This is without doubt the strangest period of time and danger that any of us alive today will probably experience. 

I was talking with my father before and in his opinion this is worse than his experiences as boy that he remembers from the war. 

I know we aren’t exactly comparing like with like and not withstanding the horrors that go with that, his comparison concerns the lack of proper human interraction. As he said, at the end of the raids, people made the most of their time together. Now we are in a war against a deadly invisible killer and are rightly confined to barracks. 

We need people.

He recalls being able to socialise even though the situation was severe but this current isolation we are in has upset him greatly.

Ironically, we are all apart but together in this testing time.

He is gravely ill and cannot go back into hospital at present and my sister is doing a great job with him but we all have to keep our distances because of the treatment he has been receiving.

It is very upsetting for us all. 

I have always loved the springtime but our family is currently going through a repeat of last year. It was awful as we watched the slow demise of my mum who eventually passed away.

At present I feel the same angst I did then.

You find yourself trying to make sense of it all and thinking of good happy times. It is a comfort but not a solution. 

That story is ongoing…

This morning I walked to the front of our house and stepped onto the road that runs by.

Nothing. 

Literally nothing. 

It is never busy as such, we are lucky that way but nothing moved.

No cars, no people just the comforting and uplifting sound of the birds as they are now in full voice. 

Normally in the background, they are now the predominant sound. 

It is almost eerie. 

I have always loved ornithology and was a member of the YOC as a child. As I grew older, I progressed to the RSPB and have been a supporter all of my life. it is not unusual for me to be working in the mountains and suddenly stop for some time to watch my favourite bird, the Peregrine. It mesmerises me. Many a time, I have stopped to watch it as it calls and heads back to its nest but then I realise I have to dispense with the side show and carry on taking the photographs. To be ‘out there ‘ just seeing and witnessing them in flight is something that has always brought a joyous feeling.

It is a simple pleasure for me and watching the birds in general has always been a nice way to pass the time.

Ironically, as a professional photographer I do not photograph them. I just love to observe them.

It takes me to another world and it is so relaxing.

As I stood at the front of the house, listening and watching our ‘local’ birds, going about their business collecting nesting materials, there was one thing in the air that was definitely missing. 

Normality.

The sound and atmosphere of normality is something we all take for granted. 

It engenders a feeling that everything is fine even if there is something going on in the back of our minds. It distracts us at the time yet everything still seems normal. 

Now, it is other worries we carry. The virus and the isolation impinge upon that but this rightly imposed incarceration will affect some more than others. All we can do is listen and adhere to the advice we are given. It is hard but makes such sense. Seeking comfort in the things that make us happy is vital to our mental well being.

Structure and routine are important.

My wife Irene and I are doing our best to retain as much of that as we go about our daily lives but you can't help but feel and be aware that something is terribly wrong. 

I am keeping myself as occupied as I can, catching up on processing images and updating my stock agency work but of course I, like all of the other professional landscape photographers can't access the mountains and countryside in order to carry out our work. 

We are all affected by this lockdown and putting a structure in place is vital. Whatever we have been doing ‘that day’ my wife and I watch the daily briefing bulletins at 4:00 o'clock.  It doesn’t always make for good viewing but being informed is so important. 

It has to be done and my dad likens it to the war time when they gathered around the radio to tune in to the days news.

We watch the broadcast and then the discussions open up across the virtual social platforms as our ‘actual physical interaction’ isn’t allowed to take place.

As I write this, we are told that the virus hasn’t reached its peak in the UK and this awful Sword of Damocles hovers above us all and it will for some time.

We are told that there are a few good signs emerging across the world but you see how many have died and it is hard to comprehend.

How did it really start and how will it end……

I will go out again shortly for my daily exercise and listen as the Chiff Chaffs sing from the trees and Skylarks wheel on high announcing their presence.

I really hope that the Swallows don’t turn back….