It dawned on me recently just how deserted our little sea town appears through the lens of a camera.
ALSO READ: LOCKDOWN BLOG: Take me back to the beach – Day 19
The tightly shut shops, empty streets and odd cat on the hunt for food all make for a somewhat gloomy drive.
The song ‘where the streets have no name’ is playing on the radio.
“Weirdly, ironic”, I think – as I also haven’t heard the song by U2 in a while.
Lead vocalist Paul David Hewson, better known as Bono of Irish rock band, U2 wrote the lyrics in response to the notion that it is possible to identify a person’s religion and income based on the street on which they lived, particularly in Belfast. It is the opening track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree.
Right now – street names don’t matter – a few people come and go. No-one cares.
It’s every man to himself – well, so it seems, nowadays.
My eye catches a man pushing an empty trolley, I lift my camera and his knee-jerk reaction is to hide behind his trolley.
On a normal day, he probably would have smiled and waved, and welcomed the photo with an ‘all-teeth’ grin.
I even imagine that we would have shared a laughed in the moment.
Today, I get a nervous smile.
In return I shudder as I can feel just how much uncertainly hangs in the air.
*All photos taken by Shona Aylward and may not be used without permission.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
