These are my cultural tribes.. I didn’t breathe until the end haha

A short comic on how I feel Covid-19 will affect my future. This one took me a while to do with all the colouring.

Despite the rough year 2020 has been, I feel more confident with my future. Media Trust has given me so many opportunities and confidence in myself. I have made Vlogs, started a YouTube channel, learned how to make a podcast and pushed myself so I can create content. Although I am still wondering in which direction I want to aim for, I am keeping my mind and options open.

Here I decided to combine the two on my illustration. My biggest fear is overthinking, as it's always been one of my struggles. Especially with the lockdown. We see people on social media making the most of it. Learning new skills, keeping fit and healthy as well as staying in touch with friends and family. Whilst others like myself struggle to get out of bed or even have a shower. Despite this, anything small I do I tend to feel proud of and use it as an advantage to get rid of any anxious thoughts.

Since we’ve been stuck inside for the last few months, I’ve been rotating a few of the same sweatshirts and joggers which I didn’t think would make a very exciting post! So I decided to do a series of illustrations representing different types of people in lockdown and what they might be wearing. Even though we are all in this together, our versions of lockdown vary drastically which is what I tried to express.The illustrations were a bit of a challenge as I usually keep my characters pretty simple but this project depended on character design to communicate an idea. Even though this was really difficult at times, I learnt so much in the process.

Parents are having to multi-task even more in lockdown with children being at home. Many people are juggling working at home, home-schooling, cleaning, cooking and entertaining bored children. I know how difficult it is to keep children occupied when you can’t go outside so parents definitely deserve a break when this over!

This was inspired by pictures of homemade and over-the-top ppe on the internet. In lockdown, I’ve felt a bit like I’m in a post apocalyptic movie so wanted to use sci-fi elements to make the costume look futuristic.

LOL. Let’s be honest, most of us aren’t getting dressed up in lockdown and are wearing what we feel most comfortable in. I find the t-shirt with no pants combo hilarious so thought it would be fun to do an illustration of this.

Since gyms are closed and we can’t go outside much people have been using exercise videos to keep fit in lockdown. I used 80s fashion as my inspiration as exercise videos were really popular in this decade and people had the best gymware!

Seeing the empty streets of London during lockdown has a post-apocalyptic feel. When we’re used to constantly being stuck in traffic or having someone’s armpit in our face on the tube, London today couldn’t look more different. Now, the streets and transport are empty it feels a lot like something from a zombie movie.

However, if you live in the countryside you will probably notice less of a change and feel a strange sense of familiarity to isolation. In lockdown, the rural parts of the country are only slightly quieter than usual. If anything, you see a lot more people out walking because we can’t visit a nearby town. Here’s 10 reasons you’re used to isolation if you grew up in the countryside:

1.     It’s Quiet. Eerily quiet.

It’s always been quiet. You might hear a tractor, the birds cheeping and maybe an occasional car but that’s about it. At night it’s even quieter and can feel pretty spooky. During lockdown in busier areas of the country the noise is more noticeable now it’s gone.

2.     Every Where’s Closed

Because it never opened. No shops, bars, clubs… or anything for miles and certainly not within walking distance. You’re surrounded by fields, fields and more fields. You can’t miss what you never had. Yay.

3.     It’s the Small Things

A lack of entertainment growing up helps you to appreciate the small things. Main events in the countryside might include a tractor parade, terrier-racing or a scarecrow festival. In lockdown everyone is appreciating social interaction more than ever with virtual clubs and post-lockdown parties being organised.

4.     DIY Entertainment

With nowhere to go and none of your friends nearby you’re used to making your own fun. Being alone doesn’t really bother you and you can always find something to keep busy. It was important to be creative growing up to keep entertained meaning you’ve had lots of practice at indoor Olympics.

5.     You’ve been Stockpiling for Years

You completely rely on online shopping. There is no “local supermarket” and the nearest shop has a pitiful selection. Unless you want to be trekking for miles and miles every time you fancy a chocolate bar you need to stockpile. In quarantine, the rest of the country is just doing what we’ve been doing for years.

6.     No Jobs

This is one of the toughest parts of growing up in the countryside. It feels impossible to find a job especially one that isn’t on a farm. One of the most devastating effects of Covid-19 will be the rise of unemployment. The Guardian’s economist said, “UK unemployment could rapidly rise to more than 6 million people, around 21% of the entire workforce”.

7.     Public Transport?

If you can’t drive, living in the countryside is… tricky. Public transport is very scarce and in some rural areas non-existent. Missing the bus is not an option. Public transport across the country has faced huge cuts to limit spread of infection. However, this puts even more strain on key workers who depend on public transport to get to work.

8.     Heading for The Apocalypse

Maybe it’s boredom, a lack of social interaction or perspective but the locals have always acted like it’s the apocalypse. Anxiety tends to run very high and conspiracy theories are rife. Conspiracy theories are thriving in quarantine; from theories about 5G spreading the virus to Disney predicting the pandemic.

9.     “Go for A Walk”

If I had a pound every time, I heard this growing up… If you needed something to do the only option was to go for a walk. Likewise, during the lockdown people across the country are only able to leave the house for essential shopping or one form of exercise a day.  

10. Community Spirit

It’s not all bad... One of the best things about the countryside is the community spirit. As DC Andy Cartwright says in Hot Fuzz “Everyone knows everyone round here”. Neighbours are generally happy to lend a hand or the occasional egg. Due to the Corona-virus communities all over the country have pulled together during these uncertain times. For example, “clap for carers” showing support for key workers during the pandemic. Thousands of people also volunteered to help the NHS greatly exceeding expectations.

by Afsar Uddin

The development of money

Using barter to trade goods and services: Before money was created, people used a system of barter to trade goods or services.

Using items with intrinsic value as payment: The limitation of barter led people to create systems where the local community used an item they all valued as a means of payment.

Using items that represent value as money: an important stage in the development of money, then, was changing from an intermediate item that had value in its own right (an intrinsic value) to an item that represented value but had no value its own.

Using paper notes as money: China developed the idea of paper banknotes around the seventh century CE. Merchants who traded high-value goods found it impractical to carry large quantities of copper coin. Instead they deposited the coins with a trusted person, who gave them written receipts stating how much was stored in their name. Rather than paying for goods with actual coins, merchants paid by passing the receipt for the coins to the  person selling the goods, who could claim the coins in storage.

Over time, people no longer claimed the coins from storage because buyers and sellers agreed that the banknotes represented the value of the coins and would accept the banknotes as payment, knowing they could use it to make payments of their own.

By Safiya Choudhry

By Safiya Choudhry