We Moved: How did we keep moving when we had to stay put? Find out how those ‘government-mandated walks’ helped us stay sane and some health workers kept their spirits up with clinic waiting room dance-offs.
We Moved Photo: Supplied
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Moving, and not moving, were themes of lockdown. None of us could go far, but some of us took the opportunity to exercise near home and even enjoyed modes of transport neglected for quite some time. As one of our community oral historians Caren Wilton noted on her walks around Carterton, “I see a lot of older people, people who look to be in their 70s and 80s, who I don’t think you normally see out on bikes.”
“It’s kind of maybe they had a bike sitting in the garage for the last year. They haven’t been on for a while and now they’re using them again,” said Caren.
Bikes were dusted off during lockdown Photo: Supplied/Emma-Jean Kelly
Jacque, a nurse working through lockdown deliberately walked to and from work.
“Because I needed that time to sort of get it out of my head,” said Jacque, “And when you first walked out of work, you were still in your head and going in one hundred different directions. But by the time you got home, you were a lot calmer.”
“That whole feeling and vibe you got on the street as you’re walking home was healthy."
An outdoor adventure park in Christchurch surveyed people on their favourite new ways to get active in lockdown and found cycling was the winner. Jacque enjoyed walking, but also saw that people were “bringing their old bikes out of the shed and fixing them up.”
A pleasure for many people that may have been under-reported was dancing like no one was watching. Podcast host Emma-Jean admitted to a fair bit of “dancing in the kitchen while cooking dinner, cranking up the music while my husband rolled his eyes.”
And Wellington Primary Care Practice Assistant Jack Hitchcox proudly danced at the clinic where he works.
“We’ve kind of developed a rule where we’re not allowed to enter the practice until we’ve done a nice dance outside the practice door.” he said, “It’s just kind of a little thing to pick you up and make each other smile, you do a little dance at the door, you earn your entrance into the practice.”
