we made them productive and efficient through teamwork; the teachers and students of St. Olaves had already set a fine example of remote working through their fantastic effort and commitment under severe constraints.

As a parent, I was relieved that my son was able to take care of himself and the school kept him occupied with homework and virtual classes until the GCSE exams were cancelled and their ‘planned study leave’ came about. Subsequently, my wife tried teaching him the basics of cooking and I got him to help me in renovating our back garden. I am glad to report that we are still on speaking terms and getting on well with each other.

Ever since the Prime Minister announced the relaxation of lockdown from the 4^th of July, dubbed Super Saturday, I keep thinking of Bill Pullman’s speech in the movie Independence Day – “Mankind, that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We cannot be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it is fate that today is the 4th of July and you will once again be fighting for our freedom not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution but from annihilation.

We are fighting for our right to live, to exist, and should we win today the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday but is the day when the world declared in one voice - We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We are going to live on. We are going to survive. Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” Amen!