5 July
Things are starting to open up, which should feel exciting - and in some ways it does - but mainly actually just feels unnerving. The country seems to be broadly split between those that are chomping at the bit to get back to normal and forget all this ever happened, and those that are either still shielding or just cautiously keeping an eye on numbers before plunging too deeply back in to society.
There is definitely more traffic on the streets, and less care taken to make space for other pedestrians (again with the entitled white men leading the charge*. Fancy.). If we still lived on Hackney Road I would absolutely wear a mask on leaving the house but here I keep it for shopping, though even that is still not the norm.
I am excited by potentially travelling to see family in a few weeks time. I'm looking forward to garden picnics with my parents and Titch's Nanna. There is talk of possiblymaybe (couldwe-shouldwe?) taking the Eurotunnel to France for a weekend on the Opal Coast if things go well.
Possibly... Maybe... If...
It doesn't feel anything close to a sure thing, but feels less ludicrously inconceivable than it did a few weeks ago.
I think we will be re-emerging into a fundamentally changed world. The impact of these past months is going to echo for a long time, economically, educationally, societally, in terms of health interventions paused or left unchecked while Covid has dominated all. The future feels as uncertain as it ever has in my - admittedly pretty bloody cosseted - life.
*#NotAllWhiteMen. Obvs. #ButMainlyTheEntitledOnes
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