Coronavirus: Big joy in little things no longer denied

Melburnians spent the first day of their newest ‘new normal’ basking in a perfect late spring day and finding renewed joy in small things denied them for more than three months.

Grace Price, and Gracie Tomlin, both 14, get wet and wild at the Lake Eppalock Holiday Park near Bendigo in central Victoria. Picture: Jay Town

Melburnians spent the first day of their newest “new normal” basking in a perfect late spring day and finding renewed joy in small things denied them for more than three months.

With just four active COVID-19 cases across the entire state and 10 successive days of no new infections, the government’s latest relaxation of coronavirus restrictions is a fresh reminder of how constricted life in Melbourne had become.

The city had only just become used to sitting down for breakfast or a coffee rather than shuffling around outside waiting for a takeaway when some restrictions were eased two weeks ago.

Now a day trip to the beach or a weekend in the regions is back on the cards as the “ring of steel” encircling the city melted away overnight Monday.

Families can again visit loved ones unseen for months, or in the case of some grandparents with newborn grandkids, ever.

Michael Smith in his Sun Theatre in Williamstown. Picture: Aaron Francis

Drivers no longer need to check their GPS to ensure they’re within 25km of home. Gym-goers can take the kettle bells out of their living room and return to pumping iron at their local gym. And we can once again settle in at the local cinema with a choc-top, a simple pleasure deeply missed.

Michael Smith, owner of the art deco Sun Theatre in Williamstown in Melbourne’s inner west, opened his cinema the minute restrictions were eased. “Many of our customers used to come weekly, there is a real community here, so we gave them the opportunity to again come to the movies and they loved it,” he said.

Mr Smith said shutting down for months had been financially and emotionally exhausting, particularly when it was unclear when he would be permitted to reopen and what the restriction on numbers would be. “It’s probably not financially viable to be opening with a 20-person limit per cinema, but we need to reconnect with our community,” he said.

After months as a single father looking after three children in lockdown, Melbourne furniture maker Darin Compt used the first day of freedom to escape with the family to their caravan in Lake ­Eppalock, near Bendigo.

“It’s been pretty tough. We’ve been looking at the four walls in our home for so long, and while they have been really resilient, we’ve been really looking forward to getting up here, so we’ve taken the first chance we’ve got,” he said.

The four of them spent Tuesday cleaning up the caravan, and getting out for a bit of fishing and waterskiing. They will be back at the weekend. “I think we value this time together more than ever,” Mr Compt said. “In the past we have maybe taken this time and place a bit for granted, but this time we’re appreciating being a family unit that little bit more.”