This is part 2 of the Happy Barnet Covid Crochet Blanket. Made to capture and remember some of the many key events and themes of this year. You can learn more about my project on my main blog post where you will also see links to the other sections of the blanket and the final completed blanket.

I hope you enjoy looking through the photos below and learning more about my project. The blanket will be donated to Edinburgh Museums and will be part of their Covid Collection.

(For mobile users: descriptions are shown below the gallery. Gallery may take a moment to load)

11. Netflix. Whilst already a widely established movie streaming service it too experienced a significant growth in activity with so many users not only limited to entertainment within the home but with a large percentage of the population on furlough meaning they have no work commitments during the day. 16 million new members signed up for the service within the first few months of the year, double that of the previous year.

12. Thermometer. Long before any effective testing kits were developed and made available there were two main symptoms everyone knew to look out for; a persistent cough and a fever. Thermometers were sold out in stores and as restrictions were lifted some businesses and services required temperature testing for employees and customers before they were allowed on the premises. Even before lockdown it was not uncommon for organisations to ask you or display signage asking you not to enter if you had a high temperature.

13. Clap for Carers. 8pm Thursday evenings meant only one thing for several weeks in the UK. The 26th May was Clap for our Carers day and although initially meant to be a one time event, it lasted until the end of May. Throughout these weeks, residents across the UK would head to their front door, window or balcony and clap loudly to acknowledge their support for NHS and all carers. As the weeks went on the 8pm clap became louder with people banging on saucepans and even lighting fireworks in some places. The first week in particular was incredibly emotional as no one really new if anyone around them would join in and then suddenly to hear claps and cheers coming from everywhere really brought everyone together and it did feel like we were all in this together and we were all there to support those doing the incredible work needed to keep us all safe. Unfortunately as these key workers were let down time and time again in terms of lack of funding, PPE and support from government whilst at the same time many political figures used the clapping for what was seen as PR exercises it began to feel by many that the clapping was a hollow gesture and it was time to bring it to an end.

14. Closed. Businesses, shops, gyms, restaurants, pretty much everything except essential services were closed throughout the lockdown and opened up in stages in-line with the phase reopening after lockdown. A lot of restrictions were put in place regarding PPE, social distancing etc. Shops had stickers on their floors spaced out to the 2 metre rule, plastic shields were put up around counter staff, hand sanitisers were available at the entrance of all stores and some places would take customers’ temperature before they were allowed on the premises.

15. Tiger King. With everyone at home, streaming services were in demand and one particular success was the Netflix documentary, Tiger King, following the life of zookeeper and former US presidential candidate Joe Exotic. Along with a host of other characters within his own and other zoos and wildlife centres, including of course Carole Baskin who even had a song written after her alleged murder of her husband, it felt like the whole world was watching this eccentric group of misfits at the same time and not one of us could fully get our head round it. It was possibly the only thing in the year that was stranger than what was actually happening in 2020.

16. The Rainbow. The rainbow became a symbol of hope and again support for the NHS and carers. Many families made pictures of rainbows and stuck them in their windows. Local shops asked for rainbows to decorate their closed shop fronts and many creative makers incorporated the rainbow into products they used to keep their small businesses going and where they could, to raise donations for various NHS charities. On social media, rainbow stickers were added to profile photos and stories to show hope and support too.

17. Quizzes. At home entertainment took many forms but one staple for many was online quizzes between friends, families, coworkers or classmates. Once again we all took to Zoom and we all found out who in our groups were our designated quiz masters. One popular game was a treasure hunt where the quiz master would name an item such as something green and the first person to find a suitable item and bring it back to the camera won the point.

18. Home schooling. Like most other things, schools closed and children were all sent home where parents and teachers worked together to find some way to manage some kind of home schooling. Teachers were seen on social media sending messages of support to stressed out parents not to worry and to prioritise the mental, emotional and of course physical health of their children over trying to work out how to teach new new maths and work zoom. As time went on, there was much debate around how and when schools should return as we learned more about the risks to the pupils and protections required for staff and parents.

19. Key Workers (aka Essential Workers). The term key workers or essential workers were used to describe those in job roles which meant they were required to continue working throughout the quarantine period. These obviously included NHS staff and carers but would also extend to many working in food production, supermarkets, garages and delivery services. With supermarkets struggling to cope with demand, many earmarked certain hours of each day to Key Workers only, ensuring they were able to get the supplies they needed. Other businesses both small and large also offered discounts or free services to Key Workers.

20. Online Shopping. With no or very limited access to physical shops and everyone encouraged to stay home, online shopping rates increased dramatically with one report showing growth rates of 129% week-on-week in UK and Europe. Whilst many retailers suffered hugely throughout the period with both small and larger established companies closing their doors for good, there were a small number of companies who profited massively with the leader of these being Amazon with second quarter profits for 2020 reportedly double that of the previous year.