CORONAVIRUS COVID 19 GB SHOOTING HOW DID IT AFFECT US ? GUY BOND

 

Coronavirus Covid 19

GB Shooting How did it affect us?

It all officially started when our Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the Nation on March 23^rd 2020, to inform everyone that the country had to ‘lockdown’ in the next 48 hours to try to stop the spread of the Covid 19 corona virus. All social contact, pubs, restaurants, sports venue’s and basically any social gathering had to be cancelled or strictly limited, even weddings and funerals.

We were ahead of the game as we rarely went to the pub or dined out these days, but we had bought tickets for a comedy ‘Bang Bang’ at the Windsor theatre in March. We thought long and hard and weighed up our options regarding safety and decided to go. It was a great farce and we were pleased we had gone but many of the audience had not turned up in fear of catching the virus and Windsor was like a ghost town but at least it was easy to find a parking place! I was invited to a charity lunch in London the following week and my wife was a little concerned about my safety as the virus was just starting to spread. I rarely go to London, maybe once or twice a year to the theatre or a posh dinner so it always amazed me how packed the trains are especially on that day In Aylesbury travelling at 10.30am. As we drew closer to Marylebone it got even fuller and everyone seemed a little anxious especially as a couple of people coughed out loud and we all nervously looked at each other thinking had they got it! It was ten times worse on the underground with the carriages packed like sardines. If someone did have this Covid 19 then everyone would be infected around them. I made my way onto Baker street and finished my journey at the Bank stop and walked past The Bank of England. I stopped and took time to look at the iconic building and took a photo as I had never actually seen it before, and this is where the following week interest rates were lowered to a record

0.1%. I carried on to my charity lunch where a great deal of money was raised for worthy reciprocates

and then made my way back home through the madness of the underground. I thought at 5pm I might miss the rush hour but oh no, I was right in the middle of it. With social distancing or the waring of masks yet to be implemented everyone was in danger of potential infection as commuters packed themselves onto the trains. Eventually I reached Marylebone and by chance the Aylesbury train was just about to leave, so I jumped on board and had to stand until Amersham as it was completely full. I remember the relief of reaching Aylesbury and with a short taxi ride home I had made it! I thought about all those people who have to do this every day and came to the conclusion that they must be absolutely bonkers, and I was thankful to have been able to have worked outside all my life on the farm.

We sell potatoes and just before the lockdown we noticed demand had increased. We were selling more and more every day. We normally sell about a tonne a month, but we had just sold a tonne in less than a week. We were busy stocking up but were not prepared for selling over 3 tonnes in the next couple of days and soon sold out! March is not really the time to be buying too many potatoes as they soon start to sprout and go soft, but they wouldn’t listen!

All shooting schools had to close during the lockdown, but we had already decided to close two weeks earlier as I could see what was about to happen and its our own duty to try and protect ourselves and our customers.

It was such a pleasure during lockdown to walk our German Shepherd Monty in our fields alongside the quiet main road, an eerie silence echoed around the countryside. The wildlife did not understand what was happening and were doing all sorts of strange things. We always throw out any scraps of food for the birds but a fox usually very timid had started to help himself to the food. He became very tame and used to wait outside my door for his food and when I forgot to put it out one day, he stared into the patio door to say, ‘where’s my supper’! The birds of prey were getting very daring but there was now competition for the food. I remember being woken to the early morning chorus several times and maybe the lack of traffic made it almost deafening. I can not remember ever hearing it so clear in all the times I have lived here.

My mother is 95 and lives across the road in a bungalow. I cook her lunch every day and make sure she’s ok and during lockdown decided to keep going as normal as for her it was a lifeline. She still doesn’t really understand what is going on, (nor do most people) but at her age you never really know when the last time will be when you will see her.(that is the basics of my understanding with everyone really). At a funeral, people stand up and say the most wonderful things about the deceased that they fail to tell them when they were alive! I tend to call people just to chat and people often say, ‘what do you want?’ and it is nice to say nothing just calling to see how you are.

Before the Covid 19 pandemic I have always said this country would never be able to cope with another war and this was well demonstrated through the panic buying of toilet rolls, flour and eggs. Supermarkets for once had empty shelves but what they did have spare was Corona beer which I bought as customers were afraid to buy it in case they got infected!

People were traveling the World for pleasure visiting far away destinations and tourist hot spots being trashed with overcrowding. Massive cruise liners invading Venice and other tranquil settings. We were going to celebrate a friends 60^th birthday in New York and It amazed me how many flights went there flying tens of thousands of people every day. Obviously, our trip was cancelled, and we await the time when we can use our BA vouchers. It couldn’t last forever and now the cruise liners and aviation business are in tatters. I can not understand how these mammoth companies can fall by the wayside in just a few months of lockdown. Rolls Royce the backbone of our nation is struggling and even asking its shareholders for a lifeline of £2 Billion to survive, but they are not alone as most pub and restaurant chains are in the same boat. With hardly any hospitality venue’s open the Theatre district is on its knees and has gone from overpriced packed houses with no availability to complete closure.

We started to convert our redundant farm buildings into small industrial units and after lockdown demand has seen all available units snapped up. We currently have no space left and will have to seriously think about expansion for the future.

I have managed the Great Britain & England Clay Shooting Teams for over 25 years and in September we always have our annual Home international tournament. This is where England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland compete each year at various countries in turn. Last year 2019 we hosted the competition and the England team under my management won every class from seniors, juniors, ladies, veteran and super veteran and so becoming the outright Champions. We normally have four selection shoots to pick the team starting in March, but this year all selection shoots were banned and the Home International cancelled for the first time in memory, so in my eyes as we have not been defeated, we remain Champions without a shot being fired!

The shooting school reopened in August and clay shooting, as a controlled licenced shooting sport is currently exempt under the rule of 6 people attending, however we are being very cautious and presently not accepting parties of over 5 people. We have signed up to Visit England good to go scheme where it is a legal requirement to adhere to Covid 19 rules and display a unique QR barcode that people can scan on arrival on their NHS app on their smart phones.

This Corona virus has been disastrous for many companies but not all. I have been very lucky in the timing of diversifying our farming business, but I certainly do not take it for granted. In a way this epidemic has shown us that even great businesses are vulnerable to an unexpected influence. It will be tough for some to shore up our defences and rebuild our commerce, but we must never forget this time and the suffering it has caused. People have written about the two World wars and its affects over the years, but this is our ‘World War’ that we have witnessed and will hopefully make us stronger and more prepared for the next crisis to appear.