Misty morning set the mood in Southsea

There's an eerie quietness as I walked to work this morning. The streets which are normally crowded with kids going to school, parents pushing younger siblings in prams and gossiping in groups, were empty. It's as if Southsea is in a lockdown already.

In some sense it has. Restaurants and bars, which a week ago were sending messages of taking good care about cleanliness, now are saying they are closing their doors. The Guildhall is closed, museums such as the Mary Rose are closed, libraries and the council offices are closed.

All day at work we were preparing to close the office and work from home. My colleague brought home the 21 pots of plants from the office to look after. We practiced using Google Hangout and put a daily meeting online for the weeks to come. For how long, we don't know.

While we rant against those who swiped the supermarket shelves clean of loo rolls and pasta, I secretly worry that there will be no supply in the weeks to come. Friends nervously laughing and sharing tips on which shops stock certain essentials. As far as we know.

Still, this is the city that housed the preparation of D-Day landing and I'm sure residents will invoke the same spirits of togetherness in the weeks to come. Already in the neighbourhood some initiatives to help each other are cropping up.

Photo courtesy of Erika Hughes

Coronavirus, you might be novel, but you're not the first enemy the city has had to fight. I'm sure we will overcome you too!

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