Mark Brown spoke to Liam during a pop-up vaccination session in New Cross Gate, London, in May 2021.
TRANSCRIPT
MB: This is Mark Brown for Lewisham Vaccination Stories in an extremely windy Besson Street Community Garden, on an afternoon in late May, and I’m here with…?
LP: Liam Parsons.
MB: Liam, you just had your vaccination. What was it like?
LP: Yes, pretty seamless, and there was no queue when I got here, which is what I was expecting. In and out in 20 minutes, maybe, something like that, so yes, easy.
MB: Was there anything you were worried about in relation to vaccination before you came?
LP: No, to be honest. I have lots of friends and family. People close to me have already got it, so I feel like I had a pretty good gauge of what to expect. Now, it is just wait and see the next 24 hours, I guess, if I feel a bit flu-ish but should be fine.
MB: I wanted to ask you, it is has been a period of upheaval in the world because of the pandemic. How has the last year been for you?
LP: Yes, I can’t lie. It has been a pretty smooth ride for me, if I’m being totally honest. I’ve been quite privileged to be able to be put on furlough but come back to a job and be able to work from home, and yes, just be comfortable for the most part, in our 2-bed flat, my girlfriend and I, which again, I don’t know. That is all I can say, from my perspective we’ve been pretty privileged to not have too many, yes, impacts on our lives, other than the standard stuff for everyone, so…
MB: What are you looking forward to in terms of, what are you hoping for, for the world and yourself, once we get back to some sort of normal after this vaccination effort is successful?
LP: I think it is the same story as a lot of other people. I’m Canadian, so I’m hoping to get back, yes, back across the Atlantic, back to travel, at least just to get back to family.
The key holiday season is coming up, whether it is summer or maybe Christmas is a bit more realistic. But other than that, just enjoying London — because I’ve been here for a little over two years and a whole year of it has been COVID. I’m just looking forward to a London summer.
MB: Brilliant. Thank you.