Athlone native, Jason Conroy, presently residing in Sydney, Australia, spoke to the Athlone Advertiser this week, noting the impact of COVID-19 on their daily lives as the pandemic continues to raise health concerns on a global scale.
“Lockdown has certainly had its positive and negative situations, but my wife Carla and I adopted the approach of making the best of a pretty dire situation,” Jason remarked.
Working from home proved problematic at times, with two children striving for attention while video calls were in progress.
“My wife Carla did an amazing job keeping the children occupied while I continued to work from home. Thankfully, my work was not impacted, however many others have been and it has been a very stressful time for much of the population here in Sydney,” Jason commented.
Jason noted that it was a surreal St Patrick’s Day experience as lockdown forced many to remain indoors with restrictive measures implemented. However, to maintain a sense of spirit and break the monotony of isolation, Jason and Carla transformed their garage into an Irish bar called ‘Consys Bar & Grill’.
“Sydney went into enforced lockdown just after St Patrick’s Day and it was one of the most sombre national feast days I have experienced. We all knew the restrictions were coming, there was a lot of fear, and no one really left their homes.
“We have been livestreaming funny skits and parodies, bad karaoke and even worse dance moves from ‘Consys Bar & Grill! Carla and I started this as a way to feel like we had escaped the house and the children, then we thought ‘hey, this is a great way to give all our friends a laugh at our expense!,” Jason enthused.
Despite restrictions being eased in Sydney, Jason is of the view that it will be quite some time before normality in the city resumes.
“In Sydney, our restrictions are slowly easing, but it will still be sometime until everything is back to normal, but at least now we can have 10 friends visit our house. It was hard not seeing friends and family face to face, thank goodness for technology and video calls, which enable us keep in touch with our families regularly.
“We had been planning a visit to Ireland in September to see close family and friends and now we have no idea when we will be able to travel again, possibly not until 2021,” Jason concluded.
Family and friends can stay in touch with Jason and Carla on the following social media platforms: Tiktok - @consysbarFB: @consysbarandgrill Insta @consysbargrillYoutube consysbar&grill.
