I’d actually forgotten Covid had another name until I read some notes from 2020.
March: ‘White ants make life interesting as does the all-consuming Corona Virus.’
Bakery coffee came in disposable cups, no teaspoons, serviettes, biscuits or cash and you could drink it in the park over the road if you stood on one of the crosses.
May: Two months later we set up internet banking. We received wonderful CDs and DVDs from the family – videos of comical interpretations of learning and teaching from home, CDs of sons singing together which involved one singing in Benalla and then sending the recording to Melbourne so another son could add his voice in harmony.
March: ‘White ants make life interesting as does the all-consuming Corona Virus.’
Bakery coffee came in disposable cups, no teaspoons, serviettes, biscuits or cash and you could drink it in the park over the road if you stood on one of the crosses.
May: Two months later we set up internet banking. We received wonderful CDs and DVDs from the family – videos of comical interpretations of learning and teaching from home, CDs of sons singing together which involved one singing in Benalla and then sending the recording to Melbourne so another son could add his voice in harmony.
We learned how to join Zoom meetings.
By June, things must have improved as we entertained visitors and a little later, the Op. Shop re-opened, making $1,000 in the first two days.
In September, we drove over the border to Albury for the first time in months.
But in another three months, things suddenly changed.
The last day of the year brought the announcement that the border would be closed at midnight. Two of our sons were holidaying on the NSW coast at Merimbula and Bermagui. They drove through the darkness over the Snowy Mountains crossing into Victoria just before midnight, arriving at Tallangatta in the early hours of New Year’s Day, 2021.
In September, we drove over the border to Albury for the first time in months.
But in another three months, things suddenly changed.
The last day of the year brought the announcement that the border would be closed at midnight. Two of our sons were holidaying on the NSW coast at Merimbula and Bermagui. They drove through the darkness over the Snowy Mountains crossing into Victoria just before midnight, arriving at Tallangatta in the early hours of New Year’s Day, 2021.
Six weeks later, Don wasn’t feeling well. By six in the evening, I rang for an ambulance and he was taken to Wodonga Hospital. It was Sunday. The next morning he was transferred to Albury and settled in a small room in the inner recesses of the hospital.
Visiting hours were quite strict but family members managed to come and go with plenty of travel between. It was a special time for us all.
By Wednesday he was pronounced a palliative case and we asked that he be transported back to Tallangatta. That couldn’t be arranged until the next day so Michael and I stayed with Don until an hour or two after midnight, then Stephen and Tim came to take over, while we went to have a few hours sleep in a hotel.
Michael’s wife, Karen, was to catch Friday’s train to join us. Tim was organized to take his son to Canberra to start university at the weekend.
The palliative care unit in the small Tallangatta hospital is beautiful. Floor to ceiling windows looked out on the lake, a CD player was on the bench and an adjoining room included a bed, sandwiches in a frig. and tea and coffee for the carer. It couldn’t have been better.
Suddenly new rules. Nobody could get back into Melbourne, nor could anyone cross the Victorian- NSW border after Friday.
Karen cancelled her train journey, Michael drove back to Melbourne and Tim and son, Monty, took over the night time watch at the hospital on Thursday night. Tim slept while Monty sat with Don and the next morning they left early to drive to Canberra by midday so Tim could drive back to Victoria the same day.
Don died that night, 12-02-2021. He would have been delighted with the symmetry.
Incredibly, at the time of the funeral, ten days later, the borders were open and family and friends were all able to be there.
Three months later, I moved to Benalla.
Carmyl Winkler
March 2025
Visiting hours were quite strict but family members managed to come and go with plenty of travel between. It was a special time for us all.
By Wednesday he was pronounced a palliative case and we asked that he be transported back to Tallangatta. That couldn’t be arranged until the next day so Michael and I stayed with Don until an hour or two after midnight, then Stephen and Tim came to take over, while we went to have a few hours sleep in a hotel.
Michael’s wife, Karen, was to catch Friday’s train to join us. Tim was organized to take his son to Canberra to start university at the weekend.
The palliative care unit in the small Tallangatta hospital is beautiful. Floor to ceiling windows looked out on the lake, a CD player was on the bench and an adjoining room included a bed, sandwiches in a frig. and tea and coffee for the carer. It couldn’t have been better.
Suddenly new rules. Nobody could get back into Melbourne, nor could anyone cross the Victorian- NSW border after Friday.
Karen cancelled her train journey, Michael drove back to Melbourne and Tim and son, Monty, took over the night time watch at the hospital on Thursday night. Tim slept while Monty sat with Don and the next morning they left early to drive to Canberra by midday so Tim could drive back to Victoria the same day.
Don died that night, 12-02-2021. He would have been delighted with the symmetry.
Incredibly, at the time of the funeral, ten days later, the borders were open and family and friends were all able to be there.
Three months later, I moved to Benalla.
Carmyl Winkler
March 2025
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