Coronavirus retrospective.
Adapting to change
To quote the media, 2020 was “the year that changed the world” and indeed changed us all in many ways. We quickly had to learn to adapt to living in lockdown, to practice compassion and empathy for others and to reflect on the things that are most important to us. As well as the practicalities of working from home, many of us have also discovered the positive side of social media to keep in contact with friends and family. Thank you technology. Thank goodness for technology; for many people it has literally been a lifesaver. I, for one, have certainly had my eyes opened to the very worrying issues of isolation and mental health, and have been humbled by the incredible work of our NHS and by the many wonderful acts of kindness that have taken place nationally and locally. A heartwarming response. From the dedication of The Well and The Railway Arms in providing food and support, to the Kibworth Isolation Team and the Christmas Eve Box & Gift Appeal, so generously supported by the community, the response has been truly heart warming. Looking back. Looking back through the diary I write every night (and have done for the past forty years or so!), the first reference I could find to Covid-19 was on 12 March 2020 where I referred to it as the ‘coronavirus scare’ which I think reflects how casual many of us were about the situation that was rapidly unfolding on the other side of the world. Only 3 days before I had been at the Leicester City game against Aston Villa, which turned out to be the last Premier League football match to be played prior to lockdown just a fortnight later. The effect of a crowd. At the time, I barely gave a thought to being in a crowd of several thousand people; now, that prospect seems like a very long way off, and the very thought of a crowd that size, all unmasked, makes me shudder! Sadly, the situation now is more serious than it has ever been throughout the pandemic, and we are being warned that the UK is at a ‘perilous moment’ with the next few weeks likely to be the worst yet for the already overstretched NHS. I could never have envisaged that we would be in such a desperate situation as we enter 2021 when I began my journal last March. Thank goodness for vaccines. Thank goodness we now have 3 vaccines approved and being swiftly administered, and brighter days are most definitely ahead. What incredible work the scientists have done to achieve these so rapidly, and provide us with some much-needed hope for 2021. If you are interested in reading more extracts from the journal I have kept throughout the pandemic, please visit the online Kibworth & District Chronicle: www.kibworthchronicle.com/articles/category/coronavirus/ Joy Hill. |
Children’s Mental Health Week.
Charlie Sylvans-Jones, partner in Oliver Rayns, South Leicestershire.
