Well, the coronavirus came along and scuppered plans for most of us didn’t it?
Our own plans for attending events and expanding the business got put on the back burner, but where we lost that contact with the outside world, we’ve made up for it in Zoom calls – counting at least five this month! Naturally, we’ve socially distanced ourselves and are working remotely and, dare we say it, very much enjoying this slower pace of life.
What we learned
We’ve taken the opportunity of the lockdown to broaden our learning – from baking and decorating, to decluttering and reading. And of course spending precious time with family – and that’s the silver lining of the lockdown right there.
It’s such an unusual situation that there’s no one right answer to how people deal with lockdown. For some, it’s a time of reflection and rest, and for others it’s a matter of keeping occupied and busy; if you’re managing to merge the two, then that’s great too.
Everyone deals with this differently – and we’ve got to remember that this isn’t forever. Think of the celebrations and get-togethers we’ll have with our family and friends afterwards!
A huge welcome
A huge thanks to Horton Builders and Cheryl Huggins who came on board as advertisers for this month’s issue. Horton Builders are based in Petts Wood and it’s business as usual for them, while Cheryl Huggins will be back up and running once lockdown is over.
As reported in last month’s blog post, we went to press for April’s edition in March (before lockdown), so we had a task on our hands in getting the April magazine distributed before lockdown occurred.
For May we’ve decided to launch an online magazine and the money that we save on printing will be ploughed into online sponsorship and promotion, particularly across social media. We’re hoping to reach as many people’s feeds as possible for May – and most likely the June issue also.
Out and about
It’s usual for us to cover where we’ve been ‘out and about’ throughout the month, but this month of course has been very different. Not counting the weekly shop and the three times weekly walks, we’ve managed to travel to the end of the garden and to the fridge quite a few times.
When we’re back to normal, there are a few things that need addressing; we had plans to launch in a second area and this has now been put on the back burner so to speak. We’ll have to rethink a second launch, rethink our digital readership as well as a few other things going forward.
The coronavirus has certainly made us all sit up and address areas of our businesses that we didn’t give a second thought before. And perhaps this is a good thing; having no choice but to address what we’ve put off doing in a long time. And while we’ve got time to work on these issues, it makes the whole process much more pleasant.
In terms of family and the wider community spirit – it’s been wonderful hasn’t it? So many people coming together to help one another. Let’s just hope that we don’t lose some of that kindness and calmness once lockdown is over.
Until next month – stay safe!