Robert is my last interview for 2020, and it seems a fitting end to a difficult year getting the perspectives of a 96 year old man, born just after the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920, which killed about 1-3% of the world's population. We hear how the residents in his Aged Care Facility were looked after and informed about COVID, and what life is like for him and the other people in the home. Robert talks of his working class roots and Christian morals, and feels that these have stood him in good stead over the years, and made him accepting and able to adapt to most situations that life offers him.

This interview I talk with Steve, a Melbourne Musician and Teacher, who lives in the Outer West of Victoria. Steve found Lockdown really hard, as his normal social outlets within the music scene of Melbourne were suddenly gone, as were his face-to-face teaching days and other jobs. Living alone through Lockdown and cooped up in his apartment, he found himself watching a lot of TV, drinking and eating more, and in a strange time-warp. He and I discuss his difficulties with the new digital age, which for many members of Gen X and above does not work very well, and how feelings of incompetence can creep in when dealing with technology issues. We also talk about his concerns for the once thriving music scene of Melbourne, and there's a little plug to support live music once again, especially for Melbournians over this Summer - while we can.

This interview we hear from a member of the Chinese-Australian community, and talk about some of the differences between East and West, particularly in relation to the management of wide-scale social control measures such as a Lockdown. We also chat about the focus that many Chinese parents have on education and the decision made to make Australia home in order to access a better education and opportunities. Cassie is a mother of three children who works in the hospitality and gaming industry, which was greatly affected by COVID19. She is very honest about how hard it was for her to have to home educate her two primary aged daughters, plus manage a toddler at home, without knowing when and if she would get back to work.