GRAHAM GUY BARRATT

ROBERT. MOTHERS DAY CHARING CROSS ROAD.

As dusk begins to settle and blend with the lights of closing shop windows and streetlamps over a deserted Charing Cross Road, Robert sweeps the doorstep of the small card shop, clearing away remnants of a quiet Mother’s Day. The usual bustle of central London has thinned to an eerie hush these last few days becoming a ghost of its former self. Today March 22, 2020 the growing pandemic is no longer a distant threat but now has an undeniable presence in the UK. The world and this city are shifting by the hour.

Across the nation, families have marked Mother’s Day in uncertain circumstances some gathering in defiance of the warnings, others keeping their distance, unsure when they might embrace again. In London, the air is thick with anxiety with suspicion of the very air we breathe not being already infected by the virus.

Public Health England’s figures tell the story of an escalating crisis: 1,588 positive cases on Friday, surging to 1,965 on Saturday, with 2,189 confirmed infections by the end of Mothering Sunday in the capital alone. The streets feel different now, every passer by a potential threat, every surface a risk.

And now, the government acts. Monday, March 23, 2020: Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a nationwide lockdown. From 8 PM tonight, all but essential shops will close. The directive is clear; STAY HOME, PROTECT THE NHS, SAVE LIVES. For the first time, the full weight of the pandemic is pressing against the city’s chest. By nightfall, London’s count rises again—2,433 confirmed cases.

The UK’s total death toll stands at 99.

For those already lost, for those who will fight, and for those too weak to stand against the wave now upon us. God bless us all.

Charing Cross Road, London WC2 London 17.15 Sunday 22nd March 2020 at the beginning in the UK of the Great Global Pandemic.

UK Total death toll so far 527

A PRAYER ON BEHALF OF ALL.

In stillness the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral lay deserted. A sign below the steps to the entrance stands alone: "For Public Safety, the Cathedral has Closed. The Cathedral ministers are continuing worship and prayer on behalf of all."

London’s greatest landmark, a symbol of endurance through war and disaster, now stands silent in the face of an invisible enemy. The city locked down, the streets empty, the weight of the pandemic pressing on its ancient stones.

Inside, unseen, prayers continued. Outside, only the wind and the fading sunlight bears witness as I stand alone. A distant siren can be heard as an air conditioning unit from a nearby office turns off leaving a cold silence, a lone Pidgeon flaps its wings as I walk away towards home up through the back streets of Clerkenwell.

St. Pauls Cathedral, London EC4 Sunday 25th March 2020 at the beginning in the UK of the Great Global Pandemic.

UK Total death toll so far 906

STEVEN & MONTY.

At the top right-hand corner of Trafalgar Square, Steven sits the occasionally stands quietly with his loyal Pug Monty. It’s 7:19 p.m. on a Saturday and the square that would be usually teeming with life is now eerily empty.

Steven, a theatre worker from the north of England furloughed as the pandemic took hold and theatres closed, doesn’t know like many of us what will come next. His small Soho bedsit feels even smaller these days, the uncertainty pressing in. “I’m being as careful as I can,” he says, his voice low. “But it feels like the virus is in the very air we breathe now.”

Beyond him, St. Martin-in-the-Fields stands in quiet solemnity, its historic presence now a backdrop to an invisible crisis. In a city frozen in time, man and dog sit back down together, waiting like so many others for a future that remains unknown.

St. Martin in the Fields beyond on the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square 19.19 / Saturday 04th April 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

STEVEN & MONTY.

At the top right-hand corner of Trafalgar Square, Steven sits the occasionally stands quietly with his loyal Pug Monty. It’s 7:19 p.m. on a Saturday and the square that would be usually teeming with life is now eerily empty.

Steven, a theatre worker from the north of England furloughed as the pandemic took hold and theatres closed, doesn’t know like many of us what will come next. His small Soho bedsit feels even smaller these days, the uncertainty pressing in. “I’m being as careful as I can,” he says, his voice low. “But it feels like the virus is in the very air we breathe now.”

Beyond him, St. Martin-in-the-Fields stands in quiet solemnity, its historic presence now a backdrop to an invisible crisis. In a city frozen in time, man and dog sit back down together, waiting like so many others for a future that remains unknown.

St. Martin in the Fields beyond on the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square 19.19 / Saturday 04th April 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

GREG.

Still open and serving some of the best fish to be found in the capital at 'Moxons' Camden Passage Islington London Sunday 05th April 14.35 a fortnight in to the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

AKIHO.

Shoreditch High Street returning from grocery shopping at the Longdan Express Oriental Supermarket London 15.22 Sunday 05th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

NORMAN.

The streets of East London, once alive with the buzz of markets, street food vendors, and weekend crowds, now lay eerily quiet under the weight of the nationwide lockdown. Now at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the usually vibrant Brick Lane famed for its curry houses, vintage shops, and street art has now transformed into a ghost town.

But among the few moving figures is Norman, a young property entrepreneur with big ambitions. Having recently begun developing properties in and around the Brick Lane area, he was adjusting to life in a city that had come to an abrupt halt. On this Sunday afternoon Norman was making his way home from his daily exercise hour while also doing the food shopping, balancing his bags of groceries over the handlebars as he weaved his way along a deserted Brick Lane on his scooter.

Just weeks earlier, London had been its usual chaotic self, with property deals, construction projects, and business ventures pressing ahead at full speed. But the pandemic has now changed everything. The UK government had ordered strict lockdown measures, shuttering businesses, halting construction, and forcing millions indoors. Entrepreneurs like Norman, who thrived on the fast-moving property market, now face uncertainty. Deals are on hold, supply chains disrupted, and the future of the industry in limbo.

For now, the young developer’s focus has shifted to the simple necessities, getting food, staying safe, and navigating his business in a city that now feels under siege. As he scooters past shuttered cafés and boarded-up shops the weight of the crisis is clear. The once-thriving heart of East London stands still, waiting like the rest of the world for an idea of a way to move forward.

Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane London E1 / 16.16 Sunday 05th April 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic.

NORMAN.

The streets of East London, once alive with the buzz of markets, street food vendors, and weekend crowds, now lay eerily quiet under the weight of the nationwide lockdown. Now at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the usually vibrant Brick Lane famed for its curry houses, vintage shops, and street art has now transformed into a ghost town.

But among the few moving figures is Norman, a young property entrepreneur with big ambitions. Having recently begun developing properties in and around the Brick Lane area, he was adjusting to life in a city that had come to an abrupt halt. On this Sunday afternoon Norman was making his way home from his daily exercise hour while also doing the food shopping, balancing his bags of groceries over the handlebars as he weaved his way along a deserted Brick Lane on his scooter.

Just weeks earlier, London had been its usual chaotic self, with property deals, construction projects, and business ventures pressing ahead at full speed. But the pandemic has now changed everything. The UK government had ordered strict lockdown measures, shuttering businesses, halting construction, and forcing millions indoors. Entrepreneurs like Norman, who thrived on the fast-moving property market, now face uncertainty. Deals are on hold, supply chains disrupted, and the future of the industry in limbo.

For now, the young developer’s focus has shifted to the simple necessities, getting food, staying safe, and navigating his business in a city that now feels under siege. As he scooters past shuttered cafés and boarded-up shops the weight of the crisis is clear. The once-thriving heart of East London stands still, waiting like the rest of the world for an idea of a way to move forward.

Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane London E1 / 16.18 Sunday 05th April 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic.

GRAFFITI.

Brick Lane Shoreditch 05th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE PREACHER.

Under a sunlight misty sky an unusual figure strode across Westminster Bridge, his voice cutting through the eerily silent streets of lockdown London. Dressed in a stark white suit, the preacher pulled a portable PA system behind him on a makeshift trolly his words echoing in the misty afternoon air.

“Boris, Boris… God is the only way! Let Jesus into your life, for you and the nation, Boris!” he proclaimed, his voice carrying across the Thames toward St. Thomas’ Hospital as he approached and continue at the gates now guarded with police officers both there and around the surrounding perimeter of the whole hospital, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson lay gravely ill in intensive care, battling the very virus that had brought the country to a standstill on a Wednesday like no other.

The UK was now deep within the grip of the Global Pandemic, with daily death tolls climbing at an alarming rate. On that day alone, 938 people lost their lives to COVID-19 in the UK, one of the highest daily totals at that point. Hospitals were overwhelmed, ventilators in short supply, and frontline NHS workers fought a relentless battle against this ruthless invisible enemy.

Just days earlier, on April 5, Johnson had been admitted to St. Thomas’ after struggling with persistent coronavirus symptoms. Within 24 hours, his condition had deteriorated, forcing doctors to move him into intensive care. The nation held its breath. The prime minister, who had initially downplayed the severity of the virus now found himself at its mercy. His hospitalization was a sobering moment for a country still daily coming to terms with the true scale of the crisis.

Meanwhile, the preacher’s solitary march across Westminster Bridge was a rare sight in a locked-down capital. Once bustling with tourists and commuters, the bridge was now almost deserted, save for the occasional ambulance or police siren wailing through the empty streets or the odd solitary figures taking their daily exercise. The preacher’s message was one of faith, urgency, and desperation, a call for divine intervention at a time when science and medicine were locked in a race against time.

Johnson would ultimately survive his ordeal, spending three nights in intensive care before being moved to a general ward. By April 12, Easter Sunday, he was discharged, later crediting the NHS with saving his life. But for many, the scars of that spring would remain, tens of thousands would go on to lose their lives to the virus.

At the end of Westminster Bridge outside of NHS St. Thomas’ Hospital Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 / 16.04 Wednesday 08th April 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

GREG.

Moxons Camden Passage Islington at the beginning or the pandemic 17.33 Wednesday 08th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

SCOTT, PHOEBE, LITTLE JACK & OLIVER.

Scott and his family come out to their doorstep to join with the people across the country and take part in a mass round of applause for the frontline healthcare heroes who are risking their lives battling the coronavirus pandemic. The Clap for Carers initiative has seen residents from all corners of the UK applauding NHS workers and carers every Thursday at 8PM from their doorsteps, windows and balconies. Great Percy Street Kings Cross London 20.01 Thursday 16th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TONY.

Working on the preparations for building the 50 storey 178.5m 'Jenga Tower' 18 Blackfriars Road Southwark London 16.29 Friday 17th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ANITA.

Owner Operator and now running her coffee shop 'Appestat' the best in N1 single handed open 09am to 3pm weekends 8pm to 3pm Wednesdays to Fridays for now Camden Passage Islington London 09.26 Sunday 18th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

IMOGEN.

Kent Ambulance Service serving St. Thomas Hospital on the Queens Walk below St. Thomas Hospital and opposite The Houses of Parliament London Wednesday 30th April 20.10 for the 'Clapping for Heroes' during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CONOR.

Kent Ambulance service serving St. Thomas Hospital on the Queens Walk below and opposite Parliament London 20.10 Wednesday 30th April for 'Clapping For Heroes' during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

LUKE.

Kent Ambulance service serving St. Thomas Hospital on the Queens Walk below St. Thomas Hospital and opposite The Houses Of Parliament London 20.10 Wednesday 30th April for 'Clapping For Heroes' during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ASH.

Tidying at his now closed newsagents on the corner of Berwick & Broadwick Streets Soho London 17.16 Wednesday 06th May 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE BLUE POSTS & BERWICK STREET DESERTED.

Berwick Street Soho London 17.24 Wednesday 06th May 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

WILLIAM.

Carnaby Street, usually pulsing with shoppers and tourists lies eerily silent. The Covid-19 pandemic has rendered it another ghost street in this increasingly ghost town, a once bustling thoroughfare now transformed into an unexpected, serendipitous playground. Amid the deserted shopfronts and shuttered cafes, William, a World Radio Control Car Champion seizes a rare opportunity.

He sets his latest RC car onto the empty paving, its small wheels spinning with precision. The absence of pedestrians and traffic turns this iconic London street into an uncommon race track, a space where he can test his skill with the new car in a way he can only have ever dreamt of. The remote hum of his car echoes through the void, the only movement in a space where stillness reigns.

With the government’s stay-at-home order in full effect, the sight of William and his miniature racer is an anomaly, one man and his machine, finding motion in a city temporarily frozen. The pandemic has altered daily life beyond recognition, but for a brief moment, Carnaby Street hosts a different kind of race and adaptation amid global uncertainty.

Carnaby Street London W1 / 17.50 Wednesday 06th May 2020 W1F during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TASHA JUST LIKE ROSIE.

And as the virus takes hold cycling quickly becomes the transport of choice and safety around the streets of London especially given the fortuitous early summer weather and the hottest and driest April on record which many feel has helped to stem the virus.

Just like Rosie the Riveter the cultural icon of World War 2 Natasha works through the day as one of the mechanics at the London Bike Studio to service any front-line workers bicycle repairs as well as keeping the local communities on the move without let up. London Bike Studio Glading Terrace N16 07th May 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

SOPA & SAM.

South Bank skaters near Blackfriars on the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Friday 08th May 17.15 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

SCARLETT.

Where jubilant crowds had celebrated VE Day here 75 years earlier 'CHARITY BEGINS @ HOME' took their place today feeding the rising homeless numbers from the fallout of the Coronavirus Pandemic on the northern terrace to ensure space and social distancing is maintained. VE Day 18.13 Friday 08th May Trafalgar Square London during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

SANJP.

Will this just be this year’s fashion to support Front Line Workers or will we remember them as the virus retreats into the shadows. Doing the evening collection near 'Liberty' Great Marlborough Street W1 18.20 08th May during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

CLIVE AND 'KICK' THE DOG.

Clive's walks his dogs in Piccadilly Circus each day invisible to the crowds for the last 25 years after moving into Rupert Street in Soho just an 8-minute walk away from Eros. Now during the pandemic he's almost the last man standing. Saturday evening 09th May 21.29 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ADEN.

On a deserted Old Compton Street in Soho, London, Aden stands alone, his Deliveroo bag strapped over his shoulders. It’s 21:47 PM on a Saturday night in early May, a prime time on the usual Saturday night for revellers, hen and stag dos, the theatre crowd, club kids, drag queens, tourists, bar hoppers, old school regulars and the evening philosophers but this is no ordinary Saturday night but one that feels eerily quiet just under seven weeks after the beginning of lockdown.

Aden, originally from Turkey was marooned in London at the pandemic’s onset as countries rapidly shut their borders once they recognised the vigour with which the pandemic was spreading and taking hold in turn igniting the cost of flights as they soared beyond most people’s reach, he found himself trapped in a city he never planned to stay in. With no way home, he took to the streets as a food delivery rider and became one of the unsung frontline workers keeping London fed.

Once the beating heart of the capital’s nightlife, Soho is now a ghost town. Most neon signs now switched off sit in darkness over shuttered venues, their doors closed indefinitely. Only a handful of restaurants remain open, offering takeout from an open window or door with serving table at the front to a city under lockdown. Aden now spends his days and evenings weaving his way through the silence, delivering meals to those sheltering and isolating inside.

“There’s no one left,” he says, glancing down the empty street. “It’s a different world but I have to make the rent and feed myself.”

His story mirrors that of countless others, stranded, struggling held in limbo while pressing on in an unfamiliar city now changed beyond belief by the crisis.

In front of the Prince Edward Theatre Old Compton Street Soho London W1 Saturday evening 09th May 21.27 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ADEN.

On a deserted Old Compton Street in Soho, London, Aden stands alone, his Deliveroo bag strapped over his shoulders. It’s 21:49 PM on a Saturday night in early May, a prime time on the usual Saturday night for revellers, hen and stag dos, the theatre crowd, club kids, drag queens, tourists, bar hoppers, old school regulars and the evening philosophers but this is no ordinary Saturday night but one that feels eerily quiet just under seven weeks after the beginning of lockdown.

Aden, originally from Turkey was marooned in London at the pandemic’s onset as countries rapidly shut their borders once they recognised the vigour with which the pandemic was spreading and taking hold in turn igniting the cost of flights as they soared beyond most people’s reach, he found himself trapped in a city he never planned to stay in. With no way home, he took to the streets as a food delivery rider and became one of the unsung frontline workers keeping London fed.

Once the beating heart of the capital’s nightlife, Soho is now a ghost town. Most neon signs now switched off sit in darkness over shuttered venues, their doors closed indefinitely. Only a handful of restaurants remain open, offering takeout from an open window or door with serving table at the front to a city under lockdown. Aden now spends his days and evenings weaving his way through the silence, delivering meals to those sheltering and isolating inside.

“There’s no one left,” he says, glancing down the empty street. “It’s a different world but I have to make the rent and feed myself.”

His story mirrors that of countless others, stranded, struggling held in limbo while pressing on in an unfamiliar city now changed beyond belief by the crisis.

In front of the Prince Edward Theatre Old Compton Street Soho London W1 Saturday evening 09th May 21.29 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TONY.

Clapping For Heroes Royal Free Hospital London NW3 20.02 14th May during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

VANDAL.

After observing the 'Stay Safe, Stay At Home, Save The NHS" mantra of the last 8 plus weeks Vandal goes skating in the themed yellow of the governments warning signs in Hyde Park on the first weekend after the lockdown is lifted. Sunday 17th May 18.32 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

SAHAND.

St. Johns Gate Clerkenwell 18.46 Tuesday 19th May during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE DESERTED CITY.

Old Broad Street & Tower 42 EC2 Tuesday 19th May 18.57 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

ALEXANDRA. FOREIGN NHS MENTAL HEALTH NURSE & TECHNO FAN.

In Alexandra's own words;

"I’m here to thank all the NHS workers and key workers for risking their lives during these times, I’m here to apologise in the name of the government for all the families suffering a loss in these trying times, I’m here to thank everyone that claps for us essential workers genuinely and I am here to tell that group of people across the river from us to stop their hypocritical clapping."

"The foreign nurses from this exact hospital we are near have saved Boris Johnson’s life and yet he wants them to pay £600 plus for themselves and each family member here with them for working in the NHS on top of their taxes saying he can’t think of another way to fund the service. I’ve worked in the NHS in the mental health sector for years, there have never been money for our service in their view, even when there was no pandemic! That is his thanks to all of us that risk our lives for others and have no other choice. He doesn’t have money for the NHS, but they had £500 Billion to bail the banks out 10 years ago, they had enough money to give themselves the Members Of Parliament a £10 Thousand salary rise each for working from home. Whereas the essential workers get claps and surcharges, pay caps, and get dismissed from the bereavement scheme. We’re good enough to save you but not good enough to deserve safe working conditions or pay. Shame on the government, shame.!"
"Thank you to all key workers, you deserve better, we deserve better.!"

Westminster Bridge 'Clapping for Heroes' 21st May 19.58 21st May 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JOHN IN EXILE.

Westminster Bridge 'Clapping for Heroes' 21st May during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

BRAD AKA CYBORGAEON & HELEN.

Islington Green heading for supplies 19.57 27th May during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

JONATHAN & ELIZABETH AITKIN WITH CARER JESSIE.

Isolated at home in SW London on the 10th Thursday of clapping for NHS Heroes, carers, and frontline workers 20.01 28th May during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

POSTSCRIPT 2022 04 15; Elizabeth Rees Aitkin passes away at the age of 85.

KEVIN.

Every time I walked throughout the first lockdown I'd see Kevin delivering or handing out thinned down copies of the London Evening Standard beside the tube entrance at Oxford Circus. Delivering the latest edition Oxford Street in front of a closed John Lewis Westminster 15.11 Wednesday 03rd June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

MUTI.

Giving the raised fist. Park Lane at the 'Black Lives Matter' march sparked by the killing of George Floyd and protesting against the systematic racism and police brutality in the wake of his death and many others before 15.53 03rd June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

ASRA.

Victoria Street Westminster at the 'Black Lives Matter' protest march sparked by the unlawful killing of George Floyd 16.21 Wednesday 03rd June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

JAMILA.

'It's about time'. A thought echoed by the many before and now all the more after the shocking murder of George Floyd was filmed by 17-year-old Darnella Frazier while taking her nine-year-old cousin to a local food store in Minneapolis Minnesota. For 10 minutes and nine seconds she filmed until the officers and Mr. Floyd left the scene; the former on foot, the latter on a stretcher. Ms Frazier could never have imagined at that point the chain of events that her video would set in motion. With bravery and at the click of a button on her mobile phone the teen had spurred wave after wave of 'Black Lives Matter' protests not only in the us but across the world.

Protesting against the systematic racism and police brutality at the 'Black Lives Matter' protest march during the Covid-19 lockdown Westminster Bridge 17.04 06th June 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

PAIX.

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his (or her) point of view...until you climb into his (or her) skin and walk around in it" To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Parliament Square at the 'Black Lives Matter' protest march during the Covid-19 lockdown 17.24 06th June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

EMI. CHEF TO THE STARS.

Breaking prohibition and stopping for a pint from a secret bar ignoring the ban and serving despite government restrictions still being in place. How long one wonders will it take before the we find ourselves within a second wave. Berwick Street Market Soho 18.52 Monday 15th June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ANTHONY & ASHLEY.

Breaking prohibition and stopping for a pint from a secret bar ignoring the ban and serving despite government restrictions still being in place. How long one wonders will it take before the we find ourselves within a second wave. Berwick Street Market Soho 19.12 Monday 15th June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

FARRAH & GUDMUNDUR.

Breaking prohibition and stopping for a pint from a secret bar ignoring the ban and serving despite government restrictions still being in place. How long one wonders will it take before the we find ourselves within a second wave. Berwick Street Market Soho 19.31 Monday 15th June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MICAH 'THE LAVENDER PRINCE'

After the London 'Black Trans Lives Matter' protest when numbers into the thousands against the background of the Coronavirus Crisis gathered in Central London to raise awareness of the discrimination and prejudices faced by the black transgender community. On the steps of 'Blacks' 67 Dean Street Soho W1d 4QH and at the end of the cancelled pride where the few stood in for the many of the year before and carried on the party albeit a small affair into the evening. Saturday 27th June 18.35 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MARCO & RYAN.

Soho Square in the heart of London's Soho on the day that would have seen 'Pride 2020' revellers in their masses partying and sashaying away throughout the area. Saturday evening 27th June 19.27 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

A MEETING OF INNOCENCE,

Is this where the 2nd Wave begins. St. Mary's Churchyard Islington London 13.33 28th June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

MICHAEL.

Standing on the doorstep of 'Any Amount Of Books' his and the last standing rare, hard to find, antiquarian and second hand bookshop on Charing Cross Road which just re-opened 3 weeks before when others didn't as leases ended and businesses gave up on the challenge of carrying on through the Covid 19 Pandemic. 19.28 04th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JOE.

On the day bars and restaurants opened socially spaced with a booked table at 'G-A-Y' on Old Compton Street Soho 19.55 04th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

SUPERSTAR H8.

The UK stages a national round of applause to mark the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service as the GTR Cartel stage a flash gathering at Waterloo Place under the Edward VII Statue and Duke of York column beyond silhouetted against the light of a full Buck Moon 23.01 05th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JAVIER.

Back serving at Cafe Boheme Old Compton Street Soho 17.44 13th July 2020 as the hospitality sector begins the long haul of recovery during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CHERRY.

Train manager on a deserted platform 4 at London Paddington ready to leave on the GWR 15.02 London to Bristol Temple Meads as passenger numbers still remain sparse as lockdown eases. 14.48 14th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ALFIE & KATE.

Locals staying safe and protected now the tourists have started to return to the deserted streets of St. Ives. Quay Street St. Ives harbour 21.12 16th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

EMILY & STUART.

Furloughed, decompressing taking a long weekend away from London and in love as much as ever after living together for the first time as the lockdown took hold. Porthmoer Beach St. Ives 19.55 17th July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

GARY.

One of the most active fishermen based in St. Ives just after landing the days catch from his boat 'SS252 Bethshan' 21.03 17th July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

LAURIE & OCEA.

Father and daughter and both ardent local surfers from Redruth who unlike certain government officials remained inside and out of the sea for the duration even through outside the UK experienced record-breaking amounts of sunshine during the lockdown months of April and May. Just saying Mr. D Cummings.

Porthmeor Beach St. Ives Cornwall 18.16 18th July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

STUART.

Fisherman & Lobster catcher extraordinaire St. Ives Harbour 15.02 19th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ADAM AND HIS KIDS.

After an evening watching 'Jaws' with his kids for the first time together, swap in the shark with the virus and hopefully soon the pandemic will be over also. Porthmoer Beach below the Tate Gallery as things slowly start to try and return to normal. with indoor cinemas still closed this I'm sure will soon become the healthier option during the remaining weeks of summer if the heart rate can take it.

After an evening watching 'Jaws' with his kids for the first time together, swap in the shark with the virus and hopefully soon the pandemic will be over also. Porthmeor Beach below the Tate Gallery as things slowly start to try and return to normal. with indoor cinemas still closed this I'm sure will soon become the healthier option during the remaining weeks of summer if the heart rate can take it.

Porthmeor Beach St. Ives Cornwall 21.38 19th July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

DANIEL.

Lobster Fisherman and crew member on 'SS695 Keriolet' St. Ives Harbour 18.39 20th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

LUKE.

New local of 16 years originally from Essex. Under the viewing canopy on the seaward side of Smeatons Pier St. Ives Harbour 18.55 20th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JUAN.

Smeatons Pier St. Ives Harbour 19.13 20th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MATTHEW.

Lobster Fisherman at the landing area Smeatons Pier St. Ives Harbour 20.33 20th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JAMES.

Aboard 'SS695 Keriolet' at the evening landing of the days catch having been out since 03.30am alongside Smeatons Pier St. Ives Harbour 18.47 21st July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TERRY, ALISON AND FELICITY.

Local kids’playing in the harbour, seaward Local kids’ playing in the harbour, seaward side of Smeatons Pier St. Ives Harbour 19.24 21st July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ISABELLE & OLIVER.

A Pandemic Love Story. Back Road West 18.59 23rd July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

STEVEN. THE RETIRED BANK MANAGER WHO HONOURS HIS LATE SON’S MEMORY THROUGH COLLECTIBLE SHOP.

Steven, a former bank manager at Barclays’ Cambourne branch, retired and took over his late son's shop in St. Ives Cornwall, preserving his memory through their shared passion. The shop, The Dragon’s Hoard, located on Tre Pol Pen Street, is filled with vintage toys and collectibles, a labour of love for Steven who says not a day passes without remembering his son and his early passing.

A reserved and humble man, Steven becomes animated when discussing the treasures in his shop. Among them, a Corgi Starsky & Hutch Ford Gran Torino from the 70’s sits amidst a collection of well-loved toy cars, vans, and lorries. Priced at five pounds, the model now rests on a shelf at home, a nostalgic reminder of childhood Saturday nights long before the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the global crisis of 2020, as many returned to Cornwall for staycations and to reunite with family, The Dragon’s Hoard stood as both a haven for collectors, dads and their sons and a tribute to a father's enduring love.

The Dragons Hoard collectors shop Tre Pol Pen Street St. Ives 12.52 25th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ADONIS.

Back working after furlough at 'The Gourmet Goat' the best food stall in the whole of Borough Market. Borough Market Bermondsey London 15.32 30th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

2020 07 28 / 19.59 / STEVE. THE UNSEEN BACKBONE OF SMITHFIELD MARKET.

The scent of raw meat lingers on the warm evening air as Steve unloads another shipment of pig carcasses, his hands moving with the ease of long practice as he takes them down. Throughout the great global pandemic of 2020/21, he has worked tirelessly, ensuring London’s butchers remain stocked and its people fed. A key worker in an unforgiving trade, his efforts go largely unnoticed yet without him the city would struggle.

Smithfield Market has stood for over 800 years since the site was first described in 1174 by William Fitzstephen clerk to Thomas Becket as “a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold, and in another quarter are placed vendible’s of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk, surviving wars, recessions, and the intense Blitz of September 1940 to May 1941 when Nazi bombs tore through its Victorian structure. Now, in a different kind of battle, Steve and his fellow workers embody that same resilience.

Steve unlocks the back of the latest lorry to arrive as he rolls his shoulders and readies himself. The pandemic may be fading, but his work is never done. London moves forward on the backs of the unseen and tonight, like every night Steve works tirelessly carrying the load.

Smithfield Market, Charterhouse Street, Farringdon, London EC1 19:59 Wednesday 28th July 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ZAC.

Guitarist with ‘The Proclaimers’ and his beloved Martin & Morris Minor. Pipley Barn. Lansdown Woods NR. Bath 17.39 Sunday 09th August 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ANDREW.

A Field in England.

Lansdowne near Bath Saturday 15th August 2020 during the great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KALA KALA THE GURU OF SOHO.

Oxford Street East 18.23 22nd August 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

BJORN & LAURA.

Bjorn from Norway and a Neurology student at Kings College London with his Spanish girlfriend Laura a Front-Line Pharmacist who worked tirelessly between shifts and hospitals throughout peak of the pandemic here in the UK. Oxford Circus 18.59 22nd August during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CLARA & RANATA.

Both from Brazil and working in the healthcare sector having met up for a girls day out.

Oxford Street East 19.09 22nd August 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

BILLY BOOTS.

Closed until 07th of July after the lockdown business is still slow and sporadic here at Billy Boots Cabman's Shelter & Cafe one of only 13 of these Victorian institutions left in the whole of London. As the Pandemic took hold Billy fell back on his pension as staff were furloughed and at present won't be coming back anytime soon. He thanks the Lord above that as the restrictions lifted Construction Workers were able to return to work in higher numbers and at a faster rate than the Cab Drivers with their fallen demand reported in the news today the 26th August from the London Licensed Taxi Drivers Association that their Taxi fleet has declined by over 2,000 drivers over the months of the pandemic with reported takings down between 80-90%.

Construction sites will come and eventually go while the traditional clientele of Taxi Drivers now bring their own packed lunches each day and with the cafe having to observe the Social Distancing rules and only able to fit four customers at a time the days ahead will be tough but I feel and am sure Billy Boots will be tougher and see these days of the pandemic through. Thurloe Place Knightsbridge near the Victoria & Albert Museum 16.41 24th August during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

ISSAC.

The Foxglove Liverpool Road Islington on the last Wednesday of the governments 'Eat Out To Help Out' initiative 19.47 26th August 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

SERGE.

Buying flowers for his wife on the anniversary of their engagement, married in January he says that lockdown in many ways has been the perfect honeymoon.

Angel Station London 20.27 27th August 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

Beneath the statue to the Boudiccan Rebellion not the rebellion,. Westminster Bridge 19.18 Sunday 30th August during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

TIK TOKERS DAN SRAGG & DAVE.

Welcome to Jurassic Park or more commonly known as Trafalgar Square London 13.05 Thursday 03rd September during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

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DOLLY. ONE OF MANY CLIMATE PROTESTER DEFYING COVID RULES IN THE LONDON EXTINCTION REBELLION DEMONSTRATIONS.

Protestor Dolly travels from Scarborough to central London on Thursday, openly defying the current COVID-19 restrictions like many others to join climate demonstrations organized by Extinction Rebellion. Taking a moment to reorganise and take a moments rest sitting beneath the equestrian statue of Charles I at the top of Whitehall near Trafalgar Square, Dolly brandished a wad of Extinction Rebellion’s "Bank of Climate Catastrophe" 10-year notes as I talked with her, a symbolic currency highlighting the cost of government inaction on climate change.

Dolly was among hundreds of activists demanding a transition to a plant-based food system to mitigate climate change and reduce the risk of future pandemics. The demonstration was part of a broader 10-day protest campaign by Extinction Rebellion, which has seen mass arrests and large-scale disruption right across London.

By the third day of protests, more than 300 people had been arrested, with Scotland Yard confirming over 200 arrests linked to a blockade on Lambeth Bridge near the Houses of Parliament. Police said some activists had “locked on” by attaching themselves to the bridge, preventing traffic from passing. Elsewhere, Animal Rebellion demonstrators glued themselves to a pink-painted slaughterhouse truck, blocking Victoria Street, while others staged sit-ins and glued themselves to the ground around Parliament.

The demonstrations have taken place despite strict COVID-19 restrictions in London and the Southeast. At this time, the UK government has imposed a "rule of six" on gatherings, with strict social distancing measures and mandatory mask-wearing in public spaces. Travel is discouraged except for essential purposes, and large protests are deemed unlawful under pandemic regulations. However, many activists defied these rules, gathering in close proximity and traveling from various parts of the country to join the protests.

More protests were planned for Friday, with police imposing restrictions on an upcoming demonstration in Parliament Square.

At the Equestrian Statue of Charles 1st at the top of Whitehall just below Trafalgar Square London 14.10 Thursday 03rd September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

BRIDGETTE.

Shopping for dinner at Tesco's Islington 21.58 Saturday 05th September during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ZOMBIE PUNK

Model and resident Punk celerity 17.35 Camden Lock Camden Town North London Sunday 13th September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

COVID BORN.

Regents Park beside the Band Stand on their first outing to see live music since lockdown rules have relaxed and the day before the governments new 'Rule Of Six' comes in to force across mush of the UK. 19.12 Sunday 13th September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

Coronavirus cases recorded in the UK as of 9AM this morning have continued to rise by more than 3,000 a day for the third day in a row a level not seen since May. Altogether more than 3,300 cases were recorded in the past 24 hours just hours ahead of the imposition of tighter restrictions to combat the running increase of infections.

5 people have died after testing positive for the virus bringing the death toll for the UK to 41,628.

LIVERPOOL STREET UNDERGROUND LOOKING ALONG OLD BROAD STREET.

Deserted but for a single commuter London 19.41 Monday 14th September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MIKEY.

With restrictions lifted the best herbs in East London are on sale for all once more.

Columbia Road Flower Market 16.00 Sunday 20th September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KEITH.

Taxi driver and back on the market in his weekend helper mode dressed in his Gambian finery.

Columbia Road Flower Market East London 16.05 Sunday 20th September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CARINA & MARCO.

Brick Lane 17.34 Sunday 20th September during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

KATHERINE.

From Iran out celebrating her birthday.

Victoria Embankment opposite the Whitehall & Victoria Gardens 18.38 Sunday 20th September during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE DAY ENDS A PANDEMIC CONTINUES.

Somewhere in Kew South-West London 19.26 Monday 21st September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE DAY ENDS THE UNWANTED VISITOR COMES THE PANDEMIC CONTINUES.

As dusk settles over Kew, flights continue to land at UK airports carrying tourists and, with them the unseen threat of new emerging COVID-19 strains. Despite rising case numbers, the government continues to allow international arrivals hoping I feel in vain to salvage the stagnating economy. Scientists warned of imported infections, but restrictions remained patchy.

At Heathrow, weary passengers disembark, some remaining masked from the flight, others indifferent. In Kew’s quiet streets, residents isolate and brace for what is still to come. The virus, relentless is finding new pathways. As one day ended, another wave threatens to begin the next. The pandemic continues, the virus an unwelcome visitor refusing to depart.

Kew, South West London 19.28 Monday 21st September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JOEL & LALA. A MOMENT OF ESCAPE

As the world grapples with the weight of the pandemic, a moment of solace unfolds beneath the arches of Limehouse DLR Station as Brazilian Bossa Nova drifts through the crisp late afternoon air as night begins to fall wrapping Joel and Lala in its rhythm. Amid the uncertainty beyond, they dance, lost in each other, their movement effortless, their world reduced to the sway of the music.

With the fading light of dusk merging into night, Limehouse Basin and Canary Wharf beyond become their stage, the city’s anxieties momentarily forgotten while East London and the world beyond remains gripped by the restrictions and fears of COVID-19, yet here in this fleeting moment, the pandemic is a distant forgotten shadow.

As cases rise and normality feels elusive, Joel and Lala’s dance stands in quiet defiance, a reminder of human connection, of joy persisting in the face of isolation.

Lime House Basin and Dock East London 18.01 Tuesday 22nd September 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

WELCOME TO LONDON 2020.

The world-famous Oxford Street London 17.23 Saturday 03rd October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

FOR THOSE ALONE WE CAN BE TOGETHER AGAIN.

With people returning to Oxford Street those alone in the crowds before and through the pandemic can now feel together within the masses. Distance may still be their burden but proximity to others is their realised friend.

Oxford Street London 17.41 Saturday 03rd October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE VIRUS WITHIN OUR MIDST / 02

Piccadilly Circus London. 19.34 Saturday 03rd October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

With the virus having flattened and life feeling to be slowly returning to some sense of normality Covid 19 cases begin to surge after 12,872 people test positive for the virus as of 9AM this morning.

901,905 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out of which 171,253 have tested positive an increase of 6,032 since the day before.

Across all settings the government added that a further 49 people had died within (within the new 28 days of testing positive rule) bringing the total number of UK deaths to a total of 42,317.

The latest figure of 12,872 new cases which puts the UK's total number of cases at 480,017 is the highest daily rise since the pandemic began although while saying this experts have warned it could be misleading as it is unclear how many people had been infected during the height of the first wave due to the lack of community testing at the time.

ZED PHOENIX.

Sheppey Inn Lower Godney Wells on the Somerset Levels Somerset 13.06 Sunday 11th October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KIERAN AND THE TALE OF THE BRISTOL HOUSEMATES MISTAKEN FOR RULE BREAKERS.

Kieren tells me of how on a sunny April afternoon during the early days of the pandemic, he and his Bristol housemates found themselves at the centre of an unexpected police raid courtesy of an overzealous interpretation of lockdown laws. Enjoying the rare British sunshine in their shared garden, the group were suddenly confronted by officers convinced they were a band of illicit minglers from different households breaking the rules.

With the stern efficiency of a crime drama, the police demanded identification, certain they'd caught these rule-breakers in the act. However, after some back-and-forth and the production of ID’s all bearing the same address, the officers realized their mistake. Awkward silence ensued before the police offered a sheepish apology and, with a touch of British politeness, wished them a pleasant party. Their parting words a firm reminder just in case they did have any ideas of inviting their friends over: “No mixing with other households now!”

“Cheers officers” the lads replied in unison raising their drinks as the police exited. And so, the housemates resumed their sun-soaked afternoon.

Pipley Woods Lansdowne near Bath 16.54 Thursday 15th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JENNY & JAY.

Bubble couple Lansdown Burial Ground and Beckford Tower near Bath 16.33 Sunday 18th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ROY.

Taking a break and stretching his legs from driving his VW Camper Van Minibus while making his way back to London.

Silbury Hill also known as The White Pyramid 12.53 Monday 19th October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

VICTORIA. WEAVING THE PAST INTO THE FUTURE.

Beneath the ancient Wishing Trees of Avebury, where ribbons flutter in the wind carrying hopes and dreams, self-taught artist Victoria has woven her own path to success during the turmoil of the Covid pandemic. Out of work and facing the uncertainty of lockdown, she turned to her self-taught craft of hand-weaving starting her own business of wearable handmade art taking inspiration from humanity’s distant past.

Seven months later, her business ‘Feral Fibres’ now ships globally, connecting customers across the world with designs rooted in tradition and ancient symbolism. The setting of her journey is as fitting as her craft: Avebury, home to the world's largest stone circle, a sacred landscape where the echoes of history and spirituality endure.

As the pandemic forced many to rethink their futures, Victoria’s story stands as a testament to resilience and reinvention.

Much like the wishes tied to the trees around her, her artistry carries the spirit of hope and proof that even in uncertain times, creativity can thrive, and traditions can be reimagined for a new era.

Below the Wishing Trees Avebury Wiltshire 14.26 Monday 19th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/feralfibres/

JASMINE.

After a break away in Jamaica Primary School Teacher Jasmine returned to London in early February just weeks before the lockdown. She's noticed the levels of increased anxiety with the kids and says she's teaching them within their learning to be more aware and empathic with each other for the coming winter months ahead.

Chapel Street Market Angel Islington North London 17.51 Thursday 21st October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CHALO.

Mr. Toppers £14 for a complete wash and cut. Goodge Street London 18.13 Wednesday 21st October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

METIN.

From early morning he peddles through to the afternoon the evening rush hour and into the night to make ends meet as the Covid 19 Pandemic continues and the 2nd Wave gathers. You may recognise Metin if you've ever shopped in Omega, Cartier or any of the other swanky shops of Bond Street but when the pandemic struck and being only on the standard 'Zero' hours contract that these shops seem to employ he was soon made redundant without the option of furlough quickly losing his rented apartment and forced to stay with friends sleeping on floors until he was able to find work on a shared ride on a West End Rick Shaw in early September. Now working every day to cover his £18 a night hostel fee, enough for food and have a little left over to set aside and save he says of how this will soon pass "I was in the Turkish Army for two and a half years I've had worse; this is life." Regents Street London 18.47 Wednesday 21st October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MADDY & LUCAS

From Lockdown to Wedlock. Turnmill Street Farringdon 16.42 Friday 23rd October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

CHERRY & ELIAN.

With restrictions tightening as the 2nd wave begins to rise and take hold Elian left Northern Ireland two weeks ago to come and stay to be with his long-distance love Cherry. Near the London Eye as it reopens to the public, Waterloo London SE1 7PB 18.03 Friday 23rd October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

NIKI & AMELIA.

Both furloughed at the end of March they spent their summer walking, ripping through Netflix boxsets and reading. Now back on limited shifts at the Shellfish & Oyster Bar serving an array of fresh shellfish and seafood from the walk-up window to the few that are still able to visit for now as the governments Tier 1-2-3 system comes into force leaving many in other areas of the UK unable to travel.

Brighton Sea Front on the A259 Kings Road opposite Black Lion Street 15.36 Saturday 24th 2020 October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

RICHARD.

Pandemic, what pandemic...? Programmer Richard worked from home throughout and while watching the news hardly noticed the impact of the virus outside the door as he worked calmly from home as Opera music echoed as usual through his apartment.

Brighton Seafront at the end Black Lion Street 15.41 Saturday 24th October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KATY & SONNY.

Down at the seafront with her son schoolteacher Katy teaches 14–18-year-olds at a school in Croydon during the week while her husband works remotely from home while schooling Sonny in tandem.

Brighton Seafront 16.12 Saturday 24th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JANE.

Waiting for her Bumble date as a storm blows in.

Brighton seafront 17.20 Saturday 24th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KIMBERLEY & DAVID.

Netflix producer and DJ from Glasgow. Brighton seafront 17.41 Saturday 24th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MADELINE & HER MOTHER SUE.

Out running Kings Esplanade Hove Seafront 17.51 Saturday 24th October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020

MARTIN.

Logistics guy for Gatwick Airport who has continued to work from home throughout the pandemic as airlines ceased flying and many became furloughed, taken back on on reduced contracts or laid off.

Brighton seafront 18.26 Saturday 24th October 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CHARLIE.

Resplendent in Chinese Silk and on his way to the cash point and having a wonderful day he informs me entertaining two ladies at the local pub he informs me, "Come join us man" he says inviting me to join them at The Royal Oak, "...there's kooky shit going on" 18.13 25th October 2021 Columbia Road East London E2 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ROSE UNDER THE FULL BLUE MOON.

Trick or Treating with her kids deep out in the countryside near Brockham End Bath 19.17 Saturday 31st October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JOSH.

On the evening of Wednesday, 4 November 2020, as the clock approached 4:24 PM, the atmosphere on a BBC film set in Islington’s Camden Passage was charged with a mix of urgency and apprehension. The United Kingdom was bracing for its second national lockdown set to commence at midnight, a measure announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to curb the escalating COVID-19 cases of recent days.

For the crew, this meant a race against time to complete critical scenes before the stringent restrictions took effect. Among them was lighting technician and producer Josh whose role was pivotal in ensuring the visual quality of the production as the light began to fall. Adhering to the BBC's comprehensive COVID-19 production guidelines, the team implemented rigorous safety protocols, including social distancing, mandatory face coverings, and regular sanitation of equipment.

The impending lockdown, effective in just over 7 and a half hours at midnight from 5 November, mandated the population to stay at home once again, permitting outings solely for essential purposes such as work (where remote work was not feasible), education, exercise, medical needs, and shopping for necessities.

As the final scenes were captured, the lighting technician and fellow crew members faced the reality of an industry once again on pause. The lockdown posed significant challenges to film and television production, with many projects halted, postponed, and even cancelled. The BBC as with other broadcasters, had to navigate these obstacles, balancing the safety of its staff with the demands of content creation.
Reflecting on that day, the Josh remarked, "We were determined to get the job done, knowing this might be our last shoot for a while. The uncertainty was daunting, but the commitment by the team to what we do has kept us going."

This snapshot of dedication underscores the resilience of those in the creative industries, many of whom being freelance don’t get the government handouts of furlough etc as the strive to bring stories to life even as the world around them comes to a halt.

16.24 Wednesday 04th November 2020 on the eve of the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

RHODA.

Piccadilly Circus Lockdown Eve four hours 46 minutes away from the 2nd lockdown 19.14 Wednesday 04th November on the eve of the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KYLE.

Furloughed from his job as a meet and greeter at the world famous Hamley's toy store on London’s Regent Street in the middle of March when the pandemic struck and off until the first of November as the original furlough ended Kyle had been back at work for just three days as he became furloughed again as the 2nd lockdown began.

Lockdown Eve six hours 7 minutes away from the 2nd Lockdown 17.24 Wednesday 04th November 2020 on the eve of the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ALISTAIR & VIRGINIA.

Trafalgar Square on the 2nd Day of the 2nd Lockdown 09.41 Friday 06th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MARY.

Preaching on Oxford Street near Debenhams delivering as she does every day a unique message written across her back; JESUS CHRIST OUR ETERNAL SAVIOUR AT HIS 1ST COMING JESUS CHRIST CAME IN SON HOOD. AT HIS 2nd COMING, HE RETURNS IN DAUGHTER HOOD. FOR A WOMAN IS NECESSARY FOR ETERNAL PARENTAGE TO PRAY AND INTERCEDE FOR HER CHILDREN. On the 3rd day of Lockdown 15.15 Saturday 07th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JUIWEN.

Harrods Knightsbridge London 16.01 Monday 21st December While Under Tier 4 Restrictions with only essential shops open during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

SUNIL.

Deputy Mayor of Bermondsey. laying a wreath at the Russian War Memorial commemorating the 27 million Soviet citizens & service men & women who died for the Allied Victory in World War 2 in the grounds of the Imperial War Museum on the 4th day of lockdown 15.56 Sunday 08th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

FRANK.

The humble REME Veteran of Oman, the Falklands & Northern Ireland in the grounds of the Imperial War Museum on the 4th day of lockdown 17.17 Sunday 08th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KENNY & JIMMY.

The Chef & Owner working taking orders and deliver pick-ups from the front doorway now serving as a counter.

Laika Malaysian Restaurant Old Compton Street Soho London W1 17.02 Wednesday 11th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

DENISE WITH DAISY MAY, RUBY & PEBBLE.

Heyford Avenue Vauxhall South London 15.44 Saturday 14th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ARNOS & TOM.

This is their Sunday Church their way through the pandemic.

On the Basketball Court Dove Row off Goldsmiths Street East London 15.03 Sunday 15th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

THE LOST ITALIAN.

Ezra Street East London 15.21 Sunday 15th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

HOMELESS DURING LOCKDOWN, CHRISTMAS PRESENT AND THE NIGHTMARE BEFOR CHRISTMAS.

As a person without a home beds down the actors are rehearsed and prepared as the 2nd Lockdown enters its 22nd day the country awaits for the government to announce tomorrow the tiers system we will have to follow as restrictions relax. In Tiers 01 and 02 shows can run at 50% capacity but if Tier 3 were to be introduced the curtains would come down completely until the new year.

West End producers tonight are adamant their shows remain safe and able to open Producer Freddie Tapner of the Dominion Theatres production of 'A Christmas Carol puts it simply that tonight we are on a knife edge as we simply don't know whether our spectacular production will be allowed to go ahead.

Dominion Theatre Tottenham Court Road London 19.31 Wednesday 25th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TED.

Ted stands on the platform at Crystal Palace station, the cold grey bite of lockdown era London around him. Draped around his shoulders is a St. Pauli scarf, more than just a nod to the cult German club, but a statement. In a year that’s bought isolation and division, the Hamburg team’s anti-fascist, anti-racist ethos feels more relevant than ever.

With over 500 supporters’ clubs worldwide and counting, St. Pauli’s reach grows, even as stadiums remain empty. The second lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic drags on but for Ted, football is more than the game, it’s a movement to keep people together.

Crystal Palace South London SE19 14.33 Saturday 28th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

AUDE AND KATIE.

Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park Thicket Road South London SE20 14.50 Saturday 28th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ANGIE & HARRY.

First date Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park Thicket Road South London SE20 15.53 Saturday 28th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MAIZY & TALIISHA.

Moore Street Soho central London W1 20.40 Saturday night 28th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ANNE.

Regents Canal near the Islington Tunnel Angel London 14.08 Tuesday 24th November during the Great Pandemic under the 02nd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ABHI.

Banker in the City originally from New Delhi who has worked from home now since the lockdown in March began out for his weekend afternoon run.

Limehouse Basin East London 15.06 Sunday 29th November 2020 during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

BEN.

Canal coal merchant with Boat No. 18 EMU of M.J.PINNOCK of London Coal Boats delivering coal, gas and wood to canal boats moored up all along the Union Canal as it arches up and around central London from Limehouse to Paddington.

Salmon Lane Lock No. 11 near Mile End East London 15.33 Sunday 29th November during the 2nd Lockdown of the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

NATASHA & FIANCÉ

Stories of furlough, the toll it's taken and of a Santa Army.

Behind Guildhall between Basinghall and Aldermanbury Street 15.07 Sunday Afternoon 06th December while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

BEN & LAUREN.

It's Beginning to Feel a Bit Like Christmas the tree is now sorted as this lovely couple near the end of their preparations for Christmas just in time before Ben heads off in the morning to begin a run up to Christmas in his theatre show 'The Thing That Came From Over There' at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.

Union Street Southwark London SE1Sunday Afternoon 15.42 06th December while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

HALLELUJAH, THE JAM ON 'V-DAY'.

Adam Speaker's Jam Sound System plays to celebrate 90-year-old Margaret Keenan as she made history today being the first person to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 jab sending a beacon of hope around the globe that the nightmare of the virus can now begin to come to an end. Oxford Circus W1 21.45 Tuesday night 08th December 2020 while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TOBY.

Wear your Turkey with pride.

Christmas shopping Columbia Road East London E2 15.53 Saturday 12th December 2020 while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KAT.

Homeward bound from Columbia Road flower market getting ready for Christmas.

Sturts Lock Regents Canal near Angel East London N1 14.35 Sunday 13th December 2020 while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

CANYON.

Ezra Street near Columbia Road East London E2 15.55 Sunday 13th December 2021while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

KAI.

Selling Christmas Trees on one of his
family's stalls.

On the corner of Ravenscroft Street and Columbia Road East London E2 16.06 Sunday 13th December 2020 while under Tier 2 restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

TIM.

Riding on the Christmas skaters run, Piccadilly London 15.14 Saturday 19th December while under Tier 3 Restrictions just 2 hours before Tier 4 for London and the South East is announced during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

GUILLEM.

Planning to fly back to Spain the next day his flight had just been cancelled that afternoon as the new strain of the virus here causes figures of infection and death to rise alarmingly provoking widespread anxiety and closures on people travelling from the UK across the majority of Europe. Harrods Knightsbridge London 16.27 Monday 21st December while under Tier 4 Restrictions with only essential shops open during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JULIO.

Oxford Street London 18.14 Monday 21st December 2020 while under Tier 4 Restrictions with only essential shops open during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MOJO.

The dancing barber giving free haircuts for the homeless. When Lockdown happened back in March Mojo who worked as an entertainer had all his bookings cancelled one by one in quick succession, out went the hen parties out went the children's discos overnight so rather than get upset he decided to go and cut hair for free for the homeless and down at heal. Now with Autumn past and now deep into winter Mojo turns up the boom box and dances in-between cuts to keep himself warm on the streets wile he waits for the next customer. He wants to give back to people something they can use not just a handout, something I hope for the future that we will all take forward as life returns to it's new normal in the months to come. Angel Islington London N1 13.26 Tuesday 22nd December While Under Tier 4 Restrictions brought in midnight Saturday/Sunday three days before during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

EUAN & SIAN.

A mother and her son with that unique bond showing through so beautifully.

The Paragon Bath 14.59 Monday 28th December 2020 while under Tier 2 Restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

MATT.

Musician Matt who'd mainly worked from home before the pandemic began and had hardly noticed the difference between that and being locked down apart from his social life which like the rest of the country had taken a dive as the virus took hold. He now runs six times a week to look after his mental well-being and fitness taking in the now more than deserted tourist sights of Bath as he enjoys the freedom of the streets the pandemic has now brought.

Out on his daily run Royal Crescent Bath 14.42 Wednesday 30th December 2020 while under Tier 2 Restrictions just before entering Tier 3 at midnight during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

ALISTAIR & JOANNE.

Close friend support bubble throughout the pandemic out walking on a frosty New Year’s Eve Bath Racecourse 16.10 Thursday 31st December 2020 while under the new Tier 3 Restrictions brought in the night before during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020.

JAMES.

A Professor at Bath University out walking over from Bristol to Lansdown and back New Year’s Day. Talking of the pandemic he tells of how it's made him, and his family realise the excess they'd had in their lives decreasing the amount of the weekly family shop and getting rid of two of the three family cars they had and spending more time doing things together. He's also managed to study for a PHD. 16.05 Bath Friday 01st January 2021 under New Tier 3 Restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

JULIA.

Somerset 15.13 Saturday 02nd January 2012 under new Tier 3 Restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

JENNY & TONY.

Out with their dogs Ludo and Scrabble near Lansdown Somerset. Jenny has shielded since the beginning of the first lockdown in March, but they say it really hasn't been a problem with where they live although puzzlingly it's only Tony who has been summoned for a vaccination in five days’ time while Jenny still awaits her notification.

Lansdown near Bath 16.03 Saturday 02nd January 2021 under new Tier 3 Restrictions during the 3rd National Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

ALEX. ICU NURSE.

Riding back after an afternoon off to work at the NHS Covid Ward at Bath Hospital with its 10 additional ICU's through the late afternoon freezing fog

High up in Lansdown on the outskirts of Bath 16.32 Thursday 07th January 2021 under restrictions of the 3rd National Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

SIMON. PRODUCER.

With the latest lockdown measures Simons holed up nearby at home and unable to travel at present so has spent recent days practicing his Drone flying skills.

Lansdown near Bath 16.41 Thursday 07th January 2021 under the 3rd National Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

KATE.

Secondary School Teacher recently moved from Bristol to Kelston East Somerset 15.20 Saturday 09th January 2021 on the fifth day of the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

ED.

After the first lockdown Ed who lived in Wales with his parents at the time moved to Bath and in with his first passion and girlfriend a nurse at the local NHS Hospital. Perfectly positioned to be local for a start-up he'd been collaborating on he's even more perfectly placed to practice and train as a triathlete his other passion.

Cross country night running through freezing fog East Somerset 16.55 Saturday 09th January 2021under the 03rd National Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

ED.

After the first lockdown Ed who lived in Wales with his parents at the time moved to Bath and in with his first passion and girlfriend a nurse at the local NHS Hospital. Perfectly positioned to be local for a start-up he'd been collaborating on he's even more perfectly placed to practice and train as a triathlete his other passion.

Cross country night running through freezing fog East Somerset 16.55 Saturday 09th January 2021under the 03rd National Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

SASHA & JASON.

we talk together and as I shoot the portrait a City OF London Police Car pulls up and asks us what we're doing West Smithfield and Smithfield Street Smithfield Market London EC1A 16.50 Saturday 16th January under the 3rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21

THE LAST STAND PROTECT THE NHS.

Tottenham Court Road opposite Torrington Place London W1 16.06 Sunday 17th January under the 3rd Lockdown during The Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21

ADRIAN.

With his assessments compete and a place assured to study Business at University Sam decided to miss this year as the option of learning remotely wasn't the most appealing and instead has spent what for many would be a gap year the last 9 months working at his local B&Q store. It's given him the opportunity to earn and save before his sturdies although he does admit he does have a fear at how the superstore management don't limit the numbers at any time in store or supply even the most basic of PPE while also selling the non- essentials reaping profits akin to those levels seen in normal times.

Southeast exit Oxford Circus London W1 near deserted 16.25 Sunday 17th January under the 3rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ABDULA.

Park Street Bermondsey London SE1 15.30 Tuesday 19th January 2021 under the 3rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

DJINN.

Fashion designer and skater Duke Street Hill London Bridge Borough London SE1 16.06 Tuesday 19th January 2021 under the 3rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MILES & GEORGIA.

Architectural students drawing under the canopy of the Grand Avenue Smithfield’s Market London EC1 17.19 Sunday 24th January under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MONICA.

Originally from Brazil and on her last shift before attempting to leave to fly back home to Brazil to visit her increasingly unwell father on compassionate leave Monica worries that she will be unable to return after to the UK when she’s due back in mid-February if quarantine rules are imposed to isolate those arriving or returning to the UK in Hotels with fees payable for the pleasure upwards of £1,500 and rumoured to be nearer the £3,000 mark. After months or working tirelessly on a modest NHS salary Monica fears she’ll be unable to return if these prohibitive fees are imposed on her with the NHS losing a valuable member of staff at such a critical time in the process.

Blood Test Department Royal Free Hospital Pond Street Hampstead London NW3 16.29 Wednesday 27th January 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

LIEUTENANT SERGEANT GALVIN OF THE GRENADIER GUARDS.

Flags fly at half-mast in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore as the country mourns his death aged 100 the day before on the 02nd of Feb after testing positive for coronavirus. The Queen has led tributes to Captain Sir Tom Moore, the World War II veteran who stole the heart of the nation who to date has raised almost £39m for NHS charities since the first coronavirus lockdown in the spring 2020.

Back of Downing Street on Horse Guards London W1 16.56 Wednesday 03rd February 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MATOWSH.

Furloughed Gymnastics Instructor Bankside below the Tate Modern Gallery on the Thames London SE1 17.02 Monday 08th February under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

KEVAL.

No New Years Dragons, no crowds just No New Year’s Dragons, no crowds just Deliveroo riders and takeaways in the cold rain as the Pandemic continues and celebrations for the new ‘Year of The Ox’ are cancelled.

Gerrard Street China Town London W1 17.20 Sunday 14th February 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

IN A TIME OF PERIL.

St. Pauls in near darkness as it remains a beacon of hope as it has done through the centuries. London EC4 Thursday 18th February 2021 under the 3rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

JESSICA.

Another one of our multicultural NHS and Radiographer from Bologna. Undisclosed Hospital North London 12.21 Tuesday 23rd February 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

NICK.

Ambulance Driver Medic and Wrestler aka 'The Nomad' wearing his Covid Regulation Face Mask After preparing to attend another reported case.

Finchley Memorial Hospital London N12 12.33 Tuesday 23rd February 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

HARRY.

Returning to London just two days before Harry has returned now that the roadmap and a day when he can re-open his business 'Root' Hair & Beauty Salon has been announced and sets about preparing his in earnest by scraping the decorations he'd put up in time for Christmas that had been painted just two weeks before the festive U-turn and sudden lockdown restrictions were brought in within hours of being announced on Saturday the 19th December creating what for many will be remembered as the nightmare before Christmas.

Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell 16.26 Saturday 27th February 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

JAMES.

City Lawyer and new father of a baby girl born during the first lockdown leaving the office after going in at the weekend to keep distanced from other employees on the corner of Lothbury and Moorgate on his way home.

Near The Bank of England London EC2 18.01 Saturday 06th March 2021 Under The 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

LIBBY.

In peace Libby opens the fan she carries revealing the simple message 'STOP KILLING US' at the 'End Violence Against Women' march sparked by the murder of Sarah Everard by an off duty Metropolitan policeman and the breaking up with force of a vigil for her at the Clapham Common bandstand less than forty eight hours ago that saw four women arrested and hand cuffed with eyewitness accounts describing the use of unnecessary and heavy handed force by the police. Parliament Square London SW16 17.56 Monday 15th March 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22.

LYNDIE.

The Little Angel Theatre & Theatre Works a former Temperance hall seating 100 was opened on 24 November 1961, by founders Lyndie and John Wright with a performance of ‘The Wild Night Of The Witches’ and as the pandemic gripped theatres across the land The Little Angel innovated taking their presence and performances online reaching out to the local community and beyond with subscribers to their YouTube channel now in excess of 13.5K. Dagmar Passage The Angel London N1 16.31 Thursday 18th March 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

NIGEL.

Evening walk Hyde Park London W2 18.14 Friday 19th March 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MARC H.

Kemps Court Soho London W1 16.05 Sunday 21st March under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ANGUS..

Art Student at the RCA.

Brompton Cemetery Fulham Road Kensington London SW10 17.45 Sunday 21st March 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

2021 03 22 / 17.25 / PAUL. A GENTLEMAN OF PRINCIPLE.

With the continued eerie stillness of King William Walk as the third national lockdown continued Paul, a steadfast gentleman of principle stands apart from the norm. While many in the various industries accepted government furlough to weather the economic storm of the covid pandemic, Paul who works in fashion made a different choice. He refused state support, instead opting to live frugally off his savings, determined not to add to the mounting financial burden facing future generations.

“There will be enough debt and hurt after this is all over,” he remarked. “For one who does have, albeit humble means, I'd rather live from them and direct that money to those who need it now.” He tells me as we stand in the low, golden evening sunlightHe tells me as we stand in the low, golden evening sunlight below the Cutty Sark a symbol of global trade in itself.

The fashion industry once thriving has faced near collapse during the pandemic. Retail closures, supply chain disruptions, and shifting consumer priorities with people staying at home with mostly nowhere to go has forced businesses to adapt, many pivoting to digital platforms or repurposing production for PPE.

Paul’s sacrifice is more than financial, it’s a stand for integrity in a time of crisis. In an era defined by uncertainty, he embodies the quiet resolve of those who chose responsibility over comfort, ensuring that survival will not merely be personal, but collective.

King William Walk Greenwich London SE10 17.25 Monday 22nd March 2021 under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

PAUL.

Near his home in Paddington after an afternoon walk around Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Gloucester Terrace Lancaster Gate Paddington London W2 17.41 Tuesday 23rd March under the 03rd Lockdown during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

OLIVER

One of the organisers behind the drawing of hearts by those that have lost and those that want to pause for a moment and reflect on those lost to Covid at the National Covid Memorial Wall along Queens Walk below St. Thomas Hospital and opposite The Houses Of Parliament London Wednesday 31st March 17.59 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020/21.

DR. JOSEPH.

One of the army of vaccinators who've come out of retirement to serve on the front line vaccinating the many 12.41 Wednesday 01st April 2021 just two days after the first of the restrictions lift.

Royal Free Recreational Club now commandeered as a Vaccination Centre Fleet Road Hampstead London NW3 During the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ADAM.

Keats Grove Hampstead London NW3 13.08 Wednesday 01st April 2021 as the first restrictions lift during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ALICE.

Coming to pay her respects and lay flowers before the railings of the palace as soon as she heard the news of the death of Prince Phillip the Duke Of Edinburgh.

Buckingham Palace London SW1 18.23 Friday 09th April 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

FELICITY & JAY.

Coming to pay their respects and lay flowers before the railings of the palace at the news of the death of Prince Phillip the Duke Of Edinburgh Buckingham Palace London SW1 18.57 Friday 09th April during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

Buckingham Palace London SW1 18.57 Friday 09th April 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

RIAN.

Laying flowers and paying his respects at the news of the death of Prince Phillip The Duke Of Edinburgh Buckingham Palace. Talking of the lockdown and the effect it's had on the many Rian speaks of the positive fallout it's had on himself. Overweight and working long hours he tells me of how suddenly without anything to do he took to walking as the lockdown tightened its grip. This in turn led to him, cooking more and as the weight began to fall off, he began walking further and exercising more. Just over a year later he's dropped an incredible 13 stone and now weighs in at just a shade over 11 feeling not only physically fitter but mentally also.

Buckingham Palace London SW1 17.20 Saturday 10th April 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

OWIEN.

Ramilles Street Soho London W1 17.44 Saturday 17th April 2021 as restrictions lift during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

CHARLIE.

WRONG IS WRONG, NO MATTER IF EVERYONE IS DOING IT. RIGHT IS RIGHT NO MATTER IF NO ONE IS DOING IT.

Anti-Lockdown Protest March near the northeast corner of Hyde Park London W2 19.06 Saturday 24th April 2021 under mass gathering restrictions during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

VEERSAMY & HAPPY HIS PARAKEET

Pymmes Brook near Ferry Lane and Tottenham Lock London N17 17.14 Sunday 25th April 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

EVENING RUSH HOUR. CITY OF LONDON.

Evening rush hour in the City of London, once a symphony of hurried footsteps, blaring horns and the rhythmic shuffle of weary commuters, now carries an eerie hush. The hour of departure on a Thursday evening should bring with it a flood of business suits and briefcases, a tide of traders, lawyers, bankers, secretaries, and other office workers spilling onto pavements bound for packed Tube carriages, buses and taxis. But on this 6th of May 2021, amid the aftermath of the Great Global Pandemic the city bears a different face: gaunt, spectral, and oddly Dickensian with its deserted streets.

From Kings Arms Yard in Moorgate, the view toward Tower 42—once the NatWest Tower, a symbol of financial might stretches out in an unsettling stillness with its floors and windows in empty darkness. The glass and steel of the skyline reflect a setting sun that bathes the near-empty streets in a ghostly amber glow with cold turquoise shadows. A solitary bus glides past, the silhouette momentarily punctuating the silence, the hum of the hybrid engine echoing through the streets before returning to silent stillness once more as the bus disappears. I walk to the end of the street and observe an empty black cab as it idles at a junction, its driver gazing into the distance as if waiting for a past that for now feels like it may never return.

It is a scene that calls to mind the ‘Night Walks’ of Charles Dickens’ with his wanderings through Victorian London as it slumbered uneasily under its own weight of poverty and decay. The pandemic has made phantoms of city workers while scattering them into remote corners of home offices, reducing these thoroughfares of the City of London to near silent, hollow corridors of lost routine. The grand edifices of finance stand like mausoleums to a pre-pandemic ambition, their lobbies untroubled by the tides of receding commerce.

Shops, pubs, and restaurants that once bustled with the after-work crowd are shuttered, their interiors dark and dormant. The occasional figure emerges into the streets, a lone businessman or woman, a security guard, or office cleaner. The few that brave the streets seem to drift rather than stride, hunched over uncertain of their place in this modern-day ghost-town.
A year and two months since the world changed, and the city still feels like a held breath. There is talk of recovery, of return, of the resumption of normality, yet the fabric of this metropolis remains frayed. Will the tide of life rush back in or will London like Dickens’ wandering spirit forever walk its own empty streets, seeking a past it may never reclaim.

As the sun dips lower, the glow of streetlights flicker to life within the cold blue shadows, illuminating a London both familiar while alien in its silence and emptiness. For now, the city will continue to sleep, waiting for the rush hour that once was but may never be again.

Kings Arms Yard Moorgate London EC2 18.25 Thursday 06th May 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

STEPHEN.

City worker back in the office for the first time and on a 1 day per week working rotation with his colleagues and commuting by eScooter, there's no way he's using public transport he tells me.

Monument Street near London Bridge London EC3 19.29 Friday 07th May 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MAGGIE THE ANGEL OF THE ANGEL.

This lady, this unassuming lady how I can't thank you enough throughout the last 15 months how you've always been there, day after day saying things would get better when your own life was so very hard and you were unable to see your father in his care home, I will always thank you for those brief moments we had talking at the till together, those little hellos sometimes being the only hello that day when I'd do my shops at the height of the pandemic when the streets and the store were deserted, you my dear Maggie were always there in those lonely days the true angel or Angel.

Tesco’s Essex Road nr Islington Green London N1 19.04 Tuesday 18th May 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

LIDIA.

Free Palestine March South Carriage Drive and Park Lane London W1 15.53 Saturday 22nd May 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21

TRACY.

Watling Street St. Pauls London EC4 16.22 Monday 31st May during the Great Global Pandemicof 2020-21.

ANTON.

Flower seller about to embark on his night of romance Rathebone Place Fitzrovia London W1 19.28 Thursday 03rd June 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

BAILEY.

Local musician and rising star at the end of the harbour wall St. Ives TR26 20.57 Monday 07th June during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

BRIAN.

English Rugby referee on staycation with his family,

Wharf Road St. Ives Cornwall during the G7 talks. St. Ives TR26 20.28 Thursday 10th June 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

JAMES.

Weekend dental cover Riverside Health Centre James Street Bath BA1 12.12 Sunday 13th June 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

CHRIS.

Finance Guru and nephew to Sir Laurence Olivier.

Bath Somerset 19.55 Sunday 13th June 2020 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

TED.

Freedom To Dance March west side of Trafalgar Square London WC2 16.08 Sunday 27th June 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

GRACE.

Freedom To Dance March Parliament Street just before Parliament Square London SW1 18.30 Sunday 27th June 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ADRIAN

Freedom To Dance March Whitehall as it meets Parliament Street near Parliament Square London SW1 18.41 Sunday 27th June 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

CHRIS.

Waiting for the big match to start, everything prepared with screens outside in the court area for all to come and see as England will soon take on Italy in the UEFA Euros final 2020. Kirby Estate Southwark Park Road Bermondsey London SE16 18.12 Saturday 03rd July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ALAN.

Half time during the Rome Alone match England 1 Ukraine 0 Kirby Estate Southwark Park Road Bermondsey London SE16 21.05 Saturday 03rd July during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

KURTIS.

With under an hour to go as the crowds sing louder and louder just before the storming of Wembley Stadium at the England v Italy Euro Finals match. Engineers Way Wembley Park London HA9 19.12 Sunday 11th July 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22.

LUCA.

From Verona. Italy V Spain (Full Time Score 1-1 Italy Win 4-2 on Penalties) Olympic Way Wembley Park London HA9 19.49 Tuesday 06th July 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

IAN. VACCINATOR ON THE FRONTLINE

Guys Hospital Great Maze Pond London SE1 16.56 Saturday 24th July 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

JOANA.

On her Hen-Doo Coventry Street Piccadilly London W1 19.51 Saturday 24th July 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21

PHILLIP. THE SURGEON.

2021 07 25 / 17.23 / PHILLIP. THE SURGEON.
Outside, the rain falls in steady sheets, washing the city streets clean with each droplet washing them that little bit cleaner, a quiet erasure of the long, grim months of isolation and the pandemic. London, once gripped by the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21, is stirring again.
Phillip, a renowned gender-affirming surgeon, steps through the Tate Modern’s doors with his family for the first time in over a year. Art, his silent refuge welcomes him back. The raw power of the Turbine Hall, the hushed reverence of Rothko’s room—each space a reminder of endurance, of transformation.
The rain continues with heavy downpours through the afternoon and slowly and surely life returns as in the presence of great art Phillip like his city, begins to heal.

Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 17.23 Sunday 25th July 2021’during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ZOE.

Gyllyngvase Falmouth Cornwall 18.46 Friday 08th August 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MELISSA.

Artist Great Ormond Street London WC1 19.49 Thursday 12th August during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21

CALLUM.

Today’s future pop / dance / DJ icon.

Redchurch Street London E1 20.16 Saturday 14th August 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

IDOLYA.

Eastcastle Street London W1 17.10 Monday 16th August 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

JAIE.

Greenwich London SE10 20.01 Tuesday 17th August 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

KAZ.

Westbourne Grove Notting Hill London W11 14.21 Sunday 22nd August during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ESRA.

Spitalfields Market East London E1 17.32 Sunday 22nd August 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

CHA CHA SKATE.

Self-taught and learnt to Roller Skate during the lockdown.

Park End Street Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 18.34 Monday 23rd August 2021during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

PHILLIP.

Worked and remained full time throughout the pandemic at Paddington.

Paddington Station London W2 20.05 Monday 23rd August during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

PEPSI.

Proud Caberet Waterloo Bridge Victoria Embankment London WC2 19.07 Saturday 11th September 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

SIMON.

Member of the congregation.

St. Matthews Great Peter Street Westminster London SW1P 18.07 Tuesday 21st September 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

SIMON.

As the evening light softened over London, Simon walked home along Lower Sloane Street, a bouquet of rich purple autumnal blooms over his shoulder. The air carried a crispness that hinted at the changing season, and the golden hues of the setting sun cast a warm glow over the city. For the first time in two years, he had just stepped out of the Chelsea Flower Show, an event that like so many others had been silenced by the pandemic.

This year’s show had been different. Postponed from its usual May schedule, it was the first autumn edition in the event’s 108-year history. The usual soft pastels of spring had given way to fiery reds, burnt oranges, and deep purples.

Chrysanthemums, salvias, and dahlias had taken centre stage, their rich colours echoing the changing leaves of the nearby trees along Lower Sloane Street.

As Simon walked, he reflected on the past two years, the uncertainty and the isolation of a world turned upside down. The simple act of attending the flower show had felt like a quiet victory, a return to something normal, something joyful. The flowers he carries weren’t just a souvenir; they were a symbol of resilience, of nature’s unyielding cycle.

The streets of Chelsea were quieter than usual, much quieter with the city still recovering from the upheaval of the pandemic. But in that moment, surrounded by the scent of fresh blooms and the rustling leaves in the breeze, Simon felt at peace once again he said as life was returning, slowly but surely, in petals and colours and in small joys rediscovered.

And with that thought, he walked on, the large bouquet over his shoulder a reminder that even after the hardest of times beauty always finds a way to bloom again.

Lower Sloane Street London SW1W 17.28 Sunday 26th September 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

NICCY.

Coming to London to run the marathon had always been a dream for Niccy although one that very nearly became shattered just weeks before.

Double vaccinated and having worked on the NHS frontline throughout the pandemic and after months spent being cautious and many a day clad head to toe in PPE, he'd taken time off to watch the Euros and joined friends he hadn't seen for quite a while for the final screened down at the local pub just twelve weeks before where he believes was where he then contracted Covid 19.

Things had been touch and go for the following weeks he says as he fought the virus, breathless at times fatigued at others while he fought his way back to a level of health to resume his training and prepare for the marathon.

Today he stands having overcome his own personal battle, it may be not be the time he'd wanted but he tells me of how grateful he his, thankful of the vaccines and being able to take to the streets after two years of waiting after 2020's run had been cancelled. 26.2 miles completed and one of 35,300 runners crossing the line in London with thousands more joining in remotely around the globe.

The London Marathon Whitehall just below Trafalgar Square London WC2 17.11 Sunday 03rd October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ALEX.

Electronic musician who came back of tour with his band just as the pandemic took hold and with Lockdown tightening its grip went solo and now just about to release the first of his singles ahead of his album and body of work written and composed during those isolated days of the pandemic.

Park Street Borough Market London SE1 17.26 Saturday 09th October 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MICHAEL.

Painter, Sculptor and Print Maker. Studied at Goldsmiths and The Slade and went on to teach at both and has work held in the collections of the Tate and many other galleries worldwide.

Outside his home and studio, Park Street Borough London SE1 17.39 Saturday 09th October 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

HARRISON.

Halloween Clubbing.

93 Feet East Brick Lane East London E1 16.43 Sunday 31st October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

RABIA aka SKITTLES.

Going Underground.

Leicester Square Underground Ticket Hall West End London W1 23.08 Sunday 31st October during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

MENKA.

Gurkha at the first Remembrance Day commemorations since the pandemic began.

Remembrance Day, The Cenotaph, Whitehall London SW1 12.49 Sunday 14th November 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ALEX.

Parachute Medical Squadron at the first Remembrance Day commemorations at The Cenotaph Whitehall London SW1 since 2019. 13.17 Sunday 14th November 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

KONRAD.

Ramillies Street Soho London W1F 15.27 Sunday 14th November 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

PARRY. ARTIST & ANIMATOR.

Working part time at the Arnolfini Art Gallery, Narrow Quay Bristol BS1 15.52 Tuesday 23rd November 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

ASMA. MEDICAL STUDENT UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL.

Prince Street Bridge Bristol BS1 17.17 Tuesday 23rd November 2021 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

DIANA.

Model from China who lives just off Sloane Avenue with her mother and daughter. Sloane Square London SW1 15.40 Saturday 18th December during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21.

GUY. DASHING.

Broadstone Place off Dorset Street Marylebone London W1 16.19 Monday 17th January 2022 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22

SIOBHAN.

Fashion Blogger Union Street Southwark SE1 16.52 Wednesday 26th January 2022 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22.

COSTA.

Ebor Street Shoreditch London E2 14.32 Tuesday 01st February 2022 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22.

MARIE.

Freedom Day for all as all Covid measures are lifted In England as freedom is taken from those in Ukraine as Russia invades on its eastern borders.

London SW1 16.28 24th February 2022 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22.

JOANNA & SASHA. '

‘Stop This War' Trafalgar Square London WC2 17.46 Sunday 06th March 2022 during the Great Global Pandemic of 2020-21-22.

JANE.

Platinum Jubilee Weekend. The Mall opposite Clarence House London SW1 18.08 Thursday 02nd June 2022 during the first summer after.

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.

MANDY.

Platinum Jubilee Street Party for the Queen. Harbord Road London SW6 18.40 Friday 03rd June 2022 during the first summer after.

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.

CARON.

Platinum Jubilee Peoples Parade Day The Mall opposite Clarence House London SW1 17.20 Sunday 05th June 2022 'The Summer After’.

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.

HILDA.

Gosset Street East London W1 19.07 Sunday 19th June 'The Summer After’

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.

VERA.

Windrush Day Southbank London SW1 20.39 Wednesday 22nd June 2022 'The Summer After’.

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.

SEAN & KATIE.

Over from South Africa Bar Italia during Pride 50th Anniversary taking a moment for an Aperol Frith Street Soho London W1 18.27 Saturday 05th July 2022 during the first summer after.

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.

FLORENCE

Florence stepped onto the Metropolitan Line at Kings Cross the carriage already filling with England fans bound for Wembley. Dressed in a red England shirt with a German flag painted on one cheek and an English one on the other, she carried the weight of history with her born to English and German parents, she had chosen her allegiance, albeit mostly but the rivalry between the two nations had never been simple. From England’s World Cup triumph in 1966 to Germany’s penalty heartbreak inflicted at Euro ‘96, the fixture carried decades of tension, triumph, and torment. Now, in the summer of 2022 it was the Lionesses’ turn to make history in a final that for Florence, felt as personal as ever.

The Metropolitan Line, the world’s first underground railway, had been ferrying Londoners to major events for over a century, and now, after years of pandemic-induced isolation it was alive with anticipation once more.

The Covid-19 pandemic had emptied these carriages these last two years, silenced Wembley and kept fans apart, but on this warm July afternoon the air was thick with expectation and the energy of a crowd desperate to reclaim the joy of shared experience. As the train rumbled towards the stadium.

Metropolitan Line between Great Portland and Baker Street on her way to the England V Germany Woman's Euro 2022 Football Final London W1 14.33 Sunday 31st July during the first summer after.

Part of the Covid 'Summer After' project.