Man, 29, Invents ‘Cuddle Curtain,’ Hugs Affectionate Grandma for the First Time in Months

(Illustration - Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock)

A British plasterer came up with a novel way to hug his grandmother while adhering to social distancing restrictions amid the pandemic. A video of “The Cuddle Curtain” has gone viral after being posted online.

Antony Cauvin, from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, missed his grandmother, Lily, after spending two and a half months apart during the lockdown. So, he took it upon himself to fashion a smart apparatus that would allow him to give his grandma a hearty hug without flouting social distancing.

“I’ve always been very close to my grandparents. I see them as second parents,” Antony told Sky News. “Not being able to see them has been tough... tougher for them than it is for us, even, because Grannan is a very affectionate person.”

“You feel you haven’t seen them,” he added, “because you haven’t had that cuddle.”

The 29-year-old’s inventive solution was to affix long plastic safety sleeves to a transparent shower curtain, allowing two people to stand opposite one another and embrace without making direct contact.

Heartwarming footage shared online shows Antony’s first hug with his “Grannan” in his elderly grandparents’ garden during a surprise visit on May 15, 2020.

In the video, Antony explains the function of the cuddle curtain to his grandmother, saying, “You’ve got to put your arms through the bottom one, okay? My arms go through the top one.” The pair embraces, and Lily is audibly overcome with joy.

“How amazing is this? I only designed them with you in mind,” Antony admits to his grandmother.

The footage of Antony and Lily sharing a heartfelt embrace, which was originally posted on Facebook by Antony’s wife, Miriam, 27, has been viewed millions of times and garnered over 200,000 shares. Many netizens agree that the plasterer’s solution to facilitating cuddles with loved ones during the lockdown is nothing short of genius.

Antony tested the efficacy of his cuddle curtain with Miriam before taking the device to his grandparents’ house. The curtain, he said, can be easily disinfected after every use for maximum safety and hygiene.

Additionally, anyone who uses the cuddle curtain can wear disposable gloves for extra safety.

“My family is very close and my nan is the matriarch of our family,” Antony explained to The Sun. “She has three children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.”

According to the Independent, Antony left the cuddle curtain hanging outside his grandparents’ house to enable other members of the family to benefit from a hearty hug from their loving grandparents.

Sharing more details about the cuddle curtain, Anthony told Sky News that a weekend before he visited his grandparents with the cuddle curtain, he bought all the materials and came up with the plan to make the curtain himself.

“Really it’s bizarre that you can buy a clear shower curtain,” Antony mused. “I don’t know why they sell them given you would think you would want privacy, however they do sell them, so I bought one.”

“Then I bought some shoulder-length sleeves,” he continued, “which I could fix by putting the holes through the plastic, tape them up, and then put your arms through and wrap your arms round somebody.” Antony claimed the materials cost him a total of around 70 pounds (US$86).

The plasterer admitted that his long-awaited hug with his grandmother prompted tears from everybody in attendance.

“But we were also giggling that much,” he added, “just because it seemed such a far-fetched and bonkers idea. We never touched any part of Grannan at all- I’m a believer in social distancing and don’t want to put anyone at risk.”

Despite the genius quality of his invention, Antony wishes that the cuddle curtain will be a short-lived fad. He is pinning his hopes on a vaccine so that restrictions on social contact “won’t have to last.”