How the Thrive team have been finding joy in lockdown

Nearly a year on from the UK's first lockdown, we've been reflecting on the positives of the last twelve months and the joy that can be found in the everyday. We spoke to some of the Thrive team to discover how they've been spending their time at home.

 

Liz Parks, PR Officer - "During the first lockdown I started to do a bit of gardening and have thoroughly enjoyed showing a little love to my poor, neglected garden.

Armed with a subscription to Gardener’s World magazine, a lot of enthusiasm and very little talent, I have set to work creating a vision of flowers and veg - despite the challenges of clay soil and a marauding gang of rabbits who think fresh, green leaves are a special treat for them.

I’ve found being outside in nature really relaxing, especially when we are all spending so much time at our screens. When the outside world has often seemed chaotic and uncertain, I’ve found reassurance and peace in the resilience of Mother Nature and the simplicity of growing things."

 

Alistair Dewar, Relationship Manager (London) - "Last week I walked to the light festival at Canary Wharf - this brought joy in the darkness of winter."

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie Darke, Member Services Coordinator - "I’ve always loved to paint and craft but struggled to find/make the time. Prior to joining Thrive in January, I decided to utilise some of lockdown by getting my pencils and brushes out again and creating this landscape picture, making a conscious decision to ensure I kept it up when I joined Thrive."

 

 

 

 

Viv Trask-Hall, Head of Innovation in Education and Principal Trainer - "My wife and I found joy in lockdown by being appointed as Mockingbird Hub Foster Carers. This means that we are the hub foster family in a constellation of foster families connected together to create an extended family.

We love being hub carers as it means we can support the foster children, birth children and adults in our extended family by having sleepovers, children staying for tea, play dates, trips to the park and also group events where we all come together to be with each other and have fun - just like all children experience in an extended family.

It is a real privilege to be a foster carer and now we have our family of foster families!"

 

Grace Williams, Content Development Manager - "This is a picture from one of my morning lockdown walks, how lucky to be able to start each day next to the sea while we’re working from home."

 

 

Diane Curtis, Relationship Manager (South East) - "My husband and I decided when this lockdown came along that as it was winter and the weather was rubbish, we needed some old fashioned laughter and so we have been working through the 31 Carry On films, we’ve seen 20 so far and hope to complete the list before we are released back into the world!

Carry on Screaming is my absolute favourite, Kenneth Willams “Frying tonight!” and Fenella Fielding’s “Do you mind if I smoke?” still make me cry with laughter after all these years!"

 

Nicki Courtney, Finance & Administration Manager - "No words needed really – this is my new joy!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tracy Murphy, Member Services Coordinator - "My two fur babies have helped get both me and my husband through lockdown, they have both brought a smile to my face and working from home has given us the opportunity to make some memories that maybe we wouldn’t have done!"