Anne Cassin values the slower time at home where team work is the theme, particularly so nowadays. "Every one must cook at least once a week and help with household chores," says the Nationwide presenter.
"I took holidays early this year, and so, when I returned from abroad, on March 15 myself and my husband were obliged to go into quarantine for two weeks. Therefore, I was quite ready for the stringent measures which were in place when I went back to work.
"I can work from home now, and can set up interviews and complete research from the kitchen table, much like everyone else these days.
"Luckily Nationwide has continued to produce fresh programmes so far in the pandemic. We had a bank of material that was filmed before the crisis took hold, but our current filming schedule is subject to the same social distancing requirements as others. So we film interviews outdoors and sanitise and wipe down equipment before and after.
"Sometimes I go into the office in Donnybrook in Dublin and what a quiet place it is as so many members of staff are working remotely. No trouble with parking!
"Our team has been moved from the main newsroom to the upper floor of a neighboring building where we are among a handful of people working at desks. It was strange at first, but I'm getting used to it now.
"There are no shortage of stories to cover - such as the streaming of funeral services, or the search for a vaccine that were prompted by the Covid crisis. But we know our viewers need a break from that as we’ve great viewing figures for our recent programmes reporting on Covid-19 in New York and on The Chieftains.
"Away from work, I try to keep the body healthy by running 4-6km every second day. Luckily there are plenty of options near my home to keep the routes interesting and within the 2km limit.
"Additionally, despite the restrictions, I’m really enjoying my reading now. Hilary Fannin’s new novel, The Weight Of Love, is absorbing and beautiful. I finally got around to reading all 650 pages of Jonathan Franzen’s 2001 novel, The Corrections. I have also read the current Dublin’s One City One Book choice, Tatty, by Christine Dwyer Hickey. I meet my fellow Book Club members on Zoom which keeps us connected. Our current choice is Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent.
"On Netflix, I have just finished the current series of Better Call Saul and I’ve been catching up with movies and documentaries, including Rolling Thunder Revue, the Martin Scorsese documentary of Bob Dylan’s 1975 Rolling Thunder tour.
"The five of us in the family are adjusting pretty well. Life is at a much slower pace and most of us are in the house most of the time. The elder two have college assignments to complete and the youngest has her Junior Cert classes online.
"It’s the new normality for now. Walking the dogs helps keep structure on the day and every one must cook at least once a week and help with household chores.
"Dinner is at a regular time. The new routine has us seated together at 7pm to eat, where we use the opportunity to catch up on the day - it reminds me of my childhood and the pleasures of being together.
"Maybe this will be something to take from the crisis when, hopefully, we leave this pandemic behind."
Nationwide airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, RTE One, 7pm.
