What a month it has been…..when I posted on the 23rd March 2020 McDonalds had just shut its doors. We were about to enter April and were in the mind-set of hope, determination, optimism, and belief. We end the month wondering what next, how long will life continue with some kind of lock down, what businesses will survive, will we get to see our love ones again sometime soon, how long will we continue to home school and when will McDonalds open it’s doors again!
Today is Thursday and Thursdays have now become synonymous as getting outside our front door at 8pm and clapping for carers.
It is time to clap for all of those keyworkers that have put themselves on the line to keep this country going, help to fight the virus and help those sick and unwell to recover.
Could we have ever imagined a country coming together with a common goal?
When the country needed a hero, come forward Captain (now Colonel) Tom Moore. Today, 30th April 2020 he is celebrating his 100th birthday. We are celebrating an amazing man who fought in the Second World War and by walking around his garden 100 times has raised over £30m for NHS Charities. What an amazing man and what an amazing feat. Well done and thank you to Colonel Tom Moore. Happy Birthday Mr Moore.
On the 23rd March in the UK we were reporting cases of Covid-19 of 6,156 with deaths from Covid-19 being recorded as 359. Look at this today (not including the 30th April) and we have current cases in the UK at 138,780 and awfully 26,097 people recorded as dying from Covid-19. Towards the end of March we were hearing from the experts who hoped we might escape with 5k deaths and some that said that 20,000 deaths would represent a good result…a good result! Today we have over 26k people having lost their lives to this unforgiving worldwide virus. It is clear to us all that this is not going to go away any time soon and we will have a lot more bad news to deal with before we begin to see real light.
How many of us had used ZOOM before lock down (I actually had but only the once!)? How often did you use face time to chat with your friends, family and loved ones? How many times a week did you ‘pop’ to the shops?
What will the high street look like after Covid-19?
What will holidays look like after Covid-19?
How will we feel about large social gatherings after Covid-19?
What shape will the hospitality sector be like after Covid-19?
How popular will fads like veganism be after Covid-19?
And what about the environmental impact…. will we ever go back to ignoring the impact that Humans have on the environment after Covid-19?
Last time I mentioned my weekend in the garden with my wife and kids and the merits of home schooling. I spoke with optimism and hope. So what now?
I have seen some amazing stories and heard about amazing acts of selflessness such as Captain Tom Moore. We also hear daily about the work of our key workers and the difficulties of businesses large and small to keep their head above water.
So what next?
What next is we must all keep fighting, we must keep supporting our friends, our families, our loved ones, our neighbours and those amazing people who put their lives on the line to keep the country going.
Stay safe, keep well and remain strong.
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