My experience of lockdown and social distancing

By Harriet Smith

Everyone has had to adapt their life in some way during lockdown and get used to the imposed restrictions and social distancing but for me, as a visually impaired person, it has been incredibly challenging.

So many activities that were a normal part of my life stopped happening, or I had to do them differently. I usually go to the supermarket once a week either with a family member or My Guide Volunteer (which is a service Guide Dogs provide), but throughout lockdown I had to rely on online shopping, which isn’t always the easiest of experiences. Although it was convenient to have food delivered to the house, it doesn’t compare with the physical experience of visiting a shop. I enjoy the human interaction that comes with going to a supermarket: the lovely comments that other shoppers often make about my guide dog Sparky, and the process of choosing my own food. Since social distancing was introduced, some aspects of supermarket shopping have become more difficult. For example, I now must be more careful when people touch my guide dog. I had a recent experience where someone stroked Sparky in a supermarket without asking first. The person hadn’t considered the impact this could have on me in terms of potentially spreading any germs on to the dog who I would be touching soon after. So please remember to ask a guide dog owner before touching their dog: especially during this time. A further issue for me is that Sparky obviously doesn’t understand social distancing which has made it hard for me to go out on my own with him safely. I have also had to make a few adaptions to the way I touch objects when I’m walking along the street. For instance, when I ask Sparky to find a pelican crossing box, I now touch the button with my elbow and position myself against the pole with my feet to line myself up correctly. This isn’t as accurate as using my hand but it gets easier the more I do it.

Social distancing has affected my ability to use public transport too. My plans to get the bus to my local towns of Daventry and Banbury to see my friend and sister are still on hold, mainly because of anxiety related to using public transport due to virus transmission at this time. I would have felt anxious if I had done it because I usually ask the driver to let me know when I’m at the right stop, and I find it harder to hear what people are saying when they are wearing masks because it muffles their voice. Also, bus drivers and staff who provide assistance on trains are more wary about offering their arm to guide a visually impaired person at the moment, which makes independent travel challenging for me.

I have missed social interaction in general over the last few months: my regular local Guide Dogs fundraising group meetings and fundraising events, going for walks with friends, regular touch tours at the Oxford museums, all on hold. On the couple of occasions I have visited my friend (who is also visually impaired) sitting at a distance from each other didn’t feel natural. In order for me to enjoy having a conversation with someone and to focus on what they are saying, I prefer to sit next to them. I was able to chat with my friend to some extent and it was better than not seeing her at all, but you can’t have such a good catch-up when shouting across a gap!

I don’t find it so easy to go to cafes now, which was an enjoyable part of my life. As every place has different rules it can be confusing knowing whether to eat inside or outside, or when to wear a mask. I also have an underlying anxiety that I might catch the virus from touching the cups and plates. That said, I have been to a couple of cafes recently and had a very pleasant experience, so my advice is to be extra careful and support your independent café if you have one.

One of the positive things that I have enjoyed about lockdown is the number of singers (I like) who have performed live streams online from their homes. Listening to live music is an important part of my life, and while I’m unable to attend real concerts these performances have been very welcome. However, as fantastic as these streams have been it doesn’t replace the excitement that I feel when a live atmosphere is created by an audience in a music venue. I have particularly missed going to concerts at my favourite venue The Stables near Milton Keynes. I look forward to going back there sometime soon when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying the live music online!

As I finish writing this blog, we are approaching another lockdown and I am thankful, as always, for my family’s support. I urge everybody to look out for anyone that may be struggling and lonely and to offer whatever help is possible within the current lockdown rules. We all need each other at times like these.