When I left Cornwall for London at 18, returning was inevitable. I’ve often wondered what it would take to get me out of London and back to the country. It turns out working remotely in a global pandemic is the answer.
Social life aside, there are two things that necessitate my living in London; working and gigging. The Coronavirus outbreak has postponed all live music and TWK has had a home-working policy since 12 March.
In West London, working remotely was not working all that well. Whilst still productive, the pokey flat was a challenging venue for both myself and Her Ladyship. After a week and a half, we came to the decision we would come to Cornwall for a week or two.
Lockdown
We penciled in mid-April, then early April. Finally, with a hunch that the situation in the UK would become more serious, we bit the bullet, booked a van. We left the city on Sunday 22 March.
The Enterprise rent-a-car outside Her Ladyship’s East London flat
After packing clothes, computers and musical instruments, we picked up our Enterprise and loaded up in West London. With a stop-off at Her Ladyship’s flat for a sufficient wardrobe, we drove the five hours back to Cornwall. We arrived at my parent’s house that evening.
After unpacking the workplace essentials and completing a maiden Monday of working remotely, just 24 hours after arriving in Cornwall, Boris announced the lockdown. We were now stuck in the country.
Tools for the job
One of the greatest challenges home-workers face is securing all the necessary kit. Luckily (if you’re not my bank balance), I’d purchased a new iMac about six months prior. Add a 2016 ThinkPad to the mix for any PC testing (i.e. IE) and the IT aspect is more than covered.
Practicing a pitch to a captive, if reserved, audience
However Cornish broadband is patchy at best. The telephone exchange is about 2.5 miles from my parent’s house – compare that to a few yards on a city street.
The solution is an EE 4GEE, a router that connects to the mobile 4G network, bolstered by a hefty data allowance. With higher speeds and connection anywhere you have a power source, there’s only one problem: coverage.
The Web Caravan
Down at the bottom of the valley, there was simply no coverage from the EE network, as there tends to be with most, if not all, of the mobile networks. However just up the hill is the family farmyard, where a comfy caravan with a mains hook-up awaited.
So one working afternoon, the iMac, laptop and 4GEE router were all relocated to the caravan and the most remote office at TWK was born.
Not only remote, the quality of the 4G signal just a few feet up the hill gave a faster connection than both the BT landline at my parent’s house and my own fibre broadband in London.
Staying power
Isolating on a farm is easy. As we approach eight weeks of lockdown with no definitive end in sight, we’re gladly accepting we are located in Cornwall for now.
Getting out on the farm is the ultimate screen break
Her passions for crochet and cooking are simmering away and I find myself out on the family farm at every opportunity. We really are the luckiest people in lockdown.