Vicki: ‘What will be the social effects on children caused by the pandemic and lockdown?’
‘The usual bells are no longer playing…. no sound of an electronic beat…. no patter of children…glass office buildings empty of people, yet the lights were still on…I crave the buzz of city life as it once was’
Vicki is in her late 40s. She is originally from Glasgow, but has lived in London for about twenty years, eight years on the estate; first renting and in the past three years owning a one-bedroom flat. She works as a curator in the communication department of an architectural firm. She is married and has an 18-month old toddler called Cooper. During Lockdown 1 she worked from home, while caring for Cooper. She really disliked the blurring of home and work; their living room became ‘a work space, indoor garden, dining space, baby play area and bedroom, gym, cinema.’ She cherishes that during the pandemic there was a ‘greater sense of local community’ and ‘a renewed respect for those on the frontline’, but she also missed family and friends, and continues to worry about the unknown effects of the lockdowns on children and society at large.
