Covid lockdown anniversary: A village's pandemic recovery

Two years ago when Wales went into lockdown, businesses, family life and socialising just had to... stop.

In the months that followed, Rhondda Cynon Taf became one of the worst affected areas in the UK - and still is.

The area has consistently had one of the highest mortality rates for Covid in Wales.

Florist Kathryn Berbillion said the funerals "just kept coming" but community spirit got everyone through.

In Rhondda Cynon Taf there have been 434.4 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Ms Berbillion runs Judie's Florist and said, after not being shut for over 30 years, having to close was "tough".

"Everything was cancelled, the weddings, the parties, everything was cancelled, but the funerals kept going."

She "had to improvise" to meet demand and use artificial flowers as fresh deliveries were halted and they did not want to let families down.

She said: "We were having three funerals a day and it was just horrendous.

"We couldn't speak to these families, we couldn't see these families and it was all done online.

"We were writing the cards for them and usually this is the last thing you write to your mother, father, grandparents, daughter, brother - we were actually writing their last message to their loved ones.

"We're used to dealing in funerals but not to this extent, so it was just dreadful, dreadful for families."

Ms Berbillion said, however, they began to see some light at the end of the tunnel and got to find joy in small gestures as people began to send flowers to loved ones they simply hadn't seen for a long time.

"It was so nice to just do something a little bit different and leave the flowers on the door and they were overwhelmed and so happy.

"I'll never take anything for granted anymore. You just never know what's around the corner."

James 'Beefy' Thomas got made redundant as a scaffolder just before the pandemic so bought a food van "at the worst time".

Since then he has made and delivered nearly 4,000 free meals to elderly people who were isolating at home.

"I thought 'we'll give 100 faggots and peas away in Tonyrefail' and asked any elderly person or vulnerable person who'd like free faggots and peas on a Friday," he said.

"The following week we started up in Gilfach Goch with the help of Gilfach Goch rugby and we had a couple of delivery boys from there and it just spiralled from 200 meals then, we ended up doing well over 3,800 free meals, just off this little tiny burger van."

Mr Thomas said the community was "fantastic, I think they all came together," but said it was "a quieter place from what it used to be," due to Covid deaths and people still worried about the virus.

"We used to have an old woman, she was 96 and she'd come down every week, tell me the same stories, sit on the wall by there and have a double bacon cheeseburger.

"It would take her an hour, but she'd eat it. But she passed on with Covid and it's hard to believe what's gone on."

As well as the free meals, he has raised £25,000 for charities in the area but said now the community was pulling together to raise money to help in Ukraine.

Leanne Parsons is a child protection officer in Tonyrefail Community School and helped orchestrate almost 18,000 packed lunches for children in the area.

"Obviously the school was closed and we were made aware of lots of people struggling with furlough and loss of jobs," she said.

"We approached some local businesses to try to drum up some support and all the local pubs and clubs so we could have their stock, because they weren't going to need it and really it just went from there then.

"I put a team together, identified the pupils on roll with us, and I thought 'hang on, we're a community, we're more than one school', so then I offered it out to other community schools in the area."

She said her team made 350 sandwiches every day that were sent to schools to be taken to children.

"It's just surprising how it all came together and so quickly, how so many people wanted to help and the support we had was phenomenal.

"We lost a lot of people locally but I do think, after two years, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

She said the community spirit showed "anything's a possibility", with efforts now turned to helping people in Ukraine.

"The children are very aware of what's going on and obviously, they're affected by it. They're asking lots of questions. So we're just trying to keep them settled really and support the community with their collections as well".