Title
Missing the Hustle and Bustle
Subject
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Oxford
Description
"At first I enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the cleaner air with hardly any traffic. Once I was the only person on High Street; on another occasion I seemed to have Christ Church Meadow all to myself.
In spring the city would be thronged with the first wave of foreign language students. Their numbers and noise irritated me so it was good to have some respite. As the days passed and the novelty wore off, I suddenly realised that all the assumed benefits were reminders that we were living in a dystopian nightmare; facing an existential crisis that the peace and quiet accentuated.
The normality that returns will never be the same, and nor would we expect it to be. We want to keep the cleaner air, and less congested roads. But I want the foreign language students to return, and all our other visitors, and they can be as noisy as they like."
In spring the city would be thronged with the first wave of foreign language students. Their numbers and noise irritated me so it was good to have some respite. As the days passed and the novelty wore off, I suddenly realised that all the assumed benefits were reminders that we were living in a dystopian nightmare; facing an existential crisis that the peace and quiet accentuated.
The normality that returns will never be the same, and nor would we expect it to be. We want to keep the cleaner air, and less congested roads. But I want the foreign language students to return, and all our other visitors, and they can be as noisy as they like."
Date
April 2020
Publisher
Museum of Oxford
Rights
Bob Weatherhead
Creator
Bob Weatherhead
Alt text
Image 1: deserted high street
Image 2: deserted beaumont street
Image 3: deserted holywell street
Image 4: deserted christ church meadow
Image 2: deserted beaumont street
Image 3: deserted holywell street
Image 4: deserted christ church meadow
Add your thoughts