These pictures document the Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020. My, then 4-year-old daughter, Lila had just started school and I was studying an MA. It was hard to explain to her that she wouldn’t be going back to school for a while or seeing any of her friends. The future felt very uncertain, and I worried about what kind of world Lila would be growing up in. A simple trip to the supermarket confirmed my fears that everything outside had dramatically changed. The streets of Totnes, in Devon where we live, had emptied of the usual buzz of life. Lila said “it’s a little bit lonely Mummy” which completely broke my heart. 

Despite the initial shock we soon found our feet and a new routine. Every morning we joined Joe Wicks for ‘PE with Joe’ and attempted to do some learning. We chatted with family & friends on zoom and explored new routes near us. We found a walk to school that we still do every day. On this route we met one of Lila’s school friends, who lived locally to us. She would call on him most days and they played musical statues over the fence. His mother Emily soon became one of my best friends. Signs of solidarity appeared in neighbouring windows “Stay Safe & Happy” read the sign in the house opposite us. We followed rainbow routes in the park and clapped on our doorstep for NHS workers, we discovered local wildflower meadows and marvelled at the abundance of bug life close to our home. Life became simpler and there were important lessons to be learned about slowing down and being in the moment.