Living in the country brings the Blakelys such peace and joy. In stark contrast has been the isolation and worry over Covid-19, which seems worse than the Troubles, if that’s even possible. How has Covid-19 changed their lives? Sammy and Betty were in Tenerife from January to February 2020, and were coming back on the 23rd of February. The next day all the airports shut down. They got home in the nick of time and were very fortunate. Then they were locked down at home for four months. Insert 3.1 Sammy and Betty in Tenerife
In Sweden, where their son Stephen lives, things are different. A reporter from Northern Ireland showed how in Sweden the streets were packed, there was no lockdown, nothing closed. Betty asks about the wisdom of lockdowns, “I can’t understand why other countries continue the lockdowns, when they don’t seem to be beneficial and the economy’s going to be destroyed. It feels like those in charge don’t have a clue what they’re doing. The lockdowns don’t seem to work, because after they’ve been ‘in’ for a period of time everyone just goes a little crazy and it’s not helping reduce the infections. Leaders all over the world are doing different things, hoping it’s the right thing, but it’s just too soon to know.”
The pandemic has changed everything. The 18th of August was their 56th wedding anniversary, but Betty and Sammy weren’t allowed to go anywhere. Even in Ireland, they were not allowed to cross the border into the Republic of Ireland, because there is fear that people are taking the virus with them. For Betty’s birthday, Karen invited them to visit her and the grandkids, but they couldn’t. Having Northern Ireland license plates on their car would alert the authorities in the South; they would be stopped and sent back. Where they would normally have gotten to visit their children, Betty and Sammy have had to stay home alone together. “We can’t just run to a shop, or go get a coffee anymore.” says Betty. Even church attendance is out because of fear of contracting the virus. The church is only five miles down the road, but thankfully the services are now being broadcast online.
“There’s a bit of a crisis at the moment because the government is thinking about locking down again, because with people out and about the infection numbers are going up,” observed Betty. In September 2020, the British Prime Minister threatened a £200 fine for people who don’t wear a mask. The Irish government will likely follow suit. As of November 2020, their area in the Northwest has the highest infection rates in the UK and Ireland. The north of Ireland—Donegal, Derry, Strabane—their numbers are high at the moment, though it doesn’t seem to Sammy and Betty that the virus is being spread by the older people, but by house parties and students coming back to university and then they’re all locked down. Response to the virus has been really tough and has taken away people’s freedoms. The airlines are devastated, the shops are devastated. The pubs, only just opened up, are now shutting again. The gyms are shutting down—everything except the hairdressers, but their shutdown is probably in the cards, too.
“Paul sent a picture of his television at home in Los Angeles, surprised that the mayor of Derry and Strabane was on the worldwide news!” Betty commented. The infection rates have been particularly high in Los Angeles too. Not to be deterred by Covid, Paul spent his birthday money from his parents on champagne because Liverpool football club won their league for the first time in 30 years. No fans could be in the stands because of the Coronavirus, but they can still play, thankfully, and celebrate.
Recently, Sammy and Betty were at the hospital so Sammy could get his arthritis treatment, which went well. But they heard later on the news that Ward 42, the elderly ward in the hospital, had Covid, but thankfully not a single elderly patient had caught it. The nurses had it and must have brought it back with them. So now, they’re checking everyone, every day, just to be on the safe side.
When Sammy and Betty went to have new tyres put on their car, they were surprised to see that not one of the eight or so people at that garage had a mask on. “What is it about Irish men?” Betty asks. “They just don’t want to be told what to do,” Sammy explains, “even if it’s for their own good.” People always think it will happen to someone else and not themselves that gets it. It seems inevitable that when there is a crowd, like at a game or performance, it’s likely people will come down with it.”
The ramifications of having to be so isolated to be safe are horrible; Betty and Sammy miss their holidays and going to visit Karen in Tipperary and Barry in Belfast. Luckily, their children are still able to earn a living during the pandemic. Paul owns his own brand consulting business and can run that comfortably from home. Barry’s employer set him up with an office in his home and Kevin works for a firm in Belfast from his home just down the road from his parents. Fortunately, they do get to see Kevin though he’s very busy. “He comes in the front door with a mask,” Betty remarked, “and goes out the back door like a flash! If he’s looking for something though, a wee favor perhaps, he doesn’t disappear as quickly. When I went to the print shop about scanning pictures for this book, I noticed that everyone who worked there was young. The young woman who waited on me said it would cost £2 per picture to put them onto a flash drive. When I told Kevin, he said, ‘No, no, no, I’ll do it.’ But I suspect it’s going to cost more than £2 per picture for him to do it when all is said and done!”
Before all of the travel restrictions, Betty and Sammy were able to visit Stephen in Stockholm, and his family was in Ireland to visit several years ago; they won’t be allowed to travel now.
Sammy and Betty also have a lot to be thankful for as they live in a large house in the country and view their circumstance pragmatically. Like during their humble childhoods, everybody’s in the same boat.
Yes, everything’s changed, but thankfully in December 2020 the government announced that a vaccine had been developed, so hopefully things will change for the better in 2021.
