The Story Behind 'A Toddler's Tale: Life In Lockdown'
As we neared the end of 2019, a virus was being spoken about in an increasingly prevalent manner in the news. At the dawn of 2020, we could not have imagined how the year would eventually pan out. The coronavirus that was sweeping the Far East was named Covid-19 by the World Health Organisation in February 2020.
Living in the United Kingdom, we are fortunate that we do not have to worry about natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis. In hindsight, I suppose the majority of people in our country were complacent as to how serious the virus was.
On 11th March, the WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. The day before this, jump racing's flagship event, the Cheltenham Festival, kicked off in Cotswolds. On 13th March, 68500 people attended the racecourse, crammed tens deep, to watch Al Boum Photo climb up the famous hill to win the Gold Cup.
The day before, at Anfield in Liverpool, a crowd of 52267 witnessed holders Liverpool get knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Spanish side Atlético Madrid. Three thousand Spaniards followed their team to Merseyside that night, using public transport, staying in hotels and celebrating in pubs across the city. Back home in Spain, Covid-19 had already led to the postponement of the Copa del Rey Final and all league matches had been ordered to be played behind closed doors.
Here, a palpable sense of anxiety was seeping into national consciousness. People were avoiding social gatherings and others had started to wear face masks. Who would have ever thought that the latter would become mandatory and be all too often discarded in gutters up and down the country?
Monday 23rd March was a monumental day in the history of this country. It was the day we were told, to 'stay at home'. Schools and the hospitality sector had closed down over the past few days but now, we were in lockdown.
The inspiration to start writing 'A Toddler's Tale: Life In Lockdown' came from a realisation that we were living through history. Having to remain at home, locked away from family and loved ones, was alien to all of us. Having to work, parent a toddler and be restricted to one hour per day outside was a challenge that rapidly dawned on ours and millions of households.
At the start of lockdown, many people felt it would be brief. In our house, naively, we thought that we would still be able to travel abroad to Tenerife at Easter. It seems ridiculous now that we even entertained the possibility!
Noah's antics, developing language and exploration of the world around him, became the focal point of the pandemic for me. Following every funny quote and hilarious exploit, I would quickly record it in the notes on my phone. I would spend each evening, when Noah was in bed, writing up the day’s events.
In order to capture the reality of the pandemic, I wrote down significant things that were reported in the news alongside Noah’s daily life. In that way, I have managed the document the severity of Covid-19 alongside the light-hearted relief and entertainment that was Noah.
Once I started to write, with Covid-19 and its implications ever-present in our daily lives, I could not find a fitting time to stop. From March 2020 to February 2022, I penned my way through seven notebooks. My intention was never to publish the diaries. They were memoirs to be kept as keepsakes, interspersed with photographs, for Noah to read when he is older.
In February 2023, I started to type up the diaries. Even then, I was not planning to take them to a publisher. I owe credit to a friend of mine, Jon. Having read the first 3000 words, he told me that it came across as I intended – a funny read which also captured the feeling of threat, fear and worry that affected thousands of people at the time.
By February 2024, having typed up the first 10000 words, I was at a point where I could start approaching publishers. Yes, it took me almost twelve months to type up 7000 words! Once I had committed to Troubador, I had little option but to produce the finished article.
The result is ‘A Toddler’s Tale: Life In Lockdown’, a book like no other published. It appeals to anyone who remembers the pandemic, anyone who had to parent young children throughout that time and anyone who retains an interest in the most significant period in modern history.
Please pre-order a copy. You won’t be disappointed.
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Thanks for taking the time to read,
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Aaron