Uncertain

Friday 20 March, 2020.

A date among a growing list of dates which I will always remember as significant in my life.

1 May, 2001 - the day I worked my first ever shift in my first ever job.

11 September, 2001 - 9/11 attacks.

8 May, 2002 - the night Arsenal won at Old Trafford to win the Premier League and clinch the Double.

16 September, 2003 - my first day at University.

7 July, 2005 - 7/7 attacks.

17 May, 2006 - Arsenal play in the UEFA Champions League final.

30 September, 2012 - the day Europe came from 10-4 down to win the Ryder Cup at Medinah.

19 April, 2018 - Anne passes away.

25 June, 2019 - my first date with Victoria.

This Friday, the 20th day of March 2020 is a date which is completely incomparable, and unprecedented for this generation. This is the day when all restaurants, pubs, clubs, gyms, theatres and cinemas were shut down as part of the fight against Covid-19/Coronavirus. The Global Pandemic has infected over 200,000 people in over 177 countries, claimed over 10,000 lives across the world, and over 100 in the UK since the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China in January.

After initial recommendations from the UK Government to socially distance, especially from older and more vulnerable people, and to avoid pubs, restaurants and public gatherings, the Prime Minister today announced the enforcement of the policy to close these businesses which invite you to socialise.

The last few days have been difficult.

Will I keep my job?

How will my family get through this?

Can I see Victoria?

Am I going to be alone?

I have lived in Fife for 9 of the last 10 years, and now having moved to Cupar from St Andrews, with all my friends in St Andrews and my family in Wiltshire, it is especially important for me to have the ability to see my girlfriend. We have been together for 9 months, and of course there is the worry that weeks and months apart could have a detrimental impact upon our relationship, and the initial guidance and advice from the government was particularly vague, creating uncertainty in my mind about what to do.

Being alone is something I have dealt with over the last 2 years since Anne died, but I have always had the ability to reach out to friends. Coronavirus makes this particularly difficult, if not impossible, and the open-ended nature of this shutdown extenuates the uncertainty. My mum is deemed to be vulnerable as someone with a heart condition and asthma, and goes into hospital on Saturday for an eye operation. She faces 12 weeks of isolation at home. How will she cope with that?

Thankfully my employer seems to have guaranteed my job following the announcement that restaurants must close, but the virus outbreak impacts upon my list of dreams and goals for 2020, and puts into great doubt my photography assignment for St Andrews Legacy this summer, along with any other paid photography.

For now I will continue to venture out with my camera, whilst socially distancing safely from anyone else which may be outside. I'll be capturing the empty streets and the natural beauty of our area, and providing a small distraction for you on social media.

We are all in the same boat to some extent. None of us now know with any certainty what the future holds, but with modern technology we can stay in touch and make sure we don't drive ourselves crazy.

How this virus develops is also uncertain, and how long we will be in this crisis cannot be defined.

Just a few weeks ago I wrote a list of goals and dreams I wanted to achieve in 2020, some of which have already been achieved, but we are now in uncertain times. This is a time for staying safe, healthy and sane, and staying close to the ones I love and who love me, both physically and via the phone and social media.

It is now time for people to stop doubting the severity of this outbreak, and to follow the instruction of the government as best they can to limit the spread of the virus and reduce the cases. Should we do this then we will hopefully return to normality soon.

How long?

That

is

Uncertain.