When the new going out is staying in with pals –kindof!

SINEAD KELLEHER ENJOYS NOTHING MORE THAN A NIGHT OUT WITH FRIENDS. THE CURRENT LOCK DOWN HAS CHANGED THAT – BUT HAS IT REALLY?

MY SOCIAL LIFE CONTINUES TO BE THE WHIRLWIND IT WAS - ALL WITHOUT LEAVING MY OWN COUCH . ... THERE ARE PLENTY OF INVITES JUST WAITNG TO BE ANSWERED

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

For those that know me and for those that do not: I am most certainly not a person who likes staying indoors.

So when on Thursday, March 14, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced restrictions on our freedom, little did I think the impact would be so great.

It was three days later that my world really came tumbling down – when my favourite pub announced on social media it was to close its doors for the time being.

Hours later, every pub in the country was closed and that is now three long weeks ago.

There was probably shock across the world when Irish pubs shut their doors; there certainly was in Ireland. That stereotypical image of the Irish party life was now halted by a virus that had spread across the world.

However, before I go on, Irish pubs are not just about the drinking culture. They are about socialising with friends.

Of course, in the grand scheme of the current crisis, it may seem like a very minor detail, but meeting and talking to people remains important, as it should.

And this is largely done in pubs in Ireland, rightly or wrongly. It may change when this is all over, but we’ll see.

So there I was on Sunday not knowing when I would get out again and already missing meeting my friends. Days were long and boring at home working, and now I couldn’t even go out at night.

Running, my other key interest, was still an option, but the nights out were gone.

That is until the pub came to me.

I have to say here: technology is also not my friend, but when a friend texted with a link that we were meeting up online via Zoom to replace our nights out in Baily’s Corner, I didn’t even know what that mean, but I was keen.

I could see people and chat to them and pretend I was out – a no-brainer for sure – and on I logged.

And that was two weeks ago, and I have a whole new life thanks to Zoom.

Zoom, for those that don’t know – I didn’t – is a teleconferencing app and, by all accounts, the new way of keeping in contact with friends since COVID-19.

If you have not been on Zoom, apparently you are not in vogue with the current social scene. But I for one am right on top of it.

From my online googling of Zoom, apparently everyone now meets up for a drink; after work drinks on Friday are on Zoom; Saturday nights out are on Zoom and mid-week pints are on Zoom. Alcohol is of course not mandatory – coffee or a hot chocolate can also suffice – but a beer wine or a gin and tonic is also popular.

There have been warnings from organisations about drinking at home during the pandemic, and rightly so, but nights out with friends can still be had via the new online world of Zoom, and it’s great to have that option. My social life continues to be the whirlwind it was – all without leaving my couch. I can also wear my pyjamas – they can’t bee seen online if you angle the camera properly – though I have to say I am considering wearing my ‘going-out’ clothes just to add to the authenticity of my nights out at home curled up on the couch. Zoom has also become the means to my exercise route with Yoga classes in my sitting room added to my social whirlwind.

The good thing about Zoom is you can add as many people as you want to the online conversation. A 40-minute call is free, but if you don’t want to be cut off after 40 minute and have to reconnect, you can subscribe.

Luckily a friend of mine is a techie and has a subscription, meaning we can stay on all night.

So my new social life is as follows: log on to the link for the call, prop up the latop and meet my friends online.

Sometimes there are only three of us, sometimes five or six or more, and in keeping with our previous weekly traditions, we still ‘go out’ Monday, Wednesday, Friday nights – and even some nights in between if the fancy takes us.

Of course, such is my popularity that I of course have more than one Zoom party to attend – drinks with the boys, nights out with the girls, dinner with my sister, a catch up with college friends: there are plenty of invites just waiting to be answered.

Who would have thought a month ago – the new going out would be staying in.

One wonders will I ever need to go out again. I have found a new online world of parties, but rest assured, though it is my new vital companion for now, Zoom will never make up for the real thing.

I will be back in my favourite bar soon (fingers crossed). For now at least Zoom is providing a much needed and a very welcome alternative amid the tedium of the Lockdown. Here’s to it.

Couchbound socialite Sinead Kelleher.