‘Can’t wait to get back to normal life’

Much of the island’s road network and public areas were much quieter than normal.

Saturday in Town would usually be especially busy but only a handful of people had ventured out into the rain to go for either their two-hour exercise or to go shopping for food.

Egita Strauta, 23, and Edmund Indulens, 25, decided it was time to see a bit more life in the island after being cooped up inside.

‘I didn’t even realise it was Saturday,’ said Ms Strauta.

‘Every day has become the same day over and over,’ added Mr Indulens.

‘It’s definitely different being out here today, the streets are so quiet and the weather certainly isn’t helping.’

Ms Strauta worked in marketing for Specsavers before the company cut some jobs as it battled difficult trading conditions at the height of the pandemic.

She said it had been difficult to find a job since and hoped the lockdown would soon be over again.

‘I’m constantly searching for jobs and it’s been really tough,’ she said.

‘I started working as a climbing instructor but this second lockdown has meant I can’t now do that either.

‘I just hope wearing masks and doing all that we’re currently doing will help us to come out of it sooner.’

Another walker reminisced about warmer days.

‘Summer seems like a distant memory,’ they said.

‘Just remembering being out on my bike and going to the beach freely feels like a long time ago.

‘Right now things are pretty grim and I can’t wait to get back to what normal life was like for us after the first lockdown.’

Anna Harvey and Richard King were out for their daily walk to get some shopping in.

‘We wanted to get a bit of fresh air and do what we need to do to keep going,’ said Ms Harvey.

‘The masks are different, it’s good to see people are doing their best to get the virus off the island again, hopefully soon.’

Roads were also empty, car parks bare of cars, and those that did take their cars for a spin elsewhere other than to shop were stretching their legs, some with their dogs in tow, others with children.

There were also surfers down at L’Ancresse who were trying to avoid potential crowds on the west coast.

One woman walking her dog along L’Ancresse said it was tough to go into a second lockdown but felt people had been prepared.

‘Work has been really good, they’ve been very flexible in allowing us to work from home,’ she said. ‘Things are difficult, I’ve had to juggle a lot and I have a four-year-old who luckily was able to still go to school [before this lockdown], but it’s only been a week so far, so who knows where we’ll be in the next couple of weeks.’