Coronavirus: We may face more hardship yet but there have been moments of peace amid the sadness – Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP

The rainbow that lives in our front window, drawn by my six-year-old daughter 125 days ago, has become sun-bleached almost to the point of obscurity. We’ll probably take it down in a few days – partly because you can’t tell that it’s a tribute to the NHS any more and partly because whilst the threat of the virus is ever-present, with the relaxation of shielding this week, it’s starting to feel like the end of lockdown.

That day when Darcy put crayon to paper feels like an eon ago. Those were dark times – everyone bar MSPs and essential personnel were sent home from Parliament. I had dermatitis on the backs of my hands from constant hand washing, it felt like every surface was crawling with virus and the place was like a tomb.

When I think back to those weeks of high infection, I still find it emotionally triggering. We’d parcelled our son off to his last day of primary school, three months early, my sister fell ill, my neighbours fell ill and I’ve never known constituency casework mount up like that. The inbox kept filling and filling with stories of human desperation, livelihoods lost and dreams turned to ash.

I remember going to bed with the same anxiety I would wake up with. At home, we’d open a bottle most nights, trade the news for Father Ted with the kids, and go to sleep to “Ocean Sounds” on Alexa.

Lockdown could have been one of the worst times of my life, and Lord knows it certainly was for many, but I look back on many of those days with fondness.

Lockdown harder in high-rise tower blocks

We got to know – and love – our neighbours. What started as a daily 11am coffee morning at the end of our driveways in the stiff March breeze ended up becoming 130 coffee mornings, Friday Pub Quiz, Saturday Sundowner and a bond between our kids that will outlast this virus.

I found time to volunteer again, delivering meals to people shielding and self-isolating. All told I made over 1700 meal drops, made friends for life and learned a lot about how much harder lockdown was in high-rise tower blocks with no gardens and windows that don’t open.

I took up painting again. There was something about lockdown that forced us all to be still, so I felt compelled to start painting pictures of statues on Sunday afternoons.

Tears have come easier

I may have panic-bought a whole lot of art supplies at the start, but I only managed a couple of semi-finished pictures. It gave me such a sense of peace, though.

Today I spoke with a widow whose husband had died of Covid in the ITU at St John's in the second week. I’d helped her family get to see him in his final hours. We were talking about something entirely different but speaking to her, I found myself welling up.

That’s happened a lot these past four months. From hearing my sister’s voice after a week of radio silence when she was sick with Covid in Canada to Andrea Bocelli’s a capella performance of Amazing Grace in the Duomo Cathedral Piazza in Milan on Easter Sunday, tears have come easier to me.

There may be days of hardship and despair to come in the story of this virus, but I feel more prepared for them. Even dark days have their rainbows.

Alex Cole-Hamiltion is the Lib Dem MSP for Edinburgh Western

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