MEETING NEIGHBOURS IN ISOLATION

By Doug Dunn

I am finding relating to neighbours is taking on a new form with the constraint of separation. This morning it seemed so easy to knock on my neighbour’s door and invite Lisa for a second coffee at the bottom of my garden.  Last time, it was sunny and we chatted for an hour at separate ends of my garden table.  She gave me some useful tips about pruning a cherry tree and vigorously trimming lavender bushes. This time it started to rain so the conversation was brief but we had time for a coffee and croissant.  We talked again about repainting my white garden fence and she kindly lent me her power hose to help clean off the moss. I am now planning to repaint the fence over the weekend as we were expecting dry weather.

I’ve also discovered that we have things in common, both with 26 year old daughters and that we enjoy playing bridge, bird watching and walking.  She told me she has experience with handling falcons. I forgot to tell her I went on the walk from our housing estate to the wood plantation that she suggested taking.

With all this extra time some of us now have on our hands, I am finding new things to do. But it is occurring not just as things to do to fill the time.  Plans are starting to arise out of conversations with neighbours.  I am in action and excited about things I have been putting off for months. Someone said this morning (on a Zoom call, of course!) things are either growing or contracting. I see that applies to household maintenance and much more besides. What is exciting is I don’t know what plans are round the corner. I guess they will come out of conversations I am being willing to create. 

Before being in isolation, I had a busy life filled with many activates, my favourites being tennis and bridge. It was fun and I miss meeting those people and now fondly appreciate those leisure pursuits. But now is the time to discover other pursuits I had been putting off or even avoiding due the ‘lack of time’ I had made for them. Having a blank canvas of time is a blessing in disguise and an opportunity to stop and look around. To see what is important that was hidden or I was not willing to see.

Now where did I put that paintbrush?

Doug Dunn has a Software Training background having worked for 30 years in London. Now retired in South Devon, he devotes time to writing. He enjoyed collaborating with the authors of ‘Human Crossings – 9 stories about refugees’ published in 2019. This year he has published a report in Landmark Worldwide’s Conference for Global Transformation highlighting the benefits of writers working together. You can email Doug on dgdun@aol.com.

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