Isla McLachlan: In these uncertain times it's great to be back home in Hitchin

By Layth Yousif 28th Dec 2020

Hitchin Nub News columnist and busy teacher Isla McLachlan returned back to her hometown prior to Tier 4 restrictions being put in place - and is glad she did.

Read on for Isla's reflections on her 2020, as a visit from a robin augurs well - while she savours a well-timed comfort in returning to Hitchin during her Christmas break.

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It is funny to think that the last time I wrote for Hitchin Nub News, in August, the world seemed to be returning to some sense of normality.

Now, that seems a more distant memory, along with the summer sun!

Teaching in a pandemic has been an interesting experience.

Whereas in the summer term all of the students were in one place, namely, the other side of a computer screen, the winter term saw the necessity of a hybrid teaching style where some children attended lessons in the classroom, some attended 'live' via video call, and others watched recordings when the time differences across the world allowed.

With Covid guidance changing sometimes on a weekly basis, there was a level of surrealism in discussing Shakespeare on a cold, wintery UK morning with a student in the sunny Singapore afternoon.

That being said, the feeling of connectedness between those so separate has perhaps never been so keenly felt - whether that is from teaching, or zoom calls with family and friends.

I recently visited Southampton in order to take a test for Covid as part of the University's trial.

No sooner had I parked, than a robin had landed on my wing-mirror.

This served as a welcome reminder of some of the positive effects on nature the restricted movements of humanity have had and, although we wouldn't wish these on anyone, the visibility of a silver lining in most places we may choose to look.

With this in mind, I felt very grateful not only for the opportunity to return home to Hitchin, safe in the knowledge that I had tested negative for Covid, but also before the Tier 4 restrictions came into being.

In a time of so much change and so much uncertainty, nothing really beats the return to one's hometown, with the annual accompaniment of Chris Rea, of course!

Whether it's a wander through the lights of the market place or Hermitage road, or a country walk out to Charlton, being home in Hitchin is as comforting as a mug of Christmas cocoa, and it's a well-timed comfort at the end of such a year.

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