My journey outside of the United States during the Covid-19 lockdown started just at the end of February. I flew from Los Angeles to an industrial town between Manchester and Leeds in England. In 2019, I met a guy on OK Cupid named Tim. I talked to him via email and Skype for months. When I first arrived, we had a few good moments, but they were short lived. It quickly became clear that a romantic relationship between us wasn’t going to happen, but that’s another story.
My plan was to stay for two weeks. I arrived with a ticket to return in March, but by then, Covid-19 was wreaking havoc on the entire planet. Not only wasn’t it safe to return home to the U.S., but most flights were cancelled. Somehow, I found myself stuck with a guy who looked and acted like the vintage cartoon character Droopy Dog and I had no end in sight. I didn’t know how long I’d be there, but I had to find a way to make the best of it.
UK RESTRICTIONS
By law, everyone was required to stay at home and only permitted to leave to buy essentials, exercise once per day, or to travel to and from work. Gatherings of more than two people in public were banned. We got our exercise in by walking along the canals. Even with Tim, I found it entertaining as we watched multiple sets of ducklings born into the spring and then, the summer. We fed the ducks grapes and sunflower seeds nearly every day. The trees gifted beautiful white petals that fluttered to the ground like confetti and landed in the canal, turning them into a scene from a fairytale.
Mirfield Marina is a beautiful place to walk & enjoy the sound of the water near Huddersfield, England.
📸Dawn G.
WANDERING THE TOWN
With no work visa in hand, I had to find ways to keep myself busy. Photography has been one of my hobbies ever since I was a teen . I even became President of the Photography Club in high school. I photographed so many centuries old homes and abandoned buildings in the surrounding area with my Canon 7D. I took in the beauty of Greenhead Park which was built in the Victorian era, complete with a pond filled with ducks, geese and moorhens. I could just picture the ladies of the past in their fancy hats, grasping parasols while strolling through the park on the arms of gentlemen in dapper suits whilst enjoying the short time of the year when the sun shines in Yorkshire.
The Victoria Jubilee Tower on Castle Hill, a.k.a. Victoria Tower, opened in 1899 to honor Queen Victoria. 📸Dawn G.
My fondness for historic places began when I was very young. My desire to connect with history is always present. I took the long and exhausting walk up to Castle Hill, which is an ancient monument. It’s been settled for at least 4,000 years and contains the remains of a late Bronze Age or early Iron Age Hillfort. It’s a 12th Century castle and was the site of a deserted medieval village. A tavern was built there around 1810. The largest structure at Castle Hill is Victoria Tower. The tower opened in 1899 to honor Queen Victoria. I took many wonderful photos of families flying kites next to the tower. There are abandoned buildings aplenty since the town was known for wool, cotton and other textile mills.
SHELTERED-IN-PLACE
Tim had a lovely garden that needed tender, loving care. He hadn’t touched it once in the two years he’d lived in the row house, but the previous owner had planted perfect begonia roses. A magical array of floral beauty popped out of nowhere one spring day. His row terraced home (considered a town home in the U.S.) had been constructed in 1898. One day, I found a beautiful set of vintage style globe solar lights and a string of owl lights that had been sitting in his closet for six years. Eventually, I swapped the globes to be blue, green and white. The neighbors saw my lights and decided to put some up in their garden as well. I pulled the weeds, added a birdbath and a feeding station. Watching the birds became one of my favorite activities. The wood pigeons and magpies in the UK are HUGE!
The backyard garden at the row house in Huddersfield, England. 📸Dawn G.
When restrictions lifted a bit and outdoor social distancing visits were allowed in the summer, I ordered a set of garden furniture from IKEA. It took 5 weeks to arrive, but when it did, the whole garden patio was transformed. The furniture allowed us to have family visits while maintaining social distancing standards.
I dove into cooking and baking. Getting key ingredients didn’t always prove easy, but with plenty of time to figure out replacements, I managed just fine. I made over FIFTY desserts, from apple crisps to cheesecake to tiramisu and cookies. Vanilla extract became impossible to find, so I had to ration what we had for my recipes. Sugar also became extremely rare with brown sugar even harder to find. Sadly, I couldn’t get my hands on any molasses to make my own! Flour flew off the shelves at the beginning of lockdown. People were hoarding it leaving people like me without it for months.
My saving grace was the Italian restaurant supply shop that sat right next door to the house. It also contained a small grocery shop inside that was open to the public. They had a nice selection of wine, meats, butter, pasta, cheese and even mascarpone! Prior to lockdown, the shop felt like my little secret. I rarely had to wait in line.
When the lockdown first began, items flew off the shop’s shelves until they were nearly empty. One man who had a cart filled with pasta told me: “I don’t know why I’m buying all this pasta. I know how to make it from scratch.” An older couple grabbed bottles of olive oil. The woman said: “It’s from Spain? Leave it.” It was such a bizarre scene watching everyone panic buying due to the pandemic.
I made the six months I spent in England during the lockdown the best they could be given the circumstances. When I felt depression coming on from isolation, I simply threw on a vintage apron, turned up the music in the kitchen and danced around while I cooked. I saw so many beautiful places I may have never seen within miles of the house and honed many skills. To me, the key to surviving during these sheltered days is appreciating every small joy you come across.