Kennington

Lockin or lockout? While many people through choice or health are not going out at all, for me it feels like lockout since when lockdown was announced, all but essential businesses are closed. For me, as bad a phase as any was the week preceding lockdown with the uncertainty of how to cope with the restrictions. Fear of the disease is a virus itself.

The story begins on 7th March, the evening of my return from Mexico. Much has changed since I left these shores just over a month ago; several pages in the national press are devoted to the new emergency. In my absence the virus has taken hold in Britain and has gained a toehold in Latin America, starting with Brazil and continuing with Mexico. This is a journey like no other, largely fixed in one place and with an uncertain end.

By the 23rd March when it fully takes effect, I've become somewhat reconciled to the position. Domestic tasks are no longer a chore; a spring clean is in order, and it's good exercise. During a clear-out I find a file of old negatives which had slipped behind the bookcase, and recover images from a long trip in Europe and beyond from 1976. Iran and Afghanistan were on the route; either they were safer to visit then or we were gloriously unaware of the hazards. It's still possible to travel virtually and the TV programmes have been uplifting. Around early April the "Race across the World" covers Latin America from Mexico City to Ushuaia. It's followed by a re-enactment of the Klondike gold rush, which makes lockdown look easy!

I've attached images of my room with a view, front and back (I did clean the rear window afterwards, honest). But even at the beginning I've made a point of getting outside for at least half an hour per day. The streets have been so quiet that I've been anxious about venturing out with anything valuable but as the weather starts to improve, more people are out and by mid-April it feels safe to carry a camera. At first the park benches are taped off but it's nice to note the small details that would usually be overlooked: some guerrilla gardening outside my second home, the Camera Club (closed) and a tantalising view of some allotments. And in Doorstep Green, a local outdoor space, the plane trees are in leaf. We are in for a cloudless April and May.Read more