By George Upfield
Hi everyone, my name’s George, I’m 24, and I live in Northamptonshire.
I remember this time last year, I’d just started working as an intern in Guide Dogs’ HR department, and thought that Coronavirus would cause a bit of damage then fizzle out… how wrong I was! By early March 2020, not even a month after starting work at the National Breeding Centre outside Warwick, I had to work from home. This was quite difficult as home was full of distractions, plus I chose to set up in my dad’s office. While it was nice to have someone to talk to and listen to music with, it was inconvenient for both of us when I had phone calls and Zoom meetings going on at the same time.
And then, not even two months after starting work, I was furloughed… it took me ages to work out what ‘furlough’ meant, as I’d never heard the term before! At first, this seemed like a holiday; I didn’t have to get up as early in the mornings, and since it was April/May time, the weather was getting better and I could sit out in the garden with family – living next door to my grandparents and aunt helped, as they were in our support bubble. However, after the second week, I got bored and wanted to get back to work! Walking my guide dog Yoko over the fields helped keep me occupied every day, as well as listening to audio books, drawing in my sketchbook, catching the bus to Banbury on Saturdays, and making stop-motion animations for my YouTube channel. I was also able to continue volunteering as a tour guide at the British Motor Museum, lockdown regulations permitting.
My contract with Guide Dogs was originally a six-month fixed-term contract which ended in July… by the time July came, I had only officially completed two months’ worth of work, so my managers pushed for my contract to be extended up until 30th November 2020.
I came off furlough in August 2020 and started working from home again, this time for the Diversity & Inclusion Department.
Just after starting work again, a close family member died (not from Covid), which inevitably shook me a lot, but I was glad I was still working – routine helped to take my mind off things, but I accepted that emotions would overflow at some point. The second lockdown from November to December was tough because of what happened, but knowing it was only for one month gave me even more reason to look forward to Christmas.
Christmas the best one for three years, then lockdown kicked in again, and another close family member passed away (again, not from Covid). It was undoubtedly a horrible way to start 2021, but we were glad at the same time, as we thought it would mean the rest of the year would be better for everyone.
Since the end of my first contract at Guide Dogs on 30th November, I’ve been kept on as an intern, firstly in the Visitor Experience Team, and I’ve just started in Research.
The current lockdown has been a lot more difficult for me. I’ve been keeping busy with work and walking the dogs, but there’s not much else to do! Weekends are only slightly different because I don’t have to work. Also, the dark nights/mornings and cold weather have made it worse. Throughout all of this though, I’ve been lucky that I live in a village surrounded by fields and walks, as opposed to a tower block in the city.
Things are certainly looking up though across the country, and the end is hopefully in sight. I think the takeaway points from this are to keep yourself busy during lockdown. Household chores are tedious, but they help pass the time! Getting fresh air and seeing natural light is a big help too – I know this may not be useful for everyone, but simply taking a few deep breaths of fresh air does you a lot of good, even a quick walk for 20 minutes or so.
I’m sorry I waffled on, but I just want to pass on my experiences, and hopefully this has helped somebody!
Cheers guys, stay safe.
George
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