Lessons in isolation: From the centre of the Pacific to the world’s loneliest town

Simon Parker on the takeaways of living in some of the most remote corners of the globe

Sunday 19 April 2020 11:13 BST
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Foula, in the Shetlands, as seen from the North Sea
Foula, in the Shetlands, as seen from the North Sea

A third of the world’s human population has been thrust into lockdown. From Madrid to Mumbai, Copenhagen to Cape Town, our once free-moving, gregarious modern lives have retreated behind closed doors in response to a sinister, invisible killer.

We can no longer amble into town for a lazy coffee, or lose a few hours at the park. And while our NHS front line combats coronavirus head-on, we must also play our own vital role: by either staying apart entirely, or by banding together in tightly knit social units.

For most of us, this has proven to be a jarring experience – at the antithesis of what we see as socially “normal.”

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