So we feel like we have been in lockdown for forever, but have we really? Is it that terrible if it saves lives?
We were so fortunate with the wedding and guests - Gags left on 11th March after celebrating Etta's 23rd month bubbles and cake.
And then everything shut down. Slowly at first, and then with a slam that shocked us. Writing this down so that we don't forget.
But surely a flu in China couldn't affect Barbados? Then it was Italy. Then England, and family are warning that long queues and empty shelves come fast.........

Things started slowly here, and then lessons were learned and applied, particularly from the UK's slow response.
Testing at the airports had been in place since February, but flights themselves ceased - deal with the virus on island first.
Shop closures were warned, so we stocked up as best we could - not just "essentials" but also lumber & decorations. We were going to be in lockdown for Etta's 2nd birthday, how could we make it right for her?
Then following huge queues and panic buying ALL the supermarkets shut. Completely. For an unspecified amount of time, that became weeks.
For a family new to the island, with a tenuous grip on finances following a wedding, this was no honeymoon.


Everything shut, including beaches. 24 hour lockdown, unable to leave your home except for emergencies.
Initially only village stores were allowed to be open, but these are basically tiny shacks with no stocks, how could they feed the island?
And more disturbingly the sale of alcohol was banned, indefinitely. How were we to stay sane while entertaining a toddler?!

Cue a new Covid cliche - garden landscaping. And we had our work cut out - by the end we had cleared and piled over a skips worth of rocks, roots and broken glass.
It still isn't pretty, but it's nearly workable and it gave us additional outdoor space for exercise and entertainment.


One of our neighbours "kindly" donated/abandoned a puppy in our yard when they thought we were out.
Riddled with tics I found a vet and started to look after him, introduced him to Etta, etc.
Few days later he was hit by a car out front and killed. Now buried in the garden. Could lockdown get any worse?
Covid cooking was far cuter and less lethal - this is Etta making cupcakes for Mummy's birthday. Lockdown stretched to Jen's 35th, just about.

A significant crutch throughout lockdown and a great way for us to keep in touch with friends and family was Zoom.
Sounds a bit selfish, but the fact that people in the UK also couldn't see each other meant that we ended up seeing more of you all, and maybe missing you a little less.
There were some excellent quizzes, 8 hour drinking sessions that started at 3pm for us due to the time difference, and Etta watched a LOT more TV than normal these days.
Also some serious hangovers, but what would a lockdown week be without watching Dr Rob pass out?


In difficult situations Etta was (mostly) a dream though, and it has been great to watch her develop through her time here.
Not to say that it hasn't been stressful and we have all rightly got on each others tits at times. Jen dealt with my grumps admirably as my beer stocks dried up.........
We are still living in a building site through a Bajan summer, no matter how much DIY gets done it wasn't going to be easy.
But initial financial stresses when both Buy To Let apartments vacated at the start of lockdown were helped by the bank's offering Covid mortgage holidays, thankfully.

Even when shops did start to reopen it was staggered, and only allowed with masks and a complicated alphabetic access system.
Not that this helped the massive scrums outside Popular Discounts one bit, but it was a step back towards normality, and the sparse cases of Covid on the island continued to decline.
That is until one church ignored the new laws and decided to start sermons again - big rise in cases, but thankfully and surprisingly there were few stupid actions like this.


Slow steps back to normality, but access to Doubles and Macaroni Pie again sure helped us all.
We did well with shopping and eating throughout, however it sure is good to have Delish and Lisa making doubles again!
And stepping out of lockdown puts perspective on a lot of things, as well as making you appreciate what you (temporarily) lost.
Our outings have become more adventurous, we are exploring the island, it's beaches, trails and events. With no tourists here the place is ours!

Ultimately Barbados has weathered the Covid storm well for now, one of the top ten countries in the world, and while it has been hard we are thankful for that.
But the economy is heavily reliant on tourism, and we are yet to see the implications on global travel, though it won't be pretty in the short term. Not the best time to be opening a guesthouse.
Here we are doing our part by returning (half) of the lockdown empties to Banks.
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