When I saw that there was potentially going to be a Leicester lockdown on Twitter at the weekend, I became obsessed and searched everywhere for it. Suddenly, the news broke – it was happening.
I felt frustration and sadness for my city and local community – but also confusion about how this has escalated, especially when we were just days from being allowed more freedom.
I am in the last month or so of my maternity leave so, perhaps selfishly, I wanted to be able to share my son, Otis’, key moments and have fun times with my friends and family after so long locked up. I also wanted to unwind before I go back to work, but that seems off the table now – at least for two weeks.
Thankfully, our local newspaper and radio station have been brilliant and very clear. It seems like they’ve had to chase and work hard to get the right information. It’s made me appreciate local media more than ever because they understand and they are in it with us all. The tone needs to be right as otherwise anxiety and rebellion could be triggered.
The restrictions placed on Leicester mean that shops that had just opened are now closing. And while bars, restaurants and hairdressers will open across the country this weekend, here, they’ll stay shut. It’s been a shock - I thought Leicester had stuck to the rules. But I suppose you only see what you are looking for.
I’m on maternity leave and me, my husband and my son Otis have been strictly observing the guidelines – until rules relaxed recently, I hadn’t seen any of my family and that’s been really difficult. My mum works in the NHS and she deserves to be able to spend this precious time with her grandson.
We lost our two-year-old cavapoo, Monty, unexpectedly to a disease we didn’t know he had the weekend lockdown began and we chose not to travel to say goodbye to him at the vets because we thought that was the right thing to do. It was heartbreaking. Not having Monty around has made being locked in at home harder as he was the glue in our home and we loved time and walks with him.
We’ve also worried about ensuring there was food for Otis as he turned six months as we went into lockdown and he was just starting to eat food - the supermarkets were chaotic, empty and baby milk had run out but we managed it. I suppose I had to learn to cook for him and become a mum quicker. I often think about all the new mums starting their motherhood journey, because there’s no rule book or face-to-face support - it’s gut instinct and grit.
Otis is a charmer and he’s healthy and I believe he’s made me a much better person - he’s the main reason I’ve kept strong and not broke the rules. His safety is priority.
The weeks coming look hugely different to what we’d had planned now – the rules won’t be looked at for two weeks at least and I’m due to go back to work in August, in the communications team at Leicester’s hospitals. I haven’t had a night away from son since he was born, so I was hoping my mum would look after him and my husband and I could get a meal and drink out together before I go back. He’s been working harder than ever during this - it's been non stop.
Last Friday my hairdresser rang me to say she wanted to book me in for my hair appointment as I had missed mine in March due to lockdown. Last night she text saying ‘We will have to wait a bit longer’.
Leicester is an underdog city at times – we’ve had to bounce back before and we will again.
And that’s the feeling really – it will all just have to wait a bit longer. I think about my amazing colleagues working hard within the NHS keeping us all safe 24/7. We need to protect them, key workers and our neighbours. I will enjoy moments with my husband and son and keep safe.
It’s particularly difficult timing with ‘Independence Day’ looming, where the rest of the country will this weekend be back in pubs and hairdressers again. FOMO will be huge for us all, but I will just have to try not to compare myself to anyone else right now.
I had just got confident at social distancing with people, going into a shop rather than online shopping and my son was enjoying seeing people from a far - he was so happy to hear familiar voices.
Now, the road outside our house has gone eerily silent again and I feel like I’ve got to run on adrenaline and find fresh ways to keep myself and my baby entertained at home
Leicester is an underdog city at times – we’ve had to bounce back before and we will again. There are worse things in life than being safe at home. And in a way, there’s no common sense needed as the decision is out of my hands now. There’s no worrying, ‘Should I risk a pub visit?’ because I can’t.
I was once given some advice from a woman who had overcome a typhoon in the Philippines. She said there were two choices: fear everything and run or face everything and rise. So, I won’t be running away from Leicester. I’ll stay home and my time will come to have my hair done, get glam and have a cocktail.