I was also able to keep in touch with friends over the phone and tutor a young school girl from Taiwan in English via my computer and the phone – she would forward me her work on the computer, I would correct it then phone her and she would make the necessary corrections on her copy which I could see on the computer; she could also ask me any questions.

My daughter in Christchurch phoned me every week, while my son, who lives nearby phoned me most days, but I missed the actual physical contact with the family. There was one occasion when my son had to come to my rescue, fortunately he was able to do so without breaking the law as he was classified as an “Essential Worker”. I had been told to drive my car around the block at least once a week in order to keep the battery from going flat, which I did, but obviously “the block” was not a long enough drive because when I went to start the car in preparation for a doctor’s visit it would not start. I phoned my son who duly arrived with a battery charger, and keeping the required 2m distance from me attached the charger to the car and left me with instructions as to what I had to do the following morning. Apart from knowing the car would start, the joy of actually seeing my son after several weeks was something I could not describe but I felt a deep disappointment that I could not hug him.

The visit to the Doctor, to check on an eye infection, under COVID 19 protocols was certainly different to the “normal” visit. On the morning of my appointment I had to phone the nurse to let her know I was well; on arrival I had to sanitise my hands and sit 2m from the only other patient (apparently appointments were made so that a maximum of three patients were in the waiting room at any one time); I had decided to wear a mask and this was appreciated by the staff. When I entered the doctor’s room I found her to be wearing a plastic protective gown, mask and gloves and as I left she wiped down her desk, my chair and equipment that could not be put into a sterilizer with a disinfectant wipe. Payment at Reception was made at arms-length with a “Tap and Go” credit card. At the Pharmacy, only two people at a time were permitted to enter, my prescription was processed very quickly, and payment was once again “Tap and Go” at arms-length.

What I missed most during COVID 19 was the inability to attend Church, and receive Holy Communion especially during Holy Week and Easter, and a Service on ANZAC Day, however both my church and the Holy Trinity Cathedral did have Sunday services that I could follow on my computer. Regarding ANZAC Day, like several families in our street my cousin and I stood out on the footpath to watch dawn light the sky and remember the fallen not only of WWI but all the other Wars since. We heard a lone Piper play “Amazing Grace” and later someone played a recording of “The Last Post” followed by “Reveillie”, then we heard a chorus of birds as they greeted the day. It was certainly a very different ANZAC morning, but nonetheless very moving. I also missed attending U3A and Association of Anglican Women Meetings and helping out at Selwyn College in their Assisted Learning Department.

All my shopping during Levels 4,3 and 2 was done for me by my young neighbour to whom I will be eternally grateful.

With no traffic around I heard and saw more birds, and on my walks complete strangers would smile and say “Good morning” or Good afternoon” “Keep safe and well”, something I never experienced before the pandemic.

When my grandsons happened to say that they missed meeting up with friends, going to the movies and that school work over the computer was “not the same”, I reminded them that as a twelve year-old, recently arrived from overseas, and with only a few weeks of schooling in New Zealand I had to face the 1947 Polio Epidemic when all schools were closed until May 1948. Our schooling was done through the Correspondence School and on Radio – lessons were delivered and returned by post and certain times allotted on the radio for certain classes which we had to listen to as our work was based on these broadcasts. Children were not permitted to go to the Movies, visit Public Swimming Pools, or attend any gatherings. I also reminded the boys that there was no immunisation against polio at that time, and that from memory the Salk vaccine did not arrive in New Zealand until the late 1950s or early 1960.

I have nothing but praise for our Prime Minister and her government for taking the difficult but very necessary step to shut down the entire country so promptly and so stringently in order to limit the spread of COVID 19 in the community. The decision to lock down in order to spare lives versus the economic loss to the country could not have been easy, but for our country with such a small population the possibility of a massive loss of lives by doing nothing would have resulted in economic disaster. As far as the elderly were concerned, the Prime Minister did encourage people to look out for their elderly relatives and neighbours, so I don’t think she could have done anything else for this group.

I do hope what I have written will be of help in your research.

7 July 2020