Expat from Sunderland describes life under the pandemic in Canada - and tells of the Wearside books she's reading under the lockdown

Anne Bartlett (nee Atkinson), 75, used to be a Saturday girl at Woolworths, and went to Bede Grammar School.

She worked at the Sunderland Forge until March 1967 when she emigrated to Toronto in Canada. Her busy life has included jobs with the Department of Immigration, working as a driving instructor, and then a pharmaceutical company for 17 years in sales and marketing before her last job with a large American transport company.

But even though she retired in 2005, she and her husband Ken have kept just as busy – until the coronavirus arrived.

“We are very active seniors and I miss the Recreation Centre where I took aquafit four times a week,” said Anne

“We also miss our church activities. We belong to the Salvation Army and have a very busy corps.

“Along with worship, we volunteer many hours a week in the thrift store, fund raising and numerous other activities.

“Life is stressful, as to be expected, but my husband and I are both retired and find things pretty good for us personally.”

One way that Anne is keeping busy is by reading, and she revealed a couple of her latest favourite books, including the Shipyard Girls which recently became a prestigious best seller.

“I have just started reading The Shipyard Girls but have only managed to get two books so far. There is also another Sunderland author and she writes about Ryhope. One of her books is Pearl of Pit Row and there are a couple of others she has published.

“I found out about the books from articles in the Echo and am so pleased that they are slowly available.”

Anne described some of the ways that the coronavirus has affected the Canadian way of living for her.

“As pensioners our income has not been interrupted and the Canadian Government increased one of our benefits, which is over and above pension, by $500.

“I have found, personally, that I am not spending for the sake of spending so we actually have money left at the end of the month. We shop once a week right here in town and our neighbour, landlord and church family check in with us by phone several times a week

“Other than that, we are doing well and have no complaints.”

Anne now lives in Wingham which is ‘a small town in rural Ontario but we have all the amenities we could need,” said Anne.

“Two supermarkets, assorted small stores, an exceptional health centre, a small hospital and most importantly, Tim Hortons, a coffee shop from a large national chain.

“We have an amazing recreation centre with swimming pool, ice rink and gym. I attend the pool three to four times a week for aquafit.

“We are both 75 and our greatest asset is good health. This enables us to be full time volunteers with the Wingham Salvation Army.

From working on cash and stocking shelves in the thrift store to doing kitchen duty at major disasters, we are constantly on the move.

“I have been truly blessed since coming to Canada.”

Anne also had a message for everyone struggling during the current hard times.

“Life is truly what you make it and faith will get you through.

“I am constantly grateful for two things in my life, apart from family and friends.

“They are being in the Salvation Army since I was eight in Southwick and an amazing education at Bede.”

Anne is one of a number of expats from Wearside who have described their experiences of life under lockdown around the world, including Sandra Laws from Italy.

We would love to hear more. Visit the Sunderland Echo Facebook page to share your own story if you are originally from Wearside and living abroad.

For the latest coronavirus updates and case numbers, visit the Sunderland Echo website.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

How to subscribe to the print edition

It’s easy to subscribe to your local newspaper. We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.