leisa, izzy and chloe
Spring 2021
In their words
“Throughout the lockdown we have been fortunate enough to go on lots of walks with friends and family, play badminton in the garden, and see the farmlands that surround Westhoughton. At times it felt like we were living the same day all over again, especially when the weather was rainy. But, with a task of finding the "snowball" grave in St. Bartholomew's churchyard we were kept busy!” (Chloe)
“At the stroke of midnight 31st December 2019 we welcomed in the New Year. A few weeks later I was welcoming my daughter home from East Asia where she had been working for the past 2 years. I’ve enjoyed having both my son and daughter at home. We took advantage of the good weather that started in mid-March and lasted until June, playing badminton in the garden, taking daily local walks, appreciating our green fields and woodlands in the surrounding areas of Westhoughton. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to continue going to work at Royal Bolton Hospital and feel immensely proud of all my colleagues who have shown great resilience and determination during the past 12 months. I lost my Mum on 30 November 2020 after a short illness, she was very well looked after at the care home, but lockdown restrictions meant that family were unable to visit which we all found extremely hard. We missed singing her favourite songs together and making her chuckle at our daft jokes. I look forward to starting rehearsals with my choir group again, who I haven’t seen for nearly a year, singing new songs and performing together.” (Leisa)
“Over lockdown, I’ve been enjoying playing the piano much more often, learning Clair de Lune over the year. It was nice to spend so much time with family at home and play badminton in the back garden, but ever since college started, I’ve missed seeing my friends, and learning A-Level Maths, Physics and Engineering through PowerPoint surprisingly makes the courses a lot harder. Luckily, we’ve managed to keep in contact through online games, and I’m not failing any of my subjects just yet. I am attending online choir and singing lessons, but it is nowhere near the same as being in person. Me and my family have also had plenty of time to watch our favourite films and musicals at least twice over, like The Lord of the Rings and The Phantom of the Opera. It’s good to be off furlough and back at my part-time job, otherwise I’d be locked in my house all week. After binge watching the entirety of The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, I’ve gained an interest in chess, although I’m no Kasparov yet. Overall, I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot, especially as I’m in my last year of college. The plan is that this summer, hopefully, we can make up for lost time.” (Izzy)
Spring 2020