No doubt it has been a tough time for all of us, but here is my little story…
Just a real quick introduction, I am not English myself, I first came to England in 2014 to work as a nurse for the NHS, later on I would go back to university to become a midwife.
Since I first came to England, I have always been able to see my family several times every year. Why am I saying this? Well, with the new situation and its restrictions, it meant I could not travel to see my family as this was not considered to be “essential”. So I was only leaving the house to go to work and do my essential shopping. Many times I would be told by people of how lucky I was to be able to leave the house and go meet people. I guess these people thought/think that is what we do at Hospital, we do not work, we just “hang out with friends”.
Why am I writing about the corona virus and the UK's lockdown? May you all be wondering when this blog it’s meant to be about flashlights? It has a lot to do with it… Having been on the frontline, I have seen things I wish I hadn’t. Dealt with situations there is no training for, you can see the fear not just on the people you look after but the people you work alongside with, you don’t just see it, you feel it yourself. You would deal with it all for 12.5 hours if lucky, often would be longer than that (my fellow healthcare workers know what I am talking about), to then go home and lock yourself there, in my situation with none to talk to, but silly me I could not realize how lucky I was because being able to leave the house and hang out with my NHS mates at the Hospital.
So how did I keep my sanity? Like many other people I guess, walks, walks and more walks. And this is when Olight comes into place, I was not going out for walks during day time, I cannot explain how disrespectful (and this was not just for healthcare workers but any frontline workers who have often been forgotten in all of this) and infuriating was to see people breaking all lockdown rules, it was just heartbreaking. All I wanted and needed was peace and quiet and none around me, only people I needed close by was my family but apparently, that was not essential. I would walk late at night with my only companions being a Perun 2 attached to my coat for the cold months, as well as a warrior mini in my pocket (and although it was cold I never thought of setting fire to my jeans).
More than a year has passed since we first went into lockdown, I have not seen my family since June 2020, now I am relocating back to Spain to be close to those who matter to me, those who are “essential” to me. I will definitely miss not being able to use Olight UK services in the near future but I will always be part of the Facebook group. I wanted to put end to this long boring text by saying:
This place is meant to be for people who share the same passion (very bright shiny things) Be kind to everyone and look after each other, if you have nothing useful to say just shut your mouth. Your bullshit is not appreciated.
Disclaimer: This text has not been proofread in exchange for any Olight products.
Alejandro Caballero
Happy Olight customer
