Your Place or Mine?

For us during this lockdown, videoconferencing has become a magic carpet.  It is as easy to have a natter with friends who live at a distance as it is people who live just round the corner.

Some of our friends have lived miles from us for many years and we are used to putting aside weekends to see them.  But recently, several other friends have moved away from the south east and are now a day trip away, or even a whole weekend.  And there are only so many weekends in the year.

However, we can now see them for an hour or so on any evening.  If they’re not already busy videoconferencing somebody else, that is!

Similarly, because Pascoe lives in Edinburgh, it is rare to have all our offspring in one room together.  But now we are achieving this once a week.

All this was available before, but it was not socially accepted to meet a bunch of friends as if it was a work conference call.  It is one of the things from Lockdown that I hope we keep. 

Now when we make a social arrangement, we ask “Skype or Zoom?”

Nigel figures it’s become the new “Your place or mine?”

Celebrating Easter alone together

Our vicar often says, “The Church isn’t the building – it’s the people”.

So the thought of spending Good Friday and Easter Sunday without being able to grieve and rejoice alongside other members of our church family, made Nigel and I feel subdued.

In the end, our vicar and curate rose to the challenge and services were available not only on Facebook, but also YouTube, AND Zoom.

I felt like emailing to complain that there was no Skype or Teams version available.  But when you are not face to face, people sometimes don’t realise you are joking.

It was a comfort to wave to our lovely friends on Zoom.  But my favourite moment was when, with the Good Friday service just about to begin, a black square appeared on the grid, labelled “Unknown Host”.

I muted our mic and nudged Nigel.  “The Holy Ghost really is present with us today.”

The Queen of Video-conferencing

At the start of last week, I had only ever attended a handful of video conferences, and had certainly never set up a meeting.

By the end of this week, I will have taught Latin to over seventy children and adults via several Zoom sessions I set up.

Communicating with twenty-five teens on a single video call is…interesting, but I’m getting better at it.

I always thought that classroom teaching was not a job I could do from home, but these strange times have proved me wrong.  I feel lucky to have had the previous two terms to establish a rapport with my pupils before we embarked on this new adventure together.

And it’s not just the teachers who are learning new skills – the children are having to learn to work independently without the structure of a classroom and teacher for much of the day.

For those who find their inner discipline, this life skill will be the most valuable learning experience of all; for those who don’t it will mean several weeks of lost education & worried parents.

As for me, my neighbours probably think I’ve gone bonkers through isolation.  My desk is in front of the window and anybody passing by will be able to spot me quite alone, apparently talking animatedly to myself for hours on end.