“My take as the country goes lockdown.

I’ve personally not been in lockdown, I’m going to work as normal except the roads are quiet and I’m getting to work quicker, going to work hasn’t felt more rewarding until now, delivering essentials to people as they self isolate, the thank yous on windows hand written by little angels as young as 4, the appreciation I see from people everyday, most definitely made me feel proud of what I do.

My favourite day of the week has to be Thursday as that’s when majority of the country open their doors to show appreciation to our heroes on the frontline, my little boys crafted a giant thank you NHS card, we’ve clapped, shouted I’ve even made my own thank you NHS song and most importantly, bonded with my neighbours from a distance.

The most amazing thing I’ve seen is the community spirit in my hometown (Luton), people from all walks of life coming together as one, people getting involved with community projects to do their part for the nation. I know there is a tiny minority of racist folks still causing division hating on Muslims despite most of the frontline staff who died were Muslims, this tiny minority will be the cause of division again after lockdown, I sincerely hope the good people of my country tackle this head on, so no division can be caused.

The hardest part of this lockdown has to be the fact of not being able to spend time with the family, seeing my parents from a distance despite the heart crumbling to give my mum a hug, my heart aching as I watch my siblings, nephews, nieces through windows and facetime. In the end we will remember this lockdown, tell stories to future generations of the time “we were all in it together as one “. “

Sayfur Rahman, Lutonian