Diary Entry: I’ve wanted to get a lot down on paper/file for a while. I’ll try to update as and when.
It’s Monday 06/04/2020, Boris Johnson spent a night in hospital last night. While I obviously hope he’s fine, I do hope also he gets a few quite moments to himself and realises how important universal healthcare is. The man’s a con artist, but even a con artist can be human.
That realisation may be one of the few positive take-aways at the moment – seeing just how lucky we are to have a (barely) functioning healthcare system that gives us at least a shot of surviving if things get really bad. It’s horrifying to think of those who don’t have that luxury. It’s horrifying to think of that as a luxury. Not that I needed convincing, but the NHS is by far and away the single greatest achievement of mankind. We can go to the moon anytime, ensuring that the poorest and most disadvantaged has world class healthcare is out of this world.
I have friends in the medical profession – a few doctors, a radiologist… they’re still complaining of poor PPE and not very reassuring when I ask what preparations are being made. It sounds as if there’s a complete failure of middle management – and that can be said for councils and universities as well. I hope I’ll come back to this some other time – I’d like to get my thoughts down. Friends and family across different professions are reporting similarly inept responses from middle or corporate management – not sure what the term is, but the ‘professional managers’ as opposed to the delivery/service related personnel.
Over the weekend we heard more reports of holiday makers and second home owners ‘fleeing’ to West and North Wales.I’ve heard it’s very tense in some of the villages in the North where second home owners pop up overnight. My mother in law has noticed a few appearing in her village. Makes me sick. They need to be arrested. It’s incredible to think that people can be that irresponsible, and think it’s a good idea to jeopardise the lives of thousands, spread this thing further, in remote and deprived areas, just because they want to do a bit of hillwalking. Fuckers can fuck right off. There’ll (rightly) be a backlash against these people, and sadly some spillover to those who were responsible. I can see some groups emerging in future to demand action against second homes. They’ll have support.
I’ll try to be regular in these entries – it’s a good idea.
Diary Entry: I was working up in Perth, Scotland, when the announcements for people to “avoid public places” came out. We were halfway through a 2-week run of a play, and once the announcement for public places to be closed down came a couple of days later, we cancelled the remaining public performances, but hoped to do a closed-doors live-stream of the show a few nights later for those patrons who had bought tickets to the now cancelled shows. Upon liaising with the cast about this, it became apparent that one of our actors’ flatmates was a nurse and was worried that he had been exposed to Covid-19. That meant our actor could not leave his flat, and so we sadly could not even do the live-stream of the show. My contract at Perth was due to end when the run finished, but even so, packing everything away several days too early felt so disheartening. The office looked so bare without all of the things you accumulate over 8 months of working in one place and making it your own. I left Perth with a heavy heart but also hopeful that their plans of re-opening (when we can) with a continuation of the play come to fruition and I can make a triumphant return soon.
From Perth I went to my boyfriend’s a little way west of Edinburgh and hunkered down there for a few days while I worked out what I was going to do. I had meant to be flying to New York on 24th March, but in the previous weeks had seen my flights cancelled and the trip postponed. The upside is that it was a prize draw win and the organisers have been refunded the full amount, so I will be able to re-book the trip once the world is getting back to normality.
Over the next few days Scouting events that my boyfriend and I both had booked in got cancelled, family trips were postponed, my summer work (April to July) was cancelled (the final performance of which should have been the night before my 30th birthday – what a way that would have been to see out my 20s!) and on Saturday 21st March I finally gave in to the tears that had been building up. With everything cancelled, I now have no work forever (being freelance and self-employed I go from job to job and was only booked up until July at the time), the trips with our families are all on hold, and I don’t yet know if I’ll be able to get everyone together for my 30th in July – though I did spare a thought for my cousins who turn 30 in April and June as they will have even less chance of celebrating with our families until long after the fact. I suppose a big family celebration for all of us might be something to look forward to, though of course we don’t know when! My worries all came spilling out in my tears and I just felt distraught. My boyfriend held me close and wiped my tears because that’s all he could do. I spent the rest of the evening not knowing how to feel and slept badly.
The feeling of despondency continued and though I tried to distract myself by baking and reading, watching TV and films, it formed an ever-present lowness that nothing could alleviate for long.
On Monday 23rd March we watched as the PM put the country into partial lockdown. I changed into my pyjamas and sat next to my boyfriend on the sofa. He wrapped his arms around me and the tears came again. They were more for my family this time though – working away a lot, what I do when I finish a job is I go and see my family: I visit both sets of my grandparents, I go and see my big brother and his girlfriend and we walk their dog, I visit my dad, stepmum and little brother and we go and blow the cobwebs out somewhere in Derbyshire (where they live) for a few hours, I meet up with my cousins for a coffee-catch-up… But with this new lockdown, my grandparents would all need to stay at home (they’re all over 70), everyone would need to start working from home (if they weren’t already) and, most hurtful of all for me, I wouldn’t be able to go and see any of them and give them a hug. My family does hugs. We’re a big loving family and we aren’t afraid to admit that we miss each other when we can’t see each other for a while.
Tuesday 24th March was a nondescript blur of emotions ranging from anger at the delayed plan for how the Government will help the self-employed who have lost work due to this virus, despair at how bleak life looked for me, and just general glumness at this whole situation.
I had always planned to head home on Wednesday 25th March (once I knew New York was out the window anyway) but it was with a heavy heart that I said goodbye to my boyfriend as I have no idea when we will be able to see each other again, got in my car and drove the 5 hours to my home in Lincoln, where my mum and my cats awaited me.
Thursday 26th March saw the Government announce its plans to help the self-employed, by promising us 80% of our profits averaged over the last three years, but that annoyed me further. Though it wasn’t really for myself, it was for the people who lose out under this scheme, the people who have only recently become self-employed, the people who do not have three years’ worth of profits to be judged upon – because all of those people will get a big fat zero amount of help from the Government. Add to that, most employed people who have been furloughed and will receive 80% of their income will still have a job to walk back into once all this is over. Self-employed people don’t have that job security, it could take months after all of this to be able to find work again. And to top it all off, whatever payment we may be eligible for won’t reach us until June. June?! That’s two full months away! How are we supposed to survive for two months when we aren’t able to work?! Of course, we could get part-time jobs in the meantime, such as working in supermarkets, but personally, having done 8 years of that already when I was younger, and given the current climate of shoppers yelling at staff because the shelves are empty, I fear I would yell back at them and, despite the provocation, I would lose my job. As I’ve already said, I spent 8 years working in a supermarket and lost count of the times customers were rude to me and I was forced to bite my tongue. So no, I don’t think I’ll be going back to work in retail any time soon. A friend of mine pointed out that during this two month wait, a lot of people would be forced to live off their credit cards, or any loans they can secure from their bank, so that when the money from the Government does arrive, it all gets spent paying back those credit cards and loans which were used just to survive, and people enter into a spiral of debt which will take them a long time to climb out of until we are able to properly work again. All of this left me angry and despairing, particularly at how the arts and events industries always seem to get overlooked by the Government, despite contributing almost £11billion a year to the UK economy. I have long maintained that if we took away all arts and events from their lives, they would quickly wake up and realise just how important we are. Think about it: radio, TV, film, music concerts, theatre, dance, opera, conferences, festivals… the list goes on. None of those would be possible without us, the people that work in those industries, and particularly those of us who work backstage, in the wings, behind the scenes, making it all happen so smoothly so that events go without a hitch. It takes years to hone our crafts, and sometimes as long to plan these events. We are constantly undervalued because the people in power have no idea what it takes to put on that show, that event, that conference. And they continue to cut our budgets year on year! Whether or not it’s true, I have often heard that during WW2 Winston Churchill was told to cut funding to the arts to fund the war effort, and his reply was “Then what are we fighting for?” The same still applies today. The UK, tiny though we are, is home to world-leading arts and events industries. People flock here to see things, to hear things, to experience things, things that all come under the arts and events umbrella. It is not fair that we continually get pushed aside, ignored and watch in despair as yet another theatre closes because they can’t afford to stay open any longer in the face of yet more budget cuts. It is all so unfair.
The next few days passed largely unnoticed. I helped mum in the garden a bit, I watched things on Netflix, I read my book…
And now, on Monday 30th March, I’ve got all my stuff unpacked and settled back into life at home. I was due to have a few weeks off between Perth finishing and my next job starting, but those few weeks could well become a few months. I joked that I’ll be alright – I’ve got hundreds of books to read, about as many films to watch and myriad other things to keep me occupied. And I do have those things. But there is always the underlying feeling of despair that I’m desperately trying to keep at bay. I chat with friends who are feeling it too, and we try to buoy each other up. I organised a video call with my dad’s side of the family last night and that went fairly well and it was so lovely to see them all. My brother’s dog even said hello, and then farted, which caused much hilarity and gladness from the rest of us that it wasn’t “smellovision”! I’ve got virtual quizzes booked in, and virtual catch-ups with friends and family, and I am trying to find the positives in each day.
The future has always been uncertain, but it seems oppressively so now, and somehow we have all got to come out of this still fighting. Good luck.
Diary Entry: March 24th – I feel like I am bouncing between “this is great, so much time, all those jobs to tick off” and “this must be the worst time to have started a new – 5 months – self-employed business, working in schools, universities and community group hubs.” No bookings left for obvious reasons.
For all the rhetoric about full employment and how we are doing well over the last 3 or 4 years, it is becoming increasingly apparent how precarious those full employment jobs were – even before this shut down. Most people I know knew this – the zero hours, the part-time hours (often for a full-time job), short time, cancelled shifts, short shifts (so no paid breaks) and all the rest. The myth of how valued SMEs and self-employed people are, but many of these going to the wall.
And yet, I can’t seem to be worried; I have some savings, I have 2 or 3 weeks of food (always do in the winter in case of snow), same for wine, same for partner’s medication. We live in a totally isolated spot. So, what’s to worry about. The sun is shining and life feels good.
Except for the night thoughts of ravaging zombies coming over the field track and scrabbling at the gate.
24 March – Day after PM speech / homeworking day 1
Today has been tough.
Last nights speech was like a gut punch that you knew was coming and wanted to come, but it still hurts like hell. Watching it brought on a small panic attack. I live away from my family who I will no longer be able to visit for Easter, and I called my mother to cry to her after the speech. She’s in the high risk group, but she can’t afford to take time off work to isolate. She works in a factory and the HR and owner there are not very helpful when it come to absences and sickness. They’ve declared that no one in the factory is considered to be high risk so no one should be off work. I’ve been trying to figure out if I could afford to help keep my Mam in her rented house if things go wrong, by sharing my pay with her.
Despite being 25 and pretty independent, this whole situation has left me feeling lost at sea.
I didn’t sleep much last night. I probably look as exhausted as the PM did in the speech honestly. It’s still all very surreal. And confusing. I have almost no food here and now I’m too scared to go out – how do I prove it’s essential? Do I need photos of my empty cupboards?
Today was also the first time I’ve ever really done remote working. The laptop I was issued worked pretty well. It was good to talk to some of the people I work with – even though we’re all at home it made me feel a little less alone. Not everyone got issued a laptop before the stay at home orders, so there were only a few of us working. There are a few issues – there are limitations on the work we can do for security reasons, and we often have to order physical files from storage for further investigation. I don’t feel like I got very much done.
I feel like I’m in a bad dream, a history book, or some apocalyptic film. I just want it to be over. Until it is I think I’m going to stop looking at Twitter. I don’t think I’ll I’ll watching the daily briefings either – I’ll check up on what is said later. Watching them everyday is very demoralising and frankly exhausting.
The prevailing view of the interwar period. Unemployed people lining up in London, (1930)
Please excuse the delay in publishing this. My mind has been elsewhere during the Covid-19 lockdown
In this episode of History Fireside Chats, I discuss the extent to which the 1930s can be characterised as the ‘devil’s decade’ by exploring the disparity of experience during the interwar period.
Of course, this is a nuanced issue boiled down into a cursory chat. The experience of people at the time was incredibly complicated. The experience people had depended on where they live and what their jobs were. Some people experienced intense, long term unemployment. Some people experienced an improvement in their daily lives. Some people experienced both at different times. For a more extensive discussion of the period I would recommend the following books:
For two contemporary accounts, I would suggest J. B. Priestley, English Journey and George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier.
An excellent introduction to the period, replete with lots of strong statistical evidence can be found in John Stevenson and Chris Cook, The Slump: Britain in the Great Depression.
A. J. P. Taylor, English history, 1914-1945. Taylor presents a more positive view of the depression than previous historians have. In his words, whilst the depression had dark periods for many ‘Yet, at the same time, most English people were enjoying a richer life than any previously known in the history of the world.’
Laura Beers, Red Ellen: The Life of Ellen Wilkinson. This biography of Wilkinson provides an excellent account of her time as MP for Jarrow, providing a good deal of context for her role in the Jarrow March and a broader impression of life during this period.
History Fireside Chats are produced, recorded and researched by Dr Kristopher Lovell.
Dr Devon Simons (Aberystwyth University) kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the CNN Effect for students enrolled on my War and the Media module whilst we were both in isolation in Coventry and Jacksonville during the Coronavirus Outbreak. This is partly why the recording quality is not perfect. But we thought it might be interesting and useful to a wider audience as well. This is the second part of the conversation during which Dr Simons explains how the CNN Effect forces the government to take a foreign policy stance.
After studying at Oglethorpe and Kent, Dr Simons’ was awarded a PhD at Aberystwyth University. Her PhD explored ‘The Media’s War on Terror’.
Dr Devon Simons (Aberystwyth University) kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the CNN Effect for students enrolled on my War and the Media module whilst we were both in isolation in Coventry and Jacksonville during the Coronavirus Outbreak. This is partly why the recording quality is not perfect – although I cannot defend my incoherence. (Even I don’t know what I said).
We thought it might be interesting and useful to a wider audience as well. In this first section, she gives a strong introduction to the concept of the CNN Effect. Subtitles should be accurate – let me know if there is a mistake and I’ll correct them as quickly as possible.
After studying at Oglethorpe and Kent, Dr Simons’ was awarded a PhD at Aberystwyth University. Her PhD explored ‘The Media’s War on Terror’.
In 1937, Tom Harrisson, Charles Madge and Humphrey Jennings created Mass Observation, a project aimed at recording everyday life in Britain. Mass Observation collected diaries and reports, conducted surveys and paid investigators to record conversations among members of the public. # RecordCovid19 is loosely inspired by Mass Observation. It aims to collect submissions from people living in these extraordinary times of social distancing, economic uncertainty, social self-isolation and state-enforced lockdown during the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. We seek to collect and publicly record the experiences of individuals living through these turbulent times. This #RecordCovid19 project initially started out as an individual personal project but it is now being developed in conjunction with Coventry University.
You are being invited to take part in research historicising and preserving experiences of Covid19 by submitting anonymous blog posts to the #RecordCovid19 project. Dr Kristopher Lovell, Lecturer in History at Coventry University is leading this research. Before you decide to take part it is important you understand whythe research is being conducted and whatit will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully.
What is the purpose of the study?
This project is intended to be a collection of resources available for future generations about the Covid-19 outbreak. In particular, we hope the diaries and accounts, which are to be published online as events unfold, will be a valuable collection of primary sources for sociologists and historians to use in future research who are interested in the historical, social, cultural and political impact of the pandemic. You are free to discuss any aspect that you feel comfortable discussing which might be published anonymously in the future. Occasionally, we will add a page that asks for opinions about specific events.
This is, of course, voluntary.
Why have I been chosen to take part?
You are invited to participate in this study because you, as a member of the public, have experienced an historic event as an individual and individual accounts make history. This is a volunteer project and there is no obligation or expectation to participate. Any entries will be treated anonymously however offensive material will not be published online. Any individual can ask to withdraw from this project at any time.
What are the benefits of taking part?
By sharing your experiences with us, you will be helping Kristopher Lovell and Coventry University to better understand the social, cultural and political impact of the Covid19 pandemic and the impact it has had on individuals. Your experiences will also help us to historicise and contextualise the pandemic and the responses to it.
Are there any risks associated with taking part?
This study has been reviewed and approved through Coventry University’s formal research ethics procedure. There are no significant risks associated with participation however the project recognises that talking about the impact of Covid19 can be upsetting and the pandemic is making difficult situations even harder for many people. If you do find participating upsetting or that things are getting difficult, there are lots of amazing wellbeing services out there such as Mind and the Samaritans that can help provide emotional support. Please find some suggestions here: https://kristopherlovell.com/2020/11/17/list-of-resources/
Do I have to take part?
No – it is entirely up to you. If you do decide to take part, please keep this Information Sheet and complete the Informed Consent Form to show that you understand your rights in relation to the research, and that you are happy to participate. If you seek to withdraw from the study at a later date please contact the researcher. You are free to withdraw your information from the project data set at any time. You should note that your data may be used in the production of formal research outputs (e.g. journal articles, conference papers, theses and reports) in the future and so you are advised to contact the university at the earliest opportunity should you wish to withdraw from the study. To withdraw, please contact the lead researcher (Kristopher Lovell, ac7579@coventry.ac.uk). Please also contact the Research Support Office (ethics.fah@coventry.ac.uk) so that your request can be dealt with promptly in the event of the lead researcher’s absence. You do not need to give a reason. A decision to withdraw, or not to take part, will not affect you in any way.
What will happen if I decide to take part?
If you volunteer to take part, you will be asked to input a diary entry on the submission page https://kristopherlovell.com/record-covid-19-project/. Before submitting your entry you will need to check the disclosure box acknowledging that you have read the Terms of Service and understand what data is being collected, and you consent that materials submitted will be published online anonymously.
The project is interested to know how people felt, for example, hearing the Prime Minister’s broadcast informing the country that the population is entering a period of mandatory isolation. We are interested in understanding how people feel about the prospect of isolation, how they are keeping themselves occupied and hopefully how people feel when this is all over. We aim to collect your stories, be it in the form of diaries, general accounts and observations on your experiences. We would like to collect general information about participants, such as your general location, occupation, gender and age range.
All entries made to this website will be anonymous, please do not add your name or the personal identifying details of any other individual. If you do, these will be deleted. To increase your privacy, we strongly encourage you to use initials or made-up names for the people you mention and to do your best not to inadvertently identify yourself. The length of your anonymous diary entry is up to you. It may consist of several lines or several paragraphs. How much time and how many diary entries you wish to volunteer is entirely up to you.
Data Protection and Confidentiality
Your data will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. All submissions should be anonymous. Submissions that are not anonymous will be anonymised and only information you choose to discuss will be shared with and on WordPress. Any identifying data inadvertently submitted will only be viewed by the researcher/research team prior to anonymisation. A password protected backup copy of the data will be stored electronically by the lead researcher. The lead researcher will take responsibility for data destruction and all collected data will be destroyed after anonymisation.
Data Protection Rights
Coventry University is a Data Controller for the information you provide. You have the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. You also have other rights including rights of correction, erasure, objection, and data portability. For more details, including the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, please visit www.ico.org.uk. Questions, comments and requests about your personal data can also be sent to the University Data Protection Officer – enquiry.igu@coventry.ac.uk
What will happen with the results of this study?
The results of this study may be summarised in published articles, reports and presentations. Quotes or key findings will always be made anonymous in any formal outputs unless we have your prior and explicit written permission to attribute them to you by name.
Terms of Service
By submitting content to this website, I confirm that I have read and understood the Participant Information documentation. I understand that my contributor content is hereby assigned to the curator of the Record Covid-19 Project. I hereby waive all rights of every kind pertaining to this information, whether or not such rights are now known, recognised, or contemplated in relation to this work, on the understanding that the content will not be used in a derogatory manner and that as the author my words will be published anonymously. I understand that no payment is due to me for this assignment and consent. In assigning my copyright, I understand that I am giving the curator of the Record Covid-19 Project the right to use and make available the content of my contribution in the following ways:
publicly displayed on the Record Covid-19 Project website
use in schools, universities, colleges and other educational establishments, including use in a thesis, dissertation or similar research
public performance, lectures or talks
use in publications, including print, audio, digital media and online
public reference purposes in libraries, museums & record offices
use on radio or television
publication worldwide on the internet
offered to a public archive
Making a Complaint
If you are unhappy with any aspect of this research, please first contact the lead researcher, Kristopher Lovell [ac7579@coventry.ac.uk]. If you still have concerns and wish to make a formal complaint, please write to: Professor Damian Sutton Faculty Ethics Lead – Arts and Humanities Coventry University Coventry CV1 5FB Email: ac2719@coventry.ac.uk
In your letter please provide information about the research project, specify the name of the researcher and detail the nature of your complaint.
General Statement – use and storage of your data
We take the Protection of Data and Information Security seriously.
This is a voluntary project and is being curated for public good purposes, historical records and research (in the tradition of Mass Observation studies). Contributions will be anonymised. The information, thoughts, writings, diary entries and comments will be published using WordPress and may be used for research at this time or in the future. To increase your privacy, we strongly encourage you to use initials or made-up names for the people you mention, and to do your best not to inadvertently identify yourself. Any information linking a contributor, their contribution(s) and their identity will be stored securely and not processed automatically, sold or made public. These data might include (but not limited to) e-mails, phone and other contact details, full names, or other information from which an individual could be identified. Any individual can ask to withdraw from this project at any time.
Honoré de Balzac drank 50 cups of coffee a day. Honoré de Balzac lacked dedication. He allowed himself to get too distracted by his writing. I am more devoted to the coffee cause.
Every morning, before anything else can happen, I watch the kettle boil in anticipation of the ‘click’ that signals the best part of my day is about to begin. Everything is ready. The coffee granules have been poured into my favourite cup. Poured. I have moved beyond measuring spoonfuls of powder. As soon as the water hits the coffee, the smell can turn any dark, grey Monday morning into a technicolour world.
People who think of coffee as just a beverage will never truly understand. Coffee is more than just a drink. It is an extension of my body, a considered part of my interactions. A social shield. A slow, satisfying sip lets me gather my thoughts without an awkward pause or it can help me hide my real thoughts by drowning the words on the tip of my tongue. Any nervous fidgeting is masked by the cup in my hand. Everyone is more confident if they are holding a hot drink.
Coffee can also be a social bridge. “Would you like to grab some coffee?” is a clear sign that I value your companionship, that I trust that you will not ruin my hourly trip to the cafe or kitchen. People bond over their choices of coffee. Americano. Latte. Cappuccino. Flat White. Flat Black. You nod in appreciation when someone orders the same drink as you. It is a sign of understanding. Macchiato respect.
Of course, some people use coffee to divide the world. There are the purists who claim coffee should only ever be black, short and unsweetened. Some want the benefits of coffee without any of the bitterness – they buy coffees that are more milk and sugar than actual coffee. Most people want a coffee somewhere in between these two extremes. Those who seek to use coffee to divide us forget that we are united by coffee. Brazilian beans are brewed in the Bronx. Coffea canephora from across Africa can be enjoyed in Camden Cafes. If there was one drink that represents the rise of the Global Village it is coffee.
‘Really? Another one?’, the barista asks me after a particularly long day.
‘It’s my last cup’, I lie. I’m already thinking about the coffee I’ll make when I get home. I’m already thinking about the joy of that first cup in the morning.
For 130 years, the Coventry Evening Telegraph has, in one form or another, served as the voice of Britain’s City of Culture. The Telegraph has charted, documented, and helped to shape the city’s history. But what was it like to tell the stories which made that made Coventry? In this short film, historians from Coventry University speak with former employees about life behind the scenes of the Telegraph, allowing them to share their stories and give a unique insight into one of the city’s defining institutions.
I was very pleased to be involved in the Coventry Evening Telegraph documentary exploring the Oral History of an important local newspaper alongside my colleagues Dr Darren R. Reid, Dr Chris Smith and Brett Sanders. Fellow newspaper historian, Dr Rachel Matthews, and I are currently working on a couple of publications based on this project having presented our research at the Oral History Society’s conference last year.
What was particularly great about this project was that it was a collaborative effort at all levels. We had some wonderful Undergraduate students (Poppy Britter, Sophie Knowles, Stefan Bernhardt-Radu and Yahim Ali) who conducted the interviews and helped film and produce the documentary.
It is great to be able to put this effort out there.
Dr Kristopher Lovell 