Techspert trio
As part of our ongoing series of blogs from throughout the business, we’ll be bringing you stories from our people doing their bit right across the operation on how things have changed during the current crisis.
Today, we hear from Stockport driver, Anne-Marie Pollard-Vernalls.
‘So, I’m Anne-Marie. I’m married to Andy, who is a 7.5 tonne driver at Royal Mail, just like me. We have a nine-year-old boy called Charles and a daughter, who has just turned six, called Anastasia. Thankfully, we bought Anastasia’s main present – a big girl scooter – just two days before the schools shut.
‘The children have been great about understanding the current situation. We explained that although we can’t see our family or friends, we can still keep in touch. Anastasia burst into tears the other day as she was upset that she couldn’t have her friends around for her crafting birthday party and egg hunt. It was really hard seeing her so upset, so I went onto our local Facebook page. We live on an estate with around 300 houses built on the orchard of the old Arden Hall in the 1930s, so we’re a close community. I asked if people could put a picture or a birthday message for Anastasia in their windows. It was a lovely surprise for her.
‘So far, the kids have been making great use of technology to keep in touch with their friends and classmates. They use Zoom for their Cubs and Beavers meetings, YouTube for Joe Wicks and guitar lessons, and Purple Mash and Twitter for their school work. They even created a closed Facebook group for a martial arts club they’re in called Energize. The club post daily challenges of kicking and punching workouts and we then post videos of us doing the moves to the group – it’s great fun. Charles also plays Fortnite and uses it to keep in touch with friends and family.
‘All the mums and dads are in constant contact too. I’m in a WhatsApp group for year 4 for Charles and another one for year 1 for Anastasia. So far, we’ve had quizzes and even a scavenger hunt. We also did a game where the children left voice recordings for each other and we all had to guess whose voice was whose. The WhatsApp groups act as a support network and are great for keeping in touch with the other parents. Just before the schools shut, Anastasia was sent home as she’d been sick. The next day, she developed weird crusty spots on her lips. The doctor said it was a viral infection, probably early chicken pox. We thought she’d already had it, so we dismissed it. But then, one by one, each of Anastasia’s classmates went down with chicken pox! Oops!
‘I recently ran my first marathon on a nearby trail. I was supposed to run the Manchester marathon on Sunday 5 April, but when it got cancelled, I thought, there’s no way I’m going to let those 16 weeks of marathon training go to waste! So, for both my mental and physical health, I completed the distance. I told Charlie that I needed to do it for my sanity. He said: “Don’t you mean, your insanity!?” Cheeky bugger.
‘As well as driving trucks for Royal Mail, I also paint rocks. During our time together in lockdown, Anastasia has been drawing every day and has been getting better and better by the day. As far as building any kind of routine for them goes, it’s hard. I work 9pm - 7am on Sundays and 11pm - 9am on Mondays. I used to sleep till 2:45pm on those days, then wake to pick the children up from school. However, now I have to get up at 1pm as Andy works 1pm - 9pm. I try to get as much school work and exercise done with them on Mondays and Tuesdays, but I never feel my best on those days due to the lack of sleep.
‘We’re very lucky that we have some woods behind our house, so we usually go exploring down there. The other day, I took them on another route and took them down a motorway underpass to see the outdoor art gallery…as in, the graffiti!’
