TODAY marks the fifth anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown - and those of us who lived through the experience in Ayrshire will never forget it.
Half a decade on, we're taking a look back at the very start of a fearful and often bewildering period of our lives which already seems so long ago... yet left such an unnerving impact on everyone.
Cumnock during Covid (Image: Newsquest) It felt like few Ayrshire families got through the experience without losing someone close to them.
It was a time of stress and grief, of self isolation, working from home and fretting about your family - particularly the elderly.
All Ayrshire Weekly Press titles did their bit during the pandemic (Image: Newsquest) It was a time of shielding, of obsessive hand washing, social distancing and people being fined for daring to go outside.
And yet it was also a time of people looking out for their neighbours, of clapping for the NHS workers on the front line of the pandemic, of volunteering to deliver vital supplies to those shielding and those most in need.
Food banks came to the rescue of those who needed them most. Hubs became more important than pubs.
(Image: PA) The pandemic would go on to claim the lives of 1,602 people in Ayrshire by mid-2023. Pensioners bore the brunt of the impact, especially those in care homes.
Heart-breaking stories filled our local newspapers of families left unable to see their loved ones as they faded, then passed away from the unforgiving virus.
At first, the Covid outbreak seemed to be happening far, far away. And after all, some had experienced scares before: BSE, foot and mouth, bird flu and other nasty killer viruses.
(Image: Newsquest) But Covid was different. Even before lockdown had been ordered, Jeane Freeman, Scotland's Health Secretary and MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, confirmed the first positive case in Scotland.
Then those cases started to multiply.
(Image: Newsquest) On March 17, 2020, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon - another Ayrshire woman - said a shielding list of the most vulnerable would be contacted by GPs and healthcare workers. She also urged anyone experiencing Covid symptoms to minimise social contact and follow hygiene advice.
(Image: Newsquest) Deputy First Minister John Swinney closed schools and nurseries three days later. He also cancelled the looming school exams.
But within days, things got much worse. On March 23, 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered most of the British public to stay at home and isolate as the deadly virus began to take its fearful toll.
At the same time, the first Ayrshire victim - from West Kilbride - was confirmed. He was the third patient to have died in Scotland having contracted coronavirus.
At that time there were just 41 confirmed cases in the county.
(Image: Newsquest) By March 26, the Scottish Government closed all retailers selling non-essential goods. Pubs and restaurants closed their doors. Some never reopened.
By April 8, there were 296 confirmed positive cases of coronavirus in Ayrshire.
They included four residents and a member of staff at Spiers Care Home, in Beith.
(Image: Newsquest) That same week, we revealed an Ardrossan dad-of-two, 40-year-old Ryan Storrie, had died from the Covid virus.
His wife Hilary said at the time: "He sat at home and suffered because he didn't want to spread it. He saw that you were being told not to go to the hospital or the doctor. If he knew he could go, he would have."
The cases kept multiplying across Ayrshire and the rest of the country... but by summertime, things seemed to be calming down. At first, at least.
(Image: PA) That first lockdown was eased.
The sense of freedom wouldn't last long as the virus mutated and further stay-at-home orders were issued. That included the 'rule of four' for public gatherings.
Christmas 2020 in particular would be a challenge for many.
(Image: Newsquest) Five years down the line, the politicians who led the UK and Scotland through those times are gone from the political arena, yet the public inquiries into the mistakes made during the pandemic are rumbling on.
Covid deniers and anti-vaxxers still haunt social media platforms claiming the whole thing was an exercise in social control.
Yet the effects of Covid are still all around us. The deterioration of NHS services, the shops and businesses which never reopened... the jobs that were lost, never to return.
And most importantly, in our memories of those friends and family members we lost and miss to this day.