Life During COVID

What is Life During COVID?

Life During COVID is a body of work that I produced during the COVID lockdown. It’s a series of diary entries, virtual travels and videos charting how I coped through creativity.

The Coronavirus Diaries

The Coronavirus Diaries is a short series detailing what life was like for me in Blackpool during the COVID lockdown – written live as it happened.

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 1 – Football is Suspended

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 2 – The New Normal

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 3 – A Sporting Fix

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 4 – Lockdown

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 5 – Stockholm Syndrome

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 6 – Surreal Supermarket

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 7 – Lost in Netflix

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 8 – Robot Wars

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 9 – Food Fabulous Food

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 10 – Defeating Depression During Lockdown

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 11 – That’s Entertainment

The Corona Diaries: Chapter 12 – Football Content Awards Finalists!

Football & Pubs During Lockdown

During lockdown, we weren’t allowed to go to football matches or pubs, as we could not congregate with people outside of our household. We got our football fix by watching the matches online, allowing us to maintain our routine of football on a Saturday and a Tuesday. It was different but it was something. We quite enjoyed being warm and not having to queue for food and the toilet at half time.

However my favourite part of a matchday (which, lets face it, is seldom the football) was planning my matchdays: the route and timings, pre-match pub crawls and the whole adventure of visiting different ones, drinking different beers, meeting different characters.

I quickly realised that I could still experience that – using a little imagination. There was nothing stopping me doing the planning. I could still check the train times and research the pubs as if I was still going. I could capture information from the pub websites and Untappd and imagine what it would be like to go there, what beer I might have enjoyed and what meal I’d have chosen from the menu. I could still watch the match online. And I could still write about all of that. And so, dear reader, that’s exactly what I did.

Here’s my series of football matchday blogs from the lockdown season. We were allowed to attend handful of non-league and end of season play-off matches, which are denoted with a*; the others are all virtual adventures.

Southport v Blackpool – 151 Days Later

Port Vale v Blackpool – The Pubs of Burslem & Hanley

Blackpool v Barrow – The Season Ticket Dilemma

Blackpool v Everton – 3-0 Up In Ten Minutes!

Blackpool v Blackburn Rovers – To The Pub!

Stoke City v Blackpool – The Fly

Trafford v Matlock Town* – Non League Matters

Liverpool v Blackpool – Pub Crawl, Yeah?

Blackpool v Barrow – Part Deux – Armchair Football v Live Football

Plymouth Argyle v Blackpool – Plymouth Pubbage

Squires Gate v AFC Fylde* & Blackpool v Swindon Town – Fylde Coast Football & Food

Chasetown v Basford United* & Gillingham v Blackpool – Pubs of Rochester

Glossop*, The Armfield Club & Blackpool v Lincoln City

Blackpool v Accrington Stanley & Blackpool v Ipswich Town – It’s Not Easy Being Tangerine

Colne v Pontefract Collieries* – Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

Crewe Alexandra v Blackpool – Crewe Pub Crawl

Blackpool v Charlton Athletic & Blackpool v MK Dons – Life in Tier 3

AFC Wimbledon v Blackpool – Shepherds Bush Pub Crawl

Burton Albion v Blackpool – The Brewers

Welcome to AFC Blackpool* (& Blackpool v Wigan Athletic)

Eastbourne Borough v Blackpool – Look What We Could Have Done

Peterborough United v Blackpool – Peterborough Pubs

Doncaster Rovers v Blackpool – Doncaster Pub Crawl

Harrogate Town v Blackpool – Harrogate Pubs

Blackpool v Portsmouth – Digital Fatigue

Fleetwood Town v Blackpool – Tram Pub Crawl

Blackpool v Oxford United – New Matchday Routine

Blackpool v Hull City – Come On You Mighty Tangerine Wizards!

Accrington Stanley v Blackpool – Accy Pubs

Shrewsbury Town v Blackpool – Shrewsbury Pubs

Bristol Rovers v Blackpool – Bristol Breweries

Blackpool v West Bromwich Albion – No Smirking Please

Hull City v Blackpool – Hull Pub Crawl

Brighton v Blackpool – Brighton Pub Crawl

Wigan Athletic v Blackpool – Wigan Pub Crawl

Blackpool v Northampton Town – Time Travelling

Ipswich Town v Blackpool – Ipswich Pub Crawl

Blackpool v Rochdale – Blackpool Breweries

Portsmouth v Blackpool – Portsmouth Pubs

Charlton Athletic v Blackpool – Greenwich Pubs

Blackpool v Crewe Alexandra – Lytham Pubs

Blackpool v AFC Wimbledon – St Annes Pubs

MK Dons v Blackpool – Milton Keynes Pubs

Blackpool v Fleetwood Town – Poulton Pubs

Blackpool v Burton Albion – Kirkham Pubs

Oxford United v Blackpool – Oxford Pubs

Blackpool v Peterborough United – Going Up?

Blackpool v Plymouth Argyle – England World Cup Qualifiers

Swindon Town v Blackpool – Swindon Pubs

Blackpool v Gillingham – Perfect Day

Lincoln City v Blackpool – Lincoln Pubs

Blackpool v Accrington Stanley – An Actual Pub!

Blackpool v Sunderland – The Embo Derby

Rochdale v Blackpool – Rochdale Pubs

Blackpool v Shrewsbury Town – O Be Joyful

Sunderland v Blackpool – Sunderland Pubs

Northampton Town v Blackpool – Northampton Pubs

Blackpool v Doncaster Rovers – Social Media Blackout

Blackpool v Bristol Rovers – Play-offs Here We Come!

Blackpool v Oxford United* – Play Off (and Pub) Special

Blackpool v Lincoln City* – #Impvasion

Blackpool v Lincoln City* – Going Up?

Lee Charles TV

Lee Charles TV, my partner Lee’s YouTube channel, is the online world we inhabited during lockdown, allowing us a creative outlet and a way to directly connect with others.

We created a routine of football at 3pm on a Saturday and 7.30pm on a Tuesday even when there was no football. We went live on YouTube at those times regular as clockwork, providing a safe space for football fans to congregate and connect.

On a Saturday, we’d provide a summary of the week’s football news, including updates from the only football league that was still playing (Belarus). On a Tuesday, we’d do a football quiz, which I really enjoyed putting together. My favourite round was me posing as a linesman with flags, asking what each pose signalled (e.g. offside).

When football recommenced (but we weren’t allowed to attend) we began the watchalongs, allowing us to share the experience of watching the match with others. What I particularly loved about this experience was the inclusion of fans of other clubs. There was no segregation: we all watched together. We had created a space where we were one big football family – irrespective of what club we supported. It is perhaps, then, no coincidence that, directly after lockdown, The Football Tourist Guide was born, where we deepened our connection with the people and the towns on awaydays.

We’ve had many people thank us for our work on Lee Charles TV during lockdown, providing routine and community during a time of extreme isolation.

The first football quiz is here if you’d like to time travel back to COVID and test your football knowledge.

Start here