A look back at lockdown

The various lockdowns across the UK have seen people having to spend more time at home and as a result, many people have had more spare time on their hands.

From older people with mobility problems who need aids like stair lifts or homelift solutions to parents entertaining their children, there are lots of ways people have got creative during the lockdowns.

This article looks at some of the most inventive, quirky and impressive ways people have passed the time. Read on to find out what they’ve done and how they’ve inspired people.

Captain Sir Tom Moore walking laps of his garden

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During the various lockdowns when many people were feeling down and isolated, the UK had Captain Sir Tom Moore to be proud of.

Despite having mobility difficulties and needing a walking aid himself, the army veteran decided to walk 100 lengths of his garden to raise money for the NHS to celebrate his 100^th birthday on 30th April 2020. After initially setting out to raise £1,000 during the first lockdown, he has since raised over £30 million for the NHS.

This instantly made him an international sensation and the 100-year-old has since gone on to become one of Britain’s oldest podcast hosts. In a bid to tackle loneliness amongst older people, Sir Captain Tom Moore hosts the podcast, which is in partnership with Cadbury and Age UK, to help the nation start conversations with older people.

The podcast, called The Originals, sees the war veteran talk to older guests from all over the country with each guest have interesting stories to tell that include an investigative journalist fighting climate change and more.

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Business owners transforming their operations to online

Lots of businesses across the UK have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the different lockdowns, especially independent stores and businesses.

This, however, has seen many businesses having to work in different ways and this was an inspiration to Helen Wills, who is the writer behind the blog Actually Mummy.

She said: “The people who transformed their business offer to continue to operate online were a huge inspiration to me. A photographer friend of mine who could no longer meet clients face to face started offering product photography for local businesses. People would leave some of their sample products at her door, and she'd create stunning photos for their websites to a brief they'd discussed online. People like this inspire me to be more creative and imaginative myself.”

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Pen pals for nursing homes

A number of care homes in the UK set-up a pen pal scheme during the lockdowns when family and friends were banned from visiting residents.

The schemes are aimed at combating loneliness and to stop residents from feeling isolated from the outside world. Some care homes have created intergenerational projects running with schools where they exchange postcards and letters with children at the school and this is being encouraged to continue during the lockdowns.

Any care homes that did not run their own scheme have been able to join the Postcards of Kindness scheme. This scheme welcomes letters, drawings and postcards from adults and children to care home residents.

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Boy camps in his garden for charity

My favourite story at the moment Max Woosey, the boy intent on a year of adventureshttps://t.co/GEgqkxOCj6

— Jeremy Bowen (@BowenBBC) October 15, 2020

People of all ages have done unique things during the lockdown, especially when it has come to raising money for charity.

Max Woosey, a 10-year-old boy from North Devon, slept every night since the first lockdown in his family’s back garden to raise money for the North Devon Hospice, which looked after a friend who was dying from cancer in his final few days.

The fundraising campaign has raised more than £130,000 for the hospice and Max is aiming to brave the cold and poor weather and camp outside for an entire year.

There is a fundraising page where people can donate to the cause, which you can see here.

Virtual pub quizzes

As pubs had to close their doors it meant many people were unable to enjoy activities they were used to and one of these included pub quizzes.

With pub quizzes no longer running, Edinburgh-based Goose’s Quizzes staged a number of nightly pub quizzes through the lockdowns.

All people had to do was form a virtual team, download a form, answer the questions and the winner was then announced the following day.

During the first lockdown, quizzes became a huge part of people’s lives with families and friends joining platforms such as Zoom to take part in virtual quizzes.  

Joe Wicks’ home workouts

The lockdowns have seen many different sports having to cancel seasons and people being unable to meet up with groups of people to exercise.

Despite this, the lockdowns have seen lots of people and families working out together and taking up new hobbies such as running and cycling. People who are shielding during the pandemic have also been able to work out and much of this can be contributed to Joe Wicks.

Joe Wicks, or The Body Coach as he is also known, became a household name during the first lockdown as he offered free workouts every weekday. The exercise classes started a few hours after Boris Johnson revealed the UK would be going into its first lockdown and they are perfect for everyone.

The sessions initially billed as “PE with Joe” saw parents and their children workout together. There are, however, classes for people of all ages and abilities.

Older people who have mobility problems and need to use stairlift solutions are not left out as Joe Wicks has organised specialised exercise classes for people with mobility issues. You can see one such video below:

READ ALSO: Best activities for older people to try in lockdown

Creative lockdown learning

With the first lockdown in March 2020 and the most recent lockdown at the start of the new year seeing schools close and students having to be schooled at home, there have been some creative ways teachers from across the world have reached children.

According to the Washington Post, one art teacher in the US got her students to make art from laundry, while a music teacher would use props for her class and pretend they have a top-secret mission to learn about different types of music.

In the UK, the BBC has launched its biggest educational offering called Lockdown Learning. The third national lockdown has seen the BBC bring hundreds of educational resources together to help with home-schooling.

The content can be accessed on TV, online or via social media and it sees the likes of Marcus Rashford, Heston Blumenthal and Geri Horner step in as celebrity supply teachers. Chef Heston Blumenthal has taught a food science class, former Spice Girl Geri Horner ran an English class and footballer Marcus Rashford took a PE lesson.

Helen Wills recommends checking out YouTube for ideas as well. In an article on Actually Mummy, she said: “Mr Azfar on YouTube is an utter genius in my opinion. Not only has he uploaded lessons on specific topics including Physics, English Lit, and Maths, he also live streams lessons every day on his channel Lockdown Lessons. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still Maths and Physics, but if your teenager has specific GCSE problems to work on they might find the answers here. Also, it means I don’t have to do Physics with my kids. Which is good because I gave up Physics when I was 13.”

These are just some of the quirky and inventive ways people have passed the time during the lockdowns and if you are bored or are looking for something new to do some of these might give you some ideas or inspiration.