Bridport Lockdown

30/04/2024

PLEASE SHARE!! 🙏

Do you have a Panasonic DMC-FX series camera that we can have / borrow?

At the beginning of June I'm working with the amazing charity The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares and another photographer to set up a super interesting photography project at a local school.

For this we need to find at least 15 cameras, ideally all the same or very similar for the kids to use. There was a series of Panasonic Lumix cameras which were really common and widely available in the mid 2000's and which are ideal for what we need. We are hoping that some of you will have these sitting unused and... that we have as many as possible either loaned or donated to the project.

Any of the Panasonic cameras with model numbers which start DMC-FX will be ideal.

Please DM me if you can help, and please share this post if you can't. There are LOADS of these cameras out there...

Huge thanks in advance!!

19/12/2023

GALLERY OF OVER 200 PHOTOS DOCUMENTING 2020 / 2021 VACCINATION CLINICS AT BRIDPORT MEDICAL CENTRE

Feeling very grateful...

3 years ago today the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced tougher restrictions for Christmas gatherings, and Christmas plans for many of us were turned upside down.

I'm struggling slightly to remember quite how I felt back then. One thing I do recall is that, despite that news, there was an air of hope.

Just 3 days earlier, on 16th December 2020, Bridport Medical Centre (Ammonite Health Partnership) ran their first COVID-19 vaccination clinic. These continued for over a year.

During that period I had the opportunity to photograph a number of the clinics. Some photos have been shared here before, but many have not. Looking through them this morning has brought back a lot of emotions, both good and bad, but the overriding one is of gratitude.

Gratitude to the NHS staff, and the many volunteers from Bridport Coronavirus Community Support (not for profit) for making these clinics happen. Gratitude to all those working behind the scenes in laboratories, distribution and transport, and countless others in roles which we might take for granted. Most of all though, gratitude for where we are now. It is easy to look at the world and see the faults, but harder to argue that the overall picture is worse now than it was back then.

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP? - I have tried to include the names of all of the people in these photos, but there are a few still missing. Please share the link / tag friends, and if you recognise anyone in here whose name isn't included, or if there are any mistakes, please get in touch (the photos with names missing have a couple of stars ** and a number next to the photo). If you are in these photos and would like to add in any thoughts or memories of those times then please also get in touch.

These photos will be part of the final collection of images which will go to Bridport Museum and Dorset History Centre at Dorset Council

Vaccination Clinics @ Bridport Medical Centre — Bridport Lockdown

15/01/2023

Martin Maudsley - Storyteller - Community Orchard, Bridport - 4-5-21

During Dorset Art Weeks 2021 over 100 portraits made by 11 local photographers were displayed at Bridport Arts Centre for the “Endurance” exhibition - a celebration of resilience, creativity, and community in Bridport and beyond.

As lockdown restrictions eased, and doors which had been closed for extended periods began to re-open, this exhibition looked to the future through the eyes and voices of local groups, clubs, businesses and individuals.

Many of the photos from the exhibition are long-overdue being shared here… so here is a one of a trio of photos by Louise Allen Allen & Boeckle Photography

Thoughts here from Martin about Bridport, and emerging from lockdown. (Written May 2021):

“Town and country... I love the infrastructure and facilities of Bridport, and the community of people that live and work there. I love being able to see, enjoy and walk in the beautiful countryside from my front door. I've grown to appreciate and value both more: the former for having less opportunity to interact with people in social spaces (makes me realise what I've missed), the latter for having more time to explore and observe the seasons playing out in my local wild places...

I feel very strongly that this last 15 months has been a time for me to stop and 'listen'. I'd like to get back to telling stories but not in the same way, I'm interested to find new stories and new ways of telling, being more sensitive to the needs of others and how stories might hold how we feel about the future...

I'm less interested in travelling for work, and more passionate about my local community and landscapes. At the same time, I've started to develop new ways of reaching a wider/different audience: through podcasts, videos and writing...

I definitely hope that we don’t go back to how things were in terms of awareness of mental health, climate change and local issues. I think there's a great chance to be both more open in terms of emotions, ideas and other people's perspectives. Storytelling can help - it's easier to listen to someone's story than hear their opinions.

My small group of closest friends has been a lifeline in the darkest times, keeping an eye and ear on each other. But I've definitely missed being more engaged and interactive with the wider local community, especially events and seasonal celebrations. We've had a whole cycle of the year, and more, when we haven't been able to gather in the orchard, theatre or pub to swap stories, sing, dance, create or make merry together. I've missed all that enormously, but I'm determined that we can find our voices again, and sing louder, and create something new.

When I tell stories, it is a genuinely collaborative experience - the listener just as important as the teller. Stories come alive when they are shared.

I had perhaps taken for granted the small, seemingly insignificant things. A shared conversation, sitting in the sun, playing with my children, good food and drink, reading a book - they are more than optional extras. The importance of supporting the local economy I have learned to appreciate more, and hopefully act on.

The loss of my work routine slowly dissolved my sense of self and self-worth. A storyteller without an audience, without a voice. It was a long way down and a very difficult place to be. At the same time the slow regaining and rethinking of who I am, and what really matters, has deepened my own resilience whilst at the same time more aware and grateful for friends and family around me. I'm still listening and not yet sure where the next steps will take us all, but I feel like I'm finding my voice again.”

14/01/2023

Stompin Dave Bucky Doo Square - 4-5-21

During Dorset Art Weeks 2021 over 100 portraits made by 11 local photographers were displayed at Bridport Arts Centre for the “Endurance” exhibition - a celebration of resilience, creativity, and community in Bridport and beyond.

As lockdown restrictions eased, and doors which had been closed for extended periods began to re-open, this exhibition looked to the future through the eyes and voices of local groups, clubs, businesses and individuals.

Many of the photos from the exhibition are long-overdue being shared here… so here is a one of a trio of photos by Louise Allen from Allen & Boeckle Photography

The return of live music return to Bucky Doo Square was quite a milestone in the tentative journey back to some sort of normality for Bridport life. The sight and sounds of Stompin’ Dave will be familiar to many of us.

From Dave (written May 2021):

“This is me standing in Bucky Doo Square with my guitar in its case. I have been performing in the square for over twenty years. I have done lots of street performing alongside regular gigs. I have found it is brilliant way to try out ideas, pick up extra work, and keep my feet on the ground. I love it and I can't wait to get back to it. My hometown of Bridport is my favourite place to busk. There is nowhere else like it.
I will be very happy for things to go back to the way things were. I do think the pandemic has put a highlight on the importance of the NHS. I hope when the pandemic is over that a lasting change would be that people and politicians will keep focus on the importance of looking after each other and supporting and funding the NHS.

Community? Community means family to me. What my family gives me is too huge to put into words. Then there is my work community of music lovers and musicians who encourage and support me.

During lockdown I have spent lots of time learning new music. I have added classical guitar to my other musical skills. Things have not really started to open again for my industry yet, so it's difficult to say at present what the positives might be. I realised that previously I may have taken for granted the freedom to travel, gather and perform music.”

06/01/2023

18 - 12 - 21 Bridport Medical Centre

This photo is of Nic Jeune, one of the leaders for the volunteer team which helped with the vaccination sessions at BMC between December 2020 and December 2021. During the pandemic Nic also devoted a lot of time to working as a co-ordinator for Bridport Coronavirus Community Support.

From Nic:

"Whilst volunteering over the last two years for Bridport Coronavirus Community Support, I collaborated with many active community volunteers. Bridport is blessed by having many people who help the community thrive. I hope together we can harness this good will and energy and transform our community ready for the challenges that will directly affect our small town.

I’ve been so proud to be part of such a great community who stepped up to support the roll-out of the vaccine. Every one of the many, many days had a surprise in store for the volunteers, always something unexpected, but their “can do” attitude across the board meant that with a sigh and a smile they just got on with helping to get everyone vaccinated.”

Words: Nic Jeune
Photo: Eddy Pearce

Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network
Lyme Bay Medical And Dental Practices
Barton House Medical Practice
Ammonite Health Partnership
Bridport Coronavirus Community Support (not for profit)

05/01/2023

Bridport Medical Centre 20-3-21

The vaccination clinics hosted by Bridport Medical Centre from December 2020 to December 2021 were extraordinary feats of hard work & co-ordination between NHS staff from local surgeries, and a group of over 200 volunteers. Some volunteers attended almost every clinic, come driving rain or arctic winds. No one did them for any thanks or praise, and most were embarrassed to receive it. To be part of that team was fascinating, heart-warming, hope-giving, humbling and, more than anything, pretty emotional.

This photo is of Rowan Beecham, one of the volunteer team leaders, and wearer of fine footwear.

From Rowan:
"This is me with radios, fully charged, sanitised and ready to hand over to the next shift. Once, new to the whole system and supposedly in charge of operations, I’d done half an early shift before I realised I hadn’t turned the thing on, fortunately nothing had triggered a “topsy turvy” the command we used to request extra help.

In those first days, the vaccine becoming available in the depths of winter, we did really long, often dark shifts in hail, snow, rain, rain and more rain. I’m a gregarious, sociable person and those preceding months of holding — at four times arm’s length — back from friends, family and all the warmth of human contact, I struggled. I felt all my pre-Covid values were being questioned. Joining the volunteers at the medical centre restored my sense of purpose and gave me back a place I could understand in my community. In the queues, I was always meeting the parents and grandparents of children I’ve taught in local schools over many years. One of them said: “If Mrs Beecham is on the gate, then we know we’re in safe hands.”

It was moving to see those older people with the stiffest of limbs, determined to get their jabs at the first clinics and start on the process of fixing things for younger generations. Volunteering is, in its own way, a shot in the arm, a companionable and comradely thing to be doing and I have made some very special friends in that group at the medical centre. We met in horrible circumstances but, together, taking an active part in trying to make things better, simply doing something is both a joy and a privilege.”

Words: Rowan Beecham-Harman
Photo: Eddy Pearce

Lyme Bay Medical And Dental Practices
Barton House Medical Practice
Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network
Ammonite Health Partnership
Bridport Coronavirus Community Support (not for profit)

03/01/2023

Bridport Medical Centre - 5-1-22

The vaccination clinics hosted by Bridport Medical Centre between Dec 2020 and Dec 2021 were extraordinary feats of hard work and co-ordination between the NHS staff from a number of local surgeries and a group of over 200 local volunteers. Some of those volunteers attended almost every clinic, come driving rain or arctic winds...or even a rare bit of sunshine. No one did them for any thanks or praise, and most were embarrassed to receive it. To be there was fascinating, heart-warming, hope-giving, humbling and, more than anything, pretty emotional.

This photo is of Peter Thomas, one of the team leaders of the volunteers and very much a stalwart of the sessions. The final line of his words below really sums up many of the feelings shared by all involved.

From Peter:

"In December 2021 members of the Bridport Coronavirus Community Support group received a message asking for volunteers to help manage the flow of patients through the COVID vaccination process at the Bridport Medical Centre.

Those first few clinics proved to be more challenging than we perhaps might have expected. The patients came from the 6 different GP practices that make up the Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network and it quickly became clear that the plan was to vaccinate quite large numbers in each session, numbers that were as high, or higher than, those at the mass vaccination centres. I think the first couple of clinics were aiming to vaccinate 800 in a day but this very quickly increased to 1,000 then 1,200 and eventually a peak of 2,500. Jurassic’s objective was that patients should be protected from COVID as quickly as possible but with the minimum of disruption to regular GP patient care. Where we differed from the mass vaccinations centres was that all this was happening at a modest GP clinic building with typical modest amounts space that had not been designed to cope with such large number of patients and their cars, not least because on weekdays the building was already being used by patients, GP staff (face to face consultations took place throughout the pandemic where necessary) and pharmacy staff. Sometimes traffic became gridlocked and the two patient queues snaked round through the car parks and met at the back of the building but ways were found to cope.

Bridport Town Council offered the use of a small car park for vaccination staff at no cost and, during the winter and spring lockdown, another bigger car park for patients. When that was needed again for shoppers after lockdown we started to use a field behind the medical centre with the kind permission of Bridport Council (who owned a lease on the land) and the landowner. We also had a team of volunteers inside the building helping direct patients into each vaccination room to try and keep the flow as smooth and rapid as possible plus volunteers keeping an eye on patients in the post-vaccination observation area (the marquee).

It all worked, even when things went slightly wrong, simply because volunteers found imaginative ways to resolve problems whether these were traffic problems, nervous patients, confused patients, fainting patients, collapsed patients needing CPR or too many patients queuing outside, or too many inside the marquee observation area (maximum capacity 60 at any one point in time) or anti-vaccination protesters. The volunteers were an amazing team and took it all in their stride. We did however need quite a few volunteers to make things work efficiently and for the bigger clinics we had as many as two shifts of 35 plus backups, so recruitment was quite a task, as was selecting and contacting the teams for each session.

Amazingly we never had a shortage of volunteers. Some were motivated by a need to feel that they were taking part in the effort to beat COVID, some wanted to help ensure that their family and friends were protected as soon as possible and some wanted to help speed up the process of resuming a normal life so that they could get back to work or back to enjoying life. What perhaps most did not realise was that volunteering would be so fulfilling or that they would have the opportunity to make so many new friends.

Personally I have many memories that will stay with me for a long time like, for example, the conversation I had with an elderly gentleman standing by the side of the road on his crutches who I thought might need some assistance. “No” he said, “I had my vaccination last week but I wanted to come down again and watch this amazing thing that Bridport is doing”.

Photo: Eddy Pearce

Bridport Town Council
Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network
Ammonite Health Partnership
Bridport Coronavirus Community Support (not for profit)
Barton House Medical Practice
Lyme Bay Medical And Dental Practices

31/12/2022

Shave Cross - 28-2-21

This photo is of (L to R) Imogen, Nick, Annabelle, and Lily Hunt. Taken in February 2021 at the end of an extended period of family quarantine prior to Nick going into hospital for a back operation.

From Nick:

"When we’re put into “lock-down” basically we all get to live a bit less. When you have to go into isolation that means now just live a bit less again. Don’t go out, do or see so many different things in a day, and don’t speak to so many people who might make you angry or laugh. Don’t see other people living their lives, even for few seconds while waiting for a coffee and wondering what their story is.

When they said I needed to have the operation I did think maybe now is not the right time. To put Anna and the girls through isolation and going into hospital with COVID around. Anna and I talked about and decided we weren’t really giving much more up by going into isolation now, and leaving the op for the future would just mean that it would be another disruption to life. It didn’t stop me feeling bad for them and that it was my fault we were asking them to “come on we’ll push through this final bit and then hopefully everything will go back to normal soon”.

If having to go into hospital had happened before Covid for me Anna and the girls it would have looked at lot more like, “Dad... next week you’re going in!”. Life would have distracted all of us and we could have had the chance to get out any concerns or worries by talking to others - mates taking the mickey in a pub is a surprising tonic.

Being in isolation you become even more aware of protecting everyone else and the relationships you have, wife, husband, dad, mum - you can’t get it wrong, walk-out, cool off, and realise you’re an idiot or that maybe you didn’t see it from their side. No one in our house has said this but I know it’s been there. You know that no-one in the house is getting to live their normal life and all it does is make everything like being in a pressure cooker.

Well the top never blew off our cooker (came close a few times!), but I think I always knew we’d be alright.

On the day of going into hospital Anna and the girls drove me to Salisbury and I said goodbye in the car park knowing what I would leave going on in the car. Anna had promised them a drive through MacDonalds in Salisbury as a treat and I swear I heard tyres squeal!

I had never met the surgeon, I’d spoken to him over the phone on many occasions. He came into the waiting area with me wearing the fetching gown which allows air to flow! I think he took one look at my eyes worked out I was building my own brick factory and asked me if I had any questions. I had loads, but in the end the only question I could think to ask was to check if he was having a good day, he laughingly said he was and away we went.

I’ve always loved meeting people face to face and the couple of times I saw him after the op I realised how much easier it would have been had I met him before."

Words - Nick Hunt
Photo - Eddy Pearce

30/12/2022

This project still has a fairly huge archive of photos of Bridport life to share - some sent in by you good folk out there, and many more that I’ve taken myself - yet it has been sitting very much on the back burner for almost a year. To be honest, it was mentally exhausting keeping it going, and it also felt that we all needed to create some space between ourselves and all the weirdness...

It is becoming increasingly clear that it will take years, or even decades, to fully unravel the true impact of the pandemic beyond the most obvious tragic losses of life, and the economic effect. On the positive side our experiences of the lockdowns demonstrated how resilient we can be, how well communities come together in times of crisis, and how quickly life can return to some sort of normality after a huge upheaval. For many of us, lessons have been learned, connections made, and respect for the most basic and essential elements of life re-defined. However the negatives are unfortunately many... We have a generation of kids who had their education disrupted, and freedoms curtailed at exactly the time when they should have been explored. The health service that we applauded in the streets has been beaten to its knees, and research findings for how the pandemic has changed our mental health make very sobering reading to which many of us will relate.

Initially the idea behind this project was simply to create a record of an extraordinary time in a very special town. Hopefully it has at least done that. However it has also fundamentally changed my sense of community, and my relationship to photography. I never imagined quite how many people would find the project interesting, or how open and honest you all might be. During times when we were mainly kept apart it gave me a sense of connection and I sincerely hope that this is something shared.

New photos, and a little more information about where things go next, will be added here over the coming weeks.

Thanks for the support. Eddy

18/10/2022

Reuben - the face at the window. What happened next…?

The idea behind Bridport Lockdown was to capture details of the ordinary during an extraordinary time, to create a way of sharing and connecting when much of our lives was set to do the opposite, and to record the history of a bizarre & unsettling period of our lives in the present, rather than in the past. Essentially… collating those small stories that we all have to tell. Not stories that might make it into the local news, just snippets of life that we recount when catching up with friends or relatives. Sometimes though… small stories grow.

One image and story from the early days of Bridport Lockdown stuck in a lot of minds. That photo (2nd) showed Reuben Coe at the window of a care home in Bridport - hand on the glass, eyes gazing out to a strange world outside. It was taken as a way to connect Reuben, who had become a shadow of his true self, to his family - his brother Manni Coe added some brutally honest writing to help fill in the details of Reuben’s story. Many people have since asked - what happened next?

The answer to that is a complex, painful, but beautiful story, which is now a book, written by Manni, illustrated by Reuben and published by Little Toller Books. The story however, doesn’t end here… The book is just part of an ongoing process to bring Reuben out of the shadows and back to the real him. The 3rd photo is from the launch last week of “brother.do.you.love.me.” at the home of Down's Syndrome Association. Reuben was full of smiles and, although hovering at the side of the stage, was the one most in control of it! The brothers have since embarked on a campervan tour of book shops and festivals with their book as Book of the Month in Blackwell's Bookshop, featured in the Observer last weekend, and… now in prime position in the doorway of Bridport Waterstones described as “The most affecting and powerful story you will read this year!”.

Manni admits that, understandably, he now hates that original photo of Reuben at the window - a reminder of dark days. However, seeing “brother.do.you.love.me." displayed here in Bridport, shows how a painful image and a heart-rending story, can be the catalyst for hope and connection.

In March 2023 it will be 3 years since we first went into lockdown and that feels like a good time to bring this project to a close. Between now and then I will be digging for more of these small stories - looking for personal tales of how local lives may have changed, for good or for bad, as a result of the events of these past few years. I'd like to create a collection of photographic portraits of local people as part of this.

If you have, or know of, a story to share, or would like to have your portrait included as part of the final section of this project, please get in touch.

06/02/2022

Many thanks to Karen House for sharing her curious eye and thoughtful words. She recently sent in this lovely series of photos documenting her observations of Bridport shops during 2020.

1st photo: Taken: 11th August 2020 - Waitrose, Bridport

"The eerie empty aisles of the Supermarket and the masks we were all becoming used to wearing seemed to appear right before my eyes. At first I hesitated to capture this unique moment, not wanting to be intrusive. However, it was a photograph waiting to happen! To the individual in the photograph, thank you for wearing that mask on that day."
1st photo: taken: 16th August 2020 - Steve’s - Barber shop - West Street, Bridport

2nd photo: Taken: 16th August 2020 - Steve’s - Barber shop - West Street, Bridport

"On one of my many, many exercise walkabout routes around town, the atmospheric silence seemed to envelop me. I became increasingly more focused on the small every day details, and noticed things I would usually have passed by. One day, on walking by this shop for the umpteenth time, I noticed for the first time the faces in the photographs in the window - as if they were somehow trapped inside the closed shop."

3rd photo: Taken: 23rd May 2020 - T. Snook, West Street, Bridport

"A usually busy and colourful window was very noticeable by its sparse display. This seemed to reflect the extraordinary times we were all experiencing in our daily lives in having to learn to live within a different set of 'rules'."