There was a beautiful simplicity to COVID-19 lockdown which I loved and I am trying my very best to embrace now that we have had our freedoms returned.
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I could walk to local coffee shops, ride my bike to a local bakery and order books for delivery that afternoon from the local book shop.
The trips to the coffee shop were more about the friendly smile or the quick chat I'd have with the barista rather than the coffee. The local book shop (Collins in Thirroul) fed my expensive reading habit and it was a joy speaking to the assistant over the phone about what they had in stock to quench my 11-year-old's new found interest in Shakespeare.
The entire family had lockdown birthdays but there was no need to order online, we had everything at our fingertips from our local retailers.
While my lockdown story sounds blissful I know for many of our local businesses the struggle was real. Passing trade was non existent, people turned to online shopping in droves, which means sometimes convenience can mean local misses out depending on the Google gods.
As we enter the run up to Christmas I'm determined to continue our local shopping habits. We'll be enjoying Christmas dinner at a local restaurant, we'll be buying gifts from shops within a 10 kilometer radius and we'll be focusing on small family-run businesses and trying our very best to avoid the chains.
I hope this guide helps you to do the same.