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In English village, life goes on behind closed doors

James Lewington, 22, drinks a cup of tea while studying his BSc Geography coursework while his father Guy is reflected in the window at their home in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 7, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Lewington who is studying at the University of Birmingham was due to sit his final exams in May but returned home since the pandemic swept across the UK, closing all public spaces including schools, colleges and universities. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Jason Sutton, 53, an oil company geophysicist, works on a computer in his converted playroom office in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 2, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Sutton has continued to work remotely and logs into company's computer network in Scotland. Sutton relies on his broadband connection to use graphics to model exploration scenarios while talking with other team members via Skype - also working remotely. "It’s been difficult juggling work while other family members require the internet bandwidth.", he said. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Ruth Jarman and her children, Helen, Sophie and Tom practice a string quartet arrangement of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' in their music room in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 13, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The family play in their front garden every Thursday evening to show their appreciation for NHS during the weekly applause for health workers. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Long-time table tennis player Norrie Short, 85, practices serving while playing table tennis in his lounge at home in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 3, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Norrie has been playing in the Aldershot and District Table tennis League since 1952 and coaching for the last 10 years. Norrie says he obviously had no natural talent for the game as he started in Div. 4 and still plays in Div. 4. "Clearly a case of, 'them as can - do, them as can't - teach!'" he said. In an effort to improve his game Norrie installed a table tennis robot which fires ping pong balls across the table allowing him to practice his return shots. Hundreds of balls litter the living room floor before being scooped up and returned to the machine. Although when he first started using the device, he hit so many shots resulting in a pulled muscle forcing him to retire injured for several months. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN D

Car enthusiast Karel Brabec works on a gearbox in his garage at home in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 12, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Brabec collects and restores cars for a hobby. He finally finished restoring his favourite car, a 1974 John Player Special Lotus Elan. He bought the car in 1976 when he was 23 years-old but left it in storage for 28 years. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Priest-in-Charge of St. John's Church, Angie Smith, sits with her husband Vince, while her daughter Thea, a Curate, washes her brother Harry's' feet during a seder meal as they remember the passover and Jesus' last supper at The Vicarage in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 9, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With churches closed priests encouraged church members to celebrate Holy week and Easter in their own homes and continue to provide written and online streamed services for all to use and join in with. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Valerie Bucksey plants and waters seeds while sitting in her conservatory while her husband John looks on at their home in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 9, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Bucksey’s have lived in the village for 44 years and have a vegetable garden in the Parish allotments. "Most of the seeds planted will go to the allotment, but some will be kept for home and some will be given to family and friends." Valerie said. "The hardest part of the lockdown has been having to do more things online and dealing with technology and getting it to work. Not seeing our grandchildren and family except online, missing physically being with our grandson to celebrate his third birthday." Although, the positive thing has been the slower pace of life and more time to appreciate the garden. - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Lyn Briggs grooms her 16-year-old standard poodle, Lulu, while 9-year-old Laika sits beside them at home in Hartley Wintney, a village 45 miles southwest of London on April 8, 2020 during the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Briggs has owned and groomed standard poodles for 27 years, and she showed one of her previous poodles, Fifi. Grooming each dog consists of shampooing, blow-drying, clipping, and sculpting with scissors, which can take approximately four hours. "I always spend a lot of time with the dogs, but now that the rest of the family is at home full time, the dogs have more competition for my attention. We're lucky to have such good walking on the doorstep, so our daily routine hasn't been changed that much, she said." - AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP PHOTO ESSAY BY ADRIAN DENNIS

Updated 16 April 2020 07:39

AFP

April 16, 2020 07:36

Like most of the 66 million Britons, the 5,000 residents of the Hampshire village have been staying at home since March 23 when the government ordered a lockdown to stop contagion.

The result is that life no longer revolves around the main street with its organic shops and coffee chains or the cricket ground, which is one of the oldest in the country.

(Photo courtesy: AFP)⁣