Our final article on A Year of Lockdowns; we hope you found our blog series informative.
Let’s hope it won’t be long before we are all working together onsite again to deliver the most engaging and exciting events anywhere in the world!
We thought we’d close out with this anonymous contribution from one of our crew
Covid-19. A Gallowglass crew member’s journey
Its early 2020, preparations for events and festivals are very much underway,
But first things first, I’m booked in for a quick 4 hour shift up at Northern ballet.
During my shift there were talks of whispers from the East,
“Have you heard about this coronavirus; apparently it’s this new deadly disease?”
January turned to February and talk of this virus travelled throughout the crew,
The general consensus being that this is nothing serious and just like the flu.
By March we saw the Cheltenham races and football matches filled with fans,
The scientists warned us but the prime minister said “I continue to shake hands”.
Events were still going ahead; I remember hanging lights on truss,
I had a feeling of defiance, “This coronavirus can’t stop us!”
But I couldn’t have been more wrong, I had been easily lead,
By the time of writing this there are over 120,000 dead.
This disease knew no boundaries, nobody was safe,
It was contagious and deadly, that was clearly the case.
And then Leeds fell quiet, just like every other Town,
The country had been plunged into its first national lockdown.
Work completely dried up, social distancing became the new norm,
There would not be any festivals this year, nobody would perform.
I’m a keen rugby player also, but that was promptly stopped,
I spent most of the day stuck inside, I felt trapped in a box.
I still had bills, and a mortgage to pay,
The beers in my fridge became more appealing day after day.
Meetings had to take place over zoom; I had a good set of friends,
I started to feel much better, but what happens when furlough ends?
Being told your job isn’t ‘viable’, by members of the gov,
But it’s hard to turn your back on job that you’re good at, and one that you love.
The government did some things well to try and keep us afloat,
But caring about people in the water is hard when you are in the lifeboat.
Gallowglass had to make changes; it was hard for anyone in the industry to thrive,
Every redundancy was hard felt – but you had to adapt to survive.
The end of the summer approached and infections had begun to fall,
Perhaps some events could still happen, no matter how small?
Restrictions were gradually lifted and jobs began to trickle in,
Work was steady heading into winter; I was ready for a new year to begin.
I honestly thought that the 2021 festival season was saved,
But then it hit like a freight train, in came the second wave.
This time it was worse than the first, winter makes everything harder,
Restrictions were quickly reintroduced but even so this time felt starker.
New variants of the disease were much more easily spread,
The government had to act now or the NHS would run out of beds.
Lockdown in winter was much worse than the summer,
The days are cold and dark, it just makes everything tougher.
A positive attitude and support from my partner were the things that got me through,
I kept in constant communication with my friends; I knew they were struggling too.
Its 2021 now and as we turn from winter to spring,
It’s important to remember where we’ve come from and where we’ve been.
This pandemic is by no means over but one thing this government has got right,
Is its vaccination program which has begun to take flight.
I’ve learned a lot throughout the last year, mainly to take nothing for granted,
Hugs from family, trips away, the laughter, the banter.
Whether events happen this year or next, when normality resumes,
Gallowglass will be right here as always, ready to assist you.
