My lockdown party trick? tennis with old socksand
Just a few weeks ago, our days were filled with things like dinner dates, exercise classes, drinks with friends, pub quizzes and going out to work – and now, every one of these activities has moved online.
It’s crazy to think just how much we now rely on technology, as apps, social media platforms and websites like Zoom, Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook and Houseparty allow us to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues.
I actually enjoyed the first few weeks of lockdown because it was an opportunity to switch off, slow down and stay home – a novelty for someone who usually lives out of a suitcase.
But then I got bored and started to feel a little directionless. Like many self-employed people, especially in the sporting world, I was faced with all my work commitments being cancelled for months, and I did wonder how I was going to fill my days.
But, when the last quarantine extension was announced, I decided to start exploring what else I could do to help people stay active at home.
I had already shared lots of clips and tips online, showing how to use everyday items such as balloons, paper plates and rolled up socks to develop the skills needed to play starter tennis, and I wanted to see how else social media could help me stay connected with the community.
So, two weeks ago, I did my first Instagram Live with Davis Cup captain Leon Smith. We didn’t publicise our chat too much as we were a little worried about messing up the technology but about 200 people joined us to ask questions and since then we’ve done another, which was even more popular.
I have several others lined up, including ones with Jamie and Andy. Family banter at its best.
I also contacted a coach who runs a tennis academy near my home and offered to set up a Zoom conference call for his players. The kids had the opportunity to ask their questions and I was able to answer them face-to-face, but virtually!
I loved it, and that opened the floodgates for requests and my online coaching has grown
‘ I’ll be doing Instagram Lives with Jamie and Andy. Family banter at its best
arms and legs. I have at least two virtual training sessions a day with various clubs, coaching associations, players, parents and youth groups, including two involved in football.
And this wonderful modern technology is also ensuring I stay busy after work hours, too.
For the last four weeks, our family has gotten together to create our own online quizzes, which has really helped us to stay in touch while self-isolating at different ends of the country.
And apparently we aren’t the only ones doing what I like to call “social gatherings from the sofa”. According to the British Quizzing
Association, lockdown has led to an explosion in people taking part in online quizzes, with many using virtual challenges to boost their general knowledge and enjoy a bit of competitive fun.
We may not be able to get together in person but we can still keep in touch, which is so important.
In fact, I don’t think we should call it social distancing – it should be physical distancing because we can still find ways to interact.
We often moan about spending too much time on screens but, right now, we can all agree every minute on the ipad, computer or laptop has been a real saviour.
In normal times Ann and Marie might have remained nothing more than polite neighbours. Ann is a grandmother living on her own and Marie is raising a teenage son.
They might not have had much in common. But, since the lockdown those casual “how-are-yous” have gone a little deeper.
The replies became more meaningful. They chatted more often – and for longer. Then, when she wasn’t sure if Ann was still
I do not condone this behaviour!
Anne was having a “down” day. She lives on her own and it was the anniversary of her husband’s passing. Then, unexpectedly, her daughter and granddaughter turned up. They had a chat over the garden fence, but the inevitable happened.
When talking about grandad, her four-year-old granddaughter ran through the gate and gave Anne a hug (that, she told me later, will keep her going for a month).
Of course, she had to be strict. She sent the little girl trotting back out of the garden with the words “You’re not supposed to do that” in her ear.
Turning at the gate, the little one pleaded of her mum, “Don’t tell dad!” Then she turned to Anne, a little shame-faced, and added, “Of course, grandad already knows.”
I’m not condoning it – or the lump it brought to my throat!
Write to:
awake, Marie hung a little canvas bag over the fence between their gardens. In it were a few sweets and a note, thanking her for her company in these tough times.
The next morning, the bag was back on Marie’s side of the fence, with a new note, saying what a blessing it was to have someone she could share her own worries with.
After that, their relationship is never going back to simply being polite.
A little bag. On a fence. It’s not exactly video conferencing! But it worked.
Benny is four, and Bob is 64. Any time Benny hears his neighbour out in the garden he shouts a “Hello”, then runs, climbs, and hangs precariously over a six-foot fence to tell him all about his day.
And Bob? He listens, he asks questions, and he always sounds impressed!
“Does he make you feel young again?” I asked him one day.
“Oh, no!” he replied. “With all that energy he has, he makes me feel every one of my 64 years!
“Feeling young would be nice, but helping teach a child that they are welcome, that they have a place in the world, and that what they have to say matters...i’d say that’s worth a few minutes of my time, wouldn’t you?”
Then Bob stopped talking and went about his business.
But there was a slight spring in his step, his posture was straighter and I am sure he walked like a much younger man!
“Going out again? I said to Harry. “Hope it’s an essential journey.”
“I’m only in 10 minutes,” said Harry. “Now I’m back out again.
“I was getting some shopping for a young family who don’t have much. Just the basics, you know. Bread, milk...
“But they have a little girl, so I got her a comic. It came with a unicorn nightlight. And, just to be on the safe side, I also got batteries.
“I dropped the shopping on their doorstep, got home, and discovered I still had the batteries.”
He fixed me with a steel-eyed stare.
“You aren’t going to tell me that, in a home where there is little, in a country on lockdown, in a world where everything has changed, a unicorn night-light and a rainbow of colour at bedtime for a three-year-old girl isn’t essential, are you?”
No. No, I wasn’t.