A bench by the duck pond

Apr 13, 2020, 07:11 AM

Huddersfield lockdown sound recorded by Freya Shaw.

"I recorded this soundscape of the duckpond in my local park a couple of weeks ago. I live in England and the pandemic has accelerated rapidly here so, in many ways my local area’s soundscape has altered dramatically since the time of the recording. 

"The area without such a great volume of  vehicles and crowds seems almost more clear and peaceful as far as nature is concerned. Animals and birds can be heard from further away as well as the clocktower which stands near to my home.

"Naturally there is hardly anyone in town as we can only shop for essentials. However, the number of people who spend time with their families  in the garden has risen so I can often hear music and talking when walking past the gardens in my neighbourhood. 

"I believe that the pandemic, like most times of crisis, despite social distancing, has brought the community together in a way. I think we appreciate the time spent with family more now. Every Thursday at 8 pm in England we stand on our door steps, balconies and windows and clap and cheer for our NHS which I also believe has strengthened the community. 

"I used a 3-D microphone to record the duckpond as I often enjoy recording different soundscapes and felt that recording a soundscape around the time of the pandemic would be significant, especially when listening back to it in the future.

"You may notice that whilst listening to the recording there is a large amount of chatting people but, this has lessened now and when people are seen together in public they are usually walking in couples as at the moment in England people are allowed to do exercise once A day with only one other member of their household.

"I wish everyone health, safety and sanity throughout this time and I hope my recording can relax you."

Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds