Page 29 - The Digital Cloth Holiday issue 2
P. 29
At the beginning of April 2020 when my bedroom window, which is at the
the world was being held to ransom by front of the house, making it easy for
a micro-organism, lockdown had me to hear people’s comments as
already started in many countries they walked, especially in the early
including Australia. mornings. I’d prepare the bear each
The globe was witnessing various night before bedtime so that those
responses to this newfound state of early walkers were the first to see
living. In the UK children now being the new daily bear.
schooled at home placed rainbows in It soon became apparent that
their windows as a sign of hope. On people not just on Facebook but in
COVID 19 LOCKDOWN MADE for frontline workers of the NHS. In the photos and having a laugh. One lady
the street were having a lot of fun
Thursday nights there, people stood
with my bears, stopping to take
out in the streets at 8pm and clapped
even knocked on my door one
USA a trend started that was quickly
BEARABLE BOOK
morning and asked if it was ok for
taken up globally. It began with a
her to take a photograph of the
poster encouraging people to put
bear. She said she worked locally
bears in their windows so that when
and made a point of driving past my
families went out for their daily walks
to escape the four walls of their
homes they could go on a ‘bear hunt’.
her smile.
I live in a very family-oriented suburb house every day as the bears made
One family from a few doors up made
in the coastal city of Newcastle NSW a special visit every day to come and
Australia and my house is on a corner see the bear and said it motivated
and backs on to a very large them to walk.
Catholic primary school. So, before Having only lived in the street just
COVID ever arrived I always had a over a year, I found that chatting to
flow of parents and children every people as they stopped to see the
day when school started and finished. bear meant I met many of my
This flow increased during the weeks neighbours for the first time.
of COVID lockdown and continued The school next door was
throughout each day way beyond undergoing a huge building program
school drop off and pick up times as so the Tradies parked in our street
families increased their daily walks to most days, arriving very early and
get out of the house. even they started to wander past and
So, I decided to put a bear in the have a chuckle and make the odd
window and posted a picture of it on comment so I did have to think of
Facebook. My cousin in the UK saw it some more adult concepts for them
and challenged me to change the bear and the parents.
every day and she would do the same The comments on Facebook were so
in Tynemouth. uplifting and positive and I could
For the next 51 days and with the help detect that many of my followers
of lots of friends and family to give me were waiting each day to see what
ideas I changed the bear each day in today’s bear would be.
