Healthwatch Sefton volunteer talks about life during lockdown

In the first of a series of blogs about how the coronavirus outbreak has affected people, John Knight, one of Healthwatch Sefton’s Enter & View volunteers, shares his experience of social distancing.

How am I coping with social distancing.

Well, where do I start?

The first and most poignant aspect has not being able to meet up with friends. I am a very active person socially and it made me realise just how important and essential friends are in my life. No calls to meet for coffee, lunch, a meal or a good old gossip. Or did I mean catch up?

A desperate call from my godson who is studying modern languages at the Sorbonne in Paris was scared and wanted to be away from the country. Never got any money, so I sent the money for the flight. Too late so he was stuck in Paris.

Now there is the TV and my subscription to a TV service! So to start, I decided to explore what was available. For the first three days I was addicted to this whole new world which had opened up to me. Armed with my cable guide and highlighter pen, I started to mark the programmes I wanted to watch. All well and good.

So with the help of social media I was able to keep up with people. I have got through three crossword books and have bought a daily paper.

Conversations with my neighbour over the fence (she is 91 and active) have also helped. She has people from her church delivering her food parcels and spoke about the war and how they had to make do and mend.

So gardening, reading, cooking and staring at the wall and thinking, is about all I have done. I established a routine which I follow rigidly.

Hope you have enjoyed my first blog. Why don’t you share yours with Healthwatch!

Take care,
John Knight

*If you want to share your story over the coming weeks and months, email us at info@healthwatchsefton.co.uk with your story and a picture (optional).