Vicky Walker talked to vaccination volunteer Cheryl at the Corbett Community Library in Catford in July 2021.
https://soundcloud.com/lvaccinationstories/free-vaccines-free-time
TRANSCRIPT
VW: Hi, this is Vicky Walker for Lewisham Vaccination Stories. I’m up at the Corbett Community Library today. I’m with my fellow Downham Vaccination Hub volunteer, Cheryl, and we’re going to have a talk. So, hi, Cheryl.
C: Hi, Vicky. How are you?
VW: I’m fine, and we’re sneaking away from doing our library work today!
So, Cheryl and I met through volunteering at the Corbett Community Library, which has only reopened in April because of the pandemic. How long have you been volunteering here?
C: I have been volunteering here since it originally opened. So, it’s coming up to nearly four years now.
VW: Wow.
C: So, it’s been a long time, yes.
VW: So, for those who might not know, this is a former council-run library that has now been taken over and is being run as a community effort. There are paid staff and then it’s run by a bunch of volunteers. So, what was it like during last year’s lockdown and the pandemic?
C: Well, actually in the library, we were doing click and collect. So, we were still coming in, and we had to get books together, bundles of books. On average, four to five books in a bundle. So, from ages 0 upwards, and we had those at the front.
People couldn’t come into the library, the main part of the library, just at the front, and they chose the books and we had to do everything manually. So we had to write down what books were taken, the numbers, etc., and that’s how it operated for quite a number of months.
VW: Right, and I know that we are possibly the only library in Lewisham that’s currently helping people with forms and social security and blue badges and things. Are you seeing people coming back to the library that you haven’t seen for a while?
C: Yes. I mean, the uptick now, there’s been a great increase in the number of people coming, especially using computers, and I know definitely, people come in for help. So, they’ve been very busy, the staff, working with those people. So, yes, life is getting back to normal.
VW: So, speaking of normal, what are you looking forward to doing when we get through, or if and when we get through this?
C: Really, seeing family, family and friends. I haven’t seen my daughter since March, yes, 2020. Yes, so it’s over a year. Fortunately, she was down for her aunt’s birthday. So, that’s the last time all the family got together.
VW: Where is she?
C: She is living in Wolverhampton.
VW: Oh, wow.
C: So, it’s quite a way away. She’s hoping to come down at the end of the month, but probably not. We’re saying just let’s see how things go, but definitely, yes. My sister lives locally and I haven’t been in her house.
VW: You should tell her to come to the library.
C: Yes, she did actually. She came last week. She came last week because I lent her that book that you lent me, the Richard Osman book. So, I’ve lent it to her. So, she popped in last week, but generally, we haven’t been to see friends and family at all.
VW: So, Cheryl and I, well, we volunteer together at Downham, which is something I talked you into.
C: Yes.
VW: What made you say yes to another volunteer job?
C: Well, obviously, I’ve got the time on my hands because I’m not working, although I’m meant to be looking for a job. So, I have done my CV and I need to update it, but having had both of my vaccines at Downham, and I was just really impressed by the whole procedure, and the fact that it’s staffed by volunteers. Everyone’s really nice and good to you, and make you feel welcome, and they’re very friendly.
So, the opportunity arose, and as you were encouraging me, and I know that [library volunteer] Rosy was doing it as well, and I thought, “Well, let me give something back. I’ve had two free vaccines, and so I can give my free time back,” and that’s why I’m doing that.
VW: That’s brilliant, yes. So, have your family all had their jabs? Have they been other places?
C: My husband had his first, because he had his at King’s College Hospital. So, he had Pfizer. So, he’s had both his jabs. He was a bit reluctant at first, even though originally, he was like, “Yes, I’m going to have it,” then quite a few of his friends said no. Some definitely said, “No, we’re not having it.” Some said, “We’ll wait and see,” and another one said, “Well, if you catch it, you catch it and that’s it.”
A lot of my friends had already had theirs, and he said, “Oh, phone your friends, see,” and they were all like, “No, have it,” and my brother’s like, “No, I’ve had it,” his wife’s had it. “Just don’t be afraid. Go ahead and do it.”
VW: Do you think he’s afraid because it’s going to hurt or he’s worried about the side effects?
C: Well, it was the side effects, and the funny thing is, last October, we talked about it and he was like, “Well, they’ve done this and it’s ready to be done, the vaccine, they’ve done the tests and that.” Even I, at the time, said, “No, it’s too soon,” because it takes a number of years because they’ve got to do all the testing first, you know, the animals, then on people, and he was like, “No, no, it’s going to be alright,” etc., and then when it came to him having it, he was reluctant, but for me, it was just straightforward.
So, yes, he’s had it. My son has some underlying problems, because he has allergies and he has really bad eczema, and at the moment, he’s waiting to see what his GP is telling him before he can go ahead.
My daughter, she caught it when she was in Wolverhampton, and she had it real bad, but then she was like, “Oh, because I’ve had it, I probably won’t have the vaccine,” but they’re adults. So, it’s not for me to tell them, but my sister has had hers, her son and, yes, the majority of family and friends have had theirs.
VW: Well, hopefully, they’ve all had as fun a time getting their jabs as we have hanging out at the vaccination centre. It’s truly a delight to meet so many lovely volunteers from so many walks of life.
C: It is, and actually, Downham, though I suppose I’m a bit biased because it was the first place. So I volunteered at other places, but yes —
VW: No loyalties, yes.
C: I know, but I think because it’s the first place and I see that as my main volunteering hub, it is; it’s a great place to be, and yes, they look after you. They look after the volunteers, and I’ve been to a couple of places where, you know, there haven’t been team leaders or others, sort of, like, so concerned with your wellbeing, which I think is important.
VW: So, what would you say to someone who wanted to volunteer? What advice would you give them?
C: It’s not daunting. You think at first, “Wow, can I do it?” and you’re a bit worried, but it’s not. It’s, sort of, like, you’ve got the team leaders and the other staff there to show you the way, pull you along, and it’s great, and the time passes quickly, and you know you’re doing something good.
VW: Exactly.
C: And that’s amazing.
VW: We’ve done 33,000 vaccinations at Downham since January.
C: Oh, gosh. I mean, that is just a crazy amount of people.
VW: With the power of volunteers, we’re doing it together. It’s brilliant.
C: Yes, it is, it is, and obviously to yourself who actually trained to do the vaccination.
VW: It was something that I was curious about and it had to be done, and it feels really great to put people’s minds at rest, give them a jab, and sometimes they just take a deep breath and they go, “Oh, is that all there is?”
C: That’s right, yes, because it actually doesn’t hurt.
VW: It doesn’t.
C: I have to have blood tests quite frequently because I have an underactive thyroid. So, I have to have a blood test at least twice a year or at least once a year. So, I’m fine with that, and having the blood test is worse than actually having the injection.
VW: Absolutely.
C: Yes, so pain-free and, you know, it’s…
VW: And you might make some new friends at the vaccination centre.
C: Definitely, yes.
VW: Brilliant. Thank you. That is amazing. Thank you, Cheryl.
C: That’s okay.
VW: Bye-bye. Thank you.