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As we enter day three of the country’s four-week lockdown, Hawke’s Bay Today reporter Shannon Johnstone asked people what they are spending the period of time doing. From learning te reo to doing yoga, there are many ideas for keeping the boredom at bay.
Bill Ralston and Janet Wilson, Te Awanga
Media personalities Bill Ralston and Janet Wilson will be spending the four weeks in lockdown catching up on home activities. Living near the beach the couple will be walking the dog along the shore.
“It’s quite neat because you wave to people if you don’t know them and they wave frantically back to you. Everyone tries to remind each other they exist.
“I thought it would really damage the sense of community, but it hasn’t, if anything it’s brought people closer together.”
While Wilson does some work from home she has also taken to cooking and Ralston has “thrown [himself] into eating”.
Ralston said he will also spend a lot of time reading books and tackling the garden shed as well as their normal home activities such as watching Netflix.
“I’ve also discovered the joys of Spotify and Apple Music,” Ralston said.
Rizwaana Latiff, Hastings
Latiff is spending her time working her job from home as well as keeping up to date with the groups she leads – Hawke’s Bay Multicultural Association and Zonta Hawke’s Bay. She is working on ways to communicate with different communities during the lockdown period.
Technology-wise Latiff said she is learning a lot of new things and took part in her first teleconference on Monday.
Every day she picks two work contacts and two personal friends to contact. She also sticks to a daily plan getting up at 6am, going for a walk at 7am, getting ready and dressing in work clothes then sitting at the computer for work.
Learning te reo is also something Latiff is working on through workbooks, flashcards and audio.
Latiff said video calling her son who is flatting to check up on him will also become part of the daily routine.
Growing up, sewing was something Latiff never learned, while the rest of her family did, as she was more interested in books, so she is also taking the time to learn this new skill.
Taking time to do self-care activities such as putting on face masks and clearing out her wardrobe are also on the agenda.
Bert van de Steeg, Havelock North
Malo head chef Bert van de Steeg is using the lockdown period to spend time with family and of course cooking. He is spending time with his wife Anna, two children and his in-laws at the family’s home and will be filling his days walking their dogs, gardening, DIY projects, doing lots of home cooking, and completing jobs which he has been putting off “until I have time”.
His wife Anna is a teacher, so will be homeschooling their children while Bert will be planning future menus and creating recipes for when Malo reopens.
“Being a chef, I haven’t been at home for any solid stretch of time or that many evenings, so my family will be in for lots of silly dad jokes and pranks,” he said.
Laura Jeffares, Napier
Florist and hairstylist Laura Jeffares has set daily and weekly tasks for her four-week lockdown. Jeffares is doing daily yoga classes which are streamed live at 6.30am on the @taane—mete Instagram with some friends and others who take part in the class.
“This morning there were 70 of us in our lounges all doing the same class at the same time, I just thought that was momentous for me”.
She also plans to go for a walk in her neighbourhood every day, get some sunshine, drink lots of water and take vitamins.
Weekly she is making sourdough bread with her daughter, knitting and stocking her dried floral bouquets and crystal and floral encapsulates for when she can re-open her business.
Jeffares and her husband took their children out of school on
Monday and have been doing casual lessons and learning through play this week.