What are your memories of the first Covid lockdown? Take our poll and have your say
As the UK approaches the five year anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown, we want to hear about your memories of isolating at home.
On March 23 2020, appeared on TV screens to announce we'd be entering a lockdown to fight the spread of . 'Stay home, save lives, protect our ' - a slogan everyone would become all too familiar with - rang out across the for the first time as many started to realise the extent to which Covid-19 was set to affect our lives.
Fast forward to today, we're still grappling with how reshaped our daily life. Working from home has become commonplace, thousands have fled cities for the countryside and now appear a more attractive prospect.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
While Boris Johnson , the rest of the UK stayed home, meeting with friends over Zoom to celebrate birthdays, socialise and expand our general knowledge in an endless flurry of online pub quizzes. The allotted 30-minutes to exercise outdoors became one of the most important parts of everyone's days and even simple trips to the supermarket began to feel like a reprieve - despite the dreaded queues and initial stockpiling.
It's safe to say being shut in at home made many of us go a little stir crazy. Some perfected their banana bread recipe, while others became obsessed with maintaining their sourdough starter to be baked into imperfect loaves of bread.
We want to know - what are your memories of that first lockdown? and .
If you can't see the survey, .
Some memories were shared together, like hitting pots and pans to 'clap for carers'. Others were much more personal, as many strengthened relationships with partners, friends and family in a bid to stave off isolation.
To say it was a tough time would be an understatement. Most people had to forego important memories with friends and family, celebrating events in private and marking the lives of others in smaller numbers than they would've wanted.
Loneliness became an epidemic in itself. However, those who isolated alone found some solace in video calls from loved ones and communities banded together to support the vulnerable, buying essentials for their neighbours - including the most elusive product of them all, toilet roll.
After a whirlwind five years, there's now been enough time gain perspective on the unsettling period. Some memories of the situation can feel like a bizarre fever dream as the monotonous nature of the period merges together, while others will stand in stark contrast as core moments in life.
We want to know - what are your memories of that first Covid-19 lockdown, when everyone was told to stay home for the first time? How did you cope? Were you able to share that time with anyone? and .