ZOOMING MARVELLOUS!
Lockdown may have been awful for lots of people but I have to confess … I really enjoyed it.
At the beginning it was especially nice: we met neighbours on the lanes who we usually only saw flying past in cars; roads were almost empty; skies were free from con trails; everywhere was silent except for birds who revelled in the quietness and yelled out their songs, while for the first time in decades we were able to hear them.
I cooked, I sewed, I baked, I wrote. I kept in touch with friends on Facetime and Zoom. I have taken to this new App with relish and am now Zooming at every opportunity. I’m not alone. I saw that in lockdown the Duchess of Cornwall has at last started to use the internet and encouraged by her grandson, Judi Dench has done the same and is now a happy contributor to Tik Tok (I had to look that one up).
This strange time may have given many people the push that was needed to get to grips with the internet and find the many positives in it. Older people (ie even older than me) are often reluctant computer-users so now is the time to change that. There was a plan that children whose parents could not afford a tablet should be given one to help with their education. I’m not sure about that – lots could have been ended up being flogged by mum or dad.
A better idea would be to give a tablet to every old person who has none. Think what it could mean: shopping could be done from the comfort of an armchair without difficult journeys; prescriptions could be ordered; more importantly, loneliness could be vanquished as family members could be seen face to face, and new friends found online. Esther Rantzen’s Silver Help Line could be redundant.
Zooming has been marvellous for me, and what with seeing with other writers, meeting new SCBWI members and chatting to literary agents I feel positively rejuvenated! Power suits, killer heels and magenta nail varnish could be next …
