Moving from Zoom to in-person interviews is a shock to the senses

Internet meetings have their benefits but there’s nothing quite like meeting somebody in the flesh, writes Charlotte Cripps

My first ‘in-real-life’ interview since Covid restrictions was with the author Antonia Fraser – it couldn’t have been a more colourful return to normality (Getty/iStock)

Moving from Zoom to in-person interviews is a shock to the senses. I’ve got used to talking to somebody on my laptop screen during the pandemic – it’s strangely convenient. I don’t have to go anywhere. But when, a few weeks ago, I finally knocked on a person’s front door again, armed with my notepad, it was a breath of fresh air.

My first “IRL” interview since coronavirus restrictions was with the author Antonia Fraser, and it couldn’t have been a more colourful return to normality. “Oh, lucky you! A real-life interview,” some of my colleagues said – as if the concept had just been invented.

As I was thrust into the Holland Park home she shared with playwright Harold Pinter, I was dazzled by all the photos, paintings – and her. No longer faced with the simplicity of a face next to my typed questions onscreen – I was suddenly juggling a cup of tea and biscuits, deciding where to lay my dictaphone, scribbling stuff down and reading questions from notes on my lap – all while perched on a grand sofa.