London

A deserted Trafalgar Square, in Central London. Photo: James Durrant

James Durrant in London: The reality of #lockdown in streets of London

Lockdown has turned the bustling city into a deserted picture. An expat gives us the lowdown on his #lockdownlife.

London

A deserted Trafalgar Square, in Central London. Photo: James Durrant

For the expats living and working in the UK, #lockdownlife is not that bad. However, I sense from the way people are behaving today, “Bojo” [Boris Johnson] might get strict next next week.

Our #lockdownlife looks like this:

20 March: All bars and restaurants ordered to close on Friday 20 March. Most have, but I saw some today open for collection and delivery services!

23 March: Prime Minister Bojo introduced the UK version of a #lockdown. What does this mean, the public was ordered to “stay indoors” and to only leave the house for one of these four reasons:

Shopping for basic necessities such as food and medicine:

But it seems everyone goes backwards and forwards to the shops all day based on the number of people out and about. I guess if you buy one necessity at a time, you could visit 10 shops a day!

One form of exercise a day, such as a run, walk, or cycle:

This should be done alone or only with people you live with. I went for about three hours today all over London on a tandem with my son. Fortunately he’s only 10 and therefore is forced to live with me, so we went exercising, photographing and shopping all in one go.

Any medical need, to provide care or help a vulnerable person:

Fortunately, I don’t need to do this. I have a brother in Cape Town, a sister in Joburg and a father in Knysna — and they’re all good in full #lockdownlife.

Travelling to and from work, but only where work absolutely cannot be done from home:

I get to go to work every day, is that a benefit? Perhaps watching Netflix would have been more relaxing, but we’re a food manufacturer, so we need to keep feeding the nation.

Enjoy the pictures of South Africa House in shutdown and the streets of a normally crazy London in silence!

My son Raphael Durrant in front of South Africa House on Trafalgar Square. Photos: James Durrant