How is COVID-19 affecting you? We visit the streets of Paddington to hear what the locals think, feel and hope for
Feeling excited about the lockdown laws lifting or worried we’re going to create a second wave? We take to the streets of Paddington to find out.
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Lock down laws have eased a smidge and eastern suburbs residents are making the absolute most of that, strolling the streets, grabbing coffee and even hitting the beaches for a dose of sunshine and a dip.
The vibe is distinctly lighter and it’s noticeable. There are smiles and greetings everywhere you turn, even a little lingering (who’d have thought). At a glance it appears we’re well and truly ready for life as normal to return, but if you dig a little deeper you’ll quickly discover that the east’s tight-knit community is smarter than that.
A quick street poll recently revealed that locals are very well aware the pandemic is not over yet and that we must do our best to ensure we don’t create a second wave of infections.
Yes – things are improving.
But we still need to do our bit seems to be the general consensus in our hood.
Alan Bennet, for example, is delighted his three kids have returned to their Paddington school. But, the telecom infrastructure general manager, is also feeling cautious about life in general.
“We need to take a wait-and-see approach I think,” he says, while sipping coffee in the area’s famed five ways.
Pharmacist Geoff Yarrow feels much the same way.
Geoff has been the pharmacist here in the heart of Paddo for an incredible 37 years. Accordingly he knows the neighbourhood inside and out. And he knows health too. When the COVID-19 crisis first occurred his store was emptied out and fast.
There was panic buying aplenty, says Geoff.
“People were stockpiling anything they thought they might need such as hand sanitiser, masks and painkillers too.
That has since eased as residents have become more relaxed, he says. A sense of calm is a positive of course, but Geoff would not like to see locals become complacent.
“I think we need to take it slowly,” he says.
“We need to be cautious about removing all restrictions. It is very boring I know but we ought not to be too gung ho or we might go backwards. None of us wants that.”
Young parents Robin and Kamilla Tate have definitely found the restrictions hard to cope with – any parent of a baby or toddler will immediately know why – and they’re happy they’re being rolled back.
“We have two kids,” explain Robin.
“Mia is four and Jaxson is just 18 months so it’s been a lot … we pulled them out of preschool and daycare a little before they closed. We just felt it was safer to do so. We didn’t really know what was happening really. There was a lot of contradictory information but we felt we were doing the right thing.”
Both kids are soon to return to their daycare and preschool and their parents are glad to see that. The kids enjoy it and mum and dad have work to do.
Robin, a pilates teacher owns and operates the studio M. I. A Pilates in Paddington which he has had to close for now.
It’s been hard for the family but there have been positives too. M. I. A is now offering online classes and personal instruction and interest has been high. Robin is likely to keep this aspect of the business rolling post pandemic which he sees as a plus.
Also, his sister lives in the UK and he and Kamilla hear regularly just how difficult COVID-19 has made life there.
“My sister is a nurse,” he says.
“She works in the NHS. The stories she tells … all I can say is we have been very, very lucky here and in many ways. It helps to see the positives.”
William Marshall, a human resources professional, is working one day a week at his office – the other four at his Paddington terrace. He’s been doing that for roughly eight weeks although time has become a bit blurry.
On the whole, however, his COVID-19 experience has not been so bad. He loves hanging in his home (which he recently painted with the help of his dad) and he is spending more time with his partner which he’s also delighted about.
“It is very different, it’s kind of old-fashioned and traditional … we are spending time with our families … my brother lives just across the street.
“We’re relying on technology for work and we Zoom and what not, but we’re also playing cards a lot more and I quite like that. We’ve dug out the Monopoly and all the board games. We’re doing puzzles.
“I known though that I am very lucky. I’m here in the best spot, right in the heart of Paddington. So I can’t complain.”
William’s attitude seems to be shared by the majority of those in our beautiful neighbourhoods. We know we’re lucky and we’re grateful.
We desperately want life to return to normal, but we’re clever enough to know it may take a while.
And in the interim we will do our best to pull together as a community and be kind to one another. Because what other choice?
Want to let us know how it’s going in your neighbourhood, or even your home? Email editorial@wentworthcourier.com.au or Kelly.Baker@news.com.au This is your community newspaper and we want to hear from you.