Life As We Know It

The World Has Shrunk

The last few weeks certainly haven’t been what I imagined when we moved to Italy. We’re nearly three weeks in to the restrictions here but despite only being able to leave the flat to go to the supermarket, the days have gone surprisingly quickly. A positive aspect that has blossomed from the sadness and horror of the current global situation is the sense of community and increase in virtual socialising. It’s so nice to hear how modern day technology is being embraced to keep in touch with friends and family much more than our usual, busy lives would normally allow.

Why my university friends and I haven’t arranged ‘pub nights’ before via a group video call is beyond me! We’ve been living all over the country for a few years now, only managing to all get together once or twice a year if we’re lucky. But in the last couple of weeks, we’ve individually fired up laptops, poured a glass of wine and met up in our virtual pub and had a good old natter with the guaranteed jaw-aching laughter that ensues.

Group family chats and calls have also increased in numbers, with the sharing of funny videos and photos to keep the moral up. The addition of Scrabble and Quiz competitions helps to keep boredom at bay and allows those who have one to exercise their competitive spirit, whilst maintaining their social distancing requirements.

Here in Ferrara, the barricade of face masks and gloves hasn’t completely dampened the community spirit, with people still greeting each other and looking out for one another. With the protective clothing and strict rules to obey, it would be all too easy to turn away and ignore everyone else.

Back in England hearing about how communities are pulling together to provide services for everyone warms the cockles. The little village pub who are providing take-away meals and grocery supplies. The farm shops delivering veg boxes to those that can’t get out. Most of all, the 750,000 volunteers the NHS have had to assist in some way. All of these things help you to realise the world isn’t such a bad place after all. Yes there’s the selfish few who stock pile and then throw away mountains of food, or cough at Police officers or throw big house parties and BBQs, but I’m sure these are in the minority.

There’s the usual critique of how the situation has been handled, in today’s world it’s so easy to criticise and speak up about the negatives but overlook the positives. Praise is a much more powerful tool than criticism in my eyes. It can make someone’s day and spread some joy, it can encourage more positive actions and is much more fun to deliver than criticism.

There’s been a lot of talk about how our country isn’t what it used to be. But the last few days have shown us otherwise. Remember Sundays when you were a child, shops were all shut, roads were quiet and it was all about family time? Sound familiar? Or when you wondered how someone was, so you looked up their number, sat by the phone and actually spoke to them, rather than it be a fleeting thought that you must squeeze in a text at some point in the near future or a rushed conversation on a packed train.

I’ve no doubt life will return to normal, the status quo will resume but I hope we learn something from this. If nothing else, I hope we stop and make the time for others. Whether it’s family, friends, loved ones, neighbours or strangers. Just stop and reach out to them. Ask how they are. Or if they need anything. You don’t know what a difference it could make.

I hadn’t planned to write any of that today. I was going to tell you a bit about the history of Ferrara, but in the grand scheme of things it seems a bit irrelevant at the moment. I hope you’re all staying healthy and safe. There’ll soon come a time when this is all behind us and we’ll remember it with heavy hearts but also smiles, for the joy we brought to each other’s lives and for it bringing us all closer together when we’ve never been further apart.