Always thinking of others first during difficult time in lockdown
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Lockdown Lessons: MATTHEW SWANSON finds out what impact the restrictions have had on Wick charity volunteer Frances Purves
Between recently turning 30 and the disruption of Covid-19 for myself, like many I imagine, distant dreams and long-harboured hopes are given a sense of urgency and energy. It is in this spirit that I have started this journalistic endeavour, with a focus on being able to uncover the stories, depth and humanity that lies behind faces we don’t recognise and names we don’t know.
Lockdown has been a collective experience, but it has affected all of us individually and this interview aims to find out a little truth of that experience for one person: Frances Purves. My effort got off to a stalled start when I affixed the extension code for Thurso as opposed to Wick but when we did connect, the words below reflect our conversation.
How has life changed for you during lockdown?
Frances, who declined to offer her age but is young at heart, has been shielding since the start of lockdown. This has affected her ability to continue her work with the NHS helping dementia patients, and her volunteering with Macmillan Cancer Support (as a "buddy") and SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). She feels safe but imprisoned perhaps at home.
What have you found most difficult about lockdown?
Before lockdown, between work, volunteering and other pursuits, Frances described herself as “always very busy”. At times she has felt “extremely lonely” in the current situation and has “really missed people”. As we spoke, I sensed a fragility, a clear indication that while for some, including myself, lockdown has been a chance to refresh and rejuvenate, for others it has been a draining, trying time. She has missed volunteering at Pulteneytown People’s Project lunch clubs but perhaps most of all just the freedom to get out and about, to nip to the shop for some chocolate buttons (great choice, Frances!) or to the charity shops she so enjoys.
What aspects, if any, have you enjoyed?
While she misses her interactions it is nice to not be so busy and to “get up when you want”, and her garden "has never looked better” – a routine she hopes to continue. Macmillan developed a telephone buddy system and she finds this a soothing tonic in “helping others and helping yourself too”. Repeatedly, despite the difficulty of her own time in lockdown, she thought of others first and lamented only now there were plans to give vulnerable people tablets to aid connection – “it’s been three months now”. Facebook has provided a vital link, even if often it helped the time pass a little too quickly.
What are you looking forward to post-lockdown?
Going to the hairdressers! Even if this meant “standing in a queue with a bag on my head”. The charity shops, and a medal presentation for 20 years' service to SSAFA (postponed due to lockdown) would be nice, but the main thing she wanted to do was visit an ailing friend, given six months to live at Christmas, so she could keep them company and check up on them. They have been in touch a lot, but she yearned to “visit and go for a meal together”.
Any lockdown lessons?
Her main lesson was that she needed to “get out more” and talked about how over years her social time had steadily reduced. So often she would come back home and get comfy whereas now she was determined to do more.
I couldn’t help but think that, post-lockdown, this woman of character and compassion would still give a lot to others but at least try leaving a little more in the tank for herself.
