WATCH: How the Bailiwick is keeping active

Thursday 30 April 2020

More than 100 people have contributed to a project made by the Health Improvement Commission, documenting how island residents are staying active during the Bailiwick-wide lockdown.

Since the covid-19 pandemic reached Guernsey's shores in March, group sport events and recreational activities have all been temporarily banned.

Instead everyone was encouraged to take up to two hours leisure time outside their homes each day, meaning people could take gentle strolls or complete two hours intensive exercise if that is what they wished.

Many people chose to do something in between the two by choosing to go running, walking, cycling, paddle boarding or any one of a multitude of other activities.

The Health Improvement Commission asked for pictures and videos of individuals and families doing this and it has compiled them into a two-minute long film which can be seen HERE. 

WATCH: ‘The Bailiwick being active…during lockdown’. 

Alun Williams, Be Active lead has been pleased with the levels of activity enjoyed.

"The past four weeks in lockdown have demonstrated the value and importance of keeping active for our physical and mental wellbeing.

"The response we’ve captured shows how our community can turn difficult times into fun, enjoyable activity, often with their family. It also shows what a wonderful environment is on our doorstep. The film is testimony to how important keeping active is to our individual and collective wellbeing and it is heart-warming to see so many positive images."

Pictured: Alun Williams with his daughter and granddaughter on a socially distanced walk during the lockdown. 

Mr Williams said not everyone can, or finds it easy to, keep active and that the Health Improvement Commission and others must ensure, especially as we move out of lockdown, that as an island, we work to support all of us to be more active, more often. 

"There is no room for complacency, especially as we need every sector of the community to engage in making keeping active the norm and easy to do," he said.

"A concern that I have is that the current situation could widen inequalities when it comes to participation in physical activity. Those who have been isolating, had to juggle jobs, children, home schooling, may find it harder to fit physical activity in and potential increases in unemployment, lower incomes and housing concerns could make this worse. This makes it even more important to create a post-lockdown environment where physical activity is easy to fit in to our daily lives and routines."

Pictured: Anji Page. 

One of the contributors to the film, Anji Page, said keeping active, in her case swimming, meant a lot to her during lockdown:

"I am so pleased that we are able to sea swim during the lockdown period. I have swum all through the winter and I don't want to give up. I'm working from home during the lockdown and it's great for my mental health to get out and swim, even when the weather is rubbish. There are some days I look out of the window and I don't feel like going but I know that as soon as I get in the sea I will feel ten times better and on the really cold days, come out buzzing and in the best of moods. Working from home is an advantage when it comes to my swimming because as long as I don't have online meetings to attend, I can be flexible with my hours and time my swims with the high tide - and work in my dry robe and swimming costume until it's time to swim!  In the week leading up to Easter the massive high tides combined with gorgeous weather made for some amazing early morning swims before I started working for the day. The lockdown has changed a lot of things but I'm glad it hasn't changed my new swimming habit!"