Over the past few months our lives have been far from normal; we have seen big changes due to COVID-19. The lockdown restrictions are in place for a very important reason, to keep us all safe of course but it doesn’t mean that we can’t still cheer people up during this uncertain time.
In May, the country was well into lockdown and the weeks were going slowly so I wanted to do something to cheer people up. Along with my family, we decided to dance at a safe distance in our street. The weekly Clap For Key Workers was always a heart-warming moment so I thought that it would be nice to start dancing after everyone clapped and this is exactly what we done.
We danced to the song ‘Saturday Night’ with all of our neighbours watching and joining in, it was lovely to see people coming together at a safe distance. I got some real enjoyment out of dancing out of my wheelchair in the street too, it was something that I never thought would happen- strange times indeed. At the end of the dance, I could feel joy as everyone was clapping and smiling. The feeling that you have made a difference to someone’s day is brilliant.
My neighbours played their part too by staying out to support us, providing the music and filming the dance which we greatly appreciated. Like most neighbourhoods, people don’t really have time to chat to you as everyone has busy lives but since lockdown, that has all changed.
I would just nod and say hi to my neighbours before this situation so people didn’t really know anything about me apart from that I use a wheelchair for my mobility which is totally understandable. It was really interesting to see the reactions from people when I came out of my chair and danced, I felt like people were getting to see a different side of me which I was glad about. I love to show people that my Cerebral Palsy doesn’t stop me, I can still do activities and dancing in my street was perfect to raise awareness about disability.
We danced again at the beginning of June, this time to the song ‘Macarena’ and I noticed that everyone was more confident to chat to me. People were now cheering me on whereas before they were kind of shy. So, something positive has come out of lockdown- who would have thought.
I am delighted that I managed to raise some funds for Cerebral Palsy Scotland too by doing the dances, a special thank you to my neighbours who kindly donated- the total is £280 which will go a long way to helping children & adults living with Cerebral Palsy.
Keep safe everyone!