Life's Changes - A Commentary 113 Days In...

Lots of my friends have been posting a post similar to this on their facebook pages, so that it will reappear as a memory in years to come. To remind us just what our days, routines and life became with this COVID-19 pandemic.

I thought I would do it here instead.

Life is definitely slower, I have a list of things I am going to go while I can’t go out and about so much and while I am making progress there is still a certain amount of procrastination happening. I, like most of us, am acquiring new IT skills as we all jump on Zoom, House Party, Messenger, WhatsApp, FaceTime, GoToMeeting (and Skype if we must) to connect and reconnect with our families, friends, workplaces, classmates and teachers.

Life is very different – more planned. No more spontaneous trips to the supermarket or the mall. Even here in Australia where things are slightly more relaxed than in New Zealand. Thankfully everybody seems to have come to their senses and stopped panic buying at the supermarkets and pharmacies. There are still some items in short supply but we all seem to be doing okay. The days of arguments and brawling over essential grocery items – pretty appalling and embarrassing displays of behaviour – seem to have passed. Neighbours helping neighbours and communities helping communities where necessary. No more weekend drives, or day trips to see friends on the other side of town, interstate or to go to the beach.

The confusing thing about Australia is that although there are national rules in place for social gatherings and travel there are differences state by state. We are in our bubble, inside our state bubble, inside the whole country bubble. In some states that’s it. Just you and your bubble people. In others you CAN have visitors but only two. How on earth do you police that ? It should be none, I feel. It also feels a bit like a competition; state against state – who can do it better ? They all have different legislation as well. Every press conference is broadcast live; interrupting normal programming, then played ad nauseam over and over with the media sensationalising many aspects and twisting the facts (although they say they are not). It just makes it more confusing – was that rule for NSW or QLD or was it for everyone ?

When you go to the shops (and here there are more than just supermarkets open) you have to be sure that you are socially distancing yourself from others. Four square meters per person, if a retailer can not ensure this then they must close. There is masking tape on floors, chalk marks on pavements so that we don’t stand too close to each other as we wait to get into the supermarket or to collect our takeaway food or coffee.

In Australia, cafes and restaurants are allowed to remain open only if they can offer their meals and drinks as takeaway only. In New Zealand there is none of that. In New Zealand Burger King has gone into receivership. The postal service is still pretty much fully functional in Australia – it is not in New Zealand (hardly surprising given New Zealand Post’s business model). Post has never been stopped by war or weather or pandemic before. It is all well and good to make use of the new technology available to us to keep in contact with people – but we are not a completely online, tech savvy population. Grandparents and elderly relatives locked down in aged care complexes or in their own home don’t all have access to the new fangled gizmos – and some would have no idea where to start. BUT they all have a letter box and we are all allowed out for exercise and could deliver direct if we lived that close – or drop our letters, cards, kid’s art or photos into a mailbox to be distributed by the postal service. What a way to brighten someone’s day – what a new skill to master for our tech reliant kids and youth.

In New Zealand everyone who can work from home IS working from home; every school student is going to school at home. In New Zealand if you have a job in a non-essential industry and you can’t work from home – you still have to stay at home. If you are over 70 or you have underlying health issues a weakened immune system or in an at risk ethnic group you must stay at home; not even go to the supermarket. In Australia things are more lenient. Schools are open – but mostly they are there for the children of essential workers to attend – parents who cannot just stop working, and cannot work from home. Every other parent has the choice whether to send their kids to school or to keep them home and essentially home-school them with support from teachers, schools and education departments. Supermarkets have dedicated shopping hours for the elderly, those with disabilities and their carers as well as for essential workers.

Governments across the world have closed their borders. Only returning citizens and permanent residents are allowed to enter Australia and New Zealand. Domestic travel has also decreased; in Australia states have closed their borders to each other. It is mandatory to self isolate for 14 days after entering the country (and state). Initially this was advised to be at home, but changes and pressure throughout have meant that now quarantine/self isolation is taking place in hotels with buses transporting passengers from airports to hotels where they are locked in, provided food and security guards ensure nobody can leave freely.

Airlines have stopped flying by up to 90% and because of the social distancing rules many hospitality businesses have closed down – the unemployment market is flooded with hospitality and travel industry workers. Virgin Australia have entered voluntary administration and may not survive. But many other business around Australia go on, tradespeople, public transport, postal workers, hairdressers (but not beauticians and nail technicians), garden centres, banking, council workers…Pubs, clubs, music and sports events and venues were among the first to be ordered to stop operating since they were places where large numbers gathered regularly.

Panic buying set in during in the early days; stage 2, 3 and at the start of stage 4 in New Zealand and in Australia before restrictions began to be put in place. In fact it turned out this was the case all over the world. We had no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer, no flour or yeast. Today, day 91 since WHO began providing daily updates in developments, there are still shortages of many of these staple items.

·         There is tape on the floors at food supermarkets, post offices, on footpaths outside takeaways and cafes to help distance shoppers 2m (6ft) from each other. Stores can only have a limited number of people inside stores, therefore line ups outside the store doors. I haven’t seen this so much in Australia, but it is commonplace in New Zealand to queue for 40 minutes to an hour to get inside a supermarket to begin to shop.

·         Non-essential stores and businesses, trades closed.

·         In New Zealand supermarkets, pharmacies, dairies are the only shops allowed to open

·         Drs and Vets remain open but must phone ahead; many consultations via phone/skype etc

·         Children's playgrounds, bush trails, water activities, visits to the beach, swimming pools, gyms are off limits.

·         Entire sports seasons cancelled. Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.

·         Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled. In Australia only 5 people can attend a wedding; minister/celebrant, the couple and two witnesses.

·         Funerals limited to only those within the deceased's bubble. In Australia only 10 people including the staff from the funeral home and venue can attend a funeral.

·         There are no religious services, churches, mosques, temples are closed.

·         Schools/daycare/universities are all closed. No gatherings are permitted.

·         Those who are lucky enough to have a job that is able to be done from home without the need to have physical contact are able to continue to work.

·         Not allowed to physically able to socialise with anyone outside of your household bubble. In Australia this rule is different in every state; in Queensland you can have up to 2 visitors enter your bubble. In Australia, as well, couples who live apart are able to see each other.

·         Exercise is encouraged , people are allowed outside for walks/cycling but must stay within their neighbourhood and observe the 2m rule.

·         An idea to reproduce the children’s story “Going on a Bear Hunt” gathers momentum worldwide and teddy bears and other soft toys start appearing at windows and on porches for children to look out for when out for a walk. Similarly drawing and painting rainbows to be placed in windows, or drawn on pavements spreads around the globe.

·         Communities gather – in isolation_ on their balconies, front steps and porches and driveways to sing and play music together, to clap in a show of thanks for the healthcare workers, some share drinks (very innovative) and Easter eggs from a distance, others even play tennis between windows or from one roof to another.

·         Museums, Art Galleries, Gardens and some tourist attractions offer free virtual tours online. Ballet companies, theatre productions and musicians entertain us with free streaming performances and concerts from their living rooms #TogetherAtHome

·         We watch a lot of tv, movies, box set series. We read. We bake – breaking out skills we didn’t know we had and share recipes on social media – and post photos of the results. We use our time wisely, to learn new skills, complete tasks we never have time for and to reconnect with ourselves while connecting with our friends and families in new ways.

·         Worldwide there are concerns about severe shortages of masks, gowns, gloves for front-line workers.

·         Around the World there are shortages of respirators, hospitals, beds, nursing staff and Dr's.

·         Petrol prices have fallen dramatically. In New Zealand it is as low as $1.83 pre COVID-19 it was normally around $2.20 per litre. In Australia prices which normally varied between $1.25-$1.69 in a cyclic market pattern have dropped to as low as 85cents per litre. Prices not seen for many years – and the irony…nobody can go anywhere to take advantage of the phenomenon.

·         Many countries, New Zealand and Australia, included have put in place economic measures to support workers and businesses who find themselves out of work due to the restrictions or lockdown.

·         Manufacturers and other businesses have morphed and diversified; distilleries and vineyards are producing hand sanitiser, others are making PPE, cafes and restaurants have adapted to a takeaway world (in Australia), others have quickly established an online presence.

·         Some people are wearing PPE in public. In some countries this practice is mandatory.

·         Our Politicians and Chiefs of Health become regulars on our tv screens providing daily updates.

·         Roads are quieter, many towns and cities resemble ghost towns.

·         Pollution levels reduce dramatically – and quickly – air quality improves at the same time. All around the world. The waterways of Venice are clear, and filled with sea-life rather than tourists and boats, the night skies are starrier with less light pollution, the Himalayas are seen from Northern India for the first time in thirty years.

As of today Monday 20^th April 2020 New Zealand has been in level 4 lockdown for 26 days. Authorities are confident that the curve has been flattened and announced that in one week on Monday 27^th April at midnight they will return to level 3 and potentially to level 2 after a fortnight.

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, which was declared March 11th, 2020.

It has changed us all, and it has changed what our future lives will be, day to day.

Life is precious.

We all have a new appreciation for what we have along with a hope that we will not take the things and the people we dearly love for granted.

Be thankful. Be grateful. Stay connected. Live slowly. Be mindful.

Be kind to each other - love one another - support everyone.

Let’s all hold on to what we have learnt about ourselves and each other

Let's not put this experience behind us

Let’s talk about it

Let’s fight to keep the connections we have built, restablished, cherished

Let’s remember

Let’s not go back to our old habits, our rushed disconnected lives,

Let’s build a future we can be proud of.

#52Ancestors, Strong Woman

I’ve searched and searched and racked my brain (and the brain of others) in my endeavour to find a subject for this topic. In 2018 I hinted at some women in my tree and the tough decisions some had made in their lives, some who overcame difficult situations and others who stood up to be counted for something they believed in.

So this time had to be different. I looked for people with the Strong surname – none. I’m pretty sure there are no women weightlifters or circus people hiding on a yet unexplored branch of the tree either.

So, what makes you strong ?

One person’s strength is not the same as another – even if the two are as close as sisters. Is the sister who bid farewell to all that was familiar to her and followed her husband to the other side of the world to make a new life with better opportunities for her children stronger than her sister who stayed and lived in the same village as generations had before her ?

Everybody’s journey is unique and the events we experience shape us; the way we respond to them defines us.

Caroline Ann Cooper is someone in my family who I think was a pretty strong woman. She strikes me as a resilient, strong woman to have carried on despite the adversities she faced.

Things started out great, she was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 23 January 1861, the 6^th child for John Cooper a tailor and his wife Mary Ann. By the time her younger sister Emma was born 20 months later, her family had left Wellington and relocated to Kekerengu, north of Kaikoura on the east coast of South Island where her grandmother and several of her mother’s brothers and sisters had also moved. A few short years later when she was about 10, the family had moved south into the township of Kaikoura where the youngest three of her siblings were born.

When she was about fifteen her mother left, taking the three youngest children with her to Australia. By that time two of her sisters had married and started their own families so I imagine it would have been expected that Caroline would assume some of the responsibilities, along with her eldest sister, of caring for the younger children and their father. In September 1879 her eldest sister Charlotte died aged 28.

Tom Cooke and his cousin William emigrated in the mid 1870’s first to the West Coast before settling in Kaikoura. They were both in the building trade. My great grandfather is said to have been apprenticed to him. William was a painter and ironmonger, operating a hardware store and offering employing to locals. He also left a legacy to the youth of Kaikoura – but that might be another story.

In April 1881 Caroline and Tom were married. Their first child and only son Thomas, arrived three months later. Three daughters followed, the youngest in 1887.

Something went awry though; in 1891 Tom appears on the UK census…and he is on every subsequent UK census until his death in 1926. Caroline remained in Kaikoura and raised her children, I guess with some support from her family, perhaps also from Tom’s cousin William.

In 1902 her son Thomas married in Wellington where it is thought he had been living and working for some time, then her eldest daughter married in Waiau in 1904. In 1905 her middle daughter, Flora, died aged 20. In about 1912 ahead of the outbreak of World War 1 Thomas left Wellington, taking his family to Melbourne Australia where he continued to work as a builder later enlisting with the Australian Imperial Forces.

He did not return, dying at Pozieres in July 1916 and posthumously being awarded the Victoria Cross. A memorial brass tablet commemorating his heroism was unveiled at Kaikoura School, a gold necklet with an engraved Maltese Cross was presented to Caroline and a war memorial was erected to remember him and the other Kaikoura boys.

In April 1918 Caroline’s youngest daughter, Ethel, died after an operation at Christchurch Hospital. In November of the same year her eldest daughter, Catherine, was a victim of the “Spanish Flu” leaving seven children aged between 5 and 14 years.

A small notice appeared in the Marlborough Express, 3 December 1918

The death occurred at Waiau on Nov. 25th of Mrs Catherine Oldman, wife of Mr C.A Oldman, at the age of 35. The deceased was the only surviving member of Mrs C Cooke's family (Kaikoura) who has lost her three other children, including Private Thomas Cooke, who won the Victoria Cross whilst doing his duty to the Empire.

Caroline’s cottage on Brighton Street, Kaikoura was one of three which burnt down in the early hours of 27 June 1935. All her furniture except a piano was saved, the other two cottage occupants weren’t so lucky. Her home was rebuilt and is described in her estate sale as being 5 years old, a three roomed cottage with a bathroom, sunporch and detached washhouse.

After her death on 11 January 1941 just a few days short of her 80^th birthday, Caroline was buried in the Kaikoura Cemetery and her home, furniture and belongings were auctioned as part of estate.