Lockdown: Stories from Inside Podcast

Another former UK resident of Victoria delights us in this interview with her English accent and humorous anecdotes about how she coped during Lockdown, with her husband and tribe of 4 children ranging in age between 7-14, at home in the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria throughout winter. This is an account of what it means to have all of your children at home all day, and to be asked to educate them from home via online learning platforms with the State curriculum, and some of the observations that Alice made of her family during this time.

In this episode we enjoy listening to our first International guest - Laura, who is originally from Scotland and is awaiting her Visa approval so she can get back to working as the Whisky Girl and sharing her knowledge and expertise in this area, while finally earning an income again. It's a fascinating interview, as Laura has had to manage a great deal of uncertainty leading up to the closure of borders this year due to COVID, and the worry that she may not ever make it back home to say goodbye to loved ones. We hear how she has coped with isolation and loss, and used this time for self-growth towards the future with her beloved partner.

This second interview is with Jon -  a climatologist, husband and father of three children. He lives in a small house about 7 km from the City of Melbourne and had to pack up his office and work out of his bedroom while simultaneously trying to help his young children do online learning from home. We hear of how this all looked on a day to day basis and what he had to do in order to support his family through this time of isolation.

This is the first episode of Lockdown: Stories from Inside, and we hear from Melinda who works as a Holistic Funeral Director and navigated the State-wide restrictions to funeral services, hospital visits, and supporting people through the loss of loved ones during the pandemic. Among other things we discuss switching roles with her partner as he primarily managed the home learning of their large family while working from home himself and her observations of the impact of Lockdown on her family and in the semi-rural community in which she lives.

What is Lockdown: Stories from Inside about? A short audio introduction to the podcast series, with a little bit of information about what this social study will entail, why I felt compelled to make this podcast, and my own background and context.