Last coffee before lockdown begins
It’s not so much a goodbye as an ‘‘I’ll see you later’’.
On the day before New Zealand entered its month-long lockdown, three friends gathered for one final face-to-face coffee, two metres apart.
Usually part of a much larger group who take a weekly walk together, Dinah McEwen said the trio talked about plenty of things but the future loomed large in the conversation.
‘‘We talked about how it’s going to be hard not seeing our grandchildren for quite some time.’’
At 11.59pm yesterday, New Zealanders headed indoors for at least four weeks to try to halt the spread of coronavirus. All but essential services will close and Kiwis will be unable to be with anyone other than those they’re isolated with.
For McEwen and friends Cheryl Jones and Heather Homan, a coffee in the sun on Porirua City’s waterfront meant a last chance to see each other in person.
Heather Homan, left, Dinah McEwen and Cheryl Jones adhere to social separation guidelines at Mana. ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
The rest of their group had already self-isolated but the three women – all under 70 – were able to meet and talk about the weeks ahead. Families and especially grandchildren were the main topic, McEwen said.
‘‘None of us work and a lot of our time normally is taken up with seeing the children a lot and doing stuff together and that is all going to stop.
‘‘We also talked about how we might throttle our husbands and how they might throttle us.’’
While coffee meetings and group walks would be out of the question, the group would continue with their calls and online chats.
‘‘We’re learning new things like having online group chats. All of us trying to get a word in could be fun.
‘‘We won’t see each other for a while but we won’t lose touch, that’s for sure.’’